3.4-Task 2A: Opportunities of Idents

For this report of task 2A within the unit 32 of designing idents for television, I am going to be looking at the opportunities of having an ident for a television channel by giving detailed explanation into my reasoning.

1) Creation of corporate identify

One of the first opportunities that I am going to be talking about in terms of having an ident for a television channel is the creation of corporate identify where it is created on the on-screen graphics. The main reason why it is highly recommended as a opportunity is because not only that it does communicate the aims and value of any television channel, it will allow the ident become well known so the target audience will be able to recognize who are watching on the screen so the channel will grow to be popular and be known wider in the country but, if the channel doesn't have an identify then it will be impossible for this to happen and the audience will switch off from the channel. Like for an example: the idents by BBC One that was released back in 2006, their identify at the time was circles because it was able to be recognisable because it was being consistent with the idents so the audience will know who they are watching on the television channel.

    

2) Branding of content

The second opportunity of having an ident is branding of content. This is known as a opportunity because the channel is known for broadcasting the different programmes although some broadcasters do incorporate some of the footage from a popular programme into the ident so it does notify the viewers (target audience) have to go and watch it on any particular channel since it does own the broadcasting rights to the programme like for example: for this BBC One ident that was released in 2015, it has incorporated some footage from the television show of EastEnders.

3) Creation of tone

Third opportunity of having an ident is the creation of tone through the on-screen graphical elements on the television screen. The reason behind as to why this is an opportunity is because, the idents which has been made by the designers for the channel needs to set off the right tone so it does appeal and target the audience in a successful way which it can be done by using different effect, editing techniques or even the actual style of it. An example of a ident that has a tone is Channel 4's ident back in 1986 where the feeling which the audience will get is nostalgia since the idents has reworked by the broadcaster.

4) Appealing to target audience

The fourth opportunity of having an ident is appealing to the target audience. The reason why this is an opportunity for the broadcaster is because the ident needs to appeal to them in an persuasive way so it does persuade the audience to stay and keep on watching the channel more rather than becoming a fan of another channel so the ident would need to be creative and artistic which will interest them but it would need to reflect the different programme that have an genre. A good example of an ident that is appealing to the target audience is E4's Hotel which was released back in 2007 although the main reason why it does appeal to the audience of youths as it is creative and artistic so it does grab their attention.

5) Encouragement of brand loyalty

Finally, the fifth opportunity of having an ident for which I am going to be talking about is the encouragement of brand loyalty. The main reason why this is an opportunity is because the channel need to make sure that the audience stays and watches their programme by giving them snippets of the upcoming shows so it does grab their attention and the viewers for the broadcaster will grow further. A good example of an ident that does create an encouragement of brand loyalty is Channel Five's Celebrity Big Brother because the voiceover announces that this show is going to be shown next week and by doing that, it does build the audience's expectations of what the programme is going to be like.

3.4-Task 2B: Limitations of Idents

For this report of task 2B within the unit 32 of designing idents for television, I am going to be looking at the limitations of having an ident for a television channel by giving detailed explanation into my reasoning.

1) Typography

The first limitation of having an ident for a television channel is typography. The reason why this is an limitation is because since this is used for the logo of the broadcaster, it maybe difficult to find the right one which match the channel's tone in a way since it is sending an message to the target audience. An good example of an ident that could problems with the Typography is the BBC Three Ident of the outro back in 2008 where you can see the wording of 'three' has changed as before it was in capitals lettering so the channel is now targeting at an youth audience, informal and a laid-back channel since the broadcaster may change the whole identity of the channel.

Since I have found an example that has a good use of typography, I found for another example that doesn't have a good use of typography which was Blobs for the BBC Three channel that was before this ident was shown back in 2008. The main reason why this ident didn't work at the time was because the BBC logo is not shown towards the end of the ident so the audience does not know what channel they are watching and they could switch off and change to another channel although there is a 'THREE' being shown in this ident.

