What makes a good TV ident?

This is a question that came to mind when Sky's latest package began broadcasting. We saw Sky1's new idents being arguably criticised for bland music and barely anything happening on the screen. Saying that, the same could've been said for Sky Atlantic's idents which have a similar set-up, but they're considered to be very good, be it the visuals or the soundtrack or whatever.

We've had legends like the 90s 2's and the... well, nothing else seems to have universal adoration, but it got me thinking - What needs to be on the screen? Does it need a message? Does it need to be flashy and exciting or subtle and calm? Does it really need to tell you something about the channel or does it just have to look eye-catching?

Tell me, fellow forumers - what do you think makes a good TV ident?

It's got to have the feel of the channel like for bbc they do good idents for drama sitcoms with the lawn mower idents. the sky1 one does not say sky at all like when did sky1 have anything to do with swimming.

What makes a good TV ident?

Any agency employed by Channel 4.

When looking back on the old ITV regions (in particular Thames, ATV & LWT) it seems a striking, simple fanfare & unique, well thought out logo make a great ident, something of which sadly these days most channels lack both of.

That would (in my view) explain why I like the BSB idents.

I'd agree with that, in particular Galaxy and The Power Station.

It can't have been only me who thought the original BBC HD ident looked like it could have been Galaxy HD.

I don't think the logo itself is that important, there have been some great idents which resolve to boring logos.

The music is very important, I agree about fanfares they need to be short and snappy but makes them is the way the visuals are synced to the music. ATVs and LWTs are 2 good examples as are the last set that Carlton had

I don't think the music is always important. Central is one of the most memorable TV identities for me, and yet they used a cacophony of different tunes to accompany their idents.

Same sort of goes for BBC Two and, to a lesser extent, Channel 4.

Memorable yes, but were they amongst the best? Their original 'cake' ident was probably the best they had and that made good use of music with a simple 7 note tune


Music was very important on the original Channel 4 idents, they are the classic example of a fanfare sync'ed up to music. When they replaced the music they just weren't as good.

The music on Channel 4s idents is used to mark the point that the logo appears of course

Since when was BBC One symbolized for Drama and sitcoms with some Lawnmowers? BBC One doesn't show programmes about Lawnmowers, and so your point has a massive flaw.

I understand what tellyboxPLUS means. Take 'Hippos' for example. The programme following is likely not to include hippos, but it symbolises either comedy or wildlife. It's a lose connection but I'd argue it's much better than Sky1's effort currently. The focus of the idents seems to have become 'lifestyle', which is not what I think of when I watch programmes like The Simpsons, House or Louis Spence.



I personally prefer ident sets which have some sort of music motif that symbolises the channel, but not necessarily the same music (as in dreary ITV1 and Sky1). On BBC One, music was one of the great things about the balloon period and probably the best part of the Dancers era. The Circle ident's motif imo isn't as good. BBC Two's 2001-2007 package also had a nice 4 note motif that brought all the idents together.

But that's just my opinion. Others probably don't agree that it's that important.

A musical leitmotif is nice to have but a fanfare? Maybe in the early 80s and prior but now it just seems distinctly old hat, something nostalgic but stuck in a past generation. What makes a good ident isn't as simple as flying shapes in space or a numeral with character. A good ident reminds you why you even give a damn about this sort of thing at all, it has to at least impress and make a connection, maybe even inspire. Doing it is tough as it's all about showing what a channel's whole ethos is in some 30 seconds at most, the first 5-10 being the most important and the ones which people remember fondly are the ones which were creatively different and striking enough to be indelible in the memories of those who watch it.

What makes a good ident is as complex a question as what a good brand is or what makes for a good comedy series, many here will have a clear bias towards the idents between the late 60's and early 90's as it's simply what many will have seen time and again and have grown up with and would expect it to be held to that regard even if sometimes you feel that a 5 second basic blue and white animation with a brassy fanfare to accompany would suit them fine. That isn't bad in itself but it makes an answer for what makes a good ident that much harder to seek out as it has a set structure that you might not be able to see around even if the result on the opposite side is worthy of being called good

Basically, what makes a good ident is whatever we feel nostalgia for, nothing else. You can tart it up and say it had deeper resonance beyond that but most times that's all it is. And that's OK.