IDENT EVALUATION –MATT ERRINGTONThe typical purposes of television idents is the reinforce brand identity, this means that the themes, ideas and ethos presented in the ident must represent the channel and be aimed at appeasing the same demographics. For example, the idents presented on a music channel may feature symbolism with connotations to the music industry. MTV is an example of a channel who’s idents imply that it is a music channel. In the link below, you can see that in this MTV ident example people are dancing to club music. Both the music and dancing have connotations to their teenage demographics and the music industry, and gives the viewer a clear idea of what the channel is about. Idents are not only used to reinforce brand identity, they are also used to inform the viewer of the upcoming program schedule, as can be see in this Dave example, located to the left of the screen
The ident is still keeping with the channel’s design, but it is also parting text based information, as text based is the best way to display detailed information to viewers as it is straight to the point, rather than attempting to encode the same information into objects via connotation. These text based idents are usually longer, as to give the viewer time to comprehend the information, although they are often narrated as well. Idents have also been used to promote, often channel exclusive, programming – for instance, Sky one’s ident promoting the popular US crime-drama “24”: |
In the this Sky one ident, the colors match the channel logo. Their neon blue logo is used throughout their ident campaign; this is so the viewer can recognize their brand among others – specifically the other currently channels run by Sky (one, two & three). This ident is image based, as it doesn’t aim to inpart too much information other than “This program is featured on this channel”. It it were to inform the viewer of a start date or the exclusiveness of the program, then the text based option would have been the optimal choice. The ident also offers a more serious tone, the connotations of the gun seen, as well as 24 being a well-known crime drama show, gives the viewers an idea of some of the programming they might expect for this channel.
Typically, an ident will follow a theme that is representative of the brand, in many instances the theme is abstract, allowing the director/animator to create works that are based purely on the symbolism, allowing the connotations of the objects and their actions to represent the brand, while the actual ident is often nonsensical. In other words, many idents are purely created as a means of showing off symbolism, whether or whether not they actually make sense. Many modern day idents are created via the use of animations, as it is a great way of creating scenes that would be impossible to film. The pacing and length of an ident isn't always linked to the amount of content, sometimes different length idents are used to fix errors on programming/scheduling.
Idents allow for the television companies to advertise themselves on their own channel, in order to both keep viewers, and attract passers-by. An ident is a way of getting their logo on screen, as well as being able to make a name for it by surrounding it with content that is representative of both the channel, and the interests of the demographics. This builds up their brand and makes them easy to recognize amongst the countless numbers of other channels, all with their own set of dents that reflect their different brands. An ident also brings order to the channel and gives it a human touch, for example scheduling is a way of imparting the information of programming, as well as giving a narrator the chance to address any technical issues they may have arisen (Programming changes, loss of signal, ect.)
Many idents are limited not only by the content they can produce – making sure to keep with the censorship guidelines, racial relations, ect – but also by technical limitations – aspect ratio (Some viewers are using 16:9, while others are viewing on older televisions), resolution (HD & SD) and colours used that may seem distorted when viewed on either RGB or RGBY.
