UK: Virgin Media Television is renaming its LIVING2 channel offering alongside a comprehensive visual rebrand of its entire LIVING portfolio. On November 30, LIVING2 is being relaunched as LIVINGit, a new channel proposition based on the premise that “life’s worth watching”.

Here’s a glimpse at the new identity- will try to get a montage of the new package once it launches later in the week.

The creative concept for LIVINGit is about it “being part of your world, a prized object that participates in all aspects of life and this is reflected in the breadth of scenarios in which the logo appears as part of life.”

With the aim of giving the brand stand-out presence, the refresh of the LIVING portfolio centers on a stylish venue space – where the LIVING logo is central as an exhibit. Shot on 35mm film in a real environment the ‘LIVING  Exhibit’ is where “everything about the brand takes place, creating an atmosphere, presence and turning it into a desirable destination.”

Jeff Dodds, Virgin Media Television’s Brand and Marketing Director explains, “With the launch of LIVINGit we are sending a clear message that the channel has a distinct personality in its own right. LIVING’s new on air look not only has huge on screen impact but gives us endless creative possibilities”

“In the TV environment it’s essential to have a strong brand. We also have a duty of care to our advertisers to keep viewers watching and engaged during a programme break with our branding creative.”

The rebrands were developed by Red Bee Media in partnership with Virgin Media Television’s in-house creative team.

FlashForward is a breakout fan favorite this season. While ABC has done a stellar job promoting the new series stateside, there has been some buzz in the UK around Five’s specially designed FlashForward idents.

One of the benefits of my regular travel between London and LA is being able to sample (and share with you) promotional differences between creative teams in the US and Europe.

The show has been a solid hit for Five. It skews much younger than most of Five’s other major American shows, and has done a great job lifting Five’s brand equity among lighter viewers of the channel.

The UK launch was only days after the US launch, meaning footage and copy was restricted. “The Eye” / “What did you see” graphic was built as the main branding device for all UK marketing, and the ident delivers a sense of scale, sophistication and suspense to a show that is billed as the new Lost.

Extra thanks to the creative team (Nol, Russell, & Kate) at Five for the kind words on the blog and their contribution to the site.

Hannah Montana, Jason Voorhees, and JLS in 3D? Oh yeah. Channel 4 tonight kicks off 3D week, with a special three-dimensional programming lineup and a suite of specially developed 3D promos and idents. Offering up some interesting opportunities to design in eye-catching trajectories, C4 adds that programs are “best viewed in a dark room and watched from a central position at least 1.5m away from the screen.” Glasses are available for free from select branches of Sainsbury’s.

This website is a good source for me to look at the history of the BBC Three iDents.

http://www.theidentgallery.com/bbc3-2008.php

And the BBC Three website ids:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/

I’ve decided to do my TV iDent for BBC three. I’ve researched a little about their branding history and audience profiles:

BBC Three got a complete rebrand in February, dumping the old logo and the iconic blobs.

The new £380,000 rebrand, developed by Red Bee,  is part of the channels repositioning to take itself beyond being just a television broadcaster. Red Bee say the idents are meant to “make it feel a more populated and alive place”, basically a visual representation of Facebook-like communities, including their own Sims like characters.

BBC Three’s iDent embraces media user-generated content.

“BBC THREE is a mixed-genre channel that focuses on younger audiences. The channel’s centre of gravity is 16-35 year-olds, people who are young in spirit and mindset, providing an environment for the development of new talent and for existing talent to take risks, becoming a genuine laboratory for BBC ONE and BBC TWO.

Comedy remains a core genre for BBC THREE. It has had unprecedented success for a digital channel with the hugely acclaimed Gavin and Stacey. They are ” keen to continue to develop the next generation of comedy talent and to commission shows which combine a bold attitude with bags of enthusiasm and spirit… We need to maintain the momentum by delivering more very high-quality, innovative, original, and high-impact programmes to the audience.”

Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/network/genres/comedy_detail.shtml

Child identity theft is a very real problem. Children are attractive targets for this crime, since their credit, employment and criminal histories are clean.

There is definitely a threat from other people stealing your child’s identity; your new baby arrives and a few days later someone who claims to be from the hospital calls, asking for the child’s Social Security number because you forgot to give them this information in your excitement.

The problem, of course, is that the call wasn’t from the hospital; it was from somebody who saw the birth announcement in the newspaper and saw an opportunity.

