Task 3 - Understanding the design of a suite of television idents

In this assignment I will explaining the design of a suit of a television idents. A design suit is when a television programme doesn’t produces not only one ident but produces a whole suits of ident but all have similar theme but just have different ways of showing it. The thing that allows design suite of ident better than it is, is that it gives a variety and interest for the audiences. Also, it helps the viewer not get bored of watching the same ident but them being related to each other.

It is useful to have a single theme for the suit of ident as the theme allow you to create and keep the brand well maintained. Also, having a suite of ident will help draw the viewer’s attention because there are different type to be viewed instead of just one which means that it will be continuously be overrun or make the viewer feel bored which will be a negative sign because it will mean that you’re always trying to draw more viewers in. for example when it comes to the Christmas period, BBC have to try create an ident with the theme of Christmas and when it comes to the summer, spring and autumn they have to do the same. However, it is vital that the idents is still identified as the BBC therefore they must not change everything for the viewers if not they wouldn’t be able to know channel the ident represents. Additionally, the graphic designers who makes the idents will use an original ident and re-form it a tiny bit so that it will combine to the same as the Christmas theme which will enable the audience to be able to identify the channel they are watching as it still contains some of the original fundamentals of the original idents. Also, the audience would need to be able to tell that it is a Christmas theme for the Christmas television because what they are showing would be based on the Christmas sessional theme.

The Christmas theme is the most engaging, entertaining and common design suite of ident this is due to the face that the ident is more interesting to watch and it brings a bright and vibrant atmosphere when being watched. The BBC is well know when it comes to their Christmas ident as they are very consistent. This is very appealing to viewers as Christmas is one of special time of the year and this create a tendency to attract families as it is the season where families mostly get together and spends quality time.

Each year the BBC ident uses the same feature that most people see in a Christmas ident as it includes bright lights, snow etc. however, they are sometimes used for a different content. For example the ident that could show the most popular programme on channel BBC ONE, ei Doctor who ident which has a Christmas ident special on the television programme. Also, there are other Christmas ident that is has been shown on Christmas period.

There are specific time of the day, this ident should be placed because it means that they would gain more viewers. For example they would show this ident from morning till evening as this will allow lot of people to watch the idents. As this ident is themed for the Christmas period it is appropriate to show this ident in the day because that is the time where most kids and families gather round to watch television programmes. Also, this ident should be place in the month of December where everyone is dreading for Christmas and the new years and should not be placed in the summer period because it will bring an odd vibe because it is still long till Christmas therefore BBC would not put it on for that season because they are good at making suites of idents for particular season of the year because it means that it will attract viewers that will be attracted to their idents.

These suite of idents are effective in a positive way as it set a different type of tone with the particular theme to interest the viewers and showing the viewers that they are engaging with them. The effect of the ident such as the bright sparking lights, theme is to help represent the Christmas period that is about to take place which will help make everyone come together as one family. Furthermore, the suite of ident gives different type of content that links well with the theme of the suite. Additionally, the suite of ident can let the viewer know about specific time of the year of the suite. A ident can be as short as 10-15 second to give a rapid break and also can be as long as 30 second to consistently help to remind the audience about what channel they are viewing or to tell them about the next programme.

These suite of idents are effective in a positive way because it sets a different tone with theme to engage viewers and showing viewers that they are interacting with them. The effect of the idents such as the theme, bright and sparkling lights is to represent the upcoming occasion Christmas which everyone comes together as a family. And the suites of idents give different content that goes together with the theme of the suite. Suite of idents can also inform viewers on the particular time of year as they make different idents for particular term. An ident can be as short as 10 seconds to give a quick break and they can be as long as 30 seconds to maybe show the idents reminding what channel they are watching or to inform them about the next programme.

In conclusion when creating an ident, it is really good to create a suite of idents because this will allow the channel to be recognised by the viewer’s due to uses of their themes and their design and the things they made to meet the audience needs. Additionally, BBC ones ident suites showed plainly and well clearly what ident suite it is and by showing important things about the channel logos and colours that will make viewers be able to able to identify what tv channel it is.

 Also, this suite of idents are useful because, the tone of the idents are bright with a white theme to represent christmas and they all have different content that goes with the theme of the suite. Also its suitable for the right season, it could also inform the viewer of what time of year it is as this is a seasonality suite. The idents last for 30 seconds, which gives the enough time the viewer to see what's going on in the ident. Furthermore, Most of the ident have some theme running throughout which is that they all contain a circle within them. Some of these idents have created the circle by using animals or people moving about which gives the impression that everything ends and starts with BBC and that it is also a well-rounded channel that shows a variety of programming. The other ident uses lights to create the circle.  In a suite of idents there are always idents that are created for the purpose of being played during a specific season, christmas being a large one. This gives the channel a sense of eventfulness and is a good way to get the audience to be excited for the season and is also a good chance to promote christmas shows that they will be showing.

