Success and Failures of TV idents

Before and after most shows we will watch an ident, most of the time this ident will give us lots of information about the channel sometimes without us even realising it. A successful ident is one which is easily recognisable and distinctive and works well to complete its purpose wether that may be to inform or entertain. 

BBC One: 1991 Ident

This is one of BBC One's less successful idents, it was first shown in February 1991. The ident features a rotating swirling globe with the number 1 in the middle, along with the BBC logo which was current at the time, positioned at bottom of the frame. 

Firstly one of the main reasons as to why this ident was not a success could of been the colouring. The colours associated with the BBC are warmer colours such as red and yellow/orange. However, within this ident the colours are dominantly colder blues and black. This could be a reason as to why the ident was not a success as it was not as distinctive as the other BBC logos and due to this i was not as easily recognised meaning it did not fully serve its purpose as an ident. Also the overall composition of the ident is not very visually pleasing as the colouring and animations do not work well together. On the other hand the ident does not tell us much about the channels personality, we can gain some understanding from the globe that the channel brings the world together and is very universal however the dark cold cloudy atmosphere suggests that the channel is not as warm and family orientated as BBC 1 actually is. 

Here is one of Channel 4's less successful idents. These square themed idents lasted from 1999 until 2004, and consisted of rectangular shapes of different tones traveling across the screen with the Channel 4 logo rotating across the frame, stopping in its final position on the right hand side. These idents all had the same animation, the only thing that varied was the colours in the background, the Channel 4 logo stayed white throughout. Channel 4's dominant colour is blue, but in this series of idents the colour varied meaning that the channel could not be assigned to one colour that makes the channel instantly distinctive and recognised by that colour. Also Channel 4 is an entertainment based channel, and the ident should represent this to inform the viewers and make them aware of the personality of the channel, however the overall look of the ident is quite simple and boring which does not really create the messages Channel 4 is trying to present to its target audience meaning the ident is not very successful. 

This is one of Blighty's idents, the ident itself is based on the theme of tea as the channel is a very british channel and tea is stereotypically a very british thing. In the variations of the idents the theme changes but remains to be something stereotypical to britian, the colour scheme also changes throughout the idents. 

Some reasons why these idents may not be very successful could be due to the density of information within the ident. In every variation of the ident there is simply too much happening at once for it to be enjoyable and entertaining to watch. And for a duration of 23 seconds over time the ident becomes extremely boring and repetitive to watch meaning it will not be able to maintain the target audience an they could be likely to turn to another channel. Although the ident does present Blighty's personality it could of been done in a more precise way that is more enjoyable to watch and is more consistent visually to make the ident and therefore channel more distinctive and recognisable. This could be done through the colour scheme being red white and blue the emphasise that the channel is extremely british.  

This is one of BBC Ones more successful idents, it features a group of hippos swimming in a circle formation with red rotating shapes around the BBC One logo. The ident is successful as it maintains the BBC's main concepts such as the colour red, and the consistent theme of circles which has appeared in almost every ident they have ever made. Also the current BBC One ident has a very short duration, making it very entertaining to watch because it does not last long you do not get so bored of it. The ident creates a message that the BBC are very professional and put time, effort and money into their idents, meaning that they also put this into their shows maintaining their target audience. 

This is one of Channel 4's more successful idents. It consists of a field with lots of burning hay stacks which align as the camera passes through the environment to reveal the Channel 4 logo. These idents with the objects forming the Channel 4 logo have been used since 2004 and are easily recognised as they are very distinctive and unique to Channel 4. Although there is no consistent colour scheme which is what is seen in most successful idents, Channel 4's idents have multiple colours due to the location altering so that they can produce new creative ways of the logo being formed. This suggests that the ident is presented well enough for the viewers to easily identify the channel and also interpret the personality of channel 4 without the need of a consistent colour scheme.

This is one of Dave's successful idents. The ident was created along with the re-banding of the channel which was a huge success. Dave became 'the home of witty banter' and the ident gives us a clear insight of this. Dave being the only channel named after a first name of a person, instantly makes it a success as it's more memorable to people and as the creators said 'everybody knows a Dave'. Also the creative and abstract environment in which in the viewer is placed in while watching the ident suggests that dave is wacky but an exciting place to be which is why the channel became such a success after its re-branding and release of new idents.