The Design of TV Idents

Design:
Density of information
In TV idents it is essential that it has a screen tempo, this is means the
relation which the ident has with the music which is playing in the
background. An example of this is idents which are used in the BBC
features. These idents are very mellow and calming to the user. This
mellow tempo from the background music contrasts with the programs
that are shown on the BBC air. However, when you watch an ident on BBC
three for example the tempo and mellow features from the music is nonexistent due to the program selection thats played on BBC three.
Programs such as Family Guy and American Dad are exciting and
humours programs therefore the ident and the background music playing
during the ident must match the flow of the programs to get the user
ready for each program. Unfortunately, BBC three is no longer airing to
the public and programs such as family guy and American Dad are now
aired by ITV2 which have similar tempo to what BBC three had. Yet, this is
only due to ITVs new programs have exciting tempos so the ident has to
follow.

Space and Time

Television idents can vary on the length; this is mainly due to the window
period that the company have between or amongst each programs. A TV
ident needs to convey the information have about their station in a quick
fashion, and they need to deliver the information to the target audience in
a short space of time. When scheduling for what programs that are going
to be aired they need a slot for either before the programs starts or during
the program depending on the length of program. A common example of
this is if the program thats meant to be on for a Hour really means that
the program will be played for at least 45 minutes with four 5 minute
breaks. The advertisement could last for 30 seconds to a minuet
depending on the time gap. This misconception of the timing is how they
schedule the breaks between or during each program. A network that
does this very often is ITV. This network is the most known for placing
advertisements during programs, for example when the XFactor is on
because the program is meant to last for an hour the network makes

sure that they place four 5 minute advertisements throughout the

program.

Screen Tempo
In a TV ident it is essential that the ident has a screen tempo, this is
basically the relation which an ident has with the music which is playing
during the ident is playing. A good example of this is all of the BBC
channels as they all feature music in the background of the actual ident.
However, one of the BBC channels does this the best, BBC four has a very
tranquil ident with very soft and mellow music playing whilst the ident
happens. Therefore, the music and the ident match each other and the
programs which the network shows. Yet, when you watch the ident on BBC
three the mellow tone and tranquillity is no longer there is more fun and
exciting ident with groovier music. This is again due to the nature of the
programs which that channel plays.

(The contrast between each ident created by the same network due to the
temperament of the programs.)
Interaction with viewers
Interaction with viewers is a major aspect for an ident as this is what an
ident is created for to inform the view of upcoming programs but in a fun
and extravagant way. Most idents dont really make it hard for the viewer
to understand what they are looking at and what is happening. The
network E4 does this perfectly as the ident on the E4 channel isnt so
complicated that the viewer gets miss guided on what is happening and
loses interest. Instead the ident has still got multiple different dimensions
in it yet keeps it clean and easy for the viewer to follow what is happening
and when each program is going to be broadcasted. However, there are
idents such as BBC fours which are basically designed to calm and relax
the viewer before each program plays. The most recognisable ident from
BBC four which calmed most viewers was the ident of the flowers as it
gave viewers a summery feeling which relaxes a wide range of viewer.
Furthermore, other idents have a much grandeur purpose in the

interaction with the viewer. The most know ident for giving a posh and
grandeur feeling is the ident based on the network known as Channel 4
the idents that are created on this network a posh because the way the
ident is made and represented as the logo is hidden amongst the
background in an intelligent way as it is still easily spotted by the viewer.
The Ident that had a very sleek and spectacular from channel 4 was of
china town as the logo was hidden with the lights and this not only enticed
the viewer but also readied them for the next program.

Information-Led
Information-led is the information which a particular ident feeds to you;
some idents will only just feature a miniscule clip which then shows their
logo appearing or doing and animation. Other idents will feature a couple
of small section of programs only featured on their channel, these are
most featured on networks such as the BBC, E4 and ITV. Yet, the best
example would be the ITV network as the ident featured on this channel
hits the criteria with small sections of programs/animation and then
proceed with the logo appearing. Commonly, the logo will appear towards
the end of the ident, however with ITV they place their logo throughout
the ident making the channels logo and Idents more memorable. These
kind of idents advertise their own channel to keep large amount of
viewers watching, using and ident like this could not only benefit the
ratings of which the amount of viewers but it also acts like a virtual guide
of what programs will be on throughout the day.

