1. Television Idents
Francesca Hall

2. Learning Outcome 1 - CRITERIA
Design & Purpose

3. Purposes Q1
• Outline the core purposes of television idents [e.g. branding/identity for a channel,
conveying the channel’s personality, retaining viewers, informing viewers, segmentation of
broadcasing]
The basic purpose of an ident for television is that of branding and identification so audience
can easily identify the channel in which they are watching. In saying that however it is much
more than that, for example an ident is used to convey to the audience the overall style and
personality of the channel so that they can have an idea of what to expect in regards to
content on said channel. In terms of conveying a channels personality visually through ident
suites they also have idents feature commentary or voice overs that will also inform the
audience of what to expect from upcoming programs but also something as simple as a
warning to inform the audience that a program may contain scenes that viewers might find
distressing or strong language.
Not only does an ident inform you of the current channels information but also other channel
brands as well for example BBC One will also inform the audience of shows that are on BBC
Two. ITV also use idents to inform audience of other channels such as ITV 2 or ITVbe but they
also tell audience members that they can catch up on the ITV hub if they miss an episode. This
is all in an effort to retaining viewers and even if they aren't watching their main channel they
are still watching within their set channels, therefore still within the ITV sphere

4. Purposes Q2
• Explain some of the developments in broadcasting that have led to type of channel branding
and use of idents we see today.
Idents have changed and increased in popularity as more channels are available in an effort to
retain viewers. From 1936 to 1955 the only channel aviaible to people was BBC and even after
1955 there was only a limited amount of channels that you could watch. This meant that up
until the 1990s that idents didn't need to be eye catching or a form of advertisement to retain
viewers.
Channels such as the BBC and ITV started to progress from showing short clips or films as part
of their idents and started to deluge into digital graphics as a form of engaging the audience.
CGI effects were first used in the 90s with BBC1's ident in 1985.
Nowadays however due to the hundreds of channels now available to the audience idents have
a much more important role to play in keeping the audience invested. Typically a person only
frequents between 6 channels at the most if you don't include online streaming and
subscription services.
People also don't like to be advertised so indents have developed to showcase and highlight
content in a way that doesn't make the audience feel like they are being sold something.
Which I have explained on the previous slide. This is all to do with context rather than
advertisement and trying to keep the audince within its main channel or sub channels.
For example in recent idents before the program has even finished, usually during the credits
they have a ident playing informing the audience of when the show is next available, a line or
two about what the show is going to be about next week, where you can catch up, what's on
next and possibly you can catch up on another channel now if you missed it.
This is why compared to the first idents that included any audio as part of a commentary
service it is much more laid back and informal in their addressment to the audience. This again
is so the audience from an audience perspective they don't feel like they are being sold
something or even told what to do.

5. • Describe the current BBC1 ident design. How does this reflect the brand/identity of the
channel? Why do you think have chosen to do this? How does it compare to other
channels
BBC Idents are very much information led and are designed to appeal to a much wider audience.
There their slow and relaxed tone not only do they appeal to a wider audience, universal audience,
but have the theme of "Oneness" and being together it appeals much more to families as well.
It is soft and informal not only in the content shown, which makes it more realistic. For example the
dance group, half of them aren't in time which is realistic if you were to attended a dance group
which makes it easier for the audience to connect as they can relate to the situation. This again
appeals to a wider audience as it is showing groups of older people taking part in activities that you
would usually associate with a younger audience yet they look happy, they are laughing.
BBC1's current ident suite is based around the theme of "Oneness". This is from of branding that
was released in 2017 after tens of their circle idents. The Channels idents feature a group of people
engaged activity as part of a group. As mentioned before it depicts a realistic situation as everybody
within the ident is performing at there own pace and effort, this is seen more clearly in more
physical actives such as swimming or dancing. In addition it also makes it much more real when to
the audience when they inform the audience who the people in the audience actually are and you
learn that they aren't actors, it creates more of a repour with the audience.
All the idents are filmed by a single static shot, this keeps it very simplistic to the audience and
therefore means that it doesn’t challenge the audience so it is more comforting.

