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CHANNEL 4 & E4 REBRAND WITH CLARITY
A focus on Now, Next, Later menus from concept to launch
April 18, 2005, NAB, Booth SU7132…
Pixel Power Ltd. (www.pixelpower.com), Cambridge, England, announced that Channel 4 in London
have recently purchased their 10th Clarity system to use for graphics creation and graphics
playout. As a result of the successful implementation of the initial graphical creation
and playout requirements for Channel 4, Clarity systems have also been purchased for E4
and their Disaster Recovery Service.
The requirement
Pixel Power were first introduced to this project when they were given a tape containing
a variety of menu design ideas and asked whether Clarity could play out the exact look but
with the ability to have the content semi-automated using fast loading and easily editable
templates which could be changed and ready for air in a matter of minutes. The design company
Channel 4 used to produce the material was Rudd Studios. The impressive and innovative designs
were thought up to present a visually dynamic and stylish way of showing viewers at the
end of a program what Channel 4 programs were coming up for a particular time of day. Once
the design had been decided upon the image sequence material was passed to Pixel Power to
start building the project with.
The menu look
The menu look is built up from two layered video clips for an intro (one clip had embedded
key and was cut out to reveal the background), video clips of the upcoming programs, specially
animated auto-boxed text of the scheduled program times and names using Channel 4’s
special new font, coloured backgrounds and two layered video clips with cut out for the
outro at the end.
The workflow
Due to the high frequency and quantity of menus needed between programs they had to be
updated easily without using traditional, time consuming and costly post-production methods.
Video clips needed to be inserted, the program titles and times needed to be quickly updateable
too. So Pixel Power devised a simple Excel spreadsheet that was linked directly to the Clarity
template pages. This made it very quick and easy for the operator using the Clarity to change
the entire contents of menu and produce a new one without having to know anything more than
how to type text into a spreadsheet. The text for the program times and names was imported
directly from the spreadsheet into the Clarity template. The program video clips stored
on the Clarity internal clip drives could be chosen easily from the spreadsheet by selecting
from a drop down list. The intro and outro video clips used at the start and end of the
menu sequence could also be changed easily. Channel 4 didn’t want the same look every
time a menu was aired so had a wide range of themed clips that could be accessed from the
list and quickly inserted into the Clarity page ready for air. These themed clips would
be short, quirky everyday life things like a close up of a piece of toast, an aspirin dissolving
in a glass of water, ducks on a lake, traffic lights etc. All the elements, each with their
own animation durations, were combined to form the look that can be seen on air now.
Earlier this year the same Clarity template and Excel spreadsheet system was modified slightly
to launch E4’s similar looking menu design for its program menu graphics.
This was a very unique and ground breaking project that Pixel Power were very proud to
be a part of.
About Channel4:
Channel 4 was created by Act of Parliament in 1982. It transmits across the whole of the
UK, except some parts of Wales which are covered by the Welsh language S4C. It is available
on all digital platforms (terrestrial, satellite and cable) as well as through conventional
analogue transmission.
As well as the main Channel 4 service, the Channel Four Group operates a variety of pay
channels, including the E4 entertainment channel, E4+1, and three film channels. Through
its Film Four division it produces and co-produces feature films for the UK and global markets.
It also operates a wide variety of online and broadband services that cover entertainment,
information, education, health, careers and many other areas.
More than three-quarters of the UK’s population watch Channel 4 services in the course
of an average week.
About Pixel Power:
Established in 1987, Pixel Power is dedicated to providing broadcasters and facilities
with powerful graphics and character generator products. With a flexible, professional range
of award-winning products, Pixel Power has over 2000 systems installed worldwide.
Pixel Power Ltd. corporate headquarters is located in Cambridge, England, with a wholly
owned US subsidiary, Pixel Power Inc., based in Pompano Beach, Florida. Pixel Power maintains
its global presence through a worldwide network of distributors. www.pixelpower.com
All trademarks used herein, whether recognized or not, are the properties of their respective
companies.
* Images available on CD or at www.pixelpower.com
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