Entertainment-led
Entertainment-led is the way an ident tries to keep you interested in the
channel and want to keep you viewing their programs and network. These
types of ident can vary depending on their viewer types. For BBC three
they feature and ident which is very fast and there is a lot of information
being given to the viewer. the BBC try and make the ident feature

interesting and entertaining as possible, this is due to a lot of people

channel hop in-between channels. However, channels try and stop this by
making the ident as fun and exciting as possible; with background music
and a fun tempo. Furthermore, for a company to make you interested they
make sure the ident is visually fun and exciting with the music and audio
to match. For a company to keep you interested they always play
something during the ident that will grab your attention for example E4
have a loud speaking voice over person who grabs the attention by
speaking loudly about a certain event or program. This then gets peoples
interest and want to witness the ident further.

The Purpose of TV idents

Identity
An ident is one of the most obvious way to show identity of the channel
and what kind of channel it may be. The only possible way for identity to
be established is by what programmes are displayed on the channel which
is too subtle what is happening in the program and that is why it is
important for an ident to show whats up n coming. The ident will convey
the identity of the channel through the look, design, colour scheme, audio
choice and screen tempo. The identity must stay within the demographic
of the audience therefore, the right target audience view the channel. If
this type of identity is done wrong it can turn the demographic against the
channel meaning that the wrong target audience will come to the channel
and not want to watch the programmes as they arent the genre of
programs they wanted to watch, this could then lead to lack of viewings.
This is why getting the identity right is a major key to making a successful
ident. An example of channels that has a confuse ident is the history

channel which has a name and an ident that doesnt make the
programmes that the channel shows. The ident and name make the
channel sound as if it would show historical programmes. Yet, the
programmes the channel shows are storage war and Ancient Alien
documentaries which isnt relevant to history.

Branding
Branding is a key purpose for an ident to establish itself and to build its
audience. The ident must be easy to remember and must stand out. To
get a good brand the logo will have to be the fore front of the ident
making sure that the audience remember the style and look of the logo.
The idea of the branding is to make audiences remember the channel
name and the channels logo and what programs the channel has on offer.
Branding can also help other channels promote alongside a main channel.
An example of this is the BBC and the Sky channels. Furthermore, sky 1, 2
and Atlantic are all very similar in ident style and look as this is promoting
different channels with the same brand name. This means that audiences
can recognise the company Sky and begin to get interested in other
channels Sky has to offer such as Sky Atlantic etc. at the end of every
ident the audience should remember the logo if the ident and logo is
created correctly, for example the BBC logo is very recognisable and stays
in peoples minds. This means that when people see an ident involving a
circle, they automatically assume its the BBC due to their memorable
ident and logo. This is due to a good branding design and distribution.

Marketing
The marketing strategy of an ident is to provide an awareness of the
brand and to win over the audience in order to gain their loyalty to the
specific channel. A way the ident ensures this is by making the ident cater
to the target audience. An example of this is the discovery channel, as the
ident for that channel involves nature which is based a lot in that channel,
this also means that the target audience is for people who like watching
animal and nature documentaries. Furthermore, the ident illustrates this
as animals and nature plays a strong part in the ident meaning the

marketing for the channel meets the target audience criteria and provides
a good use of marketing in the company.

Packaging
Packaging is where the ident has come together with the use of assets
such as a logo and channel name. this is the usual way in which an ident
is made and presented to the audience so as in keeping with the
corporate objectives. The that may be behind the companies will most of
the time not show their name as people dont like powerful multimedia
companies with a lot of control in the lime light. An example of this would
be the news corporation due to the fact of the news own a lot of channels
around the world. This shows that television idents will follow the
objectives of companies such as the news can use the wealth and
influence to take over channels yet remain hidden behind other names
which are more liked by the public. Although, there are some channels
such as Fox and Fox news which dont hide the fact that they are owned
by other companies that get a large amount of audiences.

