TV-idents with magical mashups
Enzo’s Monday Motion #141: Nowadays everything is video, so as a company just a logo isn’t enough. What better place to find inspiration for idents than networks and broadcasting agencies. From BBC2 to ESPN youth: five examples of great rebranding.
Show me your skills
Maybe it’s just me, but every time I go to the cinema I play the ident game. The rules are simple: the one who guesses the name of the production agency first wins and the clock stops when the name of the agency is on screen. The next one should be doable for pretty much everyone.
Paramounts shift to the small screen is smartly executed: the ident shows their diverse programming while building on their strong reputation on the big screen. It’s good to see they took some creative freedom in story and camera movement. Directed by Andrea Gasparo, produced by Tax Free Film and concept by Ogilvy & Mather Milan.
Milestone
BBC2’s last re-branding dates already two decades ago. Time for a serious upgrade! The in house agency BBC Creative based the new logo on the number 2. A design which leaves a lot of space for interpretation (and so) style. Sixteen different agencies had the chance to create an ident which had to tell the networks belief: an alternative outlook on media thats smartly produces and selects a variety of programming.
The collection is truly magnificent and mesmerising. From classic stop motion by Aardman to the 3D artwork of The Mill. Extra credit to sound designer Alex Baranowski. In style with the logo he he used the same two notes for every ident, matching them according to the visual style.
Getting rid of the Clutter
We stay in England for one of my favourite (ident) channels. Channel 4 has grown from a single net to an network with channels like E4 (for entertainment) to More4, Film4, 4Music and 4Seven. Over time the different (sub) identities became soo estranged it was time for a clean up. The answer lies in a simple but smart solution.
Like the BBC the artists received quite some freedom form the youth channel E4. An assignment which is filled in brilliantly by Studio AKA, Blinkink, and Time Based Arts.
ManvsMachine updated their earlier work for Film4. It’s clear that this channel has a slightly older target audience. The programme announcements are simple yet sophisticated. The deep red background has a subtile classic texture which make it look stylish. As if you’re watching the upgraded version of Netflix.
La France
The millennials across The Channel are watching VFX. It’s clear by now that diversity is key.
I’m curious if the youngsters recognise the classic references like back to the Future. The work by Superestudio is nice, but not as impressive as the previous examples.
USA
American sports network ESPN has like Channel 4 a specific network dedicated for the youth. The outcome is not a surprise but it is very pleasant for the eye.
ESPN went to the right agency for this set of idents. STATE is know as an agency that constantly re-invents itself and it delivered once again. Extra credits to Combustion for the sweet scores and sound design.
More Stuff
Enjoy this next set of TV-idents over here.
