AS1 Task Two - Understanding the limitations of the television ident

Typography

Typography is the way in which the text is arranged (e.g. colour, font, design etc.) which can be used to help identify a company. Below is an example of the logos from the BBC which shows how the typography is used. The first two logos differ as one is red and in lower-case, with the second being blue and in capital letters. With that said, they are both presented in a simple way with them both being plain. The same font can also be seen throughout most of the logos although this may limit the BBC. This could be a negative aspect as they would not be able to redesign their logo as it would have to have the same design as the others. If they did redesign the logo then the audience may not know it's from the BBC as they are not familiar with it. On the other hand, it creates brand identity and lets the audience instantly know which company they are looking at. Whenever they see this design they will think of the BBC. 

Colour

Colour can play a big part in a television ident as it does not only make the brand memorable but it also sets the mood. An example of this would be in the BBC One/News/Parliament logos where the design is red. The colour red is said to be used to make things stand out and be bold, representing the channel showing programmes with danger, action, war etc. For the channel CBeebies, the background colour is  light blue and the text is yellow to show that it is playful and bright. This reflects the type of programmes shown on that channel as it is for children, so it aims to make them happy. Colour is both a positive and negative aspect; if colour is used in the correct way to reflect the programmes then this is successful and lets the audience know what to expect. On the other hand, the colour could be used in the wrong way and put people off of watching a channel. An example of this would be using black and white on the CBeebies logo.  

Aspect ratio

Aspect ratio is the dimensions required for a picture to fit a screen. Most high definition programmes are shown in 16:9 widescreen as this is the required dimension to fill the whole screen. This means that it will fit a 16:9 screen without having any distortion. Having an ident that is the correct aspect ratio means that it will fill up the screen and will not become distorted due to it being stretched. If the aspect ratio is different to the screen size then parts will be missing/cropped as shown in the example below. 

Desired Tone

 Adhering to a desired tone is a way to let the audience know which type of programmes are shown on a certain channel. The channel would want to keep a certain tone that reflects the type of programme/s that will be shown. It would not be appropriate if a humorous ident was shown before the BBC news as this is a serious programme. This would not keep a steady tone to the channel as the audience would feel happy and then feel sad. A humorous ident would be acceptable on a channel such as BBC Three as this channel also shows comedy programmes. If a certain tone is not kept on a channel people will not watch it; this could be because they switched to a channel looking for, for example, comedy and although the programmes may have been funny the ident shown was boring.

Duration

Idents can be shown for either a short period of time or a long period of time, depending on how much space is needed to fill for a channel's schedule to run on time. If an ident is made to be shown for a long period of time, it can always be cut down to be shown for the time needed. In the example below, an ident shown on BBC1 has been created for both a long period of time and short period of time. One lasts for 46 seconds whereas the other lasts only 16 seconds. These can be placed at intervals where either a long/short time needs to be filled. 

AS1 Task One - Understanding the purpose of television idents and the opportunities they present

          The history of idents travels back to when they first appeared on BBC in between programmes in 1953. This ident shown was nicknamed the ''bat's wings''. As other television channels started to appear, the BBC wanted to use idents to identify themselves which would result in the channel standing out. In 1960, the first BBC logo within a circle was introduced. The famous logo ''the globe'' then appeared in 1963 in which the letters BBC appear on top of a map of Britain split into the BBC's broadcasting regions.  As technology improved over the years, the logo also changed with the times. All future idents contain the idea of repeated circles which can be seen in the video below. 

(Bat's Wings)

(BBC Idents)

          Other than identifying a channel, idents are also used to give information to the viewer telling them what will be coming on. It shows a schedule of the times of the following programmes. This is shown at the end of a programme and sometimes shown whilst the credits are rolling (splitting the screen into two). Some television channels are non-commercial so they do not have advertisements, so an ident is a way to provide a break whilst displaying information. This pause also allows for the channel to fill time in between programmes so that the schedule fits accordingly. Below is an example of an ident with a voice over telling the times of the next programme. 

          Corporate identity is the way in which a brand looks (combination of colour, text, design etc.) and this is used to help communicate information to an audience. Keeping an occurring theme throughout a brand allows an audience to recognise it easily. An example of this would be the BBC using circles throughout their idents which has become their trademark. Also, the content within their idents tends to be very relaxing/calming which links with the types of programmes they show; it would not make sense for them to have an ident in the style of comedy and then put on a 'serious' programme such as the news. 

            There can also be branding of particular content within an ident such as sports or news. Even though these channels may be from the same company, they will have individual colours, designs, fonts etc. so that they can be separated from each other but can still be recognised. An example of where this has been done is on the BBC Sports channel and BBC News channel. The BBC News ident, shown below, contains images of the globe as it shows news from all over the world. It also follows the colours of the BBC News logo which is red (with red being the colour of danger, blood, negativity etc.). 

          Idents are also designed for a marketing opportunity as they can promote a certain programme by incorporating it into the ident. They could either do this by talking about the programme or just including pictures of the programme or even product. Below is an example of when this has been done within an ITV ident; the ident is christmas themed and starts off by showing the famous pub from Coronation Street the 'Rovers Return Inn'. Although the ident would be used to separate programmes and fill time, it would also be promoting a programme that runs on that channel. This makes viewers aware that it is played on that certain channel and they will come back to watch it. 

          Packaging and re-packaging of idents makes them stand out to the audience as they have not been seen before and brings something fresh to the channel. This is often done to promote large events or when a new series of a programme is about to start. It could also be used to promote events such as sports, national events, new programmes etc.). An example of when this has been done would be in the video below which advertises 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Although the voiceover does not actually say it is for 'Strictly Come Dancing', the style and sound of the ident puts this across. The announcement then advertises the BBC channel and BBC HD channel, which is another way it is used to advertise. Then, the name of the host of the programme (Bruce Forsythe) is announced which gives it away even more as to which programme it is.