Design and Purpose of TV indents report

Channel Ident Analysis

Idents have many puposes. These are; showing the channels identity, show the type of programming on the channel, appeal to the target audience and to brand and market the channel. The purpose showing the channels identity, is clear in E4's idents as they are quirky and slightly unusual, and clearly targeted at young adults with the content. Showing the type of programming on the channel is another purpose of an ident, this is obvious in Good Foods idents, theyall contain shots of people cooking as the programmes on that channel are all cooking shows. Appealing to the target audience is another purpose of an ident evident in cbeebies idents. They all use bright colours which will appeal to their young age target audience. The brand and market of the channel is the final important purpose of an ident. The re-packaging was shown on a UKTV Gold channel, as previously it was not marketing the correct programmes that were being shown on the channel, however now, after a re-branding, the ident clearly shows the channels identity and programming.

 
Good Food use a fast tempo in the 'Stir-Fry' ident at the start of the programme because, they want the ident to fill a space with a narration over the top. When the ident starts it shows a long shot of two people buying vegetables, it then goes on to show close ups of such vegetables being cooked in a wok. The close up of the vegetables being cooked then forms the circle of the Good Food logo and some food ingredients falling down, this is quite a typical way to show the audience that the channel shows cooking programmes. The narration then comes in and tells the audience what is going to be coming onto the channel next, which is a Chinese cooking show. It is a typical ident you would expect to see on good food.

Good Food use content placement very effectively in this ident as it has almost been set up as a small background story into the cooking of the stir-fry. Good Food has used the props in this ident to also tell us what this particular ident is about, through the content placement we can clearly see that there are people cooking, this ident is portraying to the audience that good food will be airing a cooking programme, possibly something foreign. With this kind of content placement, it is clear that a sci-fi film will not follow it.

This ident does not have a very high density of detail to it. The audience is able to tell this through the lack of information being said or shown at a time, just different shots of food being cooked or bought. The design of this ident comes into play too because this ident was not designed to be carrying a lot of information in it. This ident was purely there to introduce the viewers of good food into the cooking programme that is being shown next. The only real information the ident is giving the audience is the narration, which is telling the audience the programmes that is on next.

Good food has thought about the space and time for this ident well as they position the main features of each shot, in the middle. The timings are also really well thought out as most of the cuts between shots fit perfectly to the music being played in the background. People do not usually notice these types of things, however if a cut is out of time it the ident does not appear to fit properly.

This good food ident interacts with the viewers in a way. This is clear the narration is interacting with the viewers and the narration is addressing the viewers, telling them what to expect on the channel. The interaction with the viewers is formal as the narrator’s voice is almost conversational and so it feels as though he could actually be in the same room as the audience. This ident is thus more effective in some aspects at interacting with the viewers.

This ident proves how information vs entertainment can work. The information is coming from the narration and (in some way) the shots of the food cooking, which provides the audience with the knowledge of the upcoming programmes. The entertainment side is watching food being cooked as this might interest the food lovers.

Channel 4 use tempo in the ‘Block of flats’ ident at the start of the programme as they use the ident to fill a space with a short narration over the top. When the ident starts it shows a long shot of flats, it then goes on to show more flats that have been ‘constructed’ to form a number 4 shape. The flats form this shape in way of showing the audience a different form of advertising. This is quite a unique way of showing the audience the channels ident. The narration then comes in and tells the audience what is going to be coming onto the channel next, which is a working class programme (I’ve got this friend) that is directed at the working class, as it involves issues they are familiar with. It is a typical ident you would expect to see on channel 4 as it shows the channels number in an unusual way.