6. • This about the design and style of the BBC 2 idents we discussed, what do they represent and
how does this reflect the channel?
BBC Two has a very similar style and in some parts has underlying tones that match channel 4
more so in there recent idents that separate BBC Two from BBC1. BBC Two is targeted at a
much younger audience than BBC1 and you can infer this from surreal nature of the idents in
comparison.
Throughout all their ident suites there is a current theme and that is the empathies on the
number 2. I think this is not only to inform the audience that yes this is BBC Two that they are
watching but also, especially with more recent ident's such as their 2009 suite that they can
adapt to different situations. The ident's reflect the content that is on the channel and I believe
that is why the ident's require a bit more audience engagement than BBC1's. BBC two idents
have the two animated to have a more active role within the ident itself which infers to the
audience that the channel can adapt to the environment and increase in demand for
entertainment.
Similar to other channels BBC Two also features commentary to inform the audience of the
content and set the tone alongside the ident. They are both voiced with a well received British
accent, which ties into the BBC one brand.

7. The overall ident's with ITV are signally shot similar to the BBC however unlike the BBC they aren't static shots they do feature movement
whether that be with a pan or a tracking shot. This could be because they do both appeal to the similar if not the same audience and feature very
similar shows, therefore making it much more harder to find a unique way in which to represent their channel so that it won't deter the audience
to BBC.
One thing about ITV that I like is that they have a lot more diversity in terms of the people they use to for the voice over, the accents are from a
wide range of areas. So compared to other channels the representation in terms of diversity is in my opinion, I also think the use of people within
the shots linking to representation is much more diverse than other channels not with the mixed gender, BBC did this as well, but ITV also have
clear representation of different age groups and race. I think this may however have to do with the fact that the people visually present within
the BBC's idents are normal people where as the people that are within ITV idents are anonymous which leads you to infer that they are actors
and therefore are more than likely in the ident because of a job rather than representation meaning that it is much easier to find a diverse group
of people to be within something in this case an ident if it is advertisement and people are getting paid where as its harder to do this for larger
groups of people.
The logo is reveled, similar to BBC ended with the oneness – it also blends into the background rather than a bold stark contrast which shows
how ITV are at one with their audience. Again a very similar concept to the BBC with their current ident package. Due to this fact it does mean
that there is no specific color palate overall however when looking at the current indents I have found a recurring colour theme of red, white and
blue which are the colours associated with the Union Jack.
The ITV indents not only change so that they are time contextual and therefore feel more personal to the audience but they also feature different
idents specially placed at different times of the day to appeal that said target audience, rather than an overall generic target based ident. For
example before they show this morning they usually feature a dog, pug, in the sink getting washed, this fits in with the target audience who are
watching this morning not only that but it hints at the time of show this morning actually is, relaxed and very informal. In addiction to this This
Morning also feature a dog/puppy on their show that they have every year, usually a special service dog such as for the deaf, blind and emotional
support dog that they keep with them on the show for roughly a year, so the context on the show matches the context of the ident. Again there
are a lot of similarities between BBC1 and ITV even though ITV is trying to appeal to the audience via a different concept. ITV has commentary as
part of there idents but unlike BBC1, ITV is very similar to Channel 4 in the diversity of accents.
Considering the ITV idents we watched, what does this say about the channel? How does this compare to BBC1 or
Channel 4? How have the ITV idents changed since the versions we watched? Why do you think this is?

8. Channel 4s ident's are unique and abstract compared to other channels. One visual aspect of the Channel 4s idents that is
different in comparison to other channels is that it does not feature it's logo. Unlike with the majority of other channels
Channel 4 uses different shots instead of a one take like BBC One for example. The indents are a lot more progressive and
in some cases feel more in terms of the editing and style feel like a trailer rather than a ident. This works because of the
content on the Channel 4 is aimed more for a set audience rather than channels such as BBC and ITV that fit more of a
wider audience. This has been the same ident package since September 2015 and they haven't changed since. The colours
of the blocks at the end match the main colour in the trailer theme. They also have a change contrast between the blocks
and the background base colour. The blocks act as a clock for programs starting at 9PM and 12. As the ident progresses the
blocks move in at every click, which is meant to mick the tick of the clock. They also made a Formula one special edition
ident to highlight that Formula one is on TV. They also have an ident for the Simpsons which is a staple show for channel 4
keeping the audience engaged in something that they know they like.
When you look at Channel 4's indents you realize that you have to engage more to find out what is going on and to get an
understanding and in a way they make it link to the audience more personally with a mix of POV shots.
This is also entertainment led rather than information and you can infer this due to the fact that half of their idents in there
new package don't feature a voice over or text. The ones that do feature a voiceover with the sharp blocks, which make up
the four logo, are similar to ITV 2 ident's. In terms of the colour, speed and action they also don't feature a full logo. In
terms of content depending on the time of they both general do show similar context based shows.
What do you think about the Channel 4 ident designs? How do they reflect the channel’s identity? What do they convey
about the channel?