They are all linked in common as they have the circle at the end of each ident and then it come up with the bbc Logo. This allows the viewer to know what television programme that is being viewed. This is vital because if they don’t have this in each ident that’s is being showed on BBC people would really know what channel programme it is from. Also the circle theme helps to show what channel might be on air next. These circles are mostly used to keep the audience-waiting in-patient before the next tv programme is being viewed. If they do not do that this would make the audience want to change the channel. So therefore this is useful and good because it helps keep the audience wait in-patient. Also, the dog running around in circle is used to entertain the audience to continue watching the programme.  Additionally, the circle signify what channel they are therefore people can recognise BBC through the use of the circle theme.

Task Two – Understanding the limitations of the television ident

Typography – (for example to be able to use a specific font for images)

definition of Typography

Typography is a technique used to organise type to make written language readable and appealing when displayed to the audience. Typography is one of the key factors needed to make idents. Channel’s use typography on their brand image, which helps them identify them from other channels.

This is vital to the ident because the channel needs a font that is clear which enables the audience to be able to see what it is clearly and visibly. They are able to identify what the channel is as the channel would have to use the same text and template which would make people is able to identify what the channel is and know what is showing. For example the BBC font has a repetitive font and very repetitive on like cbeebies or CBBC. The BBC font stays the same throughout, just a small amount of them are in lower case or capital. They cannot decide to change their font or try to experiment with their font because people would be used in looking at this font which may have a negative impact on them as it may make the audience get confused as the font of BBC was changed. 

Additionally, ITV 1,2,3 and 4 would be another channel which has its own type of font.

we see that the ITV channel are all the same however it have a different colour for each one but we see that the number always stay the same in the white colour which shows us viewer what type of channel it is as they would be able to know the channel through the use of colour.

Colour is used to signify a particular channel, such as the BBC one channel as it is represented by the colour red, BBC three is represented by the colour pink. In any of their television idents they will always have the colour red which signify the channel so viewers know what channel it is. Therefore, this is a respectable limitation as, it uses the same colour which the audience would easily be able to recognise what channel that they are on. Another example of this would be the channel E4, when using the colour purple and using the original theme, to let the viewers know what channel they are viewing, as an alternative of using a different colour to confuse the viewers. Colour is vital when it comes to planning and making idents. Colour is the main component that makes the channels standout from each other. Having a particular colour to your channel allows you to be known by audiences as a singular channel with its own theme, style and programmes. Moreover the colour of the channel will be the same as the idents they have.

Aspect Ratio is vital, due to the fact that when an ident needs to be released in the right size for it to fit inside the television perfectly. This means that it’s not good if it’s not in the right shape for the T.V. This is due to the fact that on the ident, it could show what's about to be on, and it may not be seen because if the size is 4:3 for most televisions, it won't fit but 16:9 would fit for all TV's and everyone can see what’s going on the tv. This is a useful limitation as this give the viewers no annoyance, and it always has to be made by its format, therefore the viewers won't be concerned about, what’s wrong with their television. 

Additionally, the meaning of Aspect-ratio is where image is are defined and shaped to fit the screen. Therefore, for each channels, the aspect-ratio for the adverts idents and programmes must be shown in 16:9 widescreen due to the fact that it must fit the screen size that’s given, which is 16:9 vertically and horizontally without distortion. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)

On the other hand aspect-ratio has it’s limitation due to the fact that some viewers of the audience still do not have a widescreen TV or have the right size TV to insulate the channels without distortion, because of this, “it will cause some of the audience to continually see the image to be too big on for the screen, so some of its parts will be cut off from the TV”.  http://www.bambooav.com/aspect-ratios-explained.html

Adhering is where channels carry out a strategy, scheme, or operation to create new content.  An example of this would be the BBC One idents, which was done to inform the audience on what’s going to happen in the next program and to keep the audience engage with the scheduling.  Adhering to desired tone, is also when a television channels shows their ident for the viewers to recognise the idents that is being shown to them. Additionally, the channel must be consistent with the channel style. An example would be is BBC TWO having a formal ident that shows the programmes it provides eg. Documentaries etc. On the other hand BBC THREE shows a more commercial animated idents to show on its humorous shows such as Family guy. This is essential to set the right tone for the different target audiences as the tone has to be appropriate for the well-thought-out audience. For example BBC THREE idents show a combination of bright, vibrant and sparkling tone which gives an idea it is more targeted for the younger generation. The thing that makes the ident so interesting to the viewers is the sensational music, extraordinary effects, lively colours and animated setting. The tone create an artistic taste for the ident when it involves the additional features such as the movement, colour and sound.

Duration

Duration is where channels are being cut down on time showing to fit everything onto the right time slot, so programmes, idents and adverts will be cut down to fit the time slot. There’s so many idents that have been cut down to a particular time to help meet the right time slot given to them which will help keep the audience interested  and help promote the channel. An ident has to be limited to a certain duration this is due to the fact that they are only shown for short period of time such as 20-30 seconds which means that if an ident is 3 hours long then this will never get shown as it is too long to be on the television ident. This can be a limitation because the maker has to put in all of the information such as the channel and keep the colours and typography the same. This is also a positive as it means that they will not get carried away with their making and keep all of that important information in the short space of time. 

