6 sheet bus stop, and 48 sheet billboard

I’ve tried a number of different lines for the billboards and bus stops. I don’t think the text looks right stacked on top of each other. It doesn’t flow well, the others lead your eye over to the logo. I don’t want to be really blunt and just say “for the over sixties channel4 presents…” plus I think it’s too long for a billboard statement. The version I think I’ll use is “Channel 4 presents…(for those of a certain age)” I think it’s a subtle way of saying its for an older audience without offending anyone. I may also use the line “Channel 4 introduces…(for those of a certain age)” as we are lunching the new station. 

Background colour

I showed John my layouts for my identity guide and wasn’t sure about the white background he thought it was a bit too empty and didn’t have enough punch to it. So I did a few different versions with black and different tones of grey. John liked these a lot better. He said they had more impact and really brought out the colour in the text and programme running behind the logo. I decided to go for the bottom right version which is 75% grey. I thought the black was too heavy and the other two versions were too washed out. 75% grey seemed to be a happy medium. I will now use this background colour throughout my brand identy. The grey background also ties in well with my ident video which has grey tones throughout.

John was happy with the sound and video quality of the TV ident. He told me to work on the text layout and sound (I removed the voice over) which I did and he seems quite happy with it.

Indent progress

TV Ident: Final version

This is the final version of the TV ident. Here I here done some screen shoots to show how the video flows and merges in with the logo. I have tried a number of different text layouts to see which version works best. The first version was too long and too much information to read at once. The second version was better. As it’s a teaser ident I only need the basic information (date and URL). However I did like the date and URL lined up, but I thought the date was too big. So for the last version I made it smaller and lined to the left with a rag on the right. I lined it up with the base of the 4 so the eye would follow the text over to the logo. I think this text version works the best.

Garage Band

After I was happy with my ident video I started working on what sounds would suit it. At the start I was going to use a static sound, however after playing it over the video it didn’t feel right, and as the video lasts for 28seconds the static sound gets a bit boring. The video had a spooky feel to. It looked like there was a torch looking for you, like there was someone are something hunting you down. So I then decided to try and make it sound like someone was getting chased. I then seared for footprint running sounds, dogs barking and running, wind blowing and heavy breathing. I then organised them in such a way so it sounded like a man was being changed by dogs and hiding from them. This fitted in really well with the video and I was able to play around with the levels of each sound so it sounded like they were coming from different directions and increasing/decreasing at different stages of the video.

After Effects

When I selected the video I wanted to use I brought it into After Effects and flicked it the right way round so it was reading as 64. I then selected the part of the video I wanted to use and made it fit the stage. I was then able to bring my white logo in and make it merge into the last part of the light logo, before it moved off the stage. I had to play around the angle of the logo first so it merged smoothly into the sequence. I didn’t want the text to look out of place so I gave it a slight blur as it appeared on the stage and then let it slowly come into focus like the logo. John said that I didn’t need as much text as I had in the first version. As it’s only a teaser I only need a date and maybe the channel4.com/64 URL link so I took his advice and it looks much better. John also told me that the voice over wasn’t necessary and the noise of the wind, dogs and the chase was enough.

Transition 1, 2 and 3

Layout

Logo Opacity

I think 35% is the best choice. It doesn’t dominate the screen like 100%, and 50% and 70% still grab the eye too much. 35% allows you to see the programme without distracting from the action however you are still aware its there.

Type size

Logo size and text layout

As you can see I have tried the logo in different positions and different sizes. I looked at channel4, more4, film4 and E4 brand identity, and I think the three versions on the left are too large and take up too much of the screen so I decreased it in size which fitted in more with what the other channel4 programmes have done.

As my logo will be show in black or white all the time I wanted to introduce some colour into the identy. I thought the logo could be see thought when entering the screen and introducing a programme. The main colour of the programme running behind the logo could then be used in the text. For example if it’s a programme about nature and there are lots of trees then green could be pulled out of the image and used to highlight certain areas of the text.

Chat with John

I showed John the new footage and he was pleased with the quality. I'm going to work on the film now on After Effects and add sound, text and my logo.

I'm also going to start developing my identity style guide, showing how text/image should look on TV.

JVC film camcorder

I wasn’t happy with the footage from the last camera, it kept going in and out of focus so I went and got a higher quality film camera of the university. This worked much better and it was a lot shaper than the last videos. I was able to connect the camcorder to my Mac and film directly into imovie, which was great as I could review them straight away on a large screen. When I showed John the last footage from the old camera he liked the shadow idents most so he told me to focus on them and not use the others (coffee idea). I have continued to experiment with movement, light and shadow in these new videos. I wanted to see which angle would suit the piece best and show of the logo in an interesting way. I quite like the idea of zooming in on the middle of the logo and zooming out slowly. I also like the base focus moving into an aerial image.

I used a darker/cooler light in these videos. I wanted more of a darker/spookier feel to the piece. I like the variation of shadows being cast. There is also a mystery behind the piece as you see the logo in a number of different lights. Its there one second and gone the next.

I used a number of light colours for this idea. I was thinking I could use the different light shades to represent the different times of the day. For example yellow/orange light for the morning time, white light for daytime and blue light for night time. However I don’t know if that’s too clever and if people will make the connections to the different times of the day.

I think these are my three favourite videos. I like them because they flow nicely, the logo starts out of focus and then moves into the screen and the logo becomes clear. I can also see how my logo could merge over the top of the moving piece. I’ll show these new videos to John and see which ideas he thinks are the strongest.

Chat with John

After chatting with John today he said I needed to make a decision on the colour of the logo. I had tried a range of ideas but still couldn’t settle on one. John liked the textures of the single coloured logos and thought they looked visually interesting. However when I removed all colour from the logo and showed it in its simplest form in black and white we both agreed it was the strongest logo.

The logo will now be shown at all times in solid black or solid white. This also allows me to use the logo in more visually interesting ways, as I will not be held back by the colour now.

I’m going to see if I can get a better camera today, hopefully one that doesn’t blur in and out of focus.

More4 identity guide

Film4 identity guide

E4 identity guide

Channel 4 brand identity guide

New shadow Idents: Praktica dvc 10.4 hdmi

I went and got a better hd camera of the university, I was hoping it would give me a better/clearer picture. However as it did give me a clear picture the camera kept buffering in and out of focus when shooting. I think it was because of the changing light conditions. I also experimented with different colours of light. As you can see the last version was quite dark and cool, I used a yellow/orange light on this piece, which gives it a bright and airy real. The different colours of light then give me an idea. Perhaps I could use the orange light for morning time and the blue cooler light for night time. I liked the idea of focusing on the centre of the logo and then zooming out slowly to reveal the entire logo. The light would still be moving constantly above the logo like a sundial.  I want to experiment with this idea further.

Again I have experimented with light in these videos. I think they are more visually interesting than the stationary versions with shadow. They look like a flashlight searching for you. When I get footage I am completely happy with I’ll bring it into after effects and merge my logo over the top of the moving light and then add text.

Film

I'm going to film new footage over the weekend with the new HD camera.

Textured logo

These solid textured logo could be used to highlight different types of programmes eg. green film, blue history etc.