The theme tune is fine as it is, people don't tune in to a news bulletin and think the theme tune is the most important thing.
I seem to remember me telling you something like this before, about idents.
Like idents, theme music must have a purpose, or TV people wouldn't splash out loads of money on it. And that purpose is to set up the following content, to set the tone for it.
So if you heard something upbeat and lively before the bulletin, you would expect an upbeat and lively programme. Equally, something serious and authoritative indicates something similar will follow.
Of course people don't tune in for the music, that would be ridiculous, but it is clearly important and shouldn't be dismissed simply because it is not the point of the programme.
I agree with you, Jugalug. The theme music is vitally important. The 5 News music from 1997 would not have suited News at Ten back then, nor would the Nine O'Clock News theme have suited 5 News. The music has to be tailored to suit the style of the programme. I definitely think the current ITV News music is too lightweight. It's fine for the Lunchtime News, but not for the Evening News, in my opinion. I'd rather they use something a little more authoritative (in the correct key) and have subtle variations for the lunch and evening bulletins like the did between 1995 and 1999.
Agree with you Jugalug, the theme must reflect the content of the programme and I personally feel the current ITV News package doesn't, it really needs to be more authoritative. If I'm nitpicking, it's not in the correct key and as I said some time ago there's no real variation on the famous 'duh duh-duh duh' motif within the package as there was in the 1995 one (despite the fact that it was the same composer for both). Never mind the fact that the current theme dropped the second (the opening bars to NaT) and third (end of the NaT opening, before the drum to bong section) motifs.
Completely agree with you too Robert; the music and overall look for all the ITN bulletins between those years was fantastic. The current theme is, like you said, fine for the daytime programme but perhaps it should be made slightly more 'traditional' (and back to the original key); maybe with more strings and generally a little bit more orchestral for the Evening News, so that you get a slow transition between the themes throughout the day from lightweight (LN) to dramatic (NaT). The 1995 look did this perfectly in my opinion.
Never really appreciated it at the time but they had the look spot on back in the late nineties before the big ITV News revamp, and just as they took inspiration from the 80's titles for News at Ten, it would be the 90's I'd use as the starting point for ITV News in general.
Where do people stand on the bongs now then - initially it was right to use them on ITV News after News at Ten was axed IMO, but now News at Ten is back - and the headline sequences need to be more flexible, I think it might be time to drop them from the other bulletins.
Wholeheartedly agree with you guys. The late 1990s were the best years for news on ITV. Pre-1995 the bulletins looked too separate from each other and the 1999 revamp just cheapened everything. I definitely think the years 1995-1999 were the best. The music was fabulous, the studio was simple and easy on the eye with a real newsroom in the background and the Big Ben titles were fantastic. ITV London currently occupies that studio but don't make use of the wonderful ITN atrium. In fact, the presenters are looking towards the atrium when they're looking at the cameras. However, they now have a curtain drawn across the window.
As far as the bongs go, I think they should be used for News at Ten only. The other bulletins pre-1999 didn't use them and, like Brekkie said, the only reason they were rolled out across all the bulletins was to keep the NAT brand alive in one form or another. Now that it's back, it doesn't matter.
The theme tune is fine as it is, people don't tune in to a news bulletin and think the theme tune is the most important thing.
I seem to remember me telling you something like this before, about idents.
Like idents, theme music must have a purpose, or TV people wouldn't splash out loads of money on it. And that purpose is to set up the following content, to set the tone for it.
So if you heard something upbeat and lively before the bulletin, you would expect an upbeat and lively programme. Equally, something serious and authoritative indicates something similar will follow.
Of course people don't tune in for the music, that would be ridiculous, but it is clearly important and shouldn't be dismissed simply because it is not the point of the programme.
Oh I do agree 100% with what you're saying, I just don't think its their top priority to sort out. But small things do make a big difference.
Agree with you Jugalug, the theme must reflect the content of the programme and I personally feel the current ITV News package doesn't, it really needs to be more authoritative.
It's a hell of a lot more authoritative than when they used to use "Non Stop"
Agree with you Jugalug, the theme must reflect the content of the programme and I personally feel the current ITV News package doesn't, it really needs to be more authoritative.
It's a hell of a lot more authoritative than when they used to use "Non Stop"
Everytime I come across clips of that era on Youtube, I can't imagine how that music was ever acceptable
I know! It's unbelievable that it managed to hang on until the 1980s. I'd have thought it would have been axed well before then as it was far too jolly for news.
I know! It's unbelievable that it managed to hang on until the 1980s. I'd have thought it would have been axed well before then as it was far too jolly for news.
I remember reading somewhere it was axed mid-1982, probably coninciding with the Falklands Confilct and the tune being too jolly, hence why it replaced with the rather electro type music that hung on until 1987.
You have to remember that Non-Stop was only being used on the Weekend and Bank Holidays bulletins which were never long, by this time News At One, News At 545 and News At Ten had been long established with their own themes.
Believe it or not that theme wasn't considered 'too jolly' (god knows why!), even at the time it was discontinued. I may have this wrong but AIUI they were wanting to change the signature tune for a long while, perhaps because it had been in use on ITN bulletins for over twenty years (and as Steve pointed out, all the other programmes had their own themes/looks). It just so happened that the Falklands was occuring when they managed to change the tune.