The purpose of Idents Draft two:

The Purpose of Idents:

During our recent media lessons we have been learning about the features and purpose of TV channel idents. We've learned that idents are used to identify a TV channel with images, clips and music shown on the screen. They identify the target audience of a TV channel and the personality of the channel itself, e.g. is it a channel that takes itself seriously or doesn't take itself seriously. They do this by using certain clips, music and images to try and appeal to a certain audience.

Sky Movies Premiere 2012 Ident:

In this ident for Sky Movies Premiere, the space and time of this ident by Sky Movies Premiere is a very mixed in terms of the locations the ident is set in. The locations repeatedly chance from real life locations: such as a down town city and then into a fantasy like location such as the sci-fi type buildings near the beginning. The reason Sky has done this for their ident is to show the different genres that is broadcast on their channel. For example first they could show a film set in London, and then later show a film set in a fantasy type world.

The tempo of what is on screen is fairly slow with the camera is just panning from one location linking into the next one and then looping from the beginning in one continuing shot. However the music is very upbeat and sounds very epic, but then slows down once it starts showing scenes in the city area. This done so it can attract both young and adult target audiences, the ident does this by using the upbeat sections of the music to catch the attention of the young viewers to make them think this a exciting channel. While the slower music shows the adult audience the channel can take itself seriously.

The ident interacts with the viewer by using its announcer. Near the end of the ident when the music has slowed down in tone and pace as the camera pans over the costume drama section of the ident, the announcer will then talk about the latest film in a soft, relaxing, calm tone. They’ll then go on to talk about the upcoming film by mentioning: who’s in it, what’s it’s about, what genre is it in and then say the title. This is used to inform the audience about the film they are about to watch by giving a brief summary of what they heading into before they start watching.

The density is very colourful and has a lot of variety in its Mise en scene. The idents uses a large variety of locations to inform the viewer of what genres are broadcast on the channel. As seen in the ident the line up starts with a western scene and then moves on to a sci-fi blockbuster type location, and then moves on to the next locations. This is used to target both younger and adult viewers by showing that the channel broadcast has a large variety in its line up to appeal to both age groups, such as the exciting action packed fantasy films that the younger viewers would enjoy watching, and they also broadcast serious films like historical dramas and westerns which would appeal more to adults.

The composition of this ident has a very large scale when it comes to the look of the locations. For examples the western and the fantasy winter scenes have very large open spaces and are set in very big locations. This helps to inform the viewer about some of their films, such as the blockbusters being shown that are set in very exotic locations as seen in the clip. The ident is very colourful ranging from light to dark colours. Some examples include the sci-fi city being fairly dark like it was set during sunset, while the costume drama had a large colour palate with many different tones of greens and blues. This informs the viewer that this channel has a large variety of gets shown are many different films with various tones and styles.

In terms of whether this ident is information or entertainment led, personally I think this ident does both. I can tell from the visuals on screen and the announcer explaining what’s next on the channel’s line up. The visuals entertain the viewer with its pretty imagery and the exciting sounding music; it does give the audience a small taste of what gets shown on the channels line up in terms of: genre and the style of programming. The ident does this while the announcer informs the viewer of what’s to come by giving a rough idea of the film the channel will be showing next.

BBC one dog display ident:

This ident for BBC One has a fast tempo, which we can see with the dogs moving quickly in the shot. Not only that but we can see some reasonably fast editing with most of the shots running for a short while and then quickly snapping into the next shot. This is also includes some loud upbeat music as the events are taking place. From this we can tell this is meant for a younger audience due to it being very active, energetic and upbeat. All this has been added in order to make the channel seems exciting to younger viewers.

Moving on to the space and time part of the ident, as we can see the ident is clearly set in reality; in the case of this particular ident it is set in the middle of a field or a public park. This location would recognizable to many people of different ages from younger people to adults. This is the case because family’s and people with dogs go to places like these for fun day outs. The footage of the dogs is meant to emulate that situation with its energetic music to show a fun time on the screen.

The ident will interact with the viewer near the end of the ident. It will do this by playing out the clips of the dogs in the field and the narrator will then talk over the clips about the upcoming programs.  The reasons for this is so the ident can give the viewer a taste of what’s on their channel and talk about to come next if the viewer is interested. The announcer then talks in a calm soothing tone of voice like he was in a conversation so he can interact in a friendly manor with the viewer.

Interim's of the composition the setting is very brightly lighted due to it being a sunny day in an open field covered with bright green grass. But also the BBC One logo is shown near the end of the ident and is in the center of the shot where the dogs run in a circle. The reason the ident uses its bright colours is to try and appeal to a younger audience such as children. The logo is shown in the center of the shot because it’s to identify the most important aspect of the channel which is the title itself.

The BBC One ident doesn't give off a lot of information about the channel as much as other idents do with E4 as an example. The most amount of information we get from the ident is that’s aimed for a young audience. This we can tell due to the ident using the bright colour scheme and having a very upbeat and energetic tone which we can tell from the clips of the dogs on screen and the music being played. Also of most of the density of the ident is shown through the narrator speaking at the end of the ident.