2D animation advanced slowly at first, with the invention of the zoetrope by William Horner in 1834. This spinning wheel titled “wheel of the devil” by Mr Horner himself, it was laced with a set of frames, then spun in a circle – allowing anybody who looked through the viewing hole to see a brief looped animation, similar to the modern gif file. The first flipbook originates from 1868, and was patented by John Barnes Linnet under the name of "Kineograph" (Moving picture). It was one of the first forms of actual animation and was not forced to loop over and over consecutively, as it followed a linear design. The mechanic of the invention is very simplistic, all the animator had to do was draw the frames they wanted to see in sequence, then simply run the pages through their fingers to view their work. Flash animation is a more modern animation technique. It is a program created by the Adobe company in that grants animators the ability to create works that would have otherwise taken many months to complete, in half the time. It is also much cheaper to produce lengthy animations because it does not rely on physical equipment like paint, cells and ink. The famous “Monty Python”, an abstract comedy with famous scenes animated by Terry Gillian that granted the act a unique style. The scenes were made using the stop motion technique of moving object (in this case cut-outs) frame by frame. For my animation, I decided to go for the more modern path, which is why I began research into techniques used on programs like Adobe Flash. For example, I researched how to produce an animation using the parallax technique:
Typically, an ident will follow a theme that is representative of the brand, in many instances the theme is abstract, allowing the director/animator to create works that are based purely on the symbolism, allowing the connotations of the objects and their actions to represent the brand, while the actual ident is often nonsensical. In other words, many idents are purely created as a means of showing off symbolism, whether or whether not they actually make sense. Many modern day idents are created via the use of animations, as it is a great way of creating scenes that would be impossible to film. The pacing and length of an ident isn't always linked to the amount of content, sometimes different length idents are used to fix errors on programming/scheduling.
Idents allow for the television companies to advertise themselves on their own channel, in order to both keep viewers, and attract passers-by. An ident is a way of getting their logo on screen, as well as being able to make a name for it by surrounding it with content that is representative of both the channel, and the interests of the demographics. This builds up their brand and makes them easy to recognize amongst the countless numbers of other channels, all with their own set of dents that reflect their different brands. An ident also brings order to the channel and gives it a human touch, for example scheduling is a way of imparting the information of programming, as well as giving a narrator the chance to address any technical issues they may have arisen (Programming changes, loss of signal, ect.)
Many idents are limited not only by the content they can produce – making sure to keep with the censorship guidelines, racial relations, ect – but also by technical limitations – aspect ratio (Some viewers are using 16:9, while others are viewing on older televisions), resolution (HD & SD) and colours used that may seem distorted when viewed on either RGB or RGBY.
2D animation advanced slowly at first, with the invention of the zoetrope by William Horner in 1834. This spinning wheel titled “wheel of the devil” by Mr Horner himself, it was laced with a set of frames, then spun in a circle – allowing anybody who looked through the viewing hole to see a brief looped animation, similar to the modern gif file. The first flipbook originates from 1868, and was patented by John Barnes Linnet under the name of "Kineograph" (Moving picture). It was one of the first forms of actual animation and was not forced to loop over and over consecutively, as it followed a linear design. The mechanic of the invention is very simplistic, all the animator had to do was draw the frames they wanted to see in sequence, then simply run the pages through their fingers to view their work. Flash animation is a more modern animation technique. It is a program created by the Adobe company in that grants animators the ability to create works that would have otherwise taken many months to complete, in half the time. It is also much cheaper to produce lengthy animations because it does not rely on physical equipment like paint, cells and ink. The famous “Monty Python”, an abstract comedy with famous scenes animated by Terry Gillian that granted the act a unique style. The scenes were made using the stop motion technique of moving object (in this case cut-outs) frame by frame. For my animation, I decided to go for the more modern path, which is why I began research into techniques used on programs like Adobe Flash. For example, I researched how to produce an animation using the parallax technique:
When creating my idents, I took into account all these techniques and after much research, I found flash animation to be the most viable option of animation, for me at least. After deciding this, I began researching Adobe Flash and how to use the program. I learned about various different techniques (Motion tweening, flash puppets, shape manipulation, parallaxing ect.), and I aimed to incorporate at least some of these techniques into my finished idents. I found that the hardest part of the entire process was deciding upon a feasible idea that I could create with my limited skill set in response to the deadline within the brief. After fleshing out a trio of ideas, I began to create a storyboard, as well as other pre-production paperwork (schedule, camera/equipment log, etc.)
Originally, I was disappointing with my first set if Idents, with only one getting a decent grade. This is because I put most of my effort into one single, much longer ident, while rushing the last two. Because of this, two of my idents were clearly sub-par. For the second submission, I poured more time and effort into my animation techniques, even incorporating the parallax technique. With my first ident, I created it almost entirely on paint and Sony vegas. I created 4 pictures, then added an post production zoom during the editing. After that, I overlapped the laptop layer with a screen recording of BBC Iplayer I recorded. All footage I used to overlay was found on the internet. Overall, I'm happy wit how this ident turned out, the animation isn't perfect, but it works for what it is.
I used Adobe Flash CS6 for my second and third idents, which made animation much much easier. I added blur and glow effects into both animations, as well as motion tweens and classic frames. After having never animated before, I personally think I did an acceptable job in animating both idents. The final ident is shorter than the others, which has been done on purpose, as some television idents are very short. I made up for the lack of duration in this ident, by making a longer ident as well (Ident 1). This shows off the range of ident durations that can be made.
Originally, I was disappointing with my first set if Idents, with only one getting a decent grade. This is because I put most of my effort into one single, much longer ident, while rushing the last two. Because of this, two of my idents were clearly sub-par. For the second submission, I poured more time and effort into my animation techniques, even incorporating the parallax technique. With my first ident, I created it almost entirely on paint and Sony vegas. I created 4 pictures, then added an post production zoom during the editing. After that, I overlapped the laptop layer with a screen recording of BBC Iplayer I recorded. All footage I used to overlay was found on the internet. Overall, I'm happy wit how this ident turned out, the animation isn't perfect, but it works for what it is.
I used Adobe Flash CS6 for my second and third idents, which made animation much much easier. I added blur and glow effects into both animations, as well as motion tweens and classic frames. After having never animated before, I personally think I did an acceptable job in animating both idents. The final ident is shorter than the others, which has been done on purpose, as some television idents are very short. I made up for the lack of duration in this ident, by making a longer ident as well (Ident 1). This shows off the range of ident durations that can be made.
Finished idents
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Here you can find a more in depth questionnaire, as well as some that have already been completed:
questionnaire.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
questionnaire_sam.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
questionnaire_josh.docx | |
File Size: | 15 kb |
File Type: | docx |
If you want to take the questionnaire, you can submit it by email to [email protected]
Evaluation of audience response
After finishing my idents, I uploaded them to YouTube so they can be reviewed upon by whomever decides to. As well as this, I've shared my work among friends and have received the sort of feedback I was expecting - that is, the animation looks amateurish. This makes perfect sense, as this was my first attempt at full-blown animation. The main aim was not to create a perfectly animated ident, rather, to design and produce one that is correctly targeted at a specific audience - something that most people agreed I have accomplished to a fair degree. I did however receive some feedback about my choice of animation technique, and that all three ident were animated in the same way. I did this because I was trying to keep within the boundaries of what I knew. I have used flash a few times in the past, which is why I decided to use it to make my idents over any different kind of animation.
After finishing my idents, I uploaded them to YouTube so they can be reviewed upon by whomever decides to. As well as this, I've shared my work among friends and have received the sort of feedback I was expecting - that is, the animation looks amateurish. This makes perfect sense, as this was my first attempt at full-blown animation. The main aim was not to create a perfectly animated ident, rather, to design and produce one that is correctly targeted at a specific audience - something that most people agreed I have accomplished to a fair degree. I did however receive some feedback about my choice of animation technique, and that all three ident were animated in the same way. I did this because I was trying to keep within the boundaries of what I knew. I have used flash a few times in the past, which is why I decided to use it to make my idents over any different kind of animation.
This document contains the following learning outcomes:
LO 32.1 - The design and purpose of television idents
LO 32.2 - The opportunities and limitations of onscreen graphic representation
LO 32.3 - Originating and planning television idents to a brief
LO 34.1 - The techniques and development of 2D animation
LO 34.4 - Evaluating audience responses to your own 2D animation work
LO 32.1 - The design and purpose of television idents
LO 32.2 - The opportunities and limitations of onscreen graphic representation
LO 32.3 - Originating and planning television idents to a brief
LO 34.1 - The techniques and development of 2D animation
LO 34.4 - Evaluating audience responses to your own 2D animation work