Newsbeat

Given that a BBC Three relaunch is currently being considered, I decided to see how I could make Radio 1's Newsbeat brand work on TV as a programme for BBC Three. I've mainly been using this project to get used to using a video editor alongside PowerPoint for my creations. However, I'm feeling somewhat happy with what I've produced, so I figured that I might as well share it. I'm not sure whether or not I will keep working on this, or whether I will leave it as is and move on to something new. Either way, any feedback would be appreciated, and I hope you like it.

To be honest, that looks pretty good! I especially like the way you’ve chosen Newsbeat over the 60 Seconds programme used in the original BBC, because it allows the Newsbeat brand a bit. 4/5

Pretty decent. Those animations are really interesting and will divide people. I can't decide myself whether they'd be slightly jarring or whether they're actually really clever, new, and fitting with the brand.

I can't get behind this, I'm afraid. I like the idea of using the Newsbeat brand, but it doesn't bear much relation to anything used on the radio currently. Is there a reason you haven't used the existing audio imagery as a starting point? The graphics you've then used seem outdated and overly formal. The motion isn't bad but the overall look, I think, is underwhelming.

Here's a look at Mother's work, who created the existing Radio 1 identity. https://www.motherdesign.com/work/bbc-radio-1/ You can also look at James Mobbs who has done some work for them. I think the look of ITV News's Instagram bulletins is good. All of this is much fresher and more exciting than what you've created.

I also don't understand why you've selected the kind of studio set up that you have. I understand that it isn't the focus, but it's also a key part of the story you're telling here, and to me it's very stuffy compared to the usual Newsbeat style.

I don't want to be overly negative. In itself, what you've done is good, but I don't think that it necessarily fits the Newsbeat brand as an extension of Radio 1 and 1Xtra (and Asian Network).

The Mother stuff is beautiful, and completely wasted as it would only be seen as a static image or cropped for social media. The look they have given Radio 1 would actually be a decent presentation package for BBC THREE, I could definitely see some of their graphical elements working as idents and bumpers.

I can see what you’re going for, and I did experiment with something like this last year, that I never released on The Gallery.

It was incorporating the Newsround brand into Newsbeat.

Maybe try and use some of the Mother stuff and see where it takes you. And don’t be afraid to use a different font for the logo and a different font for the Headline and Lower Thirds.

I agree with others to use the Mother work, I've used it a lot of the last few months for different reasons.

The animation is a split case, it does look good, but flashing shapes may not be the best suited on-screen.
I'm also not 100% on the LIVE upper thirds appearing first as a larger wipe, Live by itself would work, but I'm not sold on having it with the location.

As with DeMarkay I have also made some stuff for Newsbeat as part of my The Nine mock, but never did enough to justify releasing it.

Out of interest, where is the music from?

Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate it. In response to a few of your points:


When experimenting and testing out the concept with a small group of friends, this was the biggest dividing point. Some liked them, and others really didn't. If I end up carrying on with it, I'll probably try some other animations, and see if I can find something that fits the brand without being quite as jarring.


I think the main reason it might come across that way is that this is the first time that I've used software other than just PowerPoint. As a result, I tried to play it safe, and I can understand why you might see it as overly formal. As I get more comfortable with everything, I'll see what I can do to mix it up a bit.


The main reason I didn't use the existing audio imagery is because I wasn't initially able to find it. Upon further investigation, I've managed to find some small segments of it. My audio editing skills aren't the best, and I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise that I'll use the current imagery unless I can find longer segments.


The main reason I chose the SVT Aktuell studio is because of how they use the studio. I could see their style working well for Newsbeat. Obviously though, it is just a placeholder.



As for the elements produced by Mother Design, I'll have a look and see what I can take from them.

I'll (try to) give you a full reply later, but here's some of the imaging: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdn5v6f5lku930k/BBC%20Newsbeat%20June%202017.mp3?dl=0

You could also use the 2015 stuff, I guess, as it's similar in style and the later version is arguably an update: https://soundcloud.com/danmumford/bbc-newsbeat-theme-2015

You can probably see why I didn't go any further with this, but here's what I did: