Category: Videos: Idents

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Ten Network Videos: Idents

Ten HD on the march to multichanneling.

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With just over a fortnight left until the December 16th launch of Ten HD, more details continue to emerge, including some more specifics on the first week of programming, and a new video to compliment the earlier introduction to Ten HD promo.

Unlike the first video, theres no talking (or accents) to worry about, just a cover of Johnny Nash’s I Can See Clearly Now and a concept that visualises for us how much better the world can apparently be in high definition. Again, the very slick production is the work of Jane Eakin and Motion Foundry who it seems will be responsible for the on-air look of the new network.

With Seven HD already on the air, and Ten HD just a few weeks away, its just Nine HD, not due until March next year that will round out Australia’s commercial networks first foray into digital multichanneling.

– Thanks again to Alex from Motion Foundry for the video.

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Channel 4 Videos: Idents

Channel 4 on the idents roller coaster.

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Channel Four’s long running, and very creative series of idents got a new addition recently. This one, taking place on a roller coaster won’t go down as my favorite of the collection, but stays true to the formula and is impeccably produced.

Check out the entire collection here, including special Simpsons and Killers idents.

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Videos: Idents

A new look idents.tv, just a “shift+refresh” away.

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It’s not as drastic a change as I was planning, but idents.tv now looks slightly different! It’s a bit wider, and now has a third column.

If you’re having problems viewing the new design, try holding down shift and pressing refresh in your browser.

The layout had gone unchanged for nearly two years, so hopefully this small freshen up will breathe some new life into the site.

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Foxtel Videos: Idents

The time is now on Bio.

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Bio. (formerly The Biography Channel) is an Australian subscription television station owned by the A&E Television Network, however the brand is fully licensed to Foxtel who produce, broadcast and program the channel locally.

While the content can be a bit of a mixed bag (Entertainment Tonight.. really?), the network does have some gems in Iconoclasts, Letterman and their live award show coverage.

This 60 second station identifier has always caught my attention whenever it ran, the use of “The Time Is Now” by Moloko in conjunction with the historical images is surprisingly creative and well executed, I guess it shows how much creative mileage you can get out of just some photos and a catchy tune.

Continue reading “The time is now on Bio.”
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Seven Network Videos: Idents

I now get Seven HD where I live.

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Fifteen days after the Seven Network launched their digital multichannel Seven HD, regional affiliate Prime Television this evening started to broadcast the same “breakaway” program schedule on their Prime HD channel.

This means viewers in regional Victoria, New South Wales, and the ACT can now also receive the channel and its alternate programming. For more details on the schedule check out the official Seven HD site here.

My pick for the week? The brilliant Kinsey this Wednesday night at 10:30pm.

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Ten Network Videos: Idents

The multichanneling continues: Ten HD

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Less than two weeks ago Channel Seven very softly launched Seven HD, their foray into commercial multichanneling. With Seven HD on air, Network Ten looks next to launch with their service, Ten HD, which is promising 50 hours of new programming a week (is that Friday Night Lights I see in the promo?).

The above promo for Ten HD, created by Jane Eakin and Motion Foundry is a light hearted introduction to the new channel, which goes some of the way to explain to the uninitiated what the new service is all about.

With the Seven HD logo taking some inspiration from BBC HD, its no surprise that the Ten HD logo has a whiff of the ABC America high definition logo in its design. I look forward to seeing how derivative the Nine HD logo will be.

– Thanks to Alex from Motion Foundry for the video.

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Seven Network Videos: Idents

Let the multichanneling begin: Seven HD.

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Last night the Seven Network dipped its toe into the world of multichanneling with the soft launch of “Australia’s first new commercial television network in four decades”; Seven HD (or 7HD, or “the second Seven Network”).

The press release for the launch promises a third channel within 15 months, and fills us in with these extra details:

This “breakaway” schedule is the first step – with a complete primetime schedule for the second Channel Seven to be launched in the coming weeks. The “look and feel” and on-air presentation marketing and promotion for the new channel will be unveiled to coincide with the launch of the complete schedule for the second Channel Seven in the coming weeks.

With a third channel on the way in 2009 perhaps they should look to Channel 4 in the UK for multichannel name ideas (e4, More4, Film4 etc). Speaking of British inspirations, this current Seven HD look does have a touch of the BBC HD’s about it.

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BBC Four Videos: Idents

Charlie Brooker is awesome!

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Ever heard of Charlie Brooker? Well either had I until serendipity landed in my inbox last month in the form of two completely separate emails within 24 hours of each other from a couple of readers (thanks Mark and Andy) telling me to check out his television show, Screenwipe on BBC Four.

If this blog were a television show (god willing…) I would hope it would resemble something close to Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe. Basically Screenwipe successfully achieves something that I was always longing for, a television show about television.

He treats television as a serious medium, praising the best of it, and trashing well, the rest of it. He looks at everything from individual shows and channels, to the minutiae of the industry, and as this video shows, he even takes a look at television idents.

The show is currently in its fourth season, and for a television loving country like Australia I look forward to one day seeing a local equivalent.

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Channel 4 Videos: Idents

Channel 4 at 25.

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British public service broadcaster Channel 4 is turning 25 this year, and along with other celebrations More4 is broadcasting a “quietly celebratory, but not uncritical” documentary about itself called Channel 4 at 25.

Within the documentary some moments in the broadcasters identity were relived, and this is what I’m sharing today. The first video is a special montage ident merging the various looks that the network has had over the past quarter century. The next video relives the first moments of the channel on air, and the final video is a recreation of the original ident that made such a big splash when it first launched.

Channel 4 continues to make some of the best on air branding, check out their current set of idents, their special Simpson’s ident, the 20 questions collection and Judi Dench in a lobster costume spruiking FilmFour.

– Thanks for the videos Craig.

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European TV Videos: Idents

It’s Always Sunny on Virgin 1.

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Virgin 1 launched last night in the UK, it’s the new flagship channel of the Virgin Media group. Available on terrestrial, satellite and cable services, its set to compete directly with Sky One.

The best of whats available on Virgin 1 currently seems to be Seinfeld and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (watch if you haven’t!). The networks slogan is “proper telly”, and I’ll be interested to see how they follow up that claim. The build up to the launch didn’t exactly blow me away, and the magnetism theme of the first ident kind of reminded me of this, that said, its all early days still.

For another launch of a television station that I thought was pretty impressive, check out the first five minutes of Five US.