Be able to generate ideas for an original audio-visual promo

Treatment
The brief wants me to "refresh the ident cycle for one of Freeview's channels". They would like me to "consider one that has a niche audience or has not been re-branded for some time". The channel I have chosen is Food Network, as their ident has not been refreshed since 2017 and have a niche audience as there is only a small part of the population that watches cookery programmes on Food Network. They would also want me to "have a clear personality that reflects the channel, its content and its audience". I will meet the brief by including content in my ident that reflects the channel, such as someone cooking food. I will also create several documents during production including research, purpose and ideas for ident, legal and ethical issues, audience feedback, planning documentation and evaluation of the finished ident.

The purpose of my ident is to give the audience an idea of the type of programmes that Food Network broadcasts and to also inform them on the upcoming schedule through the use of audio. This will help spread awareness of the channel and remind people of Food Network. Therefore, my ident will hopefully increase the channels audience. 

My ideas for my two idents include:
- A live video of syrup being poured over a stack of pancakes. This will be aired during the morning where people will be eating their breakfast. Therefore, this will appeal to the audience watching in the morning.
- A montage of different Christmas food, such as turkey, mince pies and pudding.
During the idents, there will be a voiceover which will inform the audience of the upcoming TV schedule for food network. At the end of the video, food networks logo will appear on the screen.















The target audience for my ident will be males and female's aged 35-60 of a British ethnicity. This is the core audience of Food Networks channel. Therefore, my ident will appeal to them as they are the targeted audience for my ident. Furthermore, the ident will be based on the types of programmes that Food Network shows. This means the audience watching food network will be able to identify that the channel broadcasts cooking programmes.

The medium I am working in is TV idents. An ident is a short audio-visual video/animation that television channels use to identify themselves and inform the viewers about their channel. The running time for my two idents will be 30 seconds each. This will appeal to the audience as it will represent food networks channel and provide them with the information they need about the upcoming programme that will air after the ident. Therefore, the idents will not feel dragged out. They will be concise and quick.

History of channel and its idents

Food Network

Food Network is an American television channel that is owned by Television Food Network, a joint venture between Discovery Inc. and Nexstar Media Group. The channel airs both special and regular episodic programmes about food and cooking. The network initially launched in November 1993 with two initial shows featuring David Rosengarten, Donna Hanover and Robin Leach. The channel launched in the UK on November 9, 2009 on Sky. The channel has now been added to Freeview, Freesat and Virgin Media platforms.

The idents of the channel were produced by Carolina Bodmer.

In 2015, Food network launched their new idents for the channel. The concept was that being around food allowed the characters to express themselves and their personality. They created characters who are passionate and creative about what they do (artist, scientist, martial artist, conductor, dancer). They represent that Food Network is entertainment with food at it's heart. The idents were shot over 4 days in 4 different locations, all in real kitchens. Example : https://theident.gallery/player.php?id=FOODNETWORK-2017-ID-CONDUCTOR-10S-1

In 2019, additional idents were added where a group of friends made pizza together. This will help create a good image for Food network as it shows that food can bring people together. Example:  https://theident.gallery/player.php?id=FOODNETWORK-2019-ID-PIZZA-1

They also created idents that showed deserts such as chocolate brownies, creme brulee and hot chocolate. Example: https://theident.gallery/player.php?id=FOODNETWORK-2019-ID-BROWNIE-1

Food Networks idents are used to show the purpose of their food and cooking channel to the audience, and to inform them on the types of programmes that are broadcasted on their channel.

Initial ideas

Initial Research into Audio Visual Products

1. Food Network
The first channel I may choose to do an ident for is Food Network. This TV channel shows programmes about food, cooking and baking. For example, one of the programmes they show is "James Martin: Home Comforts". This show is hosted by a chef, James Martin who shares his recipes and tips for creating delicious food at home.

The target audience for this channel seems to be older men and women of a British ethnicity from the UK, who are interested in cooking. This is because, people in their 40's and 50's seem to be more interested in cooking than younger people. Most young people seem to cook less as their parents cook for them or they get takeaways. Furthermore, most of the chefs/presenters on Food Network are older and seem to be around the ages of 40-60. Therefore, an older audience will be able to relate to them more. The target audience also seems to be both male and females, as both enjoy cooking. They may be mostly of a British ethnicity from the UK as the presenters/chefs on food network's programmes are mostly British who make British food.

The current ident on Food Network seems to be a cartoon of different foods such as pizza, soup, biscuits and pies. At the end of the ident it shows the logo of Food network, which is a red circle with white text on top that says "Food Network". This informs the audience that the channel is about food.

The overall purpose of Food Network's ident is to inform the audience about the channel and what types of programmes it shows. The animations of food, connote to the audience that the channel is about food, cooking and baking.









2. ITV
The second channel I may choose to do an ident for is ITV. ITV is a TV channel that broadcasts a wide range of different programmes. Categories include drama, sports, soaps, comedy, entertainment, and factual shows.

ITV appeals to a wide audience as there are a large range of programmes that appeal to different people. The core age range of ITV's audience seems to be between 30-60 year olds. Their audience is made up of both male and females from the UK. There will be different ethnicities watching ITV but they will mainly be of a British ethnicity.

ITV's idents aim to show their logo in unique ways such as creating a piece of art or creating a model of their logo. The current ITV ident is a colorful painting of the ITV logo, which helps it to stand out to the audience. They aim to make their ident general and not specific to a certain theme or genre. This may be due to their wide audience who are interested in different things.

The overall purpose of the ident for ITV is to inform the audience that they are watching ITV. The ident always includes a voiceover of the upcoming shows and TV schedule. This tells the audience when a certain show is coming on.