In terms of the density of the ident, only a small amount of the channels identity in this case being BBC One is being giving out to the viewer in this footage. We can tell that the ident aims for a young audience, this we can tell with the upbeat music and the energetic and active footage that is being shown on screen. The reason the BBC has added this is to aim for a younger target audience showing them a clip to make the BBC look lively and youth to appeal to the younger target audience.

 

Channel 4 Trafalgar Square Ident:

The tempo is fairly slow in this ident by Channel 4. The editing is slow paced with the ident mostly using long timed still shots that cut into each other, and editing cuts are rarely used through out the ident. How ever the music is very upbeat compared to the footage on screen, due to the pace of the music faster than what's on screen. This has been done by Channel 4 to make a good first impression on the viewer. In this case it’s trying to sound peaceful and welcoming to the viewer as they tune into the channel before they start watching the upcoming program.

Moving on to the space and time of the idents location, it is set in a real world location. In this case the location this ident is set in is Trafalgar Square which is in the middle of London. The reason Channel 4 made the decision to set the ident in this location is so that the channel can identify itself as a British TV channel. The ident does this by showing a recognizable location which will be known to British viewers, and this will identify with the British viewers by showing them something they will recognize such a landmark in the centre of the capital city of the country they live in.

The composition has a very modern and technological look in the ident. This is clearly shown in the design of the logo, with is covered in wires and copper pipes. It also moves very stiffly and jerky like a theme park animatronic puppet. The reason for the techno design to the channels logo is so it channel appeal to younger audiences such as teenagers. We can tell this is the case because it shows Channel 4 are trying to look youthful and young by showing something teenagers would be interested in such as technology.

A lot of the information from the ident that is given to the viewer is shown through the announcer. The announcer starts talking near the end of the ident, this is when the sections of the logo close down and scare the pigeons away. Anyway the announcer would then talk about the upcoming program in a calm friend tone of voice. The reason the announcer is talking in the soft tone is so the announcer can sound kind and welcoming to the viewer as they begin to watch the upcoming show.

In terms of the idents density, there isn’t a lot of information that the viewer is being told about. From what I can see, the ident clearly aims for a British audience and aims to market itself as a British TV channel. This we can tell from the setting of the ident being in a well known British landmark like Trafalgar Square so that Channel can show something that the audience will recognize and identify it as a British channel. Also we can identify that Channel 4 is aiming at a younger audience such as teenagers by having the technologically themed logo design. This was done to appeal to teenagers by using a topic of interest for teenagers such as technology.

This ident is more entertainment led than information led. This we can tell that this is the case due to not a lot of information is being explained or given to the viewer, aside from the announcer talking over the ident near the end. As I mentioned the ident aims for a teenage audience with its machine and technology looking design. We can also tell that it’s aiming for a British audience by showing them imagery that the audience would recognize. Aside from these factors of the ident, Channel 4 hasn't given the viewer a lot of information about itself aside from the announcer explaining what will be broadcast next.

ITV Street Dance Ident 2013:

In the density we are being shown in the ident, we can clearly see that ITV is using this ident to aim for a young audience around the ages of twenty and over. We can tell this is the age range ITV is going for because the people involved with this ident look like they are at that age range. This helps appeal to that target audience because it shows a bunch of young people acting lively and youthful, so that this can grab the attention of those young people and it shows those viewers this channel includes programming they might be interested in watching.

This ITV ident is very entertainment led rather than information led. We can tell that this is the case from the fact that the ident is more focused on the dancers performing on screen than anything else. This is entertainment led because it doesn't give out a lot of information about the channel itself. The most information the viewers are giving from the ident is that it is youthful, active and exciting so it can appeal to its younger viewers by giving them something excited to watch.

A lot of the composition used in this ident can be seen in the ITV logo in the left hand side of the screen. The logo itself has the letters in a over lapping pattern with each section having its own colour. Not only that, but through out the remaining running time the logo changes colours as if they were slowly flashing on and off. This pattern has been added to the ITV logo so that pattern and the different colours of each of the letters can be eye catching to the viewer and the flashing colours can grab the attention of the viewer.

The tempo of this ITV ident is very slowly paced in terms of actions on the screen and the pace of the editing. The camera technique used in this ident is just the camera panning and following the dancers on screen in one continuing shot. This has been done to fully show all the actions on screen to make it seem more active and lively if it’s done in one shot. This is also why the editor slowed down the footage of the dancers, as it would be difficult to follow all of the fast dance moves going on with out the use of quick cuts in editing.

In terms of the information that is shown in the ident , one factor that is seen in the ident is that ITV do reality and talents shows like Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor. This has been clearly shown from the dancers that are performing on screen during the running time of the ident. This has been done so ITV can attract the target audience who watch and enjoy shows such as The X Factor. Plus this does give the viewer at home an example of what is being broadcast on the channel, which in this case this would be talent completions.

The space and time location of this ident is set in the middle of a street with a crowd around the dancers performing space, and lights around the street. The crowd can be seen clapping and cheering for the dances. The reason I think ITV did these decisions with the set and location is to make it look like a stage. This is the case because of the large performance space, lights around the performers and a crowd watching and cheering for them. all this has been do to capture the same sort of style of the talent shows that ITV broadcast by recreating a similar stage from Britain’s Got Talent on a smaller scale.