AS1: Task 3 - Understanding the design of a suit television idents

What is a suit of idents?

A suit of idents is when a TV channel designs new idents, this isn't just one ident it is a group of them. These idents don't all have the similar theme. Each are very diverse but have to link together to create the same meaning/purpose. To have a range of idents than just one provides more interest for the audience as there is a range of different styles. 

The first BBC suite began in 2002 and continued for another four years, until 2006, ever since the BBC have maintained their idents uniquely. 

BBC "Rhythm & Movement" ident:

Tai Chi ident:

To begin with, the music and movement of this chinese ident is very slow, calm and relaxing. This already gives the impression that it is aimed at adults between the ages 30 - mid 50s. Because of the age group it is aimed to, this kind of ident would be shown in the afternoon when everyone is back home from a busy day. As you can see the only colour that is worn is red, this is to communicate to the viewers by letting them know that when they see this colour they instantly know that they are watching the BBC. 

  

Salsa ident:

Secondly is the Spanish ident. The aim of this type of ident is to get people in a dancing or happy mood and the best way to get viewers to that level is by doing salsa. The music is mature giving the impression that it is aimed at adults but mainly at salsa dancers. For the kind of style and mood that is set, the ident would be set in the evening before a dancing show or entertainment programme because it fits in that particular category. 

Skateboard ident:

This theme straight away shows us a group of young adults skateboarding in a skate park. If you notice, all the young adults are male so this is directly aimed at males who are in their 20s or late 20s and this gives the impression that the BBC do notice more urban and/or retro people; even though they are a high standard channel that is looked up to. What adds interest to the advert is the fact that the slow motion certain parts of when they are skateboarding. Like the part where they are flipping the skateboard in the air, this grabs the viewers attention because it comes across as cool and a bit more trendy. 

Masai ident:

The Masai ident is probably the most different one out of the four I have discussed so far because it is an African cultured theme. The place of where it is filmed, the people, their clothes are all based on the culture which is interesting because the BBC have taken into consideration of not just fancy or cool lifestyles but other third world countries/tribes such as the Masai tribe, and involved them in today's television. Adding onto that, even though BBC idents always have red clothes or objects in them, you can see that they aren't wearing a lot of red. This is because the BBC want to be able to maintain the culture and tradition that they have. 

How are all idents similar?

The 'Rhythm & Movement' suite has a basic theme which is colour the red, the BBC keep their red theme because it is an intriguing colour. This theme is unmissable, attractive and makes people want to watch the BBC which is why the BBC have chosen such theme for all idents. 

The 'Rhythm & Movement' sweep are aimed at different audiences. For instance, the four idents I chose from the suite are the Tai Chi, african (Masai), Salsa and skateboard indents. Instantly we see that there are different ethnicities, cultures, ages and genders included in the idents and the BBC do this to communicate or in other words aim the purpose of the advert towards all these different people. The Tai Chi ident is not only aimed at Chinese people but people that may have an interest in the internal Chinese materials art. Secondly is the Masai advert. This is more direct as it is aimed at the people from that tribe only and we know this because of the clothes they wear, and the fact that where it is filmed like it's in Africa. This is the same with the Salsa and skateboarding ident. The Salsa would mainly be aimed at people who like to dance it or just generally have an interest in it. Skateboarding would be aimed at people who love to skateboard, and even though in the advertisement we see only men skateboarding woman may also have a free interest in it.  

What the BBC do that is interesting is that they stick to the basic song of their music but they change the rhythm for each ident they create, like the salsa ident for example. The song is the same but the rhythm is changed to spanish because the ident is salsa. Same with the Masai ident, it is changed up to a more tribal and african style to match with the style of the ident shown. This kind of suite is a leeway for viewers to feel comfortable and involved in the channel itself; making them feel as important to the programme as well. 

AS1: Task 2 - Understanding the limitations of the television ident

Understanding the limitations of the television ident.

In this post I will be going into further detail for the limitations of the television ident and what the similarities and differences are with ITV.

