I can barely remember what the sound of BBC1 is nowadays. One thing I do find interesting is that we kind of blame the ECP trend on the Americans - but far more US shows go out without them than shows do here, and those that too are often promoting themselves rather than what is next on the network.
didn't abc1 try an american style of presentation during its short life? That never seemed too popular either.
Ah, the 8 Simple Rules channel. Yes, I'm sure they did.
I never liked the style: Episode 1 credits roll > Cold open of Episide 2 > Episode 2 title sequence > Commercial break. Meh. Disrupted the flow of the show, but I guess it was like that to give you a taste of the next show and try and hook you to stay watching.
They had the breaks in the 5 minute and 25 minute spaces (instead of between programmes and at 15/30) but the rest of the continuity was very British - now/next/later followed by full ident in to programme, just adverts and trails between.
In America you can expect one programme to go straight in to another with no continuity (or a CA talking over the closing logos). Even BBC America do it now (pretty sure they went for UK Gold style breaks at launch).
I was thinking the other day, it's a shame that pre-programme producer idents were done away with in the UK - HBO has become one of the most recognised brands in quality entertainment despite having no direct presence outside the Americas.
JJ
jjne
I've mentioned this before -- I find the current style of ident plus voiceover very jarring. The whole process of running the ident for a few seconds, then reducing the audio level to allow the announcer to speak, often raising it again afterwards only to crash it into the audio of the programme just does not work.
Idents should be self contained, if they are to be used at all. A quick sting, with the audio coming to an end before the ident is faded out, is far preferable.
I think that announcements should be confined to *before* the commercial break, or at very least before the ident into the programme starts. It should be a piece of continuity in its own right, not the now-conventional practice.
A live human being promoting a station is a very powerful tool. But in the typical British way, the concept has been compromised to the point where it generally no longer works.
I was thinking the other day, it's a shame that pre-programme producer idents were done away with in the UK - HBO has become one of the most recognised brands in quality entertainment despite having no direct presence outside the Americas.
Actually, HBO has a
major
direct presence outside the Americas, ranging from HBO Slovenia (my local version of HBO) at one end of the scale to huge operations like HBO Asia, serving millions of people. But your basic point stands, at least in regard to Western Europe, where HBO doesn't operate.
didn't abc1 try an american style of presentation during its short life? That never seemed too popular either.
AFAIK it was just so that the ad breaks would fit into the pre-placed ad breaks within the programme, in the American format. The programme was created that way, so it was just being played out as it was supposed to. We aren't used to it over here so it didn't go down well, but then how many people really watched abc1 anyway?
I've mentioned this before -- I find the current style of ident plus voiceover very jarring. The whole process of running the ident for a few seconds, then reducing the audio level to allow the announcer to speak, often raising it again afterwards only to crash it into the audio of the programme just does not work.
Idents should be self contained, if they are to be used at all. A quick sting, with the audio coming to an end before the ident is faded out, is far preferable.
I completely agree. Earlier today I was watching some old VHS tapes and I noticed how powerful the BBC1 COW and 1991 idents were. Even though they had no audio whatsoever, the silence alongside the announcer's voice created exactly the right atmosphere before a programme. There was never a jarring moment between the ident and the programme.
In terms of today, I think mute idents would be too much for broadcasters now. They'd insist on some sort of audio identity to accompany the ident visuals. But like you say, the music ought to stop - or at least fade out - before the announcer speaks. I also feel that if the powers that be are so insistent that clocks should no longer be used before the news, they could at least use a muted ident. I find the news junctions to be the most offensive of them all - jolly music crashing straight into a thunderclap (or bong for ITV). It just doesn't work.
I never liked the style: Episode 1 credits roll > Cold open of Episide 2 > Episode 2 title sequence > Commercial break. Meh. Disrupted the flow of the show, but I guess it was like that to give you a taste of the next show and try and hook you to stay watching.
I've not been that keen when I've seen it in the US, except for the lack of junction between programmes. Channel 4 and a few others have tried it without the top of the hour junction but with normal UK ad break spacing
I was thinking the other day, it's a shame that pre-programme producer idents were done away with in the UK - HBO has become one of the most recognised brands in quality entertainment despite having no direct presence outside the Americas.
But the British perception of HBO is totally different to what it actually is when you're in the US watching it. It's not a channel showing quality drama all day, it's basically a high-repeat Sky Movies with original programming for a few hours in the evening.
I was thinking the other day, it's a shame that pre-programme producer idents were done away with in the UK - HBO has become one of the most recognised brands in quality entertainment despite having no direct presence outside the Americas.
But the British perception of HBO is totally different to what it actually is when you're in the US watching it. It's not a channel showing quality drama all day, it's basically a high-repeat Sky Movies with original programming for a few hours in the evening.
Well, over there the perception of the HBO brand is different to the perception of the HBO original programming, which I think is held in high regard. Over here the only exposure to the HBO brand is their original programming.
It strikes me as being significant that Sky Atlantic's main marketing strap-line was "the home of HBO" - would the HBO brand have meant anything over here without the front cap?