Channel 4 use content placement very effectively in this ident as it appears to be just a normal block of flats, yet as the camera moves further along, it is clear to the audience there is a particular angle where they can see a ‘floating 4’. Channel 4 has also used the props in this ident to add to the authenticity of the block of flats and the run down area it is set in, this ident is portraying to the audience the type of program that is going to be shown next. With this kind of content placement, it is clear that a cooking show will not follow it. This is similar to many other channel 4 idents as there are some filmed from a car with teenagers in it, they drive past a feild and notice the hay bales link up at a certain angle to show the the number 4. This is ovious the next show is one relevant to teenagers due to the age of the people present in the ident.

This ident has a very low density of detail to it. The audience is able to tell this through the lack of information being said or shown at a time, there is only one shot shown in this ident. The design of this ident comes into play to as it was not designed to be carrying lots of information. This ident is purely there to introduce the viewers of channel 4 into the more realistic drama that is going to be shown next. The only real information the ident is giving the audience is through the narration, which is telling the audience the programmes that are on next, in this case ‘I’ve got this friend’.

Channel 4 have also thought about the space and time for this ident well. The positioning of the main feature in the shot is in the middle, but is not clear to the audience at first. The timings are also really well thought out as there is no music so the fact that there is only one shot it emphasizes to the audience the type of programme that is to follow. People do not usually notice these types of things, however if there are a wide range of cuts and there is no music or the music is slow paces, then the ident does not appear to fit properly.

The channel 4 ident interacts with the viewers in a way. This is clear the narration is interacting with the viewers and the narration is addressing the viewers, telling them what to expect on the channel. The interaction with the viewers is formal as the narrator’s voice is almost conversational and so it feels as though he could actually be in the same room as the audience. This ident is thus more effective in some aspects at interacting with the viewers.

This ident is more of an information ident than an entertainment ident. The information is coming from the narration and the area in which the ident is shot, which provides the audience with the knowledge of the upcoming programmes. The only entertainment side is watching how the number 4 appears.

Channel 5 use tempo in the ‘VIP’ ident at the start of the programme as they use the ident to fill a space with a short narration over the top. When the ident starts it shows a close up shot a woman walking in a pair of heels, it then goes on to show a red screen that pours out to become a red carpet for the girl to walk on. The rolling of the red carpet by little pixel like cubes is, in some way, showing the audience a different form of advertising. This is quite a unique way of showing the audience the channels ident, as the channel 5 logo appears as a flash, which relates to the whole celebrity theme of the ident. The narration then comes in and tells the audience what is going to be coming onto the channel next. It is a typical ident you would expect to see on channel 5 as it shows the channels number in an unusual way, yet still realistic way.

Channel 5 use content placement very effectively in this ident as it appears to be just a normal red screen, yet as the ident continues on it shows the channel 5 logo through the flashing lights coming from a ‘camera’. Channel 5 has also used the props in this ident to add to the authenticity of the ‘red carpet’, this ident is portraying to the audience the type of program that is going to be shown next. With this kind of content placement, it is clear that an action genre programme will not follow it.

This ident has a very low density of detail to it. The audience is able to tell this through the lack of information being said or shown at a time, there are very few shots and no written information on the screen apart from the channels logo. The design of this ident comes into play, as it was not designed to be carrying lots of information. This ident is purely there to introduce the viewers of channel 5 into the show following it. The only real information the ident is giving the audience is through the narration, which is telling the audience the programmes that are on next.

Channel 5 has also thought about the space and time for this ident well. The positioning of the main feature in the shot is mainly in the middle, but is not clear to the audience at first. The timings are also really well thought out as there is very little music, that is played quietly, so the fact that there is very few shots it emphasizes to the audience the type of programme that is to follow. People do not usually notice these types of things, however if there are a wide range of cuts and there is no music or the music is slow paced, then the ident does not appear to fit properly.

The channel 5 ident interacts with the viewers in some form. This is clear as the narration is interacting with the viewers and the narration is addressing the viewers, telling them what to expect next on the channel. The interaction with the viewers is more informal as the narrator’s voice is just telling the audience what is up next and a little background information into the next programme. This ident is thus more effective in some aspects at informing the viewers of the upcoming programmes.