Typography:

There are a number of limitations when talking about TV idents, firstly is typography. In this image are a list of all ITV channels and each have their similarities and differences between each other. 

The typography in all is carefully maintained in other words, they have preferred not to change their font at all. This is positive because they have taken into consideration weather their viewers are able to recognise or take notice of their company and what they really are. So ITV have carefully thought this through by keeping the same kind of lettering font to show consistency in their work. 

On the other hand, ITV News is the only channel that part of the text is written in capital letters and not normal sized. ITV have done this to give the impression that it is very serious but also shows a side of maturity as well which makes the viewers feel as though they just have to watch it because it looks important. 

Colour:

The use of colour with ITV are all bright which makes it attractive and unmissable. This is cleaver because anybody would want to watch something that seems appealing to them or could at least give them the idea that it must be interesting and not boring. ITV 2 is the channel that is brightest from them all why?, because it is an entertainment channel. It is the most entertaining channel that ITV own which is why they have to make it stand out, perhaps look different too and this is done by making it 3D and a really bright green. The bright colours make the viewers feel comfortable and easy to engage with what they see. It almost tempts the viewers, making them want to watch it and because it is in 3D unlike the rest, it feels as though the viewers just have to watch it because it's coming right at them.



In comparison to that, the ITV Player is the most diverse one. It is dark, more sleek, looks more professional and the blue light in the background instantly gives the viewers a thought that something to do with technology is involved. Black is a more demanding colour, and even though it isn't the brightest colour of them all, somehow the blue light enhances everything and creates that class and sleek look.

Aspect ratio:

The aspect ratio is where all high definition idents must be delivered in 16:9 widescreen. This is done so that when the clip is being transferred to people's television at home, it is not too stretched or too small.

Adhering to a desired tone: 

With ITV their idents have a very warm and comfortable feel, making it easy for the viewers to engage. For example, the tone of the voice is rather relaxing on ITV1, 2 and 3 this is so that the person is almost having a direct conversation to its viewers which makes the viewers want to know what is being said. This is the purpose of these channels, it is there for people at home to engage and for people who may be going home to miss home because of how the tone may make them feel. ITV uses the same people in their idents and this may come across as boring but because of the tone that is being used it is exciting and fun. 

Duration:

Adverts have to have a certain time that they would want their advert to last for. Some advertisements leave their advertisements for 1 minute or even 20 seconds, Like this ITV 3 Ident as it only lasts for 19 seconds but it is set at the time they would prefer the ident to last for. Idents can sometimes last for 3 minutes, this is because if a programme that is supposed to come up 2 minutes later than expected to, then the ident can last for 3 minutes to take up that time.  

AS1: Task 1 - Understanding the purpose of TV indents and the opportunities they present.

What is a television indent?

An indent is a mini video which is included before a programme is about to begin for a short amount of time. In Television indents there are a number purposes which can aid the importance of what it actually does, here are some examples.

1) Identifying the channel

The obvious function for the television ident if for the viewer to identify the channel. There are many people that watch TV and do not realize that this can be a very useful tool because as much as people want to watch TV daily, they would want to know what exactly it is they are watching. Based on that point, using indents proves that it is as important for viewers to identify what channel they are watching or want to watch.

 

This ident first appears in 1953 on BBC as a commercial TV began to expand and viewers need to be able to identify different channels. The very first indent that began for the BBC was nicknamed the "Bat Wings". Compared to the indents the BBC use today, you can see a huge difference in terms of the use of just images and color as well. Indents have changed a great deal and new technologies have played a large role in their development. An example of this is in the 1960's when the first "BBC TV" logo within a circle was introduced and appeared on top of a map of Britain split into the BBC's broadcast regions. The most famous ident "the globe" appeared in 1963. It rotated as the BBC TV logo would appear and a voice would announce... "This is the BBC Television." This was very simple and not very exciting compared to some of the idents the public see today. In the early 90 was when satellite television emerged and became even more important for television idents. These purposes introduced more organised and and structured idents in television for example:

2) Organizing the schedule.

