BBC Two 'TWO' ident
Encyclopedia
The BBC Two 'TWO' ident was the station identification used on BBC2
between 31 March 1986 and 15 February 1991. It was the last non corporate look for the channel, and the only look to date that did not feature a numeral '2' in the design.
wanted to go in a different programming direction. The ident they had commissioned had been around since 1979 and after seven years faithful service, it was time for a replacement. The channel wanted to aim programming that was more high brow and sophisticated. As a result, they wanted the new logo to reflect this. The BBC
commissioned Alan Jeapes to create the new look, and who was responsible for the title sequence for BBC1
's hit soap EastEnders
the year before.
was located between the 'T' and 'W' of the 'TWO', with the caption '888' situated below the logo.
A clock accompanied the look, as was common for the channel in these days. The clock had a white background, with embossed dashes at each position round the clock face. The 'TWO' logo was placed below the clock, with the clock hands different colours: a red second hand, a green minute hand and a blue hour hand. The clock was electronically generated using the previous clock generator system and was often used before some news bulletins and before closedown. On this occasion, the clock would always fade to white, before fading to black.
The promotional style used with the look varied throughout the time. Promotions themselves featured no unifieing look and changed with seasons. The only key factor was that the 'TWO' logo would appear in some form at the end, but this was not always guaranteed. At this time, programme slides were still being used frequently in continuity on bothe channels. At the beginning of this period, the technology was not yet in place for electronic captions, meaning that the original caption design needed to work on optical slides: it therefore needed to be a simple design. The original design involved a black strip across the bottom of the screen which included the 'TWO' on the left and the programme title on the right. Following the acquisition of Quantel Paintbox
however, the slides were now electronically generated allowing the 'TWO' to appear not only 3D but on a white background. The new design featured the bottom half of the screen in white with 3D logo and name, with the white background fading upwards into the picture, in a similar design to the previous version. This was later modified to a single white gradiented strip, the width of the 'TWO' logo on the left hand side with the programme name overlaid the picture, which now occupies the whole of the screen. For cross promotional captions, BBC1
used a white caption, with the picture inside a box in the centre of the caption, with 'TWO' logo and name located above the box. This style was not used on the main channel.
This look also marked the first time that the regions
could opt out of the main BBC2 schedule, following the move of some programming to the channel from BBC1. To differentiate, regional versions of the 'TWO' ident were made, with the region name in grey over a static caption of the TWO logo.
. Special idents were commissioned for this.
The few other special idents were made:
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
between 31 March 1986 and 15 February 1991. It was the last non corporate look for the channel, and the only look to date that did not feature a numeral '2' in the design.
Launch
Following their previous and groundbreaking striped 2 look, BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
wanted to go in a different programming direction. The ident they had commissioned had been around since 1979 and after seven years faithful service, it was time for a replacement. The channel wanted to aim programming that was more high brow and sophisticated. As a result, they wanted the new logo to reflect this. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
commissioned Alan Jeapes to create the new look, and who was responsible for the title sequence for BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's hit soap EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
the year before.
Components of Look
The ident for the look featured a white background with embossed, 3D lettering spelling out 'TWO' in a stencil style font. The 'TWO' are coloured red, green and blue to represent the phosphors of television, and was a device the channel had used before. The upright part of the 'T' was coloured red, the left hand diagonal of the 'W' green and the middle diagonal blue. The 'O' remained white, as did the remainder of the lettering. Similar to the last look, the lettering would either fade in from the background, fade out into the background, or remain on screen the whole time. There were no particular rules for which ident should be shown when, but the fade in and fade out versions were used for the start and end of day respectively. For Subtitled programming, a small grey hard of hearing logoHearing impairment
-Definition:Deafness is the inability for the ear to interpret certain or all frequencies of sound.-Environmental Situations:Deafness can be caused by environmental situations such as noise, trauma, or other ear defections...
was located between the 'T' and 'W' of the 'TWO', with the caption '888' situated below the logo.