However, the biggest risk to your child’s identity isn’t strangers. Most child identity theft is committed by parents and family members who have easy access to the child’s personal information.

Most of the time, these parents are facing unemployment, poverty and generally stacked odds. They figure they’ll just use the child’s information to qualify for an apartment or telephone service—just this one time—and they’ll make it all better by the time the kid grows up.

Of course, that’s not how it usually plays out. The parent gets an apartment or automobile they can’t actually afford and starts to fall behind. They apply for a few credit cards in the child’s name, just to make purchases for essentials until they get back on their feet, which never happens. By the time a few years have passed, the situation has snowballed and the child’s credit is ruined, along with any trust the child ever felt for his or her parent.

It’s a fact: on this day in 2009, a lot of people are struggling to make ends meet. In fact, no matter when you’re reading this, a lot of people are having a hard time getting by, and you might be one of them. It can be very tempting to use your child’s personal information in times like this.

However, please remember these points:

1. Any use of your child’s information to obtain credit, services or employment for yourself is identity theft
2. Stealing your child’s identity is a crime; plenty of parents have gone to jail for it
3. Don’t think you’re going to “make it all better” before the child gets older—it never really works out that way (and it’s a crime, too, remember?)
4. You do not own your children, they are not your property to do with as you please, and their future creditworthiness is theirs, not yours
5. Don’t think your child won’t press charges when they find out about your crime. How do you think those parents in #2 above ended up in prison?
6. Yes, they’re going to find out. They always find out.

I’m being pretty blunt here—I don’t even like to see greedy adults get swindled when they should know better; I really hate to see children being victimized by the people they should be able to trust above all others.

Your situation might be tough right now, but time is going to pass and life is going to move forward, and what is happening now will one day be what happened years ago. You will only make things worse by committing identity crime against your own child—financially, and by making sure your child never wants to see you again once he or she is grown.

I’m sure some would protest my harsh words here, “You’ve never been broke,” someone might say. “You don’t know what it’s like. You do what you have to do in order to survive.”

And they would be right. I’ve never been truly destitute before. I still don’t buy the excuse, though. There are ways to get by without stealing your own child’s identity. You’re being lazy and not thinking if that’s the only route you can fathom.

I have also though about creating an iDent from a music based channel.

Below is an old MTV Base iDent:

BBC1 has had a number of idents over the years. The video below is a  compilation broadcast by the BBC on October 7th before a brand new ident was launched.

At the moment, I’m starting to think about my second project, which is to create a TV iDent. At the moment, I’m just researching various channels and the history of its branding.

I will refer to this website, to view the latest iDents of channels from British broadcasting:

http://www.theidentgallery.com/

Opening night tomorrow, We look forward to seeing you all here over the next 3 days!!

Australia’s Seven Network yesterday launched it’s eagerly anticipated new broad entertainment channel 7Two. The new 24-hour channel, buoyed by heavy US and UK programming titles promises “more drama, more lifestyle, more reality, more comedy, more movies.”, includes nabbing favorites Ugly Betty, Heroes, 24, and Lost.

Already the channel has enjoyed promotions on Seven ahead of its launch on Sunday with its politically-inspired “It’s Time” campaign song. Seven’s production & programming chief Tim Worner tips us in on a few secrets including a few red herrings, such as faked channel names 7PLUS, PLUS7, and Channel Mate, all of which included specially designed logos for the false channel monikers.

“When we sat down to work out the name of the channel 12 months ago, we were considering all these names. Red, Ruby, Bill, Dave, Tom, Dick, Harry,” he teases. “In the end we kept coming back to the power of that big, red 7 and the trust that’s been built in that brand over the last five years.”

The rest of the channel’s programming will include the “very best of British television”, themed nights including Action & Adventure, Lifestyle and Movies, and cooking programs from the likes of Jamie Oliver, as well as primetime episodes of The Jay Leno Show, five nights a week.

The BBC Arabic channel branding designed by Mike Afford and Angus McKeown for BBC News. Channel identity and news programme titles produced at the Moving Picture Company, London.

mikeafford.com
angusmckeown.com
moving-picture.com

First Look: Fox’s sci-fi drama Fringe tonight released an eye-catching :60 promo (which I had been hearing bits about for the last few weeks) featuring NIN frontman Trent Reznor.  Reznor lends his song “Zero Sum” with specially recorded dialogue for the spot.

After being asked by series EP Jeff Pinkner, co-creator JJ Abrams sent a single email to Reznor and got him on board for the unique collaboration.