9. Channel 5 is the anomaly compared to other channels in terms of the fact that it doesn't
really have its own distinctive brand feels more like a blend of all the other channels
rather than having it's own identify.
Instead of logo, visually shown by people seeing things in five, you can also tell this from
their logo which is a five broken into 5 pieces and then joined together. The idents don't
have any context towards everyday life like other idents have, for example ITV and BBC.
They do however take normal situations, like being in your own home or driving a car, and
then they insert abstract things, such as five birds or five rainbows. This tells the audience
that although they have content that everyone can relate to and watch they also have
other content on this channel that isn't what people may typically watch.
The commentary is very informal and uses language that is warm and inviting to the
audience.
What do you think about the Channel 5 ident designs? How do they
reflect the channel’s identity? What do they convey about the
channel?

10. Learning Outcome 2 - CRITERIA
Opportunities and Limitations

11. Q1 - E4/BBC2 - Outline the style and
design of each set of idents.
The style of the ident very much sets the tone and theme of the E4 as a channel. The ident's are very relaxed
and have a comedic feel towards them that other channels don't have and that is why I believe they are so
effective in appealing to their target audience. This is reinforced with the sound that is used with the ident as
well. The target audience for E4 is a younger audience of 18-32 year old's and this can be seen through the
ident and some of the jokes present within the ident, which would not appeal to an older audience, this is
also reinforced by the content on the television and the commentary on the ident's tend to talk more about
the channels most popular shows such as Made in Chelsea and the Big Bang Theory to try and capitalize on
the audience and there market.
E4 idents are shot using both original live footage as well as animation and uses both of them effectively
within the ident. This is more apparent in the idents such as the river boat, the café, bus stop as well as hiking
ident as some of the examples, though there are much more. This makes it effective for the audience as there
is a more comedic effect by having situations based in real life settings.
The idents of E4's current suite are based around the E4 robot who meant to be a robotic replica of the actual
E4 logo. This is an effective form of branding as it places the logo in forefront of screen and main aspect of
the ident to capture the audiences attention.

12. Q1 - E4/BBC2 - Outline the style and
design of each set of idents.
BBC 2 current ident's feature an abstract range of concepts, from the 2
representing a zapper, to a rubber to it even representing a kebab. In whatever
the ident content may be about the number two is at the forefront of the ident
and in most cases, apart from the paint bucket and the swan ident is the only
element to feature within the ident, again give the number two to be the main
focus for the audience.

13. Q2 - E4/BBC2
• Comment on the visual elements, such as colour, font, imagery, motion and composition, for each
suite of idents
When looking at the idents for E4 it has a unique style and makes a distinctive impression on the audience as it not
something that they will see on another channel, unlike similar idents such as BBC One and ITV. The idents focus on
the humor to keep in style and tone with the overall channel. There is a underlining tone with the idents that
connect to channel 4 and that is that fact that they make you think and keep the audience engaged. What I mean
by this that although all the idents from there recent package may look the same after they have ran for a couple
times however they are different, if you look closely you will see that signs that the robot is holding, bus poster
signs, or even signs within he café change, to add a comical tone but also keep the audience engaged each time.
The colour purple is associated in imagination and creativity which is one of the aspects of not only the current
idents but also the E4. The font of channel four has more of a youth appeal with the slight bubble outline.
BBC2 has less visual elements compared to E4 however it is still engaging to the audience. There is not a main
colour theme throughout there idents package however the colours fit the tone of the overall ident. For example
when the ident is that of what you can infer as a festival with all the tents the colours are brighter to represent
summer and connotate the feeling of having a good time and again there other ident where some appears to be
chased and uses the cut out number two as a way to find, as people continue to look for him is much darker and
the tone and theme of the ident is that of darker content. (This is in reference to there 2009 idents) The text is very
similar to BBC1 in terms of the general tone, which fits in with the channels brand. There more recent idents have a
more mature theme towards them such as the ident with the swan and the several small white number two's swim
in the river/pond to simulate being baby ducklings, with sound used to visually back this up. BBC2's idents are also
much shorter than E4's.

