Week 11: Developing Ideas and Investigation into TV Idents

Over the past week I have been continuing with my developing ideas. I have developed 3 initial ideas for my TV Ident. The idents which I have created an idea on include:

• ITV1: Christmas
• Film4: British Film
• CBBC: The Olympics

To brainstorm my ideas I created a mind map focusing on the features which I will include within my TV Ident. Some of these elements include: content, colour, logo, sound/ music, typography, screen tempo, space and time and identity. I have brainstormed with a mind map for the above TV Idents. In order for me to brainstorm these initial ideas I researched into some existing TV Idents for the channels listed above. I have analysed some existing TV idents and talked about the negatives and positives of these idents. From researching into these idents I have been able to understand what is included within idents and elements which I could consider and develop within my animation. One ident which I analysed was the Film4 Ident for the car scene, this is shown below. One main element I noticed within the Film4 Idents was that they included 'film scene' footage. This makes the ident dramatic and relates in well with the theme of the channel which is films.

The main element which I included within the mind map was the content, for each initial idea I included the concept and what is happening within the TV Ident.
The following image shows my initial idea mind map for my idea for ITV- Christmas.
The concept for my ITV1 TV ident focuses on the Christmas tree. The camera will pan up from the bottom of the Christmas tree to the top to reveal my original ITV1 logo. Around this image will be sparkles, stars and other elements which suggest the theme of Christmas. I want to clearly portray the Christmas theme within this ident. The image below shows my initial idea mind map for this idea.

ITV1- Christmas Initial Idea Mind Map

My other initial idea was based on the theme of the CBBC- Olympics. I created a similar mind map for this idea. The concept behind this idea relates around my original logo for CBBC. The TV Ident features various Olympic athletes 'coming together' around the CBBC logo. They will be seen on and around the logo which is placed in the centre of the screen. The different Olympians will be seen showing their different sports around the logo. An image of my mind map for this idea is shown below.

CBBC Initial Idea Mind Map

For my final idea I have focused on the Film4 theme of a British film. The concept behind this idea was to take The Italian Job as an iconic British film. Mini Cars will be the focus of this ident, various Minis will be seen driving around the screen and eventually forming the 4 on the logo. This is similar to the concept of the Channel 4 idents. An image of mind map for this idea is shown below.

Initial Idea Film4 Mind Map

I will continue to complete my developing ideas by completing the last of analyses of existing idents. I will then continue to complete my production schedule, this is by researching into the final product when I have decided on one of my initial ideas for my final idea. This document focuses on the budget, techniques, legal and ethical considerations, client and audience needs and similar/ existing products. I will create a document based on these elements and this will help me to write my proposal/ pitch. I will decide on a final idea by the end of this week and I will then have a clear idea of what I will be creating to start the pre-production documents listed on my production schedule.

Investigation into TV Idents
I have also been completing the investigation into TV Idents. I have researched into the history of TV idents and within my report I have discussed the development of the ITV1 logos. This has allowed me to see how the idents have developed over time through the new technology being introduced. This investigation focuses on the design, purpose, opportunities and limitations in relation to TV idents. These are the main aspects which I will be focusing on within the investigation and will show my knowledge from research through this report.
I will continue to complete my developing ideas and decide on my final idea. I will create a document for the final idea to show clearly my decisions and justify my decisions for the final idea.

Week 10: Introduction to TV Idents Assignment and Pre-production Started

I have been introduced to the new assignment, creating a Television Ident. This assignment requires me to use Adobe Flash to create a TV Ident. From the brief I have been given four different options to create an Ident based on, these include:

• ITV- Christmas
• E4 Music- An unsigned band
• CBBC- The Olympics
• Film 4- A British Film

From these I will choose an idea to create a final ident which appeals to the target audience of teenagers. I am required to carry out an investigation into the design and purpose of TV idents. I will research into the different elements which are considered in relation to these points. Some of the design elements include:

• Screen Tempo- The speed and rhythm of the ident, these are usually slow paced.
• Space and Time- The space used within the screen and the duration of ident which is 30 seconds.
• Information Led- Important information may be shown within the TV ident.
• Interaction with the viewers- Makes the audience think and react to the ident. The ident will catch the audience attention even if they are not watching the TV as they can hear the voice over for the ident.

Some purpose elements for TV idents include:

• Identity- For the channel, this becomes an identity and people can recognise their channels and programmes by this ident.
• Packaging and Re-Packaging- New techniques and formats are added to older TV idents.
• Scheduling- Idents can be seen as adverts and breaks within TV programmes, especially within channels such as BBC.
• Segmentation within scheduling- This allows the programmes to be ‘broken up’ and show that one programme has finished and they are now introducing another.

For the investigation I will be finding some existing TV idents and relating these to the design and purpose elements. This will show how they present the purpose and design elements within TV idents. Through this investigation it will present my knowledge in terms of TV idents and their purpose and design. Therefore I will be able to start brainstorming my own TV ident ideas as I have knowledge in how they are designed and their purpose.

I have created a production schedule for this assignment and this document shows the time frames which I have allowed myself to carry out the individual tasks. The image below shows my production schedule. The deadline for this assignment is 30^th January 2012 and from the production schedule it shows my deadlines clearly. My investigation document needs to be completed by 12^th December, my pre-production documents needs to be completed by 16^th January.

TV Ident Production Schedule

I will start to complete my developing ideas by creating 3 initial ideas for the TV ident, based on the different options to create an ident based on. I aim to carry out the investigation on TV idents and developing ideas from this week. As shown in my production schedule I will be completing 2 different documents at the same time. This allowed me to be able to complete the tasks required for this assignment. I will be continuing with the investigation and developing ideas, by creating mind maps and sketches to show my initial ideas for my TV ident.