2) Size

The second limitation of having an ident for a television channel is Size. The reason why this is an limitation as the size of the TV screen will affect the quality of the image that the ident is trying to convey to the target audience since you will have limited amount of the TV screen to work with although, if you have the correct size of the screen of the television then you will be able to fit the ident into the screen. In this example of the BBC Four's office argument ident, you can see that the sizing of it is correct placed so the audience who are watching at home can what is happening but if the sizing of the screen wasn't correct at all, then the audience will have a hard time of finding out the whole purpose of the ident.

3) Colour

The third limitation of having an ident for an television channel for which I am going to be discussing about is Colour. The main reasoning why this is one of the limitation of an ident is because, you need to pick a set of colours (safe colours) for your ident so it can be saturated during post-production of making the ident but the broadcaster cannot pick all of the colours since it will not look nice when it getting shown to the audience but a good example of colours being used here is Channel 4's Tokyo ident back in 2004 although, this broadcaster and the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) does have guidelines to use different sets of colours to choose from rather picking all of them.

A set of colours that the BBC One and Channel 4

4) Aspect Ratio

The fourth limitation of having an ident for an television channel is Aspect Ratio. The reason why this is one of the limitation of an ident is because, nowadays people have wide televisions that have an 16:9 ratio in which the picture looks better instead of it being cramped up together like it was back in the past where television (a box) had 4:3 ratio like for this example of the BBC One ident in 1997 has black bars within the ident so people during this time may had 'box' television to watch the content that is provided by the broadcaster.

5) Resolution

Finally, the fifth limitation for which I am going to be talking about of having an ident for a television channel is Resolution. The reason why it is an limitation for the ident is because the pixels within the ident while it is being shown on television channel to the audience, it would need to be pixelated since there are four different resolutions from standard-definition to Ultra high-definition televisions like: 144p, 480p, 720p (60 frames per second), 1080p and right up to 4K when it the rendering process does begin for the ident although it will depend on what type of television that the audience has.

Task 3A-Creative Ideas: Suite of Idents (Sky Sports-Evaluation)

For this director's commentary evaluation for this unit 32 of Ident Production, I am going to be analysing the suite of idents of the channel of Sky Sports since we are targeting the audience of men who are 16-34 years olds so we are not met to target an other target audience like for example: ABC1 Woman.

Continuity of Design

For the continuity of design within the ident for the channel of Sky Sports 1, this ident had live-action with an effect of slow motion being used in here so it gives off that in the moment feel to it although we could have even used animation or stop-motion which is the common feature that is used in most idents today.

Theme

In terms of this suite of idents for the channel of Sky Sports 1, the main theme of this ident for the channel of Sky Sports are Blood, Sweats and tears.

Tone

For the tone of this particular ident that is within the suite of idents of Sky Sports, it is very motivational and meant to be aspirational because it will allowed the audience to be inspired to go and do some sports in general.

Brand Identify

In terms of the brand identify of these suite of idents, it is meant to be uplifting and inspiring for the audience watching for this suite of idents for the channel Sky Sports.

Purpose

In conclusion, the main purpose of this ident for the channel of Sky Sports is that there is an concept and rebrand to it because if we had to change the name of the channel, then it is possible that ourselves will not have an audience to try and promote the content and channel itself so by rebranding the channel, it will attract them to come and watch the channel more so the television viewership will go up.

Video

Task 1A: Timeline

Mine (1981 to 2001) and Michael's (2002 to 2015) timeline:

https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/771873/IDENT-TIMELINE-MTV/

Group class timeline:

https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/771859/History-Of-Idents/
https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/762814/BBC-Three-idents-timeline/
https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/771684/Sky-1-Idents/
https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/762796/Sky-sports-Suite-of-Idents/
https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/762807/ITV-Ident/
http://jameswhite102.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/timeline-film-4.html
https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/774083/Disney-Channel-The-History-of-Idents/

3.3-Task 1B: Design and Purpose of Five Idents

Key Information:

Design: density of information; space and time; screen tempo; interaction with viewers; information-led; entertainment-led

Purpose: identity; branding; marketing; packaging and re-packaging; scheduling; segmentation within scheduling

Introduction: What is an ident?

