Success and Failures of TV indents report

Idents provide channels with opportunities but also with some limitations. There are five main opportunities with onscreen graphic representation. One opportunity is that it creates a corporate identity and a tone for your channel. It easily displays text-based information, allows you to brand your channel, appeal to your audience and also encourages brand loyalty. Despite these opportunities, there are still limitations of onscreen representation, which includes typography. The issue with typography is that the fonts need to be quick and easily read. Another limitation is the resolution, colour and aspect ratio. These factors need to be taken into account in order for moving image idents to be viewed properly, according to the intentions of the channel.

The 1992 UK Gold TV ident showed someone washing up. There is a faint sound of a comedy programme in the background. The camera zooms down into the water and the UK Gold TV logo comes up. The problem with this old ident is that it does not communicate the type of channel UK Gold is.
The 2004 Gold ident begins with the logo which appears to be animated or hand drawn. A punching glove punches the logo and lots of little drawings come out, drawings such as cogs in a machine and dynamite. It has fast paced and quirky music in the background and a slogan that says “put something funny on” which is shown all around the Gold logo as drawings. The newer, more current UK Gold TV ident is far more successful as it appeals to the target audience (lovers of iconic British comedy) much more clearly. It shows the audience that the types of programmes on the channel are comedic more clearly through comedic animations, the fast pace and the comedic music.

There are many differences between the 2003 "Oh Yes" ident for BBC Three and the current 2013 ident. The 2003 ident has an orange animated talking slug that says "Oh Yes". It also shows big letters of "three" in the background. This is ident doesn't appeal to the younger audience of around (18-25), it makes it seem as though it is for a much younger audience due to the animated slug. It also has very dull colours, which is not very comedic or exciting. This ident also gives the impression that the channel is a comedic channel for a much younger audience as it is slow paced and therefore less exciting for the target audience of young adults. Whereas, the current ident, shows blocks with animated lights flashing across them. It has very up beat music that’s almost club-type. The BBC three logo appears in lights as a man says "three". This current ident has bright colours on a black background, which works with the club feeling music to give the audience a club vibe. It is fast paced and therefore more enjoyable and exciting for the audience to watch. The more current BBC 3 ident is far more successful as it appeals to the target audience much more clearly.

The 2009 cheerleaders 4 Music channel ident is also very different to the more current 4 Music idents, especially the 'club entrance' ident. The 2009 ident shows the Sugarbabes as cheerleaders in a messy room jumping on the sofas. There is a lot of pink and white conveyed through the pom poms and the sofa. The music is also quite up beat and has a lot of the DJ sounds. The audience is able to see what the channels name is through the little box in the corner with the logo on it. The can also quite easily tell that the channel plays recent music as it has the Sugarbabes on the ident, they are lead to believe this as the Sugarbabes were very big at that time. This ident gives the impression that this channel plays recent or popular music because of the music played in the background. The current 4 Music ident shows a boy and a girl dancing in a club street. The music is similar to the old ident. This ident portrays to the audience that the channel plays pop music because of the clothes the dancers are wearing. It also gives the impression that the music played on he channel is more recent or even the songs played in the clubs as it is the 'club entrance. The more recent 4 Music ident is far more successful as it portrays the type of music played on the channel. The old ident may only appeal to Sugarbabes fans, whereas the newer one has a wider appeal. On top of this, the newer idents give 4 Music the opportunity to create a series that can expand across different dance types. This creates an exciting, youthful band for their channel.

In conclusion, there are three main things elements that create a successful ident. One element of a successful ident is to appeal to the target audience. Another thing to think about is whether the ident communicates the channels brand and personality. The final element is to make sure the ident communicates the type of programming on the channel. By incorporating these three elements, the ident is sure to be more successful.