Research Into Children's Opening sequences.
I started my research by looking on different children's TV programmes websites ascending in age range. For children aged up to 6 years I looked at CBeebies as it has an average daily viewing of 1,721,000. For children aged 6-12 years I looked at CBBC which has an average daily viewing of 1,401,000, and for highest target audience I was researching 9-15 years, I looked at the Disney Channel which has an average daily viewing of 939,000. all viewing figures shown from BARB.
After I had researched the different shows for different age groups I watched their openings on YouTube to find ideas and to see what interested me. I looked at shows with different target audiences to decide what target audience I was wanted my opening to appeal to. I was also looking at how effective the editing was in the clips and what editing I would use in my clips. Here are links to some of the videos I found and their durations:
- Lazy Town 0.46
- Charlie and Lola 1.02
- The Tellytubbies 1.08
- Postman Pat 1.32
Average Duration:0.97
- Arthur 1.06
- Tracey Beaker 0.20
- Dick and Dom 0.55
- Horrible Histories 0.32
- Blue Peter 0.21
Average Duration:0.47
- American Dragon 0.58
- As the Bell Rings 0.18
- Cory In The House 0.50
- Kim Possible 1.00
Average Duration:0.55
28th September 2011
Deconstructions Of Children's Opening Sequences.
Here are a few current children’s TV openings videos I have deconstructed to gather ideas for what I’m looking to create in my opening sequence, what I think is successful about the videos and what attracts the target audience.
Lazy Town
The Lazy Town video is bright, colourful and loud, everything that would attract the target audience of a young child up to 6 years, to the TV. The Video follows a simple story line of introducing the main characters, giving them a few seconds each, with the background song introducing them too. The video like most opening sequences has jump cuts because they are a fast way of swapping between shots, this video has a series of zoom shots that start away from the character and slowly zoom in, this may be something I use in my opening, as it gives a broad view of the character, then gives a close up view of them. This opening sequence would be difficult to reproduce, but the style of the story line is simple yet very effective, showing everyone’s favourite characters, and for children who haven’t seen it before letting them know who they all are, and what they are like, and also showing views their favourite characters.
Dick and Dom
Dick and Dom
This opening sequence opens introducing the characters and goes through an animated sequence of how they would get ready when they have got out of bed. The target audience for this programme is about 6-12 years so the opening is loud and colourful and has silly effects that children enjoy, the silliness of the opening reflects the genre and attitude of the show, so children know what to expect. In the opening a machine gets the main characters ready, which children would love to have. There is also a catchy song for the opening that young children would enjoy and it would attract them to watch this programme. The clip has simple transition effects between shots and features a lot of close up shots to show the fun expressed in the characters faces. This opening sequence doesn’t really have what I’m looking for in an opening.
Blue peter
At the beginning of this opening sequence it features the show’s presenters floating around on water looking at all the blue peter boats floating around them. The clip has both extreme close ups, medium long shots and bird’s eye shots of the hosts floating around. Blue Peter music also accompanies the clip. After the initial opening there are clips of the hosts participating in activities, however I'm not interested in this bit; I’m only interested in the first bit. If I was to recreate something along these lines, I would make it using different means, and materials to create more of a challenge, and a more interesting individual opening.
As The Bell Rings
This opening would be relatively simple to create, introducing all the characters separately, with the only difference being the fonts used, which match the characters for the personalities, like most openings this also has a catchy music background, which would attract the target audience of 9-15 year olds, the only difficulty of this video would be recreating the animated background, which seems to be a running theme in most openings, this would be difficult to recreate with the characters in front without the use of a green screen, and advanced video editing software, which isn’t available. This opening is effective as it introduces all the characters, changing between them with quick jump cuts, so if anyone was a new viewer they would have been shown the characters and what they are like in a short period of time, it also appeals to current viewers as it shows them their favourite characters. This video would be simple to create if I had the use of a green screen, however I don't have access to one so ill keep researching.
Of the openings that i have deconstructed i am yet to decide which one i will be further researching, they all have equal pros and cons, i will decide and post my decision.
29th September 2011
Animation Examples.
Here are a few examples of possible ways i have researched to create my animation for my children’s opening sequence.
Stop motion with cut paper.
This is a short video being only 38 seconds long, and doesn’t involve a lot of materials to create. The only materials needed are: a newspaper for the background, some coloured paper for the foreground and a camera to take the pictures. This video may be short and easily made, but it’s very effective and stands out as being different from the norm. I particularly like the background being a newspaper and not just a boring plane background, it adds a bit of individuality to the animation. I'm looking to create an animation that’s different in the same ways this is.
Paper animation, stop motion, Snoeck – down here with me.
This video is an amazing representation of the possibilities of a 3D paper animation. With cars, people and buildings built from paper and sketched by hand. Creating all the pieces for this animation would be time consuming but to gain 3D effect over a normal 2D would be far superior. Again this video is produced by stop frame animation, taking a series of pictures and playing through them to give the effect of a video. The short video shows the life of a person who lives under a city; the music matches this person’s life, being slow and slightly depressing.
