BBC One is stepping out of the dance and from next week will identify itself with a little bit of magic.
It’s time for the last dance. The salsa class, the steely boots, the wheelchairs and those two capoeira guys in martial sync against a London skyline have had their day as symbols of BBC One.
At the end of next week the channel will introduce a fresh look based around eight new identities (idents) a logo in lower case typeface and a theme of circles that are supposed to suggest together – or Oneness – with an echo of the turning globe of an earlier era.
That’s a subtle nod to past history. What’s more striking is a range of clever ideas that mix conventional filming with compute animation that have created swimming hippos and improbably brilliant footballers among a series of sequences that will woon be as familliar as the Eastenders map.
“This feels like a dynamic campaign that can work in all sorts of different directions” says Peter Fincham the channel controller. “I think the identity quite magical in the circle means they are for everybody.” Wisely, he says he doesn’t want people to read too much symbolism into the idents. “I think you can go too far in suggesting they are a parable for our times, but are they right for now and for BBC One – yes I think they are, and when people get used to them I think they will agree.”
The dance themed idents were introduced by former controller Lorraine Heggesey in March 2002 along with a red colour scheme that has been retained. There was an outcry, orchestrated by some newspapers at the abandonment of the long-running globe motif and Finchem who commissioned the new work from Red Bee Media and his marketing team will be awaiting both the press and public reaction when he previews the new look on Tuesday. The first broadcast of the idents will be on Saturday, October 7.
The £1.2 million commission is a coup for Red Bee formerly BBC Broadcast, and its executive creative director Charlie Mawer who won the pitch in competition with eight other agencies. “This is by far the biggest challenge for a channel ident that we have faced.” he says. “You can’t avoid the weight of history and the public expectation.” .The swelling shapes that develop into circles in the sequences represent an evolution of the BBC one identity, he says. “We wanted to do something that felt three-dimensional and left people asking can they really do that?” You’ll see what he means when you see the idents – and in the case of the motor cyclists on the wall of death, there are no tricks, it’s the real thing.”
Mawer and his team working with Naomi Gilbey, head of marketing for the channel, took five months to complete the idents and they will soon start on another eight, to ease the risk of over-exposure for the first set through their 26 daily outings at programme junctions.
The idents, described by Fincham as ‘an oasis of tranquility’ among the trails and announcements, are designed to reinforce the channel brand in an entertaining way, something that is increasingly important when people are so fast fingered with the remote control in multi-channel households.
SWIMMING HIPPOS
Fantasia moments as a family of hippos glide before the camera before dutifully entering the required circular formation.
DIrectors: Charlie Mawer and Mike
MOON BEAMS
People in boats with luminous sails piece together the moon at dusk.
Filmed in Croatia; Director Howard Greenhalgh
FOOTBALL WIZARDS
Sequence starts wih keepy-uppy and individual skills before swirling into circular action where 22 players pass the ball to each other at speed. Even after all those World Cup ads, it’s mesmerising, but is it possible?
Location London; Director Howard Greenhalgh
SURF ACTION
Boards and waves and four surfers at first shot individually before they come together to ride one perfect tube. This is the first time 35mm cameras mounted on jet skis have been used to shoot big waves. The sequence features Carlos ‘Coco’ Nogales, Mexico’s leading big wave “tow-in” surfer.
Location Puerto Escondido, west coast Mexico, famous for its big surf; Director Howard Greenhalgh
WINDOW PANES
Sequence starts with shots of everyday people who live in apartment blocks, moving to exterior shot where there’s a dazzling effect of sunlight bouncing off the glass. And there’s that glinting circle again.
Location Greenwich, London; Director Matthias Hoene
RED KITES
There’s a powerful wind blowing over the sand dunes as one after another men and women appear with their two handled kites tugging at their strings. Despite the turbulence, it’s not long before the kites are all around.
Location Borth, Wales; Director Matthias Hoene
FLOWERS OF THE FIELD
A group of children play among a field of blooms before they, too, get the message and end their game with Ring-a-roses as a cloud of red petals fall around them.
Location Coton Manor, Northamptonshire; Director Stuart Douglas
Author: Andrew Harvey, Ariel, September 26th 2006.
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