TV Home Forum

Channel 4 Idents

New Rollercoaster ident (November 2007)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
AL
alisterj
r2ro posted:
Brekkie Boy posted:
People need to remember the point of the C4 idents is the subtle inclusion of the logo which you do have to spot.

I don't think they'd work anywhere near as well if the "4" just formed up then remained on screen.


Perhaps not but I think the ident may look better and the branding improved and clearer if the logo stayed on the screen a little longer.


I think the idea behind C4 idents was that they were like short films and not like the traditional style ident. It would look odd if the camera just stood still when the 4 formed. As we fly past the 4, we see how it is positioned and made and stuff... see what I mean?
CY
cylon6
tvarksouthwest posted:
cylon6 posted:
And it also shows BBC1 once again how to have a long form up but still have time to show the ident. They still can't get it right with Mission Control can they?

What BBC1 should really do is to bring in "zero" edits of all their idents; that is, versions which come in at the point of logo form-up. This would provide a more sombre intro for things like the news in the absence of a clock (though that excellent YouTube mock shows a timepiece could be done if they had a mind to!)


That's a very good idea and I think BBC1 & 2 did something like that in 1987. The end of the trailer was exactly the same as the ident, so sometimes you would get the ident animation or a trailer would end and the announcer would start talking over the end of it and introduce the programme.

I'm not explaining this very well. But look here and you'll see what I mean.

http://www.rp-network.com/tvforum/uploads/bbc1xmas1987trailed.rm
TV
tvarksouthwest
I know exactly what you mean. Bernard Newnham thought up the concept when he realised that most junctions over the Christmas period would have a trail. However, in later years it was perhaps realised having the trail endboard the same design as the ident was a bit unimaginitive so the design of the two would once again be different, although the trails were still designed so the ident could be an alternate trail ending.
ST
SillyTilly
That is a brilliant new ident
LL
Larry the Loafer
I like it. The only problem is the fact that people complain about the fact that the logo isn't even on screen for a second in most idents - this one takes the P.I.-double snakes
AL
alisterj
I hope C4 has a xmas ident this year
TV
tvarksouthwest
They won't - confirmed in not so many words by the correspondance I had with them earlier this year. They say to do so conflicts with their ideology of "doing things differently".
CY
cylon6
I think you have to go back quite a few years to see a Channel 4 Christmas ident. They had some good ones too! Such a shame they can't get into the spirit of it like they used to.
TV
tvarksouthwest
Their last decent one was 1995 (two interlinked, revolving 4s in a Christmas Tree formation). After that it was the circles era and the dreadful Sky-like pres that came with it; Christmas idents were still done but completely unmemorable.
PE
Pete Founding member
r2ro posted:
Brekkie Boy posted:
People need to remember the point of the C4 idents is the subtle inclusion of the logo which you do have to spot.

I don't think they'd work anywhere near as well if the "4" just formed up then remained on screen.


Perhaps not but I think the ident may look better and the branding improved and clearer if the logo stayed on the screen a little longer.


I'd argue the opposite is true. The idents show that the C4 brand is SO strong that it only needs to appear for a fraction of a second to register.
Trying doing that with the Optical Express logo
JR
jrothwell97
Hymagumba posted:
r2ro posted:
Brekkie Boy posted:
People need to remember the point of the C4 idents is the subtle inclusion of the logo which you do have to spot.

I don't think they'd work anywhere near as well if the "4" just formed up then remained on screen.


Perhaps not but I think the ident may look better and the branding improved and clearer if the logo stayed on the screen a little longer.


I'd argue the opposite is true. The idents show that the C4 brand is SO strong that it only needs to appear for a fraction of a second to register.
Trying doing that with the Optical Express logo


Correct. I myself would go further, and say that the 'spot the 4' element actively encourages you to actually look for the logo, which etches the brand into your mind still further.
SG
SGR10
Is channel 4 starting to phase out the older idents to replace them with new ones?

Newer posts