Ident Task 1
An ident is a short (5-15 second) clip played between television programming. Idents are used as a form of branding for a channel, informing the audience of the channel's tone and giving information regarding upcoming programming.
In order to evaluate the purposes, design, limitations and opportunities of idents I will refer to idents taken from a suite (group) of idents taken from E4. A Channel 4 owned television channel aimed at young people and the young at heart. Programming on E4 consists of imported and British comedy and drama. The ident suite was launched in 2010. I will be analysing 4 idents from the suite. Throughout the suite there are some consistent themes and characteristics. E4 have used purple as a theme throughout, both in their logo and the sets used in their idents. The idents also show a comedic/light hearted nature throughout, shown through the use of animation, bright colours and upbeat music. This fits the character of the channel and its programming.
Television idents serve a number of purposes, and are an important tool for television channels. The initial purpose of idents is simply to tell the audience what channel they are currently watching. This is important as television channels now face vast competition for viewership due to digital television and the expansion of channels. It is important the viewers are informed of the channel that they are watching, as it may help to create brand loyalty and encourage the audience to tune in again. Idents are also used to inform the audience of scheduling. They often do this through the use of a narrator, who informs the audience what programming is coming up. This is important as this information may encourage the audience to continue watching the channel rather than changing to another. Idents are also very important for schedule segmentation. This is particularly important when considering non-commercial channels, such as the BBC, who do not have advert breaks. The use of idents in this case allows the audience to have a small break from programming. This creates an opportunity for non-commercial channels to market themselves. Idents are also used to break up live programming, allowing time for production adjustments and giving cast and crew a break.
The design of an ident is very important. The ident needs to be aesthetically pleasing to the audience, whilst reflecting the nature of the channel. When analysing the design of idents we need to consider; tone, setting, colours and fonts, tempo and density (amount of visual information). The tone of the E4 ident suite is lighthearted and comedic. This is shown through the use of upbeat music, bright colours and through the use of stop motion and computer generated animation. Throughout the E4 idents the colour purple is used. The shade of purple is bright and vibrant, this is fitting to the channel's identity and programming (comedy, sitcoms). The E4 idents do not contain large amounts of written communication. However the channel logo is presented in every ident and consist of a upper case E within a 4. The font used in the logo is informal and relatively simple. This is important as the audience need to be able to recognise the information in the ident quickly. The tempo throughout the suite is very quick. This makes the idents exciting and engages the audience. The density throughout the suite differs largely. In the logo ident visual information is minimal, with a simple E4 logo being shown on a plain purple background. However in the ident depicting a battle, the visual information is very dense. Both have strengths with the logo ident working as a fantastic branding tool, and the battle ident being very entertaining.
Within the suite there are contrasting idents. Although all are effective it is vitally important that idents are creative, aesthetically pleasing and effective. In stark contrast are the battle ident and the logo ident taken from the suite. With regards to creativity I believe that the battle ident is superior, as the ident has an interesting narrative and has both comedic elements and suspense and tension. The aesthetics of an ident are crucial, as the look of an ident may persuade viewers to continue to view the channel. I believe that the logo ident is the most aesthetically pleasing. This is due to the slick presentation of the logo with the colour co-ordinated background. I believe that this design would be pleasing to the audience. In order to be effective an ident needs to be able to fulfill all of its purposes. I believe that the most effective ident in the suite is again the logo ident. Although the ident is not the most creative in the suite, the ident concisely lets the audience know which channel they are watching. The ident also creates an opportunity for scheduling and schedule segmentation.