A clock accompanied the look, as was common for the channel in these days. The clock had a white background, with embossed dashes at each position round the clock face. The 'TWO' logo was placed below the clock, with the clock hands different colours: a red second hand, a green minute hand and a blue hour hand. The clock was electronically generated using the previous clock generator system and was often used before some news bulletins and before closedown. On this occasion, the clock would always fade to white, before fading to black.
The promotional style used with the look varied throughout the time. Promotions themselves featured no unifieing look and changed with seasons. The only key factor was that the 'TWO' logo would appear in some form at the end, but this was not always guaranteed. At this time, programme slides were still being used frequently in continuity on bothe channels. At the beginning of this period, the technology was not yet in place for electronic captions, meaning that the original caption design needed to work on optical slides: it therefore needed to be a simple design. The original design involved a black strip across the bottom of the screen which included the 'TWO' on the left and the programme title on the right. Following the acquisition of Quantel Paintbox
Quantel Paintbox
The Quantel Paintbox was a dedicated computer graphics workstation for composition of broadcast television video and graphics. Its design emphasizes the studio workflow efficiency required for live news production...
however, the slides were now electronically generated allowing the 'TWO' to appear not only 3D but on a white background. The new design featured the bottom half of the screen in white with 3D logo and name, with the white background fading upwards into the picture, in a similar design to the previous version. This was later modified to a single white gradiented strip, the width of the 'TWO' logo on the left hand side with the programme name overlaid the picture, which now occupies the whole of the screen. For cross promotional captions, BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
used a white caption, with the picture inside a box in the centre of the caption, with 'TWO' logo and name located above the box. This style was not used on the main channel.
This look also marked the first time that the regions
BBC English Regions
BBC English Regions is the division of the BBC responsible for local television, radio, web and teletext services in England. It is one of the BBC's four 'Nations' - the others being BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland....
could opt out of the main BBC2 schedule, following the move of some programming to the channel from BBC1. To differentiate, regional versions of the 'TWO' ident were made, with the region name in grey over a static caption of the TWO logo.
Cancellation
In 1990, the newly recruited BBC2 controller, Alan Yentob, noticed that the then logo for the channel, which featured 'TWO' in red, green and blue within a white background and the 'O' being white, was affecting the reputation of BBC2. Surveys commissioned realised that most viewers thought the new look "dull" and "worthy". He then decided to commission a worthy successor capable of displaying the personality of the channel, revealing his thoughts in the How did they do it? episode - about the idents. The successors were introduced on 16 February 1991.Special Idents
BBC2 used a number of special idents through it's years, mainly for use at ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. Special idents were commissioned for this.
- Christmas 1986 - Snow constantly covers and uncovers the 'TWO' in waves going left to right.
- Christmas 1987 - A transparent ball hangs in front of the camera as two people throw snowballs at each other with backgrounds of trees. The ball then pans up to reveal an all white 'TWO' logo, with a red dash above and a large green triangle stretching the entire length of the TWO above that.
- Christmas 1988 - A white powdered person with green hair in the style of a Christmas tree cuts to a picture of a green and red 'TWO' with the sections separated and frozen in ice.
- Christmas 1989 - Three figures seemingly made of wrapping paper move the sections of the 'TWO' into position, which themselves seen to be made out of wrapping paper in the logo colours. The end board is accompanied by a synthesised nursery tune and rotating sheep in the background.
- Christmas 1990 - An upside down triangle, square and circle burst open to reveal the letters TWO made out of items such as crackers, wheels and other assorted materials, accompanied by a soundtrack of two notes, the final note being dragged out for the length of the announcement. These idents were designed to follow on seamlessly from a similarly styled promotional trail.
The few other special idents were made:
- A 'TWO' ident recoloured blue and red, with occasional powdered colours of blue and red, was used to mark a series of programmes on the French RevolutionFrench RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. - A version with the letter spelling 'THE' was used before the first episode of The Late Show.
- A spoof version of the logo, spelling 'THREE' was used on BBC1BBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
prior to their showing of Roland RatRoland RatRoland Rat is a British television puppet character. He was created, operated and voiced by David Claridge, who had previously been behind the Mooncat puppet in the Children's ITV television programme Get Up and Go! David worked for Jim Henson, then the second series of The Young Ones...
- The series.