TV Home Forum

Bat's wings 60th anniversary

(November 2013)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
VM
VMPhil
JAS84 posted:

It's from the 1950s colour tests, so I don't think it would have been seen on air.

That image is from this page on the MHP: http://www.meldrum.co.uk/mhp/continuity/bbc_colour.html
WH
Whataday Founding member
Isonstine posted:
Inspector Sands posted:
They were there a few years I think, taken down when the new branding was introduced in 1997.

There might not be many photos (during the recent TVC nostalgia I've not seen many of the multicoloured Television Centre sign either) but they appeared on air quite a bit I think. In fact I can't find it on YouTube but I think they appear on episode 1 of I'm Alan Partridge


An example of both the multi coloured sign and BBC1 and 2 logos courtesy of The Sun:

http://img.thesun.co.uk/aidemitlum/archive/01672/bbc620_1672770a.jpg


I think they were put up in 1994 when the BBC Television Centre lettering was updated.
JC
JamieC
The BBC have today put an entry on their 'About the BBC' blog about Bat's Wings, along with some video. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/posts/The-First-BBC-TV-Ident-Abram-Games-Bats-Wings

Can anyone date this? The title of the video is "1956 continuity". There is a reference to a boxing match - the only entry I can find was on 27th August 1956, but at Cardiff, not at Wembley. "Siding 273" was scheduled for 19th August 1956, some 8 days prior to the boxing. And what the hell is "The Invincible Andes"? Also the clock after the boxing IVC shows the time to be 11.44, strange as the boxing has just been announced for 8pm "this evening". I guess this clip is a compilation of sorts...
VM
VMPhil
JamieC posted:
The BBC have today put an entry on their 'About the BBC' blog about Bat's Wings, along with some video. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/posts/The-First-BBC-TV-Ident-Abram-Games-Bats-Wings

What a lovely article.
RW
Robert Williams Founding member
JamieC posted:
The BBC have today put an entry on their 'About the BBC' blog about Bat's Wings, along with some video. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/posts/The-First-BBC-TV-Ident-Abram-Games-Bats-Wings

Can anyone date this?

The same clip is also here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/bbclogo/abram_games.shtml along with the answer to the conundrum: it was never broadcast!

Quote:
This is The Television Symbol in action, together with original music improvised by Sidonie Goossens, principal harp with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. An edited weather forecast follows. Announcer Sylvia Peters then appears with changes to the evening’s schedule. The sequence ends with the television clock, and Greenwich Time Signal. This entire 'programme junction' (space between programmes) was set up in August 1956 for senior executives to discuss the look of The BBC Television Service on screen, and was never broadcast. It was the first serious attempt at analysing the on-air 'look' of the channel, and was prompted by the launch of the first ITV company, Associated-Rediffusion the previous September, which had adopted a more contemporary on-air feel.


Lots of other interesting links there as well, including some memos from 1974-75 about changing the network symbols!
VM
VMPhil
There are photos from the film shoot for the balloon idents here, don't think I've ever seen them before. http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/bbclogo/logo_gallery.shtml
JA
JAS84
Two mistakes on that page. One, they refer to baloons. Someone needs to learn to use spellcheck! And two, regarding the COW, the text is described as Times New Roman, when it's not.
PC
Paul Clark
'COW - Computer Generated World'?
"Hang on a minute, 'generated' doesn't begin with an O..."


JAS84 posted:
regarding the COW, the text is described as Times New Roman, when it's not.



Indeed... AFAIK, that is one of the BBC's own typeface versions, though I'd quite like someone to prove otherwise after all this time!

I've always thought it looks like a halfway house between Perpetua and Optima - the latter itself having a strong presence in presentation from the era.
SD
sda|
Robert Williams posted:

Lots of other interesting links there as well, including some memos from 1974-75 about changing the network symbols!


Indeed yes, this part is particularly intriguing -
*
IS
Inspector Sands
Robert Williams posted:

Quote:
This is The Television Symbol in action, together with original music improvised by Sidonie Goossens, principal harp with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. An edited weather forecast follows. Announcer Sylvia Peters then appears with changes to the evening’s schedule. The sequence ends with the television clock, and Greenwich Time Signal. This entire 'programme junction' (space between programmes) was set up in August 1956 for senior executives to discuss the look of The BBC Television Service on screen, and was never broadcast. It was the first serious attempt at analysing the on-air 'look' of the channel, and was prompted by the launch of the first ITV company, Associated-Rediffusion the previous September, which had adopted a more contemporary on-air feel.


Did the BBC ever use the Greenwich Time Signal (aka the pips) on TV?
JA
JAS84
Nick Higham's report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25181754
ST
Stuart
JAS84 posted:

. . . or here, from BBC Breakfast this morning Laughing

Newer posts