Ident use in television creates several opportunities for channels. Idents can help a television channel create tone and feeling. This can be very useful to a channel, as their ideology and characteristics a=can be communicated to an audience, which may help entice viewers. Idents can also appeal to the target audience of a channel. This if particularly important as television has in recent times become very competitive with the introduction of a large number of channels. No television channel can attract everyone, therefore attracting a target audience is very important. Idents can help to do this by containing content appealing to the demographic of the ident. This will encourage those who fall within the target audience to view the channel and increase viewership. Idents also create fantastic opportunities for branding, which is again important due to increased competition. Idents give an opportunity for a channel to display their logo and other promotional materials. This creates an opportunity for new audience members to become familiar with the channel, and may encourage repeat viewing. In the competitive television industry it is becoming increasingly important to develop a corporate identity. This is particularly important for channels such as E4, who form a part of a larger group of channels. E4 is a part of a group of channels headed by Channel 4. It is important that viewers are made aware of this as it may lead to brand loyalty and viewership across channels within the group. In this case viewers of Channel 4 may be enticed to watch E4 as they are familiar with and enjoy the brand. Idents also create opportunities for marketing. Idents frequently contain references to programming from the channel. This allows the channel to effectively market the programming to the audience.
Idents are also subject to limitations. These are varied and have several effects on the effectiveness of an ident. As stated idents have numerous purposes, and a very short amount of time (5-15 seconds) in order to achieve them. This limits the potential of idents, meaning that narrative and creativity may sometimes be reduced, The typography used within idents can also serve as a limitation. It is vastly important that all information within the ident is easily available to the audience, The typography must be legible quickly. This limits the fonts that can be used, as stylised, intricate fonts may impede the audience. Although in the UK the vast majority of television are in full colour, it is important to note that televisions in other regions may be grayscale. Television channels are now multi-national and broadcast worldwide. As such it is vital that all information in an ident can be viewed and communicated without a full range of colours. Aspect ratio is the size of image displayed by a television. Televisions worldwide are divers, and have a range of different aspect ratios. Coupled with this viewing television via mobile phones, tablets and computers has become increasingly popular. This means that idents, in order to be effective, must be able to be effectively viewed across has aspect rations. This can be very limiting when designing an ident. In recent times television in Britain has become exclusively digital. In other regions however, television is both digital and analogue. This means that television communications are encrypted and transmitted in different manners. This can effect the quality of idents, making them blurry or pixelated if not designed for both forms of television. This can place limits on an ident.
The E4 idents have not been effected by these limitations as they have managed to be creative, using a legible font, are able to be understood in grayscale, across aspect ratios and through both digital and analogue manners. However idents from E4's parent channel, Channel 4 have displayed limitations. The Channel 4 idents, which often feature environments coming together to form a 4 show several weaknesses. The typography is poor, as some (particularly the visually impaired) may struggle to understand the typography. Furthermore the ident may be difficult to view and understand without colour.
The E4 idents have created several opportunities for the channel. They have adequately displayed the tone of the channel through lighthearted, comedic idents. They have used bright colours, upbeat music and animation to entice their target audience (young people). The idents consistently use an E4 logo to create a brand. Furthermore the logo featured creates a corporate identity as there is clear reference to the 4 brand in the logo. In the suite I have studied there has been little in terms of direct marketing, however in the past E4 has made links to sponsored events (E4 Udderbelly, Edinburgh Comedy Festival) in their idents.
To conclude I have analysed the E4 ident suite, commenting on purpose, design, opportunities and limitations. The idents within the suite have been very effective and successful. The idents achieve all necessary purposes, are creative and aesthetically pleasing, create vast opportunities for the channel and have not been effected by limitations sometimes present in idents.
Within the suite there are contrasting idents. Although all are effective it is vitally important that idents are creative, aesthetically pleasing and effective. In stark contrast are the battle ident and the logo ident taken from the suite. With regards to creativity I believe that the battle ident is superior, as the ident has an interesting narrative and has both comedic elements and suspense and tension. The aesthetics of an ident are crucial, as the look of an ident may persuade viewers to continue to view the channel. I believe that the logo ident is the most aesthetically pleasing. This is due to the slick presentation of the logo with the colour co-ordinated background. I believe that this design would be pleasing to the audience. In order to be effective an ident needs to be able to fulfill all of its purposes. I believe that the most effective ident in the suite is again the logo ident. Although the ident is not the most creative in the suite, the ident concisely lets the audience know which channel they are watching. The ident also creates an opportunity for scheduling and schedule segmentation.