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

The ident was first made in 1953 by BBC and this was because with the introduction of new channels such as itv channels then needed to differentiate themselves from one another and the way they done is is by creating idents. One of the most well-known idents from BBC is the globe that was used in 1963. The first ident used by BBC was nicknamed the "Bat Wings" due to its similarities to a bat wing.  As time went past the idents for these channels did along with it due to new technologies being introduced. A television ident is vital for so many purposes. Having a specific ident enable the channel to be recognized by the audience, if it is reliable and useful it means that it more likely for the audience to remember the ident. It also make it organised through a program which suggest the audience would be able to see the program on time with missing it.  Also television Ident is used to allow the audience to identify what coming on television next. The reason why the Ident was one of the most important way of completing the goals of identifying between different channels was because they were able to be used at any point during the broadcasting of the channel.

During the early 1990s there was an arrival of satellites television which meant that tv idents where then becoming more known as the satellites enabled people to spread channels around the country which made it more easier for people to speak to each other and speak to their viewers letting them know what the popular programs that’s on tv.

Organising the schedule

The television ident are mostly made for the purpose of giving a channel an identity so it can stand out from the rest of the channels because it will draw more audience. This links to the main reason and purpose of the rest of the channels through the use of television ident. Television ident are also created in a particular way that would represent a specific television channel. This suggest that an ident play a very important role when it comes to a channel schedule organising. This is good and could work perfectly because the idents are created to be creative, to be short and to sink in to everything that the television channel is represented for and what it represents toward the audiences.

Additionally, an ident gives the audience the opportunity to gain important information about the programme and it will allow the viewer to keep watching the programme as it grabs the audience attention. For example the BBC three ident shows us what will be up next on the tv. This suggest that the viewers could know what they’re watch next ‘Family guy’, therefore they’re not having to switch to channels like 4OD, itv etc which are competitors with BBC.

Segmentation of the schedule
Segmenting the schedule is very important when it comes to keeping the channel well structured. The idents play an vital role in achieving this. For example you can use idents to add time in between programmes to control the scheduling so you can fill in the remainder of the time and so there wouldn’t be no time wasted. The BBC is a non-commercial channel so it does use advertisement between their programmes like channels such as itv or channel 4. Channels like itv and channel 4 use advertisement because that’s the way of making their money by inserting in commercials. The BBC is all about personifying their channel and marketing purposes which makes their idents have a main specific purpose. Placing idents during segmenting of the schedule can also promote other programmes. For example on the day they show the programme such ‘dog display’ which would usually start late in the evening, during the day the ident would show a dogs running around the bbc logo to represent what is coming up during the day.

Creating the right tone and appealing to the audience
an ident is a chance to provide the audience with information about the channel. It can easily show the type of programmes that are shown on the channel. It is significant as it set the right tone for the channel it is appealing for the target audience because when BBC four arrived it built its reputation on having more informative programmes. The initial idents therefore reflected this by being more formally written.  It is also important that the tone is set for an appropriate age group of the channel. Channels like the CBBC and Cbeebies show different idents that are appropriate for the different age groups they relate to and aimed for the more younger generation rather than the older generation.

A BBC Four and Cbeebies ident are different types of age groups. The bbc four ident has a calmer approach for an older audience. The cbeebies ident is for younger age group for children below the age of seven. The cbeebies ident is a short ident with two yellow bubbles bouncing around which is fun and it links to what young children would do.The idents are colourful with a lot of movement and has a good vibe about it so it can interest the kids which makes the parents happy because it is appropriate. If i saw a cbeebies ident about books and uses formal vocabulary and with no colour it would be boring to children and they would show no notice in watching programmes on it. 

Creating corporate identity 
Television channels are no longer limited to one country. Creating corporate identity helps to create a brand image in a range of different locations. Consistency across a range of channels such as the bbc enable the channel to start a corporate identify that can then be sold across the world and globally.
Creating a brand and encouraging brand loyalty
Building a brand is extremely important for a channel. This allow a brand to be loyal to the particular channel. An ident helps to support the brand of a specific channel by broadcasting to the audience so that they can be familiar with the logo and the structure of the channel. By them doing this would make the channel more popular. 

Branding of a particular content 

Building a brand for a particular channel is very important as allows the audience to stay loyal to the particular channels that they enjoy watching. Also ident  allows the brand to promote a specific channel by allowing the audience to become aware with the channels logo and the style of the channel. An ident is a visual reminder of a particular channel. It also mean the audience would remember the brand which would make the audience more likely to watch more about the channel.

A marketing opportunity-

An ident can be used to identify and makes the audience feel the need to be involve. Furthermore, Idents can change the feel of a channel and can become a way of supporting new shows that happen during the year. Idents can also link with online sites for example channel such as BBC sport can promote the website as well as the channels itself. Channels try to keep things familiar to the audience which means  channels will use a similar sort of ident to promote their channels.

Packaging and re-packaging a series of programmes of events- Idents are a good when it comes to promotional tool as they are used to promote things such as Christmas because they are new and exclusive episodes that are shown only in the Christmas period. They are also used to do things such as new films that have never been viewed on television that are shown at Christmas so are advertised in that period.