CBC

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum




1st Bumper (Anything Can Happen On Channel 6) (1950s/60s?)



Visuals: On a black background are pictures of two legs and feet, which move up and down as if they are dancing. The screen then cuts to see a picture of a rocket, which "takes off" accompanied by the background flashing rapidly.

We then see even more random images both still and made to "move":

  • An old man thinking.
  • A man playing the piano, which is animated by going back and forth rapidly between two images of him doing so.
  • A jazz singer.
  • Two shots of a woman.
  • A man, possibly Louis Armstrong or at least resembling him, playing the trumpet.
  • A woman lifting a man with his leg up in the air as he does a pose, seemingly dancing.
  • An excited man making a weird face.
  • A Native American in a headdress.
  • The same "dancing" feet from before.
  • What looks like an Aztec jaguar statue, which zooms in three times.

We then see the text "ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN", which spirals away. We briefly see a shot of a man in a cowboy hat, then the text "ON CHANNEL 6". In very rapid succession, there is a closeup of an eye, the text "NEW SIGHTS", an ear, the text "NEW SOUNDS", and a bizarre looking humanoid artifact.

We then see:

  • An upper body shot of a hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens, then a lower shot of his legs, skates, and hockey stick.
  • Three shots of a Canadian football player catching a ball thrown at him, made to look animated.
  • The Parthenon.
  • A statue's hand.
  • A statue of a bearded man, possibly Zeus.
  • A statue of a naked bearded man crawling through the legs of and peering up at an angel with their bare butt visible.
  • A man with a mustache smoking a big cigar.
  • Yet another shot of the "dancing" legs.

We then see two puppets animated in stop motion, the left one having a paper with a "6" on it tucked under his bow tie and the right being shorter with two strands of hair. They turn to look at each other and open their mouths. A white "6" briefly flashes on screen at the end.

Technique: 2D animation and stop-motion for the puppets.

Audio: A rather loud and cacophonic piano tune.


2nd Bumper (1956-1974)

Visuals: On a cyan background, there is a dark blue map of Canada with longitude and latitude lines. On it is "RADIO-CANADA" with "CBC" either above or below it in yellow or white.

Variant: There is a black and white version.

Technique: A still graphic.

Audio: A male announcer saying "This is the CBC Television Network." On Télévision de Radio-Canada, the CBC's French-language network, a different male announcer says "Ici Radio-Canada." There is also a version of it where it is silent, likely used at the end of program releases.

Availability: You may be able to spot it on CBC if there is a special event involving archives going on.

3rd Bumper (The Gem/The Exploding Pizza) (December 1974-December 31, 1985)

Visuals: On a blue background, several orange/salmon/yellow/red-colored objects form in the middle of the screen via a kaleidoscope/mirror effect, forming the pre-1986 CBC logo, which consists of a red "C" with several curved lines and half-circles on the outer edge. A white line is also seen during the logo forming, filling up the cut of the "C", but disappears when it was fully formed.

Variants:

  • A prototype version exists. The animation is much different, the background is black and "Television Canada" appears underneath. This went unused.[1]
  • A variant used in 1975 had different animation and a different fanfare. On a blue background, several small CBC logos pop up on screen to form a pattern, before the middle one zooms into the screen and overtakes the screen.

Technique: Cel animation.

Audio: An 11-note woodwind sounder, with a male announcer saying "This is CBC." On Télévision de Radio-Canada, a different male announcer says "Ici Radio-Canada." Earlier before 1975, this logo used a dramatic 3-note tune with flutes and brass.

Audio Variant: On one unknown show, the theme is played in the key of F and with different, less orchestral instruments.

Availability: It was used for 11 years and was dropped by the end of 1985 for the next bumper.

4th Bumper (January 1, 1986-November 1992)

Visuals: On a different-colored background, depending on the variant, with a wavy pattern composed of pieces of the familiar "Exploding Pizza", the 1986-1992 CBC logo appears one-by-one in the center and shines. This logo is similar to the 1974 gem logo, but it's a bit thinner, and on here it's transparent and colored differently depending on the background.

Variants: Many variants were commissioned for this logo, and were color-coded for each period of the day.

  • Morning: The background is colored purple/tan/blue gradient, and the CBC logo is colored cyan/tan/pink.
  • Afternoon: The background is colored cyan, and the CBC logo is colored cerulean.
  • Evening: The background is colored turquoise, and the CBC logo is colored cyan.
  • Night: The background is colored black, and the CBC logo is purple.
  • 50th Anniversary (the only known non-daypart version): The background is black, and the CBC logo is gold. Only used in 1986.

Technique: CGI by Omnibus Computer Graphics.

Audio: A 5-note synth-horn theme with a chiming backbeat, and an announcer saying "This is CBC Television" or "Ici Radio-Canada". This was used with the afternoon/evening variants. The morning variant used a majestic flute tune in place of the horns, whereas the night and 50th anniversary variants used more orchestral-sounding renditions of the tune. The 50th anniversary variant also used an announcer saying "CBC. 50 years of telling your story."

5th Bumper (November 1992-2001)


Visuals: There is a shiny 2x2 grid, with the right top square reading "CBC" and the opposite square reading "SRC". The grid then opens up and turns into a circle. The camera then zooms out as several pieces zoom out onto the circle to reveal the current CBC logo, which is bolder than the other variants and has a solid circle in the middle instead of a "C". Several green, blue, and red streaks move between the logo parts.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A piano theme with a horn flourish. An announcer says either "This is CBC. Public broadcasting.", "This is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation", "This is CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.", or "Ici Radio-Canada".

Availability: CBXFT-DT continued to use this ident until 2001.

6th Bumper (1997-2002)


Visuals: On a white background, a strange object opens up in the middle of the screen. The official logo of CBC, which consists of the CBC gem with "CBC Radio-Canada" in between the gem, zooms out into a interlocking pattern of CBC logos. A red circle appears and spreads out into the gem as the pattern of logos zooms out and fades away, leaving the gem slowly zooming in.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Same as before.

Availability: Same as before. It was used in tandem with the previous and the next bumper until 2002.

7th Bumper (September 2001-October 2006)


Visuals: On a white background with some rotating objects, the screen zooms through many digitized lines that move around. We then see 4 of them colliding, making the gem. The screen flashes and then the gem in red zooms out piece by piece. "CBC" and "Canada's own" fades in below.

Variant: At the end of promos, the background would be red and "television" is placed beside "CBC" with "Canada's own" removed.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A majestic fanfare with the announcer saying "This is CBC Television, Canada's own."

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