The Birth, Life and Death of an Ident

With the much anticipated "Christmas Ident" season approaching, I was wondering how an ident actually gets on screen. My questions are as follows:
1): PRODUCTION: Who oversees and the production of an ident, how are ideas considered and how long before transmission does it become created.
2): How is it despatched to regions and how long before the first transmission is it seen by continuity announcers.
3) Do CA's have any idea of what a new presentation package is to be or is the embargo applied to them as well?
4) Is it videotaped or loaded onto a PC or both?
5) In the instance of Christmas Idents and the re-issuing of 2002's in 2003 wwas it a decision taken at the time of last 2002 transmission not to destroy the ident or are ALL idents kept for a period of time.
6) Do old balloon ident coverage still exist.

7) When is a Christmas Ident thought about, planned, created and filmed? Is it earlier in the year or actually very near to Christmas?

If anyone can shed an answer for me I would be greatly appreciative.

3) They'd most likely see anything new at the same time as everyone else on the team

4) They're played out in exactly the same way as the programmes and trails - these days normally from a video server

It's probably buried somewhere in the BBC's archives on a tape or disc.

Or it could still be on the servers (assuming they had such technology installed during that period) but not cueable for whatever reason (I read on here once that the BBC balloon clock is still sitting somewhere in a rack, ticking away but removed from the mixers).

They wouldn't have been kept on the playout servers - there's no point keeping something on them that isn't going to be broadcast again. ALso the whole shebang has moved to a totally new building since

Channel management or planning would commission one, much in the same way they'd commission any other branding or promos. It would then probably go to the same people who designed their regular idents - in the BBC's case, probably Red Bee.


I'm not sure if there's a specific embargo as such. Quite a few people will see the ident in its production process, and but it's probably just the case that you don't know who they are, so they're not going to tell you.


I don't know for sure, but I suspect that idents and the like are seen worthy enough to keep the tapes of - where as I think that promos have their tapes recycled.

Plus would be taking up server space, which is better used for keeping programmes on.

The Balloon symbols are no longer on the servers, but the master tapes do still exist in the archives along with tapes of many other BBC Network identitles.. The "Dancers" clock did exist using the kit that generated the last BBC One Balloon Clock but was never used on air - and as a result was not on the BBC One mixer. Sad really because it was quite nice!

And were did you see the dancer clock?

Yes... Quite nice. Apart from the Red Box being in slightly the wrong position on-screen. If cutting between a trail and the clock, there would have been a noticable movement

Is there any chance of actually seeing what this looked like, either with a cap of the real thing or with a mock?

In a BBC scenario:

1. Marketing and the Channel Controlers office would oversee the project. How far in advance of transmission the ident is made varies.

2. The ident can be either dispatched to the Nations and Regions on tape, or played out down a line to them for recording.

3. Embargos vary on a case by case basis. The CAs and Directors may not get a chance to see a new ident/package until the day they are expected to voice it.

4. The ident will be loaded on to server for playout, but a tape back-up will exist.

5. All idents are (or should) be archived.

6. The ballon idents do still exist: just not on server.

7. Have far in advance the planning for idents starts, once again, varies.

I'm not very good at making mocks:

Imagine a blurred still from Capoeria (dancers on roof), with a red box in slightly the wrong place, and circle for the clock face (was it more blurred, or frosted, or was it clear??? Can't remember), and the same hands etc that were on the ballons clock.

That doesn't sound like a bad clock at all, its just a shame that we'll never see it again. Hopefully in this post-Heggessey era there is the chance of a clock re-emerging at some point.
I wonder what that will look like?
Would they dare venture into digital?