Post-it note stop motion style animation
This is a very short video made by stop motion with post-it notes. Its very simple also as it only contains post-it notes and changing the colour of them. This video is a bit simplistic for my opening sequence, however the idea of using post-it notes in this way interests me and may be a possibility.
Stop-Motion Boat
This is a short clip that’s a very bright colourful representation of an animated boat stop motion. The sea effect is simple using two pieces of coloured card and moving them up and down, but has a good easy effect. The clip can be easily reproduced with the use of coloured paper and being as simple as it is, it’s still effective and different.
Children's DVD Deconstructions.
If the deconstruction text appears too small, use "Ctrl Shift +" to zoom in, as they are as large as possible.
4th October 2011
Lazy Town (up to 6)
LazyTown is from the youngest target audience I'm looking at being aimed at children just aged up to 6 years old. The LazyTown cover has the main character: Stephanie at the very front, with a few other characters just behind her, this seems the most effective and most popular way to create a DVD. The cover has a very loud colourful appearance which young children love to see as it excites them and gets them interested.
This cover is effective because it is simple, following the popular set up of having the main character at the very front, and the other characters slightly behind. The Cover is also effective because of the vibrant colours going on in the animated background; this will excite and interest any children that see it.
4th October 2011
Horrible Histories (6 - 12)
4th October 2011
Horrible Histories (6 - 12)
The Horrible Histories cover is in the middle target audience range I'm looking at being aimed at 6-12 year olds. Horrible Histories has a selection of all different characters from all different time periods each with a unique expression. This lets the viewer know that this DVD has more than one time period in it, drawing the reader in. The blood effect splat at the top of the cover is effective as it attracts boys to this cover because boys of this age seem to be attracted to blood and gory things similar.
The cover is effective because it is simple yet it has enough to let whoever looks at it know what it’s about, showing them the different characters involved, also the name ‘Horrible Histories’ is well known for successful children’s books, so someone will just have to see the title and already know what this DVD is about.
5th October 2011
Wizards Of Waverly Place (9-15)
Children's Magazine Deconstructions.
10th October 2011
CBeebies (up to 6)
11th October 2011
5th October 2011
Wizards Of Waverly Place (9-15)
The Wizards of Waverly place is the highest target audience I'm looking at aged 9 – 15 year old children. The DVD cover has a large title that stands out and grabs attention, along with medium close up shots of the viewer’s favourite characters which also draw them in. The cover has a feel of magic about it, with the sparkles around the title coming from the characters wands and the almost cartoon looking background of the cafe.
This cover is successful because it has the main character in centre shot, with the other characters in the background, this is important as the thing children recognise most about a programme is the characters that are in it.
Children's Magazine Deconstructions.
10th October 2011
CBeebies (up to 6)
The CBeebies magazine is from the youngest target audience that I’m researching, up to 6 years. The magazine has a variety of different bright colours on the cover to grab the attention of any possible readers and stand out against other magazines. The magazine cover also has characters from the different shows on the Cbeebies channel, this is so that any young child will see their favorite character and be instantly drawn to the magazine. The magazine cover also features the usual attributes that come with a children’s magazine such as free giveaways and extra entertainment.
The line of sight of this cover starts with the title, like in the majority of magazines, as it stands out the most. It then goes to the bright yellow ‘special issue all about numbers!’ as this is a very eye catching arrow in the top corner. It then goes across to the free giveaway header and then down to the footer. The line of sight finishes off by going down the right side of contents as these are small but as a collective item take up a large section of the page.
This magazine is effective because of all the different eye catching material on the cover, combined with the free giveaways will make parents want to buy this magazine. The fact that this entertaining magazine will help to develop a child’s education is an added bonus for the parent.
11th October 2011
Doctor Who Adventures. (6-12)
The Doctor who magazine falls into the middle target audience for children aged 6–12 years, both boys and girls. Children this age are well aware of the Doctor who series on BBC, as well as the doctor who adventures and the Sarah Jane adventures on CBBC. All of these programmes are featured on the front of this magazine, bringing all the different spin-off’s together. The magazine features the usual give-aways that magazines offer as well as other interesting content, such as facts about the Doctors companion.
The line of sight on this magazine cover starts with the Doctor as the medium close up shot of him looking straight towards the camera instantly engages the reader. It then goes from here to the highly recognisable house theme Doctor Who title and then to the also highly recognisable tardis. ‘Doctor Danger’ next draws the line of sight as the alliteration in large red and white letters stands out near the centre of the page, from here the line of sight goes to the top left corner and follows down the contents in the magazine. After the contents it follows along the footer seeing all the extras in the magazine and then finishes thinking of all the extra bonus content in this issue.
This magazine cover is successful because it offers a wealth of entertainment for children spanning across three different shows. All of these different shows bring a wide audience to this one magazine, which captures the reader’s attention by recognisable pictures of the Doctor, his Tardis and the Daleks, combined with loud eye catching alliteration text such as: Doctor Danger and Deadly Daleks.