For those folks who might’ve missed it, here’s the promo, which has already lit up chatter on the Twittersphere. Also- I’m told Reznor embedded one of the show’s signature glyphs (much like those hidden in the Fringe fall TV poster) into the track’s sound waves. Apparently, if you watch the audio waves on a computer, you might see something very interesting.

Dare to investigate?

It has been a very busy October. I’d like to give a bit of thanks to clients old and new who have given a bit of their personal & professional time to me this past month. This economic climate makes it even more important to reach out, spend valuable face to face time, and have focused, purposeful dialogue about our clients’ real world challenges.

With that, here’s some work that caught your eye last month. In no particular order, (in case you missed it) five of the most viewed posts in September.

Latest stats- 45% of Art & Business of Motion’s readers are in the United States, followed by closeby by the United Kingdom at 20%. Top 3 cities that you are reading from? London, Los Angeles, and New York.

Top Viewed Posts / September 2009
Art & Business of Motion

If you missed it, the best of Fall 2009 TV posters, including fan faves Dexter, Fringe, and House

… first glimpse of NBC’s 2009 colorful rebrand

… Rhianna on toast, Taylor Swift scrambled courtesy of MTV’s On-Air Design team

… FX (UK) brings us a set of new idents, including this one titled “Swimming Pool”

… and finally, a 2nd entry from MTV, this time from MTV International which introduces us to the lovable Mister Furry

Last week, the 11th logo in the 46 year history of the iconic show was finally revealed. For those unfamiliar with the show, Doctor Who is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest science fiction television show in the world, and the “most successful” sci fi series of all time (based on overall broadcast ratings, dvd sales, book sales, and online downloads).

Doctor Who’s army of faithful (and vocal) fans have shared their impressions of the new look online and throughout the blogosphere. The feedback thus far been largely positive, which can only help build anticipation for the show’s 5th series premiere in Spring 2010.

The creative concept developed (in partnership between BBC One and Red Bee Media) for the identity aims to align the British science fiction television programme with blockbuster sci-fi film emblems, such as Superman, Star Trek and Batman, which have achieved universal public recognition. Part of the identity, the insignia, features the Doctor’s initials, ‘DW’, simply moulded into the shape of the iconic TARDIS, where all The Doctor’s journeys begin.

Sharing properties with the 1950’s police box, the insignia design uses the same base colour and explores light and dimension to depict the adventure and mystery that is synonymous with the alien time-travelling Doctor.

For those interested, short video history of the Dr. Who logo that, after the jump

I had meant to get this newest :60 spot (titled “Ink”) up last week when it was breaking news, but a busy schedule (and travel) has kept me from my proper blog curation duties. Thanks to the folks at CCTV for contacting me and sending it my way. Fortunately, several years of Mandarin lessons and regular Chinese practice with family members meant I could almost speak without a noticable accent. Okay, well maybe not.

You might find it surprising the amount of interest (based on searches) there is in the Asia/Australia channel branding market. Just a few years ago, chinese broadcast designers looked to the west/europe for trends and inspiration. Now we’re seeing a much healthier balance of creative exchange between continents.

The latest spot creating a bit of a stir from agency MMIA Beijing (which has a multiyear partnership with CCTV for advertising rights/creative output) is explained, “From invisible to visible, from boundaries to no boundaries. CCTV — Believe in the power of the brand”. The :60 spot brings together traditional elements fused with modern Chinese culture, including brushstroke calligraphy, images of dragons, fish, and bird, fluidic Tai Chi movement and the iconic Great Wall of China.

I will be keeping a close eye on how this campaign develops through the next several months, and of course- sharing it with all of you.

You can also always click here to subscribe to updates by email.

Das "plus" fiel einige Jahre später weg.

Ja ganz richtig, RTL hatte 1989 noch ein “plus” im Namen. Das einminütige Start-upwelches zu Programmbeginn und manchmal auch als Pausenfüller lief, finde ich auch heute noch absolut stimmig und halt irgendwie schön. In  den nächsten Tagen werd ich mal noch weitere Sender herauskramen.

Breaking News: Australia’s Channel Nine unveiled its much anticipated new on-air identity last night at 6pm with a new campaign dubbed “Welcome Home”. The new presentation system is rolled out as Nine buffs up with a fresh programming slate and renewed confidence internally.

