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.