The missing ident: C4 1998

Good grief! I'd completely forgotten about those!

I must have seen them only a handful of times, and I think I just assumed they were for a special season of some sort.

I certainly wasn't aware they were full-time idents but introduced so shortly before the (IMHO crap) square-on-right-hand-side style, which still survives till this day as if they're better than the connection circles (which was the most stylish replacement for the coloured blocks they ever could have had, and which were complimented by just about everyone I knew). Wish they'd go back to that style.

As it is, C4 are one of the many channels that don't bother with picture slides - just text captions over plain(ish) background and logo.

Oh yeah. The circles era was different to all other channels around. And it was so basic and classy that it could fit any style of programming!

Im not sure that they should revert to the circles but use the square logo in different and innervative ways. Such as the chalk drawings created by foundation33... http://www.foundation33.com/ and click on chalk drawings.

I havent seen these used yet, anyone else?

That's probably because they weren't idents, just attempts to make people aware of C4.

I didnt think these would be idents. I thought they'd have been used as some promotion or something!

Channel 4 1998 - Adam and Joe

Channel 4 1998 - Jon Snow

The one I have one tape somewhere! Is similar to that it maes up the same squares background, except I think its different people, and it has music to it also!

Most odd! So were these idents just lying around, unused, and C4 thought they ought to use them before the new box idents came in, or what? I mean, it does seem odd to commission a set of idents just for one week, knowing you've got another set in a new style ready to go.

Thanks for these - I knew if I kept asking they would turn up eventually!

Any chance of the main TV websites now adding these files to history and digging around for a few more?

Thankyou!

Maybe they realised they weren't very good ... well, I think they're rubbish.

Well, at the time I liked them and then as they were taken off and replaced with inferior versions with just one circle in the middle, I wanted them back. To be honest, they weren't on air long enough to compare them with the stations other idents.

Channel 4 seems to have repeated the concept with the current E4 idents - people not looking at camera at the beginning of the ident, then staring into camera as the announcer speaks.