BBC Three
AdventureTime, IAmJefferson and Mintbucket
Video captures courtesy of
tvboxuk
Background
BBC Three was launched on 9 February 2003 in place of BBC Choice, with programmes targeting a young adult audience, covering all genres including animation, comedy, current affairs, and drama series. The launch was preceded by an "under construction" ident campaign on BBC Choice, which can be seen here.
Following budget cuts at the BBC, the TV channel ceased operations on 16 February 2016 despite public opposition, moving to a BBC Three-branded streaming channel on the iPlayer. However, due to the success of series such as Fleabag and Normal People, it returned to broadcast television on 4 March 2019, in the form of a late-night block on BBC One on Monday to Wednesday nights.
On 2 March 2021, the BBC confirmed that it planned to relaunch BBC Three as a linear television channel in 2022 subject to regulatory approval, which was approved in November that year. On 1 February 2022, BBC Three was relaunched as a full-fledged TV channel, while the online feed remains in use. The channel currently broadcasts every day from 7pm to around 4am, timesharing with CBBC (which starts at 7am).
1st ID (Blobs) (9 February 2003-11 February 2008)
Visuals: The idents take place in a black-blue gradient environment and prominently feature a set of orange blobs and a towering "THREE" in the background. The BBC Three logo appears via a transition shortly after.
Trivia:
- The orange blobs parallel the CBBC green blobs used at the time and the CBeebies yellow blobs which are still used to this day, and show a progression through age groups.
- These won the Royal Television Society Craft & Design Award for Best Trails and Packaging in 2003, along with the Design & Art Direction Yellow Pencil Award for Television Graphics/Brand Identity in 2004.
Variants:
- A prominent sting showed one blob standing in front of the figure "THREE" shouting "Three!", before another "THREE" rises up from underneath the original, toppling it.
- Idents may feature a snowy environment for the winter season.
- To promote the sketch series Little Miss Jocelyn, some idents are interrupted by the main character Jiffy, stating to give the blobs a ticket.
Technique: Computer animation directed by Stefan Marjoram at Aardman Animations. The idents themselves were compiled by Lambie-Nairn.
Audio: Almost all of the variants have spoken lines for the blobs, provided by the BBC Sound Archive. Music plays after the logo transitions, and may range from a rendition of "Three is a Magic Number" from Schoolhouse Rock!, an instrumental version of "In the Morning" by indie rock band Razorlight, an electronic tune, an instrumental of "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado or a cowbell beat (in the case of the yodelling ident). On 12 February 2008, before the channel's first rebrand, the usual music was replaced with music that followed the topic of leaving. Examples include "Release Me" by Engelbert Humperdinck, "Bye Bye Baby" by The Four Seasons and "So Long, Farewell" from the movie The Sound of Music.
Legacy: According to The Guardian, the blobs were eventually replaced because viewers found them "cold and shouty".
2nd ID (12 February 2008-30 September 2013)
Visuals: The sequence starts out looking at the world as a pink liquid is passing through pipes. Various objects and people can be seen as the "BBC three" logo can be seen as the liquid passes by.
Variants:
- Threefall: Five humans do bungee jumping from the sky. After that, the "BBC Three" logo is shown.
- Ooze: There is an extraordinary-looking street; however, the liquid leaks from the cab, making the street nearly flooded. One person is swimming in it and the liquid passes by the "BBC Three" logo.
- Kickstepturn: There is an extraordinary-looking street once again. This time, the camera is moving from the left until the "BBC Three" logo is shown.
- Birdbox: One of the people attempts to push a large box. However, as the bird moves, they're scared and later, the "BBC Three" logo can be seen.
Technique: CGI, designed by Claire Powell and Carlos Carrasco at Red Bee Media, MPG and Nexus Productions.
Audio: An upbeat electronic theme. Composed by Koink.
3rd ID (15 September 2013-3 January 2016)
Logos:
- Ripples and Lines: There is dots around the video wall. Afterwards, ripples are shown and the "BBC Three" logo is shown, and various lines can be seen across the video wall.
- Tunnel: There is a tunnel and boxes can be seen in the left and right corners. The tunnel is later formed and the "BBC Three" logo can be seen, albeit the "THREE" is flat. Various forms of the tunnel can be seen.
- Spotlight: There is lights popping out from the video wall and patterns of rhombus showing the logo of "BBC Three", then we see diagonal crosses, lights and a vortex.
- Birds: At first, there are two birds that look glitched out, but then another one passes by. Then we see the "BBC Three" logo. The ident continues as the two birds are doing a formation.
- Sliding Cubes: There is a moving video wall that includes various artwork of skeletons, caricatures and a rose. During the first few seconds, the logo can be seen.
Technique: Live-action, designed by Claire Powell at Red Bee Media.
Audio: All idents used an upbeat electronic theme, while the Tunnel ident uses a rock theme. Composed by Chris Branch and Tom Haines at Brains & Hunch.
Availability: It was first used on 15 September 2013, 16 days prior to the channel's rebrand on 1 October 2013.
