P2 - LO2 - Conventions of An Ident

Conventions of An Ident

When you take notice of idents, you will notice how out of the box they tend to be. In order to keep the audience captivated; or to change the atmosphere to fit the next programme introduced, there are specific idents used. Ones with different background clips; different music; different type of narrator, and more. 

An important convention for idents would be the channel logo. Although it has been changed throughout the years, CBBC’s logo is still recognisable towards the viewers, as it shows the same word. Successfully, this helps the audience become familiar with the channel, making the re-designing more easier to show to the public. 

Music in idents are key to attracting the audience. Some channels may use the same tune, but manipulate it to fit the ident concept; or other channels may use entirely different kinds of music for a specific ident. 

The ident I have chosen is the CBBC ident.

When watching television during my younger years, I gravitated towards CBBC a lot. The classic shows that were aired on the channel interested me a lot; and while going through watching everything; the idents showed up as well - whether it was to introduce the next show or end schedules. The nostalgia I experience when thinking back and witnessing the idents after so long, leads me to want to watch more; as CBBC go for a unique path with idents. Furthermore, this helps visualise how the audience feel when watching them; further emphasising how effective they are.

CBBC’s style of the idents are diverse. From the beginning, the idents would be animated and quite ‘busy’, giving lots of content to the audience. Around 2016, there were more live action idents; where children would carry out spontaneous that would end up spelling out the channel logo (at the time). However, in the recent year, CBBC have gone for a more simple yet effective route, with animated idents. Although they may seem quite plain than their previous ones, there are details painted on that can help stimulate the viewers to keep interest in the channel.

The idea of idents is convenient, as it reminds the audience the current timing if they get too sucked into watching television at times. An example in the CBBC channel, is an ident that shows a boy reading his book-decorated bedsheets; with the narrator quietly whispering, CBBC”. Understandably, this tells the audience that it is nearly time to wind down and get ready for the next day; where a morning ident will be ready to welcome you, the next time you turn on the TV and look at the channel. This evening ident is especially useful as children tend to get carried away with watching on devices.

All in all, idents are significant for television; as they inform the audience what is going to come on next; what time of the day it is; and even help manage timing for the technical side, incase of any mistakes in scheduling.