14. Q3 - E4/BBC2
• Explain how each suite supports it’s intended audience
YouGov Profiles says that the main demographic from a sample of 5200 people was predominantly female and the
age ranged from 25-39 however looking at other sources online I have found that the overall the target audience is
that of 18-34 year olds which fits in with the channels marketing and style that appeals to a youth audience not to
meant the content of shows such as the Big Bang Theory and Made in Chelsea, which bring in a young audience.
E4's current ident suite supports it's intended audience by have a link between the content that is being shown on
the channel and the themes and ideas behind the idents. For example the channel has a variety of comedy shows
showing, especially on a Thursday and E4 capitalize on this by having there idents original in the fact that they
change all the time, but only slightly so the words on the price list in the café for example or the what the paining
is that is being done by the man on ther river bank these subtle changes keep the audience engaged with the ident
and also add a comedic touch.
The channel also use's commentary to appeal to target audience by informing them of shows such as Made in
Chelsea are on, teasing the audience of what will happen in next weeks episode after that episode has finished
airing and also if they wish to catch up on last series the full box set is online on 4OD. In there idents there is a lot
of commentary based around box sets that are both present on channel 4 as well as E4 and this is done I believe
because of the increase in popularity of online streaming subscriptions such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. E4's
audience are also the main demographic of online subscriptions to bring in and keep that audience present by
getting them online.
https://yougov.co.uk/profil
eslite#/E4/demographics
http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/e
4-celebrates-best-ever-quarter-for-16-34s

15. Q3 - E4/BBC2
• Explain how each suite supports it’s intended audience
BBC 2 has a much more older target audience/demographic than E4 however the audience is
younger than BBC 1. You can infer this in there ident's both past and present. BBC 2'S idents are all
about branding. The number 2 is always in the middle or forefront of the screen. In there perverse
ident suite before they repackaged to there current ident's they had the number two stencil cut out
and it gave a glimse to the audience of what to expect in terms of entrainment. In a way it gave
them a look into there channel through the two, I think that there current ident suite follows a
similar tone, where you can watch and join BBC 2 no matter who you are or what you are doing.
BBC 2 idents are quite short many lasting less than 20 seconds however they do have the odd ident
that does last for 40 seconds. I believe this is done so it gives the audience a quick break between
shows, as well as adverts and information for new shows. One of the reasons that BBC 2's idents
can have a more fun aspect towards them than other channels for example is the fact that BBC
doesn’t have adverts on there channel so therefore the need to keep the audience informed
through ident's and commentary isn't a majority aspect when producing ident's that it would be for
other channels such as ITV and Channel 4 for example, as BBC use breaks between shows on their
channel to visually promote upcoming shows and content. In a way the ident's shown on BBC 2 are
a short visually break for the audience related to everyday jobs or items they see on a daily bases.

16. Q4 - Consider the restrictions or challenges in trying to
develop a brand/ident package for the selected channel’s
audiences, write them down here:
• Keeping the audiences attention is one of the main concepts of an ident, it is more about
retaining existing viewers but also trying to appeal to new audience viewers while not changing
the existing themes and brand so much that it deters the recurring audience. It is all about
finding a balance. This can become more difficult when the channel decides to rebrand. Try to
create a brand that has a strong identity that can keep up with the demand for online streaming
services such as Netflix, something that will keep audiences talking and get there attention and
hopefully when you have there attention maintain having it. I believe that this is one of the key
reasons in which BBC's audience has now increased to 60+ more so with main channel BBC1. As
most of there market audience has moved away with the increase of streaming services.
• Themes are also something that can be challenging when trying to develop a new brand/ident
for a channel because you have to find a balance between visually expressing a theme to the
audience without overpowering them, and it become to challenging to watch but not be to
simplistic that the audience don’t become interested. A challenge specially nowadays is trying
to find a theme and express that visually without offended people or making them feel
excluded.
• This links into both audiences attention and themes but a very hard challenging is trying to
create a identity through a concept of branding that hasn't been done before to make your
channel and there branding unique. For example BBC and ITV have very similar branding in
terms of there ident's. Channel 4 at the moment is the only branding that I have has a strong
independent identity.