4th ID (4 January-15 February 2016) (TV), (16 February 2016-1 February 2022) (online)
Visuals: There is the then-new BBC Three logo (a pink box containing the roman numeral for three, with the third column stylised as an exclamation mark) in front of a solid grey background. The columns animate and transform into various items.
Variants:
- The columns move around, unveiling a second box with the logo. The logo then transforms into three helmets, which merge into a white box. The box then explodes into an abstract wireframe, then back into the logo while an abstract pink canine figure runs to the left side of the screen. The logo grows lines that turn into a circuit board shape, and rectangles fly in, once again forming the logo. The third column turns into a tablet (with a Droste effect displaying the ident itself) and the remaining two columns transform into a pair of headphones connected to the tablet. The tablet flies out of the screen, showing the logo once more, and the columns turn into three overweight men bouncing. The one in the middle grabs an umbrella, displaying the logo, which then turns into an isometric view of a pink floating island with two buildings and a tree. A stick figure comes out of the taller building, but is then crushed by a pyramid, causing the island to fall and once again showing the logo. This animation then repeats itself for the remainder of the ident.
- The columns turn into various gadgets, which move downwards and the background turns into what appears to be an old building. The logo then fades in and zooms slowly towards the screen, then a different isometric view of a city. Some of the buildings release smoke, and the whole city disappears, leaving the logo against images of ultrasound and CT scans, and the columns turn into medical supplies. They are eventually consumed by pixels which turn into the logo. The columns then merge into a paper map of the world with a compass in the bottom right. Three pink dots on the map appear one by one, and the map then folds itself and turns into three abstract shapes resembling palm trees. The "trees" then turn into the logo. Like the former ident, this animation also repeats itself indefinitely.
Technique: 2D computer animation and CGI by Jun Iwakawa at Red Bee Media (Ericsson).[1]
Audio: An ambient electronic theme with various distorted sound effects.
5th ID (4 March 2019-October 2021) (block)
Visuals: A mint green box with three forest green lines rapidly zooms in. The line on the right, which is shorter than the other lines, "jumps" as a square falls below. We then see the square decrease in size as it expands and the lines form a capital "H" with the exclamation point shape attached to the right side. As the square stretches, a "T" appears on the left and "REE" appears on the right, with "IT'S" and "TIME" wiping in next to the square. The process is briefly reversed before the exclamation sign "sucks" the dot in and rises before dropping it out, causing the screen to cut to the logo much closer than before. Some effects appear on the logo as it continues to form "THREE" and repeat the aforementioned ! animation.
Technique: 2D digital animation at a London-agency, Studio Output and Twin Associates.[2]
Audio: A whoosh, then one second later, some sound effects play while an announcer talks.
Availability: It was seen on BBC One between 2019-2021.
6th ID (October 2021-1 February 2022) (block)
Visuals: The logo forms via the lines "stretching", with the right line "pulling" the dot. The lines and dot rapidly move in an oval shape before the ! absorbs and pushes the dot. The process repeats until the logo ends.
Technique: 2D digital animation.
Audio: Same as before.
Availability: It was seen on BBC One before BBC Three's linear relaunch.
7th ID (10 January 2022-)
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Visuals: Depends on the variant. This all starts in a lime background with creatures made from hands. "Captain" walks upright on his fingers, "Spider" crawls around with his middle finger acting as his head, and "Pointer" floats off the ground and is typically pointing.
Trivia: This ID uses the Chameleon branding design, with the 2022 BBC logo on the top and the word "THREE" on the bottom.
- Generic: The creatures walk lively, but Spider runs. They all stop on their positions. Spider makes movements. The end base is looped.
- Selfies: There is a phone foreground. They walk into the camera, where a filter puts on faces, and take pictures.
- Feet: The creatures see a giant statue of a foot falling onto the ground. Another statue falls behind the creatures. They run, trying to escape the statues.
- Hats: The creatures find moving hats.
- Jeans: The creatures wear jeans and strut (for the Pointer, flying) into the centre of the screen.
- Keyboard: Here, the creatures are represented as hands. They play a yellow keyboard.
- Microphone: The creatures are playing with a microphone.
- Mirror: The creatures are in a mirror. All of a sudden, Spider's mirror clone gets bigger.
- Swimming: The camera is submerged underwater, while the creatures are swimming.
- Nail Polish: The creatures are playing with nail tools.
- Googly Eyes: Googly eyes drop in, some of which stick onto the creatures.
- Voting: The creatures are watching a GIF of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World, where Jimbo the Drag Clown tosses a slice of ham onto RuPaul. They press three reaction buttons with emojis on them.
- A short ident has the creatures swaying on a rope.
- Another short ident has the creatures land on their places out of a hole.
- Another short ident has the creatures stand still only for the camera to zoom out.
- Sometimes, the short idents are transitions.
Technique: CGI, produced by BBC Studios Creative, Superunion, Robert Strange of Blinkink, and Ghost VFX.
Audio: A techno theme with many variations depending on the ident.
References
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BBC Three |
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