An ident is something that different television channels from like for example: BBC One, Sky Movies, MTV (Music Television), ITV, Channel 4 or even E4 used to promote themselves so the audience who are watching from home on the television screen will know who they are watching exactly although, it does last between 10 to 45 seconds as it depends on how creative and artistic it is so it gains the audience's interest. So for this report, I am going writing to be looking at five different idents in terms of the design and purpose of it while giving explanation in detail.    

1) MTV

For this first ident, I am going to be looking at the MTV ident from 2001 which features the late famous singer of Michael Jackson. For the screen tempo which it is being shown to the audience at home (television) is fast paced due to the fact that it is a very short ident which lasts for 4 seconds and the shape that is seen in the video is Michael Jackson for which he has animated and doing his signature dance moves that people (his fans) will be able to recognize that is him dancing on the animation although, the main reason why the screen tempo is being used is because, it is dictating the pace of it so the audience will be able to see of what is going on within the ident so it does grab their attention in a way.
   
The purpose of this ident of MTV's Pop is that it is creating an identify for the channel mainly because the designers of this ident may have been told by the people who run MTV to make sure this ident does stand out compared to another channels which show similar content to them and making sure that these suite of idents are very creative so it does draw the attention of the audience much easier since they have short-attention span. Although the sense of identify does need to be created, it is linking to the sense of branding as well because the content for the channel needs to aim at particular audience so it does promote the broadcaster further so it has consistent theme but without doing this, then it is possible that the ident designer will create an inconsistent theme which it could switch off from the channel and become a fan of another channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu4fVhZ9Y80

2) ITV

The second ident that I am going to be looking and analyzing in terms of the design and purpose is ITV's Rescue Boat which was made by the designers and released back on 14th January 2013. In terms of the Density Of Information in this ident when you see the ITV logo at 0.04 seconds into the video, it tells the audience that they are watching this channel while the visuals being shown where you can see some people driving a rescue boat on the lake and driving away from the camera so it is showing the audience of what is going on within the ident and not only that, it is setting the style for the broadcaster so they are more focused on how the visuals looks rather than the information that does get told through the voiceover which .

In terms of the purpose of this ident is the marketing side because the broadcaster needs to make sure that it does create a brand identify for the product since they need to make sure that it is does aim at the intended target audience in terms of the programmes being shown on the channel with the ident looking creative and artistic so it does increase the viewing figures (television viewership).

http://theident.gallery/player.php?id=ITV-2014-ID-LIFEBOAT-1

3) BBC

Third ident that I am going to be looking at in terms of the design and purpose of this is BBC One of the hippos which it was released back in 2006. For the Space and Time (Design) of this particular ident, the designers for the broadcaster were given a certain amount of time to hand in the final version before the deadline (on-time) or they will of losing out of making investment so it is important to do this. Although, the hippos that appears at the beginning of the ident, it is clearly suggesting to the audience which are watching at home that they could be about to watch a documentary on nature possibly. 

The main purpose of the Hippos ident by the broadcaster BBC One is the packaging and re-branding where the designer had created a new suite of idents for the channel to use for their channel by keeping the same identify that the audience are able to recognise of what content that they are showing which it is suitable for them. Since 2006, the broadcaster had started to release the 'circles' ident where something had to involve this which the hippos version as well. In this ident of the hippos for the BBC where around the 0.04 second mark, you can see them swimming in a circle which it is giving the sort of nostalgic of the known globe ident that had been used for 60 years which it had first appear in the 1950's but it had appear until 2002 where they did created a suite of idents of Rhythm and Movement .  

http://theident.gallery/player.php?id=BBC1HD-2010-ID-HIPPOS-1

4) Channel 4

The fourth ident that I am going to be looking at while covering the design and purpose of this is the Channel 4's Tokyo which it was released back in 2004 as they had launched a range of brand new idents. For the Interaction with viewers which it is connecting to the design of this particular ident where the designers for this broadcaster make the audience to try the ident of the number four on the screen with the different parts of the building within the city of Tokyo which identifies the channel so in a way, it does connect with the audience to keep their interest to watching the channel more. Although for this ident in terms of information-led, there is an continuity voiceover being heard while the ident is played because it does inform the audience what programme is coming next but the broadcaster are more focused on making sure the visuals which it is linking to the use of density of information. This is because the camera is showing the city of Tokyo until the towards the end where some parts of the building joins up to create the number four so the audience will be able to know that they are watching this broadcaster currently.