17. Q5 - E4/BBC2
• Compare the sets of idents, what characteristics are similar or different?
There are very similar aspects within both idents that work well for representing the channel however because
they are marketed at different target markets and demographics overall they are very different. For example
both E4 and BBC2 use the number from there channel name within there idents. With BBC2's more recent
idents that like E4 use the ident as a more physical part of there idents. With the robot within E4 adverts being
in the shape of a four.
When comparing the two different sets of idents there are also some very different characteristics not just in
how they are visually represented, with E4 have a much more consistent colour scheme of purple throughout
there ident suite where as BBC2 tends to have a more neutral colour scheme that matches the colours more to
what the ident is based around more than keeping a consistent theme throughout. In term of non-visual
representation and the underlying tone and themes with E4's idents they have a much more comedic theme and
tone while also trying to make the audience engage and think more with their idents. This fits in with who E4
target audience and therefore demographics are as well as the content on the channel. BBC2 however have
much more neutral ident's that appeal to a wider audience, with some of there ident's appeal to a younger
audience and others appealing more to an older audience, there isn't specifically main target audience appeal
throughout here ident suites compared to E4.
In terms of how the idents are also shot is something that are different as well. E4 idents use a variety of
different shot types throughout their idents and this keeps the audience engaged more I believe as a younger
audience likes to be visually stimulated in comparison to BBC2. BBC2's idents are one take, signal shots this is
reference to there current ident suites being televised. This type of filming technique/style that they have
chosen to do follows both of there parent channels so there is always that underlying tone that they are apart of
a larger brand.

18. Q6. Which set/suite of idents is the most successful
in your opinion? Why do you think this?
When looking at current idents that are running now I would have to say in my opinion
that E4 is more successful. They are much more entertaining in terms of visual content.
Furthermore they are more engaging with the audience that creates a more
repour between the audience and the channel. I feel that the idents fit more into the
channel with its brand. It doesn't feel repetitive as although each ident may repeat over
time on the channel they change aspects such as the words on the sign or on the bus
poster, so that it still engages the audience.
Not to say that BBC 2's idents are successful in fact I quite like them I just don't find them
as entertaining or engaging as E4's but they may be for many reasons such as I am E4's
target audience and E4's idents are much longer therefore they have more of my
attention.

19. Q7. What other issues do you think producers need to consider in their production of
onscreen graphic representation? This could be to do with duration, for example when
continuity announcers are used, appropriate content, the issues of viewer generated
content, etc?
Trying to find a balance between an older viewers who stereotypically don't like to be
overstimulated and prefer much more slower and simplistic content, where as a younger
audience prefer more stimulating content that is much more faster, brighter and typically
louder. It is trying to find the balance of appropriate display and delivery of content that will
appeal to audiences while not excluding them.
In terms of continuity announcers there is a lot to think such as how you want them to
speak and therefore represent your overall channel. Do you want them to be formal
speaking and all have the same tone such as BBC1 or do you wish to add diversity such as
Channel 4 where they even had a special ident package where they had people with tertius
be announcers. The main issue is the whether to have a live continuity announcer so that
for an audience perspective it is much more trustworthy and again will create more of a
repour between the channel brand and the audience, though from a producers
perspective it can be more expensive than the other option of a pre-recorded announcer
which is easier cheaper and much easier to handle.
Finally duration, how long the ident will run for. The audience want to be entertained and
informed without feeling they are being advertised at. So a producer will have to look at
trying to create an ident that isn't long or boring as typically audiences have a short
attention span more so a younger audience. Channels also have to compete with online
streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix so they have to either use the idents
to promote there channel or keep them within there brand whether that be one of their
other channels or as part of there online service.