A look at the new launch promo:

In related news, the rumors that we were hearing were confirmed today with the announcement that rival Seven is launching its new (free to air digital) channel on November 22 to go head to head with Nine’s digital channel offering  Go, which launched on August 9, targeting 14 to 39-year-olds. Whether or not it cannibalizes the primary channel from Pay TV or it will grow overall numbers remains to be seen.

In college i had a project to make and animate 3 tv channel idents, being the creative person i am i spent long and hard on the name of the channel…….. then moved onto the actual idents and what i wanted them to do etc.

here are the final 3 videos.

^ Kids Channel version. – I might post pictures and videos from the making of this animation as it was a fun (very messy) one to do.

^ Education Channel version.

^ Adult Channel version.

Logos etc. will be added to this post later…..

My Youtube channel here

Looks like a lot of people have been searching for info on the new look NBC has just unveiled on-air. I’m still in the UK but have been able to get some shots of the new package which infuses bursts of stunning color onto the iconic brand. Not surprisingly, we’ve come to find out that NBC is working with LA-based Capacity (who were also awarded and developed the 2006 NBC rebrand) to deliver the much applauded new rebrand. Just a few shots for now, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of the on-air campaign roll out over the next few weeks.

BBC 2 ident, lol.

Breaking News: Last night at 7pm, RTÉ formally unveiled its latest channel refresh. The new RTÉ Two branding and on-screen package was developed by the in-house marketing and graphics team at RTÉ after a competitive review. The concept for the new campaign “took the form of evolutionary leaps and pictured various species of household insects adapting bizarrely clever routines as they interact with found objects that would be familiar to audience members”.

Updated 9/24/09: Added a few bits of reference video

Click Keep Reading For Creative Concept Background

From RTÉ regarding the creative concept:

“A Venus Fly Trap became the narrative force. Fly Traps are green and eat insects – an obviously appropriate addition to this world. The character then developed an other-worldy intelligence and grew purpose; the most important of which was that it loves to play with its food! In a homage to Cronenberg’s The Fly, Venus entices insects into one pod and teleports them out another, with unexpected results! A journey through Venus could either terminate in digestion or lead to a playful metamorphosis where Venus brands his victim with a little of its own Alien DNA. From this logic, Venus develops control of squadrons of bees that obey him to make honey, and an army of ants that feed him kernels to make popcorn.

As a device, Venus functions as the caretaker, predator, and god of this little ecosystem. It is single and plural, male and female, young and old, where each pod has its own personality and voice in “the family tree” so to speak. In this respect, Venus is flexible enough to enlist equal interest from the exceedingly diverse range of audience demographics that rely on RTÉ TWO for: young people’s programming, sports coverage, documentaries, films, wild life, drama, foreign acquisitions, comedy, etc.

As the RTÉ TWO household’s branding machine, Venus sits on an antique console table or “throne” which doubles as a reliable source of “found objects” left by unwitting inhabitants of the household. It is presumably from here that these objects find their way throughout this world to new and bizarre uses. Venus resides in a foyer of sorts, although we never have quite enough information to tell where exactly it is. In this world, people are permanently elsewhere and activity and wonder never sleeps. Every insect seems hopelessly drawn into Venus’ gravity well. Bees, Bluebottles, Fireflies, Ladybirds, Snails, Ants, Spiders and bubbles all vie to escape, or serve Venus – usually bringing him food or entertainment.”

You need not go further than the credit list for these just released spots from MTV to find some humor. Cream cheese stylist? Check. Egg & coffee stain stylist? You betcha.

MTV’s On-Air design team, led by SVP On-Air Design Jeffrey Keyton, VP On-Air Design Romy Mann, and Design Director David McElwaine, lend their imagination to a set of brand new idents for AMtv, MTV’s new block of morning music video programming.

The concept? Pareidolia, the psychological phenomenon whereby random images are perceived as being something more significant. Sorta akin to when people (think they) see the Virgin Mary on a chocolate bar. The idents are the second series in an overall package of four, all revolving around a breakfast theme to coincide with morning programming.

Shot over two days, most of the idents were shot in camera with the exception of the Rihanna and Lil’ Wayne spots, which are computer generated. For Green Day, Eminem and Taylor Swift, the team at MTV brought in stylists Michael Lawrence and Ben Kress to style the cream cheese and eggs (yeah I’m serious). As for the Kanye/Taylor Swift “episode” at the VMAs last night- I don’t see Beyonce in any of these new idents, do you?