Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Purpose of a TV Ident

Why have an Ident?

Idents are used for all different things and they have many different purposes.

It can be used so that people know what channel they are watching, also it gives some time for the narrator to take about the next programs on. The idents sometimes reflect the nature of the next program so people know what it is likely to be about. Some idents are made to show what the next program could be about so that people can decide if they want to watch that show or now.




This ident for E4 could mean there is something maybe not suitable for younger children or something which could include violence. Its almost like a pre-warning as to what the program could have in it or what it could loosely be in reference to.

It promotes the channel, the ident represents the type of programs the channel shows and who it is aimed at. e.g- Bright colours, on the BBC Three ident, would appeal more to younger people therefore it represents programs for teens and young adults.


The music in this ident sounds quite modern, even the words used by the narrator can relate to younger people.

Idents are also used to break up program scheduling so that there is some kind of gap in between programs. These idents have to be quite flexible with their timing because if the narrator has a lot to say then the ident needs to last as long as the voice over otherwise it would just be a black screen and people would get bored.




Some idents represent the history or a story behind the channel, channel four's logo of all the pieces of 4 coming together represent a different range of programs coming together. The Channel 4 puzzle logo, make up of 9 blocks, was the first ident that a TV company used an on-air identity to reveal itself as a brand. The logo became an icon. The blocks are still used in the channel 4 ident today.
"Channel 4 didn't make programs. It just commissioned them. So the identity expressed the idea of different elements coming together" - Martin Lambie-Nairn.  





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