Draft three

TV Channel Idents

Idents are small advertisements that market a channel. The purpose of TV channel ident are to show the audience what the channel is about, the type of channel it is and what genre f TV programmes they will be showing. A clear example of this is the TV channel ident for ‘E4’ as the ident shows the humorous personality it has with the witty banter they have throughout the ident. It also clearly shows what type of channel they are because throughout the ident here are different objects that show what type of programmes the channel shows for example there is a rocket to show that the channel shows action programmes or movies. The ident also clearly shows the personality of the ident because it shows the entire scene covered in purple goo, which shows that the channel is packed of programmes you will like to watch if you find the ident comical.

They have both opportunities and limitations. Some opportunities idents have are, to show the brand loyalty, to show that the channel will show the programs you will like and want to watch even if you just randomly go on the channel you will still like the program being shown at that time. Another opportunity could be the easily displayed text based information, which cold quite simply tell people what the channel is about. This could be the word ‘Funny’ this represents a comedy channel.

Some limitations that must be thought of when designing a TV ident are the typography this is a limitation because it is hard to make text represent certain things without just writing it. This is because you cannot match the font to a type of channel whether it is a comedy channel or a documentary channel. Secondly the colour used in a TV ident could be a limitation because you would need to find a colour that matches your TV channels brand and to find a neutral colour that both men and women would be attracted to and will make them think that the colours shows the brand of the TV channel also.

The oppertunities of a TV ident are clearly shown in the newer channel idents. This is because the TV channel now knows what should be in the TV ident to display what their channel is showing and what people should be watching their channel as an audience. They do this by creating a ident that shows the personality of the channel with a mixture of things such as, the Density of information, the composition, the space and time, the tempo, the interaction with viewers and lastly information VS entertainment.

These limitations and opportunities mean that there are successful and unsuccessful idents. The first example of this, which I will discuss, is UKTV’s Gold idents from 2004 and 2012. The Gold TV ident from 2004-2007 has opportunities in that it clearly shows the channels personality of those who want to entertain the viewers of the channel. This is because 10 seconds that the ident is being shown the channel is expressed as being 'bubbly' and 'overflowing' with entertainment. This is shown simply with the bubbles and the overflowing kitchen sink, but it is also shown through the use of the background soundtrack. This is shown through the tempo of the soundtrack and the actual sound of the track which is laughter and quickly changes to what sounds like a factual program, showing that the channel shows all kinds if programs. This could also be seen as a limitation because just by putting sound onto the ident the audience do not clearly get what the TV channel is trying to convey as being there TV channels personality. Therefore the audience gets bored of the ident. The viewers also get bored of the ident before the soundtrack begins because it is just an image of a woman washing her dishes in a kitchen sink.

 Secondly, the newer Gold TV channel ident from 2012 has a lot more opportunities because the channels personality is shown through the collage look of all the things that the channel contains. Through the ident the TV channel is showing that the channel is always changing what programs they show to cater to a wider range audience. This is shown through the entire different collaged object to resemble the personality of the channel. For example it first shows the comical and funny side of the TV channel because the first thing that the audience sees are the words 'stick something funny on'. The movement in the channels programs is then quickly shown through the use of moving clogs, which leads to another side of the channel that will attract to the same audience but also engage the attention of other viewers, the channel does this by the movement onto the books. The movement of the channel is then further shown through the movement of the black string and the bike reels, which then shows yet another side to the channel which is being more musically based. This is shown through the musical element of a gramophone, which then has musical notes coming out of it. Lastly, to then shows finally the wide range of shows that the channel provides their is a big explosion of the channels logo and then it cuts to a wide screen collage shot showing all of the channels best attributes/features.

The tempo of the channel4 ident stays the same as the ident continues; the tempo of this ident goes reasonably fast because the ident has to show the whole content of the channel. The tempo helps the TV channel do this because the ident contain different clues within it to show the audience what kind of programs the channel shows. By the use of clues within the ident, it makes the audience believe that the types of programs that the channel show are those that include clues, this tells the audience that the programs the channel shows is those that include investigating (e.g. NCIS and CSI). By the TV channel doing this it attract the audience that the channel want, which is those who like investigative programs. Secondly, by the end of the ident the tempo of the soundtrack changes to a slower tempo to be more appealing to its audience, and to also show that the audience can sit down and relax while watching a good movie which they will like. This will also attract the attention of the audience to the screen to actually watch the ident. The TV channel also does this to attract the audience of the TV channel to the image of the number 4 (four).




