My Ident Concept
My idea for the greatest possible Strode TV Ident would involve the OFSTED Outstanding logo being showcased which makes the viewer wonder; “which college is outstanding? I am intrigued…” As the viewer observes, a gimble shot of the college takes the viewer on a tour, starting with the front of the college but not showing the Strode College logo, leaving the college in question up to the imagination of the viewer. As the video progresses, we take a tour through the college and the blocks, seeing all of the different courses and classrooms that the college has to offer. The point of this ident, is to showcase the campus and make the college appear attractive to viewers and for them to want to be a part of our operations. We leave the classrooms and come back to the front of the college, the college that is outstanding is revealed, it is Strode College.
My Target Audience
My target audience would be students, specifically those of 16-20 years of age, as they are the target demographic and are the people I am trying to reach out to and persuade. My target audience would also branch off into parents and educators to maximise the reach of the podcast and give the ident the promotion it needs to become an ident that people will associate with the college. I feel that my ident will border on the avant-garde and will challenge the original theme of idents and show that an ident can be something artistic and has the potential to truly captivate. This will in turn draw many viewers in. I am very ambitious and optimistic with regards to my ident.
Creating The Ident
I would film the ident using a DSLR camera as provided by the college. I will also edit the footage by using after effects and premiere as I would very much like to add in some effects to make the ident more unusual. The ident will eventually feel twisted and off-beat as it takes on a strange and thought-provoking tone. I do believe that this might be like no other ident that anyone has ever seen before.
Research
I did research on multiple idents, mainly those from the creative era of the early 1990’s when television became far more mainstream and accessible and the BBC became profoundly creative with their BBC Two Ident. The lack of voices and people, the artistic prominence, these things engaged me and motivated me to make something which leaves lots to the imagination and almost has an ominous atmosphere. I want the ident to captivate, but also convey emotion, passion and mental interpretation, perspective and a slight essence of uncertainty. In my opinion, there are far too many normal idents and I want to make something that will raise questions, thus creating interest.
Production
Production is scheduled to begin in at most a week, there is much to be filmed and done and if possible, there must be no people present to truly achieve the strange atmosphere that I am hoping to create. Production should be relatively simple, so long as it is possible to film what I need to in the circumstances that I require, then I can create the scene that I want to. A scene of simplicity, silence and uncertainty. I believe that this will be entertaining.
Evaluation
Overall, I am extremely optimistic and believe that the ident will be a rousing success, though a difficult ident to understand with a meaning, masked in connotations and subtexts though with no clear narrative except an exploration of the college.
What it means is ultimately up to the viewer, I am simply focused on the psychological impact of the ident and I want it to convey the great creative capacity that Strode College and its media class has.
Risk Assessment
Every form of media production does of course, come with its risks. In this case, the potential risks capable of causing harm include but are not limited to the following:
- Gimble or camera being dropped.
- Gimble or camera striking someone.
- Slips, trips and falls.
This particular piece of work appears to be fairly risk-free as it goes, however something can always go wrong. Fortunately, I believe that with careful planning and cautious behaviour, these said risks and their repercussions can be averted and the process can be a success without any damage or harm done to any subject or object.
Location Recce
The Strode College campus is the only area that I will be filming in. This includes its exterior as well as its interior. Filming will take place in blocks A,C,E and in the sports centre as well. Preferably with no-one present to add to the effect that I want to create for my ident.
Semiotics
There is an element of mystery to this ident and I want it to stand out from the rest, the unorthodox and unconventional style of this ident reflects the complex and multidimensional nature of human creativity and what can truly be conceived by an adventurous mind. Some shots feel strange and out of place with some elements detaching themselves from the ident altogether. The point of making something so outlandish is to convey the aspect of Strode College which the college prides itself on, diversity. By showing how diverse our filming styles and ideas can be, we connote the same thing about our college and our students. This college is about individuality and the potential that every student has, nobody’s growth looks the same and nobody is the same, and I convey just how different we as people can be in this ident by making something very unusual. Something that I believe should be embraced. Apart from this, I would assume that people would be interested by such a strange ident for a college with both comedic and psychological aspects. I feel that this ident, with these unique aspects would appeal to people who appreciate left-field creativity, something that I believe has branched off from post-modernism which is a cultural movement embraced by the youth today through media, fashion and even political ideologies and both philosophical and ethical beliefs, embracing the unconventional and striving for difference.
The ident includes people wearing clothes derivative of their characters, the students are mainly wearing trainers to connote student life, and the man in the corridor standing ominously adds to the subtext that the ident is attempting to entice the viewer through confusion and bewilderment. My character is smiling to convey that the college is a positive environment, and I have reasons to smile when roaming the college. The camera-work is done in the fashion of someone filming a documentary, to add a subtle fourth wall-break to entice the viewer and to also add to the slightly off feel of the ident that I was trying to create. The colour red is heavily used in the ident to not only represent the college, but passion and to an extent, harshness, to further detach the ident from the realms of the conventional.
Genre
I believe that the genre of this ident would be reminiscent of the genre of soft psychological-horror and subtle comedy. The ident begins with a question and ends with an answer, much like the viewers who initially will have their questions regarding the ident, and later on have the burning question of “which college is outstanding?” answered by the ident. If the viewers are confused by the nature of the ident then this for me is brilliant, because I want my ident to confuse people and to spawn interest.
The Storyboard
Scene One: A long-shot of the OFSTED Outstanding crest on the front of the college is taken.
Scene Two: We enter a room in the C Block, computers and desks are visible. A sheet of paper has the word “this” written in bold letters.
Scene Three: We enter the E Block, Art desks, paper and paint is visible. A sheet of paper has the word “college” written in bold letters.
Scene Four: We enter the A Block, showcasing the learning zone as well as the refectory, preferably empty. A sheet of paper has the word “is” written in bold letters.
Scene Five: We enter the sports centre, showcasing the sports hall and the gym. A man says the word “outstanding” with a smile.
Scene Six: Shots cut back and forth between myself and the man smiling at each other, the shots getting progressively closer with each cut until the next scene.
Scene Seven: A wide shot with myself and the man is shown, we both turn to the camera after staring at each other and simultaneously say, “Strode College, it’s outstanding.” The shot of us smiling lasts a few seconds and then the ident concludes after a long silence.
Above was a brief summary of the ident.
(Not all of the storyboard survived the final cut of the ident.)
Romano G Media 