1. Understanding the design of Idents
BBC One:
This indent consists of a close up short of a frog jumping into a magical world
of nature and fairies – the shot pans across to a circular opening through the
trees and undergrowth symbolizing the BBC One circle and ending with the a
graphic circle and the BBC One logo appearing.
The magical theme is enhanced with soft and enchanting music, and the
integration of animated (CGI) fairy like creatures. Within the advert, the only
information we are given is the channel identity and what shows are coming
up next. The ident lasts for 16 seconds, which is around average duration for
a BBC One Ident. As for the pacing, it starts off very fast cut and then
gradually slows down to show more detail. BBC One aims to appeal to a wide
audience, it’s BBC’s flagship channel and the high production values seen in
this ident reflects this, the piece is also eye catching in that it’s ambitious and
beautifully made which appeals to both adults whilst also being family/child
friendly in it’s magical theme.
This particular advert is entertainment led, as opposed to information led
because it contains a lot more colour and vibrancy, rather than a lot of
information. Overall this ident gives the viewer the impression that the channel
is very cheerful and visually pleasing, therefore they have good production
and a high budget, it also tells the viewer that they can show the programs to
younger people as it looks very pleasant and non-threatening.

2. Channel 4
As with many of the Channel 4 Idents the camera leads the viewer thought a
location to reveal the Channel 4 logo visible from a certain angle and made up
from the different elements of buildings or objects in the ident. This one takes
us through a modern, neon, oriental street setting eventually pulling back to
reveal the 4 lit up in neon signs.
No information is given about the channel other but than information about
what film, which is coming on next, the ident is fairly long at 42 seconds. The
tone of this ident is reminiscent of films like Blade Runner, the bustling
overcrowded streets of somewhere like Hong Kong, implying a more adult
kind of programming is about to be shown, in actual fact the film introduced on
this clip is a horror film.
Channel 4’s image is quite different from BBC One, it aims to attract slightly
younger audience and likes to be seen as a bit edgy and innovative.

3. Channel 5
This ident starts with a child playing with two toys; a robot and a dinosaur,
behind him there is a projection of the imaginary battle shown as an animation,
when the robot character wins it flies out of the screen past the camera and
the 5 logo appears. The ident lasts for about 18 seconds, the onscreen tempo
varies in this indent as it starts off at a medium pace then gets faster as it
progressed creating excitement an increased energy.
There is no channel information in the ident just an introduction into the next
programme. The ident is a interesting combination with a big studio setting,
childlike animation, neon 5 logo – it feels quite cool and young. And the
programme coming up was introduced as ‘Neighbors’ classically watched by
students in the daytime! Channel 5’s audience is quite young, arguably it’s
reputation is a bit more tacky then Channel 4 but is also tries to be hard hitting
and edgy whilst also populist.

4. ITV:
This ident simply shows footage of a crowd at a concert, it features two main
characters one wearing a silly head dress and the other silly glasses. The
footage is slowed down but it gradually speeds up as the rock track chorus
kicks in and the crowd start to dance and jump. The ITV logo remains static
and present throughout.
The voice over is from the well know presenter Dermot O’Leary who is
synonymous with the X-Factor and is introducing another series and the
beginning of the audition shows. The ident itself is 23 seconds long but it
manages to give all the necessary information
This ident shows us the channel is up to date and can relate to a young
audience. It shows the channel likes to have fun and is celebratory. The
image being show is slowed down so although of young people dancing it is
still quite gentle and not alarming or akin to a wild night club so would not
alienate older viewers. ITV1 is a mass audience channel and likes to appeal
to a wide demographic, this ident however is likely to appeal to a younger
generation.

5. Sky One:
This Ident features dancing star Ashley Banjo, dancing in a warehouse with
what appear to be ordinary people to a fun music track. The ident is a used to
introduce a whole range of programmes – and as per the other channels
nothing is said about Sky One in the course of the piece other than what is
coming up next.
Interestingly Sky One use stars from their current shows in their indents – so
Ashley Banjo has a number of programmes on Sky One at the moment, in this
way Sky see the talent and their programme brands as being very important.
The sky 1 logo itself is there but in a much less obvious way that for example
on BBC One.
Sky One’s audience is broad and the key content on the Sky channels is sport,
entertainment, lots of American acquisitions and an increasing amount of
original scripted and comedy programming. The impression from this ident is
that Sky is about entertainment and about ordinary people – it’s not a channel
to watch Blue Planet on but rather one to watch ‘Got to Dance’ with Ashley
Banjo!

6. What conventions are used and what do idents have in common
None Idents examined except Sky say anything about the channel explicitly,
there is no voice over for example telling the viewers that BBC One or ITV is
the best channel. In many ways the subject matter of the Idents is quite
random and it’s hard to say exactly why one thing would have been chosen
over something else. Why a jumping frogs and fairies or why an oriental neon
cityscape? The imagery is however cleverly chosen and subtly effective in
relying the message each broadcaster wants. BBC One is familiar, friendly,
high quality and bit magical at times…. Channel 4 is cool, edgy younger and
unexpected etc. In all the idents however having the logo on screen is key
and having a voice over whose is also appropriate for the channel is important.
Sky One is the exception in that the idents on this channel often feature the
stars the shows on the channel itself. Implying Sky feels it’s brand is as much
connected the talent on screen as to the image of Sky itself.
When considering my ident design I feel that creating a logo that can work
with in many different scenarios is vital and one that is easy to recognise is
also key. In addition you want the ident to be short and crisp, to have an eyecatching idea and voice over artist’s voice to match the atmosphere of the
piece and reflect the character of the channel.

7. BBC One’s Suite of Idents
The BBC One circle logo is probably the most recognised ident on British TV
today. In such a competitive environment it is essential that broadcasters
ensure viewers know what channel they are watching, so they can build up
viewer loyalty and ensure their channel can attract viewers to new
programmes and they can maintain a market share.
BBC One’s remit is to be broad and wide in it’s appeal, it is the main channel
and is where most money is spent. It’s the place viewers go to watch big
Saturday night entertainment and the likes of Dr Who, Eastenders, the
Apprentice or epic natural history programs like Blue Planet. The BBC One
circle is in every ident so is shown through out the day and between the whole
range of programming on the channel. The theme across all the idents is
usually quite ambitious, they are clever and creative and look quite expensive
– from the circular helicopter-landing pad to the hippos swimming in a circle.
The themes are universal and they rarely feature people rather places,
landscapes or weather – this all ties in with the holistic, ambitious, embracing
character of BBC One. Arguably the circle logo may represent both the letter
‘O’ for one but also the world and universality of BBC One. Alongside this
there is the need not to exclude viewers so there is sometimes humor and
also fun to attract an audience across all demographics.