Ident use in television creates several opportunities for channels. Idents can help a television channel create tone and feeling. This can be very useful to a channel, as their ideology and characteristics a=can be communicated to an audience, which may help entice viewers. Idents can also appeal to the target audience of a channel. This if particularly important as television has in recent times become very competitive with the introduction of a large number of channels. No television channel can attract everyone, therefore attracting a target audience is very important. Idents can help to do this by containing content appealing to the demographic of the ident. This will encourage those who fall within the target audience to view the channel and increase viewership. Idents also create fantastic opportunities for branding, which is again important due to increased competition. Idents give an opportunity for a channel to display their logo and other promotional materials. This creates an opportunity for new audience members to become familiar with the channel, and may encourage repeat viewing. In the competitive television industry it is becoming increasingly important to develop a corporate identity. This is particularly important for channels such as E4, who form a part of a larger group of channels. E4 is a part of a group of channels headed by Channel 4. It is important that viewers are made aware of this as it may lead to brand loyalty and viewership across channels within the group. In this case viewers of Channel 4 may be enticed to watch E4 as they are familiar with and enjoy the brand. Idents also create opportunities for marketing. Idents frequently contain references to programming from the channel. This allows the channel to effectively market the programming to the audience.
Idents are also subject to limitations. These are varied and have several effects on the effectiveness of an ident. As stated idents have numerous purposes, and a very short amount of time (5-15 seconds) in order to achieve them. This limits the potential of idents, meaning that narrative and creativity may sometimes be reduced, The typography used within idents can also serve as a limitation. It is vastly important that all information within the ident is easily available to the audience, The typography must be legible quickly. This limits the fonts that can be used, as stylised, intricate fonts may impede the audience. Although in the UK the vast majority of television are in full colour, it is important to note that televisions in other regions may be grayscale. Television channels are now multi-national and broadcast worldwide. As such it is vital that all information in an ident can be viewed and communicated without a full range of colours. Aspect ratio is the size of image displayed by a television. Televisions worldwide are divers, and have a range of different aspect ratios. Coupled with this viewing television via mobile phones, tablets and computers has become increasingly popular. This means that idents, in order to be effective, must be able to be effectively viewed across has aspect rations. This can be very limiting when designing an ident. In recent times television in Britain has become exclusively digital. In other regions however, television is both digital and analogue. This means that television communications are encrypted and transmitted in different manners. This can effect the quality of idents, making them blurry or pixelated if not designed for both forms of television. This can place limits on an ident.
The E4 idents have not been effected by these limitations as they have managed to be creative, using a legible font, are able to be understood in grayscale, across aspect ratios and through both digital and analogue manners. However idents from E4's parent channel, Channel 4 have displayed limitations. The Channel 4 idents, which often feature environments coming together to form a 4 show several weaknesses. The typography is poor, as some (particularly the visually impaired) may struggle to understand the typography. Furthermore the ident may be difficult to view and understand without colour.
The E4 idents have created several opportunities for the channel. They have adequately displayed the tone of the channel through lighthearted, comedic idents. They have used bright colours, upbeat music and animation to entice their target audience (young people). The idents consistently use an E4 logo to create a brand. Furthermore the logo featured creates a corporate identity as there is clear reference to the 4 brand in the logo. In the suite I have studied there has been little in terms of direct marketing, however in the past E4 has made links to sponsored events (E4 Udderbelly, Edinburgh Comedy Festival) in their idents.
To conclude I have analysed the E4 ident suite, commenting on purpose, design, opportunities and limitations. The idents within the suite have been very effective and successful. The idents achieve all necessary purposes, are creative and aesthetically pleasing, create vast opportunities for the channel and have not been effected by limitations sometimes present in idents.
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