Task 3C: How to Design an Suite of Idents (Group)

3c) Mind map out in groups of 4 – look for similarities and differences. Write a conclusion comparing and assess - ‘How to Design a Suite of Idents” explaining the key requirements for designing a successful/effective Ident as a Youtube Instructional Video. Each student takes 1 aspect.

Rosie's part

i. What is the theme of the suite is?
ii. How/why the theme appeals to the viewers? 

 
The theme for BBC One is circles where each ident is seen to have the formation of a circle similarly to the BBC three ident where they have Incorporated the world which is the shape of a circle. Making them both very creative and imaginative. However the difference between the two is that the ident for BBC three is animation and BBC one is not. The is also another similarity between the BBC one idents and the ident from Sky sports this is because they both have the theme of britishness in common, seen in the colours of red, white and blue which makes the British flag however the idents of BBC one doesnt include these colours but show britishness through their locations that are within the London area inferring that their channel is British related. The suite of idents for film four involves the most differences from the rest as their theme for their idents is historical, also their idents include short clips of programmes from their channel making their idents short films for the audience to get an understanding of what the content of their channel is.Whereas the other idents dont this in their idents. The idents from BBC three and BBC one have many aspects in common as they are from the same company they also have the same target audience of young people, even thought the target audience from BBC one ranges from 21-40. Young people are interested in watching both channels as they have the interests for young people who enjoy entertainment such as drama shows but also sports like football.   

Lawrence's Part

iii. How they have used the same theme in different ways to create Brand Loyalty?
iv. Explain whenther, how and why the idents are information-led or entertainment led?

Each channel uses the same theme in their suite of idents for instance the theme BBC's suite of idents contain circles which represents the world. Also, it represents that Britian is one of the most multicultural places in the world. BBC creates brand loyalty through the concept of circles which represents the world and their idents involve people from different countries not just Britain which suggests that they are accepting of all races. Therefore, the viewers would respect their openness to different cultures and encourage them to watch their channel. BBC one's suite of idents is entertainment-led given the dogs running around in circles in a field and jumping over hurdles. In addition, there was no information being provided on screen nor was there a voice over, just logo being introduced at the end.

Film 4's nostalgic theme has been consistent throughout the suite of idents. The only thing that changes in each ident is the location and those locations are similar to that of famous movies in the 1980's. What remains the same in each one is the digitally reinvented celluloid film strip transition to maintain their identity. Film 4 encourages brand loyalty because upon watching that ident the audience would develop the tendency to watch their channel more which would increase in viewing figures. Film 4 is information-led due to the voice over but the on screen visuals provide you with information of what will be aired next.

BBC Three creates brand loyalty given that their suite is consistently using circles compared to BBC One. However their concept is Threeworld which involves a much younger audience given the use of animation in their idents. The theme is consistent in their suite of idents and they have succeeded in creating brand loyalty because the idents reflect the company's identity and it has been done so well with the use of animation to entertain the viewers and that would want to make them watch BBC three. The visuals of the suite of idents make it an entertainment-led ident given the vibrant colour and the animation. however there is information being provided in the form of the voiceover but visuals are there to help the viewer relax whilst preparing them for whats coming up next.

Sky sports theme is consistent in their suite of idents and it is successful in creating brand loyalty because each of their idents contain live footage of football teams playing and other sports. This will encourage sports fans to watch their channel to see their favourite team play. It's like the ident is advertising their identity to the viewers which would convince them to go see the game live. Sky sports is entertainment led given that they are advertising sports using live footage to engage the viewers. However they only provide information on the upcoming matches but it still predominantly entertainment-led due to the transitions of one sport to another through mini screens.

My part

v.  Are the idents intended to be used at a particular time of day?
vi. Are idents intended to be used at a particular time of year? 

In conclusion, I do believe that it is very important when it comes to having an suite of idents for the broadcaster because they need to consider the time of day of when the content is going to be shown to the audience since the idents are meant to interpret this in a way. So this does help the audience gain a greater understanding of how the schedule works during the day like for example: for the Film4 ident, they start showing content during the evening so this does mean that the broadcaster is going to be showing more adult films who are 18+ rather than children since it will be unsuitable for them to watch at all due to the end of watershed hours where it is set during the day. 

James' part

vii. What does the suite convey about the channel-what meaning?
viii. How effective the design of the suite is in communicating visual information to a non-visual audience; appealing to a target audience and the audience appreciating of desired tone?

The suite of idents for the four channels, which are film 4, BBC1, BBC 3 and sky sports all convey and express their brand identity in similar ways, however they do have certain aspects which are opposite to others. For instance both the sky sports and the BBC 3 are both carrying out a more well known styled and conventional aspect. This is because both idents are more available to all of the audience that want to watch it, as they grip the viewers with the music choice and the creativity of the colours used and the voice overs used,  as the sky sport ls idents use the same colors as the British flag, helping them gain more viewers by seeming patriotic. As for the other idents used for BBC1 and film 4, BBC1 much more formal along with film 4 which are both more formal, however, the main link that is similar between them all is that they are all information led, as there is a voice over explaining the events and what is happening and being shown next.

ix. Assess-how effective the design of the suite is (Typography, Pace, Density of Information, Brand Identify)? (My part)


In conclusion, I do agree that typography, pace, density of information and brand identify do set the design of the suite of idents mainly because the designers focues on making sure the idents keeps the attention and tries to appeal to the target audience although it has aspects that needs to be followed in a way. Through what my team found in their research for design of the suite of idents, it is important that they target the audience since it is trying to sell and advertise to the audience in terms of what content is going to be seen on the channel so they will stay on and watch the channel more rather than switching off from the channel like for example: the suite of idents of BBC One, BBC Three, Film 4 and Sky Sports have a way to draw in the audience.