Just seen one of the new TOTH countdowns - very smart and the pips start at 10 rather than 7 - but the end wipe has changed... looks very smart! I notice the music has slightly changed too and the numbers font is bolder!
(Was this done because of Sky News' revamp ).
I think the higher pitched pips start at 9 rather than 10 but the countdown now actually counts down to the TOTH rather than to the sting at the end. Not sure about the changed end wipe and for some reason they played out the night version. I like the new music though - sounds slightly like the music originally intended for the 2005 countdown.
I doubt this very slight change was done because of Sky News though...
just got the final 15 seconds of before breakfast - is that a new count down there is on BBC news channel? - I just saw one with George Clooney which I've never seen before!!!
Yip - there is a suite of new countdowns that went live today...
Are there going to be any Mods to the graphics in the pipeline? Is there also a new filler going into the network weekend bulletins?
A nice new music mix and definitely a step in the right direction. Still though, it's badly implemented. The logo form up at the end, in particular, could be done so much better whilst still having a countdown to zero. Plus, as pathetic as it is, it irks me the pips start from 9 seconds to the hour. Still, it's better than before.
Generally, despite the refreshes, I have to say the whole BBC News style (music and graphics) have become very stale. The white titles in particular started weak and have only become weaker as time's gone on. I used to absolutely love the music and, while it's still iconic, the current package had run its course. I've never liked the current astons and still hate them today.
Time for a total refresh. Out with the red, white and grey.
The countdown from ten years ago looks less dated than what's on air today.
Never been a fan of this look at all - it's as if the whole (and far superior) ribbons look never existed and just a rather plain update of the 1999 graphics. If these had come along following them it would have been a nice refresh, but as the ribbons came first this was just a huge backwards step. The plain and blocky astons especially look awful - they can just about get away with the lower thirds, but the Live/Location strap looks so amateurish - on Election Night especially it looked so out of place, and it doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the graphics scheme at all.
I agree it's time to completely ditch the current look and theme and have something brand new at the next refresh, presumably when they move to Broadcasting House. Knowing the BBC though it'll probably be a staggered relaunch as usual with titles, studios and presenters all changing at different times.
Plus, as pathetic as it is, it irks me the pips start from 9 seconds to the hour. Still, it's better than before.
Shirley got to be a better compromise than starting at 7s though? Now that
was
madness.
The new conclusion points to the "there, that'll do" attitude the BBC seem unable to shake at the moment. As it is, it's by no means awful but it could have been better timed to avoid the awkward silence between the countdown music concluding and the animation ending, as well as applying a bit more thought to the actual design.
I'm going to break the trend of this thread, and say I quite like the BBC News graphics - well, the national ones anyway. There is some quite subtle animations, and the package matches the rest of the BBC News output, from idents & titles to the website. News graphics don't need to be rendered in 3D with hundreds of different gradients to make them modern. The graphics are there for a purpose - not to demonstrate the power of the 3D chipset in the graphics card they're using, but to inform viewers what they are seeing, and provide additional details where appropriate. The understated (but quite clever with their colour scheme) Gain/Hold/Lose graphics during the election I found much more appealing than Sky's "how much data can we fit on a lower third" graphics.
Finally, to the person who said Gill Sans is outdated, it's a classic font, has been around for decades, and almost certainly will be around for many more. It's also the BBC's corporate font, and IMHO opinion, looks quite classy, while being easy on the eyes.
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