The images shown here, shows the compositions used for the channels logo. The logo of the channel slowly appears while the camera is panning backward, the logo is shown with the final shot type of what wants there audience to like to watch which is investigative programs which shows in the puzzle of the logo. This creates an impact on the audience because it gives them the wholesome feeling of relaxation but also the feeling of mystery to go with the channels personality. By doing all of this with the composition it shows the viewers what the channel is about and telling them that they show a diverse range of investigative programs for all ages. Finally, this will show the audience the channels reliability and draw them back to the channel.

The design feature of space and time is shown in this ident as the audience can see the locations the ident is showing. The location of the ident is in Tokyo with a busy atmosphere showing that the TV channel is dedicated to bringing its audience hours of entertainment. But the TV channel ident hasn’t got a lot of density therefore hasn’t got any information to tell its audience which will bore people and make them not want to come back. The TV channel does this to symbolise the importance of the audience and to show the audience is as most important as the programs it shows. The design feature of Interaction with viewers is not clearly shown in this ident because the lack of information shows that the audience is the most important part of the TV channel. The design feature of information vs. entertainment is also clearly shown in this TV channel ident, this is due to the entertainment shown throughout the ident because their is no information, this shows the channel has a lot of entertainment to show its audience. This makes it more appealing to the TV channels audience who want the entertainment of the TV channel and the programs that they show.

The tempo in the Sky Movie ident changes as the ident goes on, the tempo in this ident goes this fast because the ident has to show the whole content of the channel. The tempo helps the TV channel do this because the ident contain different scenarios in all kinds of different movies that the channel shows. This could show that Sky Movies is a dramatics channel that’s shows all types of movies for the customers needs and knows all the latest movies that the customers like, this is why they out all of the different scenarios into the ident. Secondly, by the end of the ident the tempo of the soundtrack changes to a slower tempo to be more appealing to its audience, and to also show that the audience can sit down and relax while watching a good movie which they will like. This will also attract the attention of the audience to the screen to actually watch the ident.

The images shown here, shows the compositions used for the channels logo. The logo of the channel slowly appears while the camera is panning to the left, the logo is shown with the final shot type of what movies the channel shows. This creates an impact on the audience because it gives them the wholesome feeling of relaxation. By doing all of this with the composition it shows the viewers what the channel is about and telling them that they show a diverse range of movies of all categories and all ages. Finally, this will show the audience the channels reliability and draw the back to the channel. The design feature of space and time is shown in this ident as the audience can see the diverse range of locations the ident is showing. The locations shown in this ident are those of the latest and most up to date movies, all the movies that all people want to watch. The TV channel ident also shows the reality and un-naturalistic elements of there movies with the separated scenes within the ident. The Sky Movies TV channel ident is an extremely good example of all the design features. This is because the high density of information on a large amount of clustered footage in a small amount of time. 

Also the narrator begins to reveal the information before the logo appears because the makers of the ident and the TV channel want to make it look like the channel is full of all of this amazing things and features. The TV channel does this to symbolise the importance of the audience and to show the audience is as most important as the movies it shows. The design feature of Interaction with viewers is clearly shown in this ident because the narrator saying what will be on next on the channel is presenting the information. The narrator also has a formal tone while gaining the information to the audience to show that they are serious about gaining their audience the entertainment they deserve. The narrator also has to have a clear voice because they need to make show that there audience of all ages can understand what is being shown next. The design feature of information vs. entertainment is also clearly shown in this TV channel ident, this is due to the information given of the next program and what it contains but still shows the entertainment side of the program by the footage. In this ident it is clear that the entertainment side of this program is key to the makers of the TV channel as the majority of the TV ident is footage for entertainment and the information’s follows afterwards. This makes it more appealing to the TV channels audience who want the entertainment of the TV channel and the programs that they show.