When referring to keeping a channels schedule organised, idents play a vital role in this. It is an ideal opportunity to provide the audience with key information about programming on that channel and the information may entice the viewer to continue watching that particular channel rather than switching to another channel. The best advantage of this is that it can engage the viewer and trick them into thinking that what they are watching is most probably better than anything else that is on.

For instance, like these idents on VIVA, all of the them are shown in slow motion but then all scenes are of people partying or having fun with the people they want to have fun with. This gives the impression that VIVA want the viewers to stay in their seats to engage with the fun that the viewers see the people are having in the idents. Adding onto that, the fact that all idents are shown in slow motion it tempts the viewers to want to know what will happen next which is the purpose of the VIVA idents. 

3) Segmentation of the schedule 

Compared to commercial channels such as ITV and channel 4, non commercial channels such as BBC do no have the time between programmes that advertisements provide for the commercial channels. There are a phew reasons as to why the BBC would not want any time left between the programmes they have scheduled. One reason is so that they have control of their viewers. I say this because if they have no time left it is only because they want their viewers to keep watching their channel and sort of give them a reason to want to watch the BBC. Also not everyone likes watching plenty of adverts, some think that this may be pointless in some personal way so the BBC could easily relate and draw those viewers' that feel that way by not including any of that.

Idents therefore add time in between programmes to:

- Provide info
- Promote a variety of programming
- Regulate the schedule (full time)
- Provide a break for studio workers (News, Sports)

4) Creating the right tone: and appealing to the target audience. 

An ident is more than just allowing the viewer to identify a channel, it also has a chance to provide the audience with information about the channel. This is important as it sets the right tone for the channel it is on and is appealing for the target audience. In addition to that when having the channel BBC four arrived it built its reputation on having more factual and informative programming. It is also important that the tone set is appropriate for the age group of the channel. Cbeebies and CBBC have different idents that are appropriate for the different age groups they refer to. Here are two examples:

CBeebies idents are very calm and gentle as it is a channel meant for little babies and toddlers. On the other hand, CBBC is very diverse compared to CBeebies. CBBC is more rough and reckless and shows plenty of things boys like to do like the skateboarding and laughing at silly things like the goat eating the computer in the beginning. CBeebies do not need a lot happening in their ident because young children are amused by bounce things they see which will instantly make them laugh and giggle. However both idents do similarly use really bright colours because children in general get bored very easily by things that do not attract them the first time, and so using these bright colours is an advantage as it gets more children interested in it more. 

5)  Packaging re-packaging

h idents, it can not only aid the popularity of the business itself but also other businesses. It can:

market opportunities, package and re-package and promote the company

6) Creating a brand and encouraging brand loyalty.

Building a "brand" for a particular channel is vitally important it encourages them to stay loyal to that channel. An ident helps to endorse the brand of a particular channel by allowing the audience to become familiar with the logo and style of the channel. It is a visual reminder of a particular channel and imprints the "brand" into the mind of the audience. This makes them more likely to watch the channel again. 

7) Branding of particular content. 

:Re-branding a channel

A channel like More 4 and ITV1 recently re-branded their channel and entirely changed its image. For example like this More 4 ident we see that the atmosphere is very calm and relaxing which reflects the image of the channel. More 4 is a channel that is aimed at viewers who are at home during the day so the colors used are bright and vibrant to give the impression that it could be a sunny day in.

ITV1 also created new idents as there were many things to promote. This is an entertainment programme so they could promote anything in their idents, here's an example. This ident is fun and involves a lot of the Christmas mood in it but most importantly ITV1 included a variety of television soaps shown on ITV1 such as coronation street and Emmerdale. This is a great marketing tool these soaps as ITV1 is an entertainment channel and anybody would want to sit in their seats to watch entertaining programmes and these idents can reflect this.

In comparison to the first Christmas ident ITV1 has, this is different. This ident is shown before the news is about to come on and we see that this still has the same Christmas designs and decorations but there is no fun in it. We can see maturity in this ident as the camera moves slower and in more control. Instantly viewers are aware that something important is coming on that they would want to / need to watch.