Re-Packaging
Re-Packaging is when an ident uses another means to showing the ident
rather than using the typical content of a logo and title. Furthermore, repackaging idents are uses for more novelty purposes by established
channels or are used alongside the usual ident. Unfortunately, they arent
as effective as the primary goals of an ident and perhaps provide more
interaction and entertainment then other types of ident, yet they are more
expensive to create and publish. An example of this is the Fox company as
they are constantly changing and modernising the logo to be adjusted to
different areas of fox programs. Such as Fox Kids they initially changed
the logo and writing from the original logo to cater to a childlike audience.
Another example is the comedy central channel as their ident shows a list
of word, in the ident that allows enough time for the viewer to read and
take in what the ident is. This in the long run provides the audience with

some interaction and gives the audience an entertaining aspect. However,

this doesnt reach the brand awareness criteria but as the ident for
comedy central is so short and requires such little effort to create it can be
used with a normal ident.

Scheduling
An ident can be used to maintain an ordered schedule to the channel, as it
allows for a clear gap between two different programmes so that the
programmes do not run into one another. In the ident it also allows for
information about other programmes to be adding some depth, interaction
and personal output to an otherwise entirely immersive experience. The
time between programmes is one of the few spaces a channel has to
inform viewers of programmes, the only other time is the credits of
programmes which have just finished ruining and clip in the credit.

Segmentation within scheduling

Channels such as the BBC do not have any advertisements in between
their programmes which makes idents more important as there are no
ways to split up the programmes. During this time the ident has time to;
provide information, promote a programme and regulate a schedule. For
channels such as sky movies they use a rather long ident to use up the
time before the film is shown. This is so that they are keep the audience
interested in the channel and preparing them for the film. Yet, the BBC
they also use a different ident for their news program, when it is close for
an hour the ident will appear and start counting down from however long
it is until the hour is up. This not only makes up for the space but it also
keeps the audience interested to a certain extent.

Comparisons of 3 TV
idents

In order for my TV ident to be able to comply with the quality and

standards of professional idents that can already be seen on television, I
will conduct research into already existing idents of a similar nature.
These idents will not only have the same themes and styles that I may
want to create but the same target audience as the ident I want to create.
From the research I am going to conduct I will accumulate the knowledge
of the required components that are primarily used to create an indent
and the way in which it is displayed.

E4
The company known as E4 has the look and style that I am planning on
creating for my ident. The common looks for the idents on this channel is
fun and exciting, yet the theme of the ident is wacky and extravagant but
kept to a professional level. The logo of the channel is a very big part of
the companys ident as it has things/objects interactive with the logo for
example having a cartoon character take a bite out of the logo due to the
program thats going to be shown is a cooking program or a program with
something to do with food. Furthermore, E4s target audience is similar to
my target audience as is hits teenagers and ages above. However, this
channel isnt the only channel that I have found to have similarities to the
idea of the ident I want to create for The Grid.

Channel 4
Channel 4 is another channel that is similar to my idea as it keeps a fun
factor to each ident depending on what program is followed. However, the
difference between E4s ident and channels 4s is the not necessarily the
look of the idents but the amount of fun in the idents for example channel
4s ident uses a lot of animation similar to E4, yet channel 4 has a more
serious and professional look to its ident which appeals to more of an
adult audience whereas E4 idents does appeal to an adult audience but
the more focused aim is at the teenage rage. Yet, channel for does still
have the fun factor like E4 this means that both of the channels have
similarities and differences.

BBC Three
Another channel which is fairly similar to both channel 4 and E4 in their
ident making is BBC three. It is similar to both of these channels in the
ident aspect due to the exciting nature and in the interesting way of
putting across the logo. As both channels channel 4 and E4 use a very
unique style of getting the companys logo interacting with the ident, yet
BBC three does a similar method. As BBC has unfortunately stopped being
aired the programmes that the channel once shown was for teenagers and
adults. The programmes where family guy which is classed as an adult
cartoon and the same with American dad. Therefore, BBC three kept a fun
and exciting ident with but had a serious part to it to keep the channel
quite professional. Which channel 4 does with their idents.

To conclude this comparison, I have now understood what it takes to make

a fun and exciting ident for both adult and teenage viewers. From
researching and examining the looks and details of three unique but
similar idents from different channels I have gained techniques to make
my ident appealing for not only music genres but for other genres as well.
Furthermore, I have come to a decision that I would like to make my ident
similar to the channel 4 ident then the other idents due to the fact of the
level of detail in the ident and the amount of thought that has gone into
the specific ident as its very appealing to any age and yet keeps a rather
professional look which I am wanting to aim for.