All I can say is.. bravo NBC.
Archive for the 'American TV' Category
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When I was in the states last year I stumbled upon an enjoyable little television programme called Infomania, that was being broadcast on an even littler network called Current TV.
Founded in 2005 by Al Gore, the network felt a bit like what would happen if the Hungry Beast kids were given their own channel (in a good way). The Emmy and Peabody award winning channel was thrust into the spotlight earlier this year with the announcement that Keith Olbermann would join the network.
Along with the arrival of Keith came a refreshed look and a brand new logo. The old logo was pretty ordinary and didn’t really say much. The new look however is simply stunning – and works just as well static or animated. It’s a truly unique channel, now with the branding to match.
Credits: Identity by Wolff Olins and on-air look by Loyalkaspar.
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Launching on January 1st 2011, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is a natural extension of the hyper-popular daytime talk show, and surely one of the few networks in the world built around a single figure.
With Oprah’s recent visit to Australia, the nation has grown even more enamored with the women and her message, and despite my gender-and-age I’ll happily admit that she produces an incredible show with a relentless message of personal growth, interwoven with philosophy aligned with the likes of Jung or Frankl.
Two years in the making, Philadelphia based BIGSMACK designed the new on-air look through “the numerous branding twists and turns” taken prior to the channel launch. On the technical side, the largely animated look of the network is complimented by a number of organic touches:
To create the on-air look BIGSMACK shot an array of natural elements — including light reflected through a variety of objects like crystal and Plexiglas, as well as water, glitter and particle dust — on a soundstage using a Canon 5D camera. That organic basis was then composited with digital elements animated using Cinema 4D and Adobe After Effects.
The montage gives a taste of the IDs, menus, bumpers and lower thirds created for the network, along with the colour coding of the various dayparts (orange mornings, green afternoons and purple evenings).
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UPDATE: Fox News have responded with their own “Move Forward” spots.
American cable news network MSNBC recently unveiled a new slogan and brand positioning. Directed by Spike Lee, these new spots ask us to Lean Forward, and suggests that the “the future belongs to the fearless”.
Conceptually its a poignant and aspirational message, likely to be identifiable to those generally offended by Fox News. And while Jon Stewart isn’t thrilled with it, it’s hard not to like the idea, with comparisons to Think Different sure to arise.
Unfortunately I’m not sure the execution of these two promos, filled with stock footage and web clips live up to the gravity of the message trying to be conveyed.
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Breakfast television was invented in the United States, and continues to frustrate, entertain, inform and provide moving wallpaper to millions everyday.
Three network broadcasts dominate the genre, and all three are broadcast from New York City. The Today Show from NBC defined the genre in 1952, followed by Good Morning America from ABC in 1975 and the latest attempt from CBS in the form of the Early Show in 1999.
I’m still waiting for Aaron Sorkin to dramatize the world of morning television, but until then I guess we’ll have to keep tuning into the real thing.
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The Emmy and Peabody award winning performance art and cultural phenomenon that is Stephen Colbert recently took his show into the world of high definition, and you know what that means.. a new opening sequence.
Produced by the New York based gang at Mr Wonderful, the new look is as delightfully jingoistic as the old, and a perfect way to start an almost perfect show.
Or as Stephen puts it in the press release they’ve “created the Avatar of show opens”… topical and funny, you’ve done it done Colbert.
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Continuing my series of blatant bias towards public broadcasters, and blind rage towards commercial networks.. I present you with the new look for PBS.
Although funded differently to the BBC or the ABC, the Public Broadcasting Service of the United States shares a similar mission to “educate, inspire, entertain”. Like other public broadcasters around the world it is also considered its nations “most trusted national institution”.
But enough about the philosophy, what about the brand. Created by Eyeball, the new look is distinctively non-commercial, yet polished, two qualities sometimes considered mutually exclusively, but beautifully executed here.
Sidenote: Carrier is one of the best documentary series I’ve ever seen.
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The 2009 Primetime Emmy for Main Title Design has just been awarded, last year Mad Men won, and in the running for it this year was:
> Vampire drama True Blood from HBO
> Showtime’s multiple personality comedy United States of Tara.
> AMC’s industry chat fest Storymakers
> HBO telemovie Taking Chance
> And Fox’s body language drama Lie To Me.
And the winner is..
For all the details on who made what, check out this.
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An update to last years 31 Days of Oscar spot produced by Fresh Paint for TCM, a little late after award season I know, but still one of the most creative executions of what is essentially just a collection of clips I’ve seen.
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While opinion remains mixed, I’m still a huge fan of the SciFi to SyFy rebrand, and think its one of the more clever name changes we’ve seen recently.
To mark the dumping of the old brand, Syfy have produced a series of idents wiping the old logo away to make room for the new. BBC Three did a very cute and similar thing when they relaunched last year.
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