11th October 2011
Hannah Montana (9-15)
11th October 2011
Hannah Montana (9-15)
The Hannah Montanna magazine is aimed at the highest target audience of 9–15 year olds. The magazine is clearly aimed at girls because of the bright pink and purple colours used. The magazine, like most children's magazines offer free giveaways, e.g. free movie stickers and posters. This Hannah Montana issue is ‘The Movie Issue’ which means it has a lot of content involving the Hannah Montana movie. This will draw readers in as they wish to find out as much as they can about the upcoming Hannah Montana movie.
The line of sight for this cover starts on Hannah Montana’s face at the green square as this grabs the reader’s attention first. It then goes to the title as this is the second item on the cover that stands out. The line of sight then continues through numbers 4 – 8 working its way down the left side of all the content in the magazine finishing off on what's available to win in this issue.
This magazine cover is successful because its bright and colourful and features a close up shot of a recognisable star on the front, these two things alone will attract an audience to the magazine, and once the magazine has the reader’s attention the wealth of content from free giveaways to Miley Stewarts journal will convince them to buy it.
3rd October 2011
Blue Peter Opening Sequences.
3rd October 2011
Blue Peter Opening Sequences.
Blue peter is the world’s longest running children’s television show, having first aired in 1958; it’s shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming slot and on the CBBC channel. During its time there have been many presenters and many pets.
The show uses a studio for the main format of the presenting; there is also a garden, referred to as ‘The Blue Peter Garden’ this is used during the summer months or used when they are showing any outside activities.
The final edition of Blue Peter to broadcast from the BBC’s television centre in London was broadcast on 28th June 2011, after this they had moved to the BBC’s new facilities in Manchester. When the new series started after their usual summer break, Barney Harwood and Helen Skelton revealed the new look show with a new title sequence, in ‘media city’. This was the first time in 50 years that only two presenters remained on the programme.
The show has come a long way since back in 1958; this is easy to see by the clips below which are the opening titles of Blue Peter over the past 20 years.
1990’s
This clip is form the opening titles of Blue Peter in the 1990’s, the clip starts with a birds eye shot of the world, which strangely enough is shown as flat. This connotes the adventures that Blue Peter has and that they explore the world. The camera then zooms in on a boat in the sea and once it is close enough you can see that it’s the highly recognisable Blue Peter boat with the sun passing behind it. The camera then zooms in on the flag which has Blue Peter written on it. There is then a jump cut to a series of clips of the presenters on the show and the activities that they partake in, inside an effect of a film tape. After this the programme shows what happens in the episode.
This opening sequence is relatively simple for today’s day and age, however when it was created the effects would have been advance and complicated to construct.
2000
At the beginning of this clip there are the presenters floating around on bubbles looking at small Blue Peter boats floating around above them in bubbles. In this opening there are a variety of different shots used, such as extreme close up shots, medium close up shots and birds eyes shots. After this short generic opening there are a series of clips showing what's happening in this episode. Throughout the whole of this clip the iconic Blue Peter music is played which is a recognisable as the logo and also children enjoy this catchy tune.
Between this clip and the previous one the common theme of water reoccurs, as expected with the symbol and most recognised image of Blue Peter being a boat.
This opening sequence would be difficult to recreate without the use of a green screen and advanced animation software.
2008
This opening sequence for Blue Peter starts above the sea looking upon the iconic white cliffs of Dover, the camera then comes in on the bottom of a helicopter but speeded up to a birds eye shot of a white light house with a large white Blue Peter symbol. An animated Blue Peter symbol then pans across the shot as a transition to the animated presenter profiles where the presenters are shown alongside clips of activates that they have done. This opening sequence is accompanied by the Blue Peter music as with the previous opening, however this music is more edited and has a more electrical sounding to it, this connotes that the show is more modern and like most new electrical items Blue Peter too is advancing technologically.
This clip also incorporates the sea theme as it starts with a shot from over the sea. However after this the rest of the opening sequence is heavily animated and would be difficult to recreate without the use of advanced animation software and a green screen.
2011
This opening sequence starts with a spinning animated cube turning into the Blue Peter logo. This highly recognisable logo is shown at the beginning of the clip to show the viewers that they are watching Blue Peter and that the show had started before going straight into the clips of what's going to be shown in the episode. The clips of what's happening in the episode are shown with a blue fade out at the top and bottom of the screen this use of blue links with the Blue Peter colours, as it draws your attention to the middle of the screen, this blue fade out also connotes that what is being shown is a foresight of what's to be seen in the show. This section of the opening sequence is followed by showing the female presenter interacting with the animated cube from the start of the sequence, which she soon morphs into an interactive computer like screen, then a basket ball which is thrown across to the male presenter and morphs into a games console controller then a keyboard which is pushed towards the camera and bounces back as the title Blue Peter.
This opening sequence, like the other more modern opening sequences would also be difficult to recreate without the use of advanced animation software and the use of a green screen.
Out of all the Blue Peter opening sequences I have analysed the one I prefer most is also the oldest. This may be due to all the other openings being heavily animated and use green screens, which in turn take out the great character that Blue Peter has established over all the years it has been running. I'm looking to create a Blue Peter opening sequence similar to this older version that isn’t too heavily animated, that's individual and shows Blue Peters creative side because i want it to be different to other children's opening credits.
