This spectular E4 Channel Ident really surprised me! Not only was it full of creativity and that standard E4 Stop-motion goodness, the vibrant colours that stood out were just amazing. At the beginning of the Ident, you see two stuffed animals on a boat and one miraculously falls off and into the sand (which symbolised water). At first you think, "wow - they're using the sand as water!" and then a confusing spiral emerges as the buildings next to them open and reveal ordinary and unordinary things. Something like this will surprise the viewer as it will then get them to remember it. Once a viewer remembers a Ident, it's always good news. This Ident reflects the channel brand in a good way.
When the Green building opens up and reveals the two small E4 logos sitting in a chair and supposedly getting their hair done, a much larger E4 Logo is revealed as it rises out the sand to the centre of the screen. The infamous E4 Ident is surely one that a viewer can remember and recognise. Though the logo textures and look change it different Idents or Scenarios, it still doesn't drive away the actual design that E4 Logo has.
I particularly like this Channel Ident because it's not like the others. A lot of channel idents normally have either the camera going on a dolly (or slider in some cases), at certain points. But this one was quite simple and only even slow-motion and only two camera angles - second revealing the infamous Film 4 Logo followed by a voice over by the continuity announcer. This had a very "office-type" feel to in, seeing as the space kind of looks like an office, and offices are particularly known to have coffee in there, so dropping one wouldn't be such a coincidence. I believe this ident was attact the viewers, because though it is in slow motion, a lot of Film 4 viewers are aged between 16 - 34 so they can mostly relate to having coffee and what it must feel like when they've dropped a cup.
2) Why is it important that TV Idents are distinctive from each other?
It is very important that the Television Channel Idents are distinctive from each other because it helps the audience identify what channel they're watching. It allows each channel have it's own unique styling and suits the target audience that the channel currently holds. If all idents were similar (or the same), it wouldn't be attractive and persuasive towards the viewer. The same ident will be boring and wouldn't even qualify to grab the 'creative' aspect. Ident, short for Identification, is what it means: Channel Identifications. Therefore making it easy for the audience to know (by identifying) what channel they're on, what's coming up and related topics surrounding the channel's logo.
3) What can a ‘good’ TV ident do, for the channel?
A 'good' TV ident can help promote the channel even more. Not only would the viewer remember the 'good' ident, but it could possibly get them to share the ident or tell their friends (and/or family) to watch the ident through various sources of social networking. This can also potentially encourage newer viewers to watch the channel because of the interesting and attractive ident. Having a good ident can attract more viewers to the channel and also give the company more revenue and more advertising slots for companies.
4) When you are creating an ident for use on Television what things do you need to be mindful to avoid. List 3 things:
- Racism
- Copyright Infringement
- Not too much text.
