Connecting 2: The new look ABC2 idents.

Download the whole H264 bunch in one swoop here (81mb *.zip).

> Quicktime H.264
(11.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.7mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3.2mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(6.9mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.5mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(13.5mb)
> iPod Compatible
(7.1mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(5.3mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.7mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.6mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(4.5mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.3mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.3mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(12.7mb)
> iPod Compatible
(6.4mb)
> Watch in Flash
(mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(3.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(3.6mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.1mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(6.9mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.9mb progressive)

ABC2 got its best bit of PR to date on Friday when ABC TV formally became ABC1 and reminded, or alerted people for the first time that there was in fact a whole other channel available from the National Broadcaster.

Like everything the ABC does, the old look of ABC2 had its hits and misses, some of my favourites from the previous set of idents are here, but again they were far outweighed by all the ordinary ones.

Now though we have a whole new on-air look to dissect, and the first thing I thought when I saw these was… hey, its ITV4! Back in 2005 ITV4 used a similar split screen device to create visual puns, ABC2 on the other hand seem to be using the split screen to highlight various juxtapositions, city-nature, young-old, casual-professional etc. Which is fine, although it completely falls apart about half way through and I find myself wondering what two girls drinking a milkshake is meant to represent..

Comments in a previous post have already pointed out the similarities that the first of these ABC2 idents above have to the video clip of “Concrete Boots” by After The Fall, check it out and see what you think. It’s a good song either way.

Then finally, to dislocate the entire series a little more they’ve introduced two other idents (below) that are based on “parkour“, the ‘art of displacement’ which again is a fine concept for a series of idents, but why only throw in two of them.

I guess what I’m saying is that I like consistency and a central theme to my idents, something that can be explored and developed, not just random images linked at times, but then not at others.

> Quicktime H.264
(5.3mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.7mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.4mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(8mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.2mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.4mb progressive)

(The idents were produced by zspace, who also did the new look ABC1.)