This ident is more of an information ident than an entertainment ident. The information is coming from the narration and the area in which the ident is shot, which provides the audience with the knowledge of the upcoming programmes. The only entertainment side is watching how the red carpet appears.

The BBC 'hippo' ident is a good example of all the ident features. This is because it has a clear setting of time and space of which it was set in. The setting is in the morning set under water. They have done this to show that the channel will be playing early in the morning when the audience wake up.
The compostition is simple and not too cluttered with tiles and pictures. It clearly shows the setting and the name of the channel. It uses the BBC colours (red) to represent the BBC channel. BBC has done this to keep it short and simple so the audience don't get bored and turn the channel over. 
The density of the information consists of the name of the channel and also the signs to show that the channel can be played with subtitles and in HD. This channel is also to inform as the voiceoverman sounds very formal and is announcing. They have done this to address the specific audience. This also shows that this channels is for adults, due to its lack of informal language and bright inviting colours.
This ident is an information led ident. It has very little information shown on the screen, only the BBC logo in the centre of the screen. The other information is said by the by the voice over. 
Another feature that the BBC ident has showed is the tempo. It is all in slow motion, they have done this to match the underwater atmosphere that the hippos are swimming in. 
The BBC circular logo, is present in all of their idents accross all channels, for example the BBC 4 idents. The circualr motion is to represent the fact that is is a channel that covers issues and programmes from all around the world. It could also represent the fact that some of the programmes connect the family and bring people together giving them a sense of community, with a common interest or talking point.

BBC 4 use tempo in the ‘Pool’ ident at the start of the programme as they use the ident to fill a space with a short narration over the top. When the ident starts it shows a high angle shot that shows four parts of a swimming pool, then a boy jumps into the pool with an inflatable in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. The fact that the screen is split into 4 this ident is, in some way, showing the audience a different form of advertising. This is quite a unique way of showing the audience the channels ident, as the channels logo is constantly in the middle of the screen and the screen is then split into 4. The narration then comes in and tells the audience what is going to be coming onto the channel next. It is a typical ident you would expect to see on channel 4 as it shows the channels logo in the centre of the screen and each shot has a realist image being played in the background.

 
BBC 4 use content placement very effectively in this ident as it appears to be just a normal pool until the boy jumps in on both the bottom left corner and the top right corner, showing the audience the screen is split into 4. BBC 4 has also used the props in this ident to add to the authenticity of the pool, through its use of an inflatable ring. This ident is portraying to the audience the type of program that is going to be shown next, through the fact that the narration saying the next channel has ‘mild language’. With this kind of content placement, it is clear that a science fiction programme will not follow it.

This ident has a very low density of detail to it. The audience is able to tell this through the lack of information being said or shown at the same time, there are very few shots and no written information on the screen apart from the channels logo. This ident is purely there to introduce the viewers of BBC 4 into the show following it. The design of this ident comes into play, as it was not designed to be carrying lots of information. The only real information the ident is giving the audience is through the narration, which still only tells the audience that the programme on next contains mild language.

BBC 4 has also thought about the space and time for this ident well. The positioning of the main feature in the shot (the logo) is in the middle, which is clear to the audience from the start. The timings are also really well thought out as there is very little music which is played quietly, so the fact that there is very few shots it emphasizes to the audience the type of programme that is to follow. People do not usually notice these types of things, however if there are a wide range of cuts and there is no music or the music is slow paced, then the ident does not appear to fit properly.

The BBC 4 ident doesn’t appear to interact with the audience very much. This is clear as the narration only tells the audience what to expect from the programme next on the channel. The lack of interaction with the viewers is more formal as the narrator’s voice is only telling the audience what is up. This ident is thus more effective in some aspects at informing the viewers of the upcoming programmes.

This ident is more of an information ident than an entertainment ident. The information is coming from the narration and the area in which the ident is shot, which provides the audience with the knowledge of the upcoming programmes.