The main purpose of any ident which it does include this ident as well is the Scheduling of the programmes that are going to be shown in the day and night within the television broadcasting because for this particular ident, it could be shown in the night that adult content will be seen in the evening which it will be unsuitable for children to see since there is watershed that is set by OFCOM (Office of Communications) until 9pm and could get fined from them if they show inappropriate content during the day. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx8XsthXsSw

5) E4

Finally, the fifth ident that I am going to be looking in terms of the design and purpose is E4's Summer ident which was released back in 2007 to give them an brand new branding of the channel. In terms of the reasoning that this particular summer ident that the designers had made for the channel of E4 is Entertainment-led as there is a use of stop-motion animation so, you can tell that it (the channel) is appealing to an younger audience rather than an older audience since the younger audience has short-attention span so it needs to captured their attention quickly so they will keep on watching the channel more since they would like the ident.

The main purpose of this particular ident for the channel of E4 where there will be a Segmentation within Scheduling as it is excepted that it will be shown in the seasonal period of the summer within the United Kingdom or even if it does get shown in a different seasonal period, then it will raise their expectations for the brand new summer period in the new year. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFSaGi4niB4

Production Diary (Group Work)

As the producer of the production company of I-Watch, here are the dates that we as a team did the pre-production, production and post-production of making the Two Wolves Music Video.

21/11/16: Start of the pre-production work-Started setting up the production schedule, risk assessment, getting permission to use the locations.

27/11/16: Finished the pre-production work which my part was finished of getting permission to film at the locations, production schedule and risk assessment up to date.

28/11/16: Started the production stage by filming some coverage shots for the music video-made sure that the crew turned up to one of the locations which was London South Bank and Covent Garden. Made sure the crew turned up with the correct equipment with them to film the different camera shots for the music video.

2/12/16: Filmed more shots at both locations of London South Bank and Convert Garden and my job was to check that the crew had turned which they did. Made sure the crew turned up with the correct equipment with them to film the different camera shots for the music video.

4/12/16: Filmed at the location at Chestnut Close. I made sure that everyone which did include the artist turned up to the location as well. Made sure the crew turned up with the correct equipment with them to film the different camera shots for the music video.

7/12/16: Filmed more coverage shots in Central London which was Convent Garden and South Bank as well. Made sure the crew turned up with the correct equipment with them to film the different camera shots for the music video.

11/12/16: Again we filmed at Chestnut Close for the death scene which is going to be seen in the music video. Made sure the crew turned up with the correct equipment with them to film the different camera shots for the music video.

14/12/16: Filmed in London for to get pick-up shots for our music video. Made sure the crew turned up with the correct equipment with them to film the different camera shots for the music video but the artist had to show up as well.

15/12/16: Started editing the music video of Two Wolves. I edited 40 seconds of the ending of the music video.

16/12/16: Put the final version of the music video onto my blogger.

Unit 32: Ident Production (Task 4: Prep Work)

For this task of four, I am going to be selecting one ident from an channel which is being promoted to an target audience and going to be answering some questions which are relating to the ident that is getting analysed by myself.

The defintion of an ident is where a television channel is identifying themselves by making a short video which can last up to 5-40 second long so it does showcase their logo to the people who are watching it on television when a tv programme is about to start.  

In terms of having an ident to showcase their logo on television, there are two purposes of having an ident which are having an sense of branding and identify at the same time for the broadcaster of the channel that is getting watched by the audience. The reason why an ident needs an sense of branding mainly because they need to have their own logo so the target audience to become familiar with it and style of the channel as well but, another reason why it needs a identify as the target audience can find out easier who the channel that they are watching on television. 

For the brand identify of the ident, this can be done through by showing their own logo on televison to the audience to remind them who are watching clearly on the screen but it also needs to include the name, design and slogan as well to make it more effective so it sells to the people who are watching at home.

http://theident.gallery/player.php?id=SKYSPORTS1-2014-ID-MCFC-1 

Unit 32: Ident Production (Task 3: Prep Work)

Making cornell notes on the opportunities and purpose and history of television idents: