BBC One 'Virtual Globe' ident
Encyclopedia
The "Virtual Globe" was the method of creating the BBC1
symbol that was used between 16 February 1991 and 3 October 1997.
on 16 February 1991 and was designed by Martin Lambie-Nairn
, owner of the Lambie-Nairn
design agency. The first aspects of the look were first witnessed at 6am, when the updated Open University
symbol first aired, showing the stylised '1'. This was followed at 8am by the new clock that accompanied the look, introducing a news bulletin. The first time the ident itself aired was at 9am, when it introduced Going Live!
, the Saturday morning magazine show on Children's BBC
, where the ident itself was "unveiled" by presenters Phillip Schofield
and Sarah Greene
.
. Upon first impressions, the ident doesn't appear like a globe, as the smoky CGI effects hide and disfigure the continents. However, land masses can be seen in the globe and their shadows can be seen on the background of the ident.
A clock accompanied the look, which used GNAT (Generator of Network Analogue Time), resulting in the clock mimicked the movement of an analogue clock by moving the minute hand every second, rather than every minute as was found on previous station clocks. The counters on the clocks alternated between dots and dashes pointing towards the centre, a smoky static background and included the BBC logo at the bottom of the screen, although no on screen reference to the channel being BBC1
. The clocks size was originally large to fit the screen best, however the size contrast between the clock and the globe resulted in difficulty at closedown, as the two don't fade easily. This was resolved in 1992, when the clock size was shrunk down to the same as the globe, easing fading between. The background was also altered to a ripple effect, yet retaining the smoky feel.
The look also featured an updated style of captions and promotions. Promotions featured the '1' above a BBC logo in the top left of the screen, with the end screen of promotions featuring the programme name at the bottom of the screen. Captions were similar, being formed of a sidebar with the '1' and BBC logo in top left corner with the background of the sidebar featuring a smoky background similar to the ident.
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...
symbol that was used between 16 February 1991 and 3 October 1997.
Launch
The Virtual Globe replaced the Computer Originated WorldComputer Originated World
The Computer Originated World was the method of creating the BBC1 symbol that was used between February 1985 and February 1991. It was later used by the international, commercial television service BBC World Service Television from it's launch until c.1994.-Launch:The Computer Originated World...
on 16 February 1991 and was designed by Martin Lambie-Nairn
Martin Lambie-Nairn
Martin Lambie-Nairn is one of the most influential British graphic designers. He was the founder of his eponymous branding agency, Lambie-Nairn & Company, and is currently the creative director of branding agency Heavenly Group Ltd. His work mainly concentrates on brand identity for television...
, owner of the Lambie-Nairn
Lambie-Nairn
Lambie-Nairn is an international branding agency within the WPP Group, headquartered in London with offices in Munich, Madrid, Abu Dhabi and Prague...
design agency. The first aspects of the look were first witnessed at 6am, when the updated Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
symbol first aired, showing the stylised '1'. This was followed at 8am by the new clock that accompanied the look, introducing a news bulletin. The first time the ident itself aired was at 9am, when it introduced Going Live!
Going Live!
Going Live! was a Saturday morning magazine show, broadcast on BBC1 between 1987 and 1993. It was presented by Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene.Other presenters included Trevor and Simon, Peter Simon, Emma Forbes, and puppet Gordon the Gopher....
, the Saturday morning magazine show on Children's BBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
, where the ident itself was "unveiled" by presenters Phillip Schofield
Phillip Schofield
Phillip Bryan Schofield is an English broadcaster and television personality best known for presenting shows such as This Morning, Dancing on Ice, and various game shows including The Cube.-Early life and career:...
and Sarah Greene
Sarah Greene
Sarah Greene is a British television personality well known for presenting live TV: long-running series e.g. Blue Peter, from 19 May 1980 until 27 June 1983, Saturday Superstore, Going Live for 10 years and big event/awards shows.- Early life and career :Greene was born in London, England, the...
.
Regular Idents
The ident consisted of a figure "1" inside a rotating transparent globe surrounded by a swirling smokey atmosphere above the BBC's corporate logo – the bold italic letters B B C within three rhomboids, above blue red and green flashes. The idents were created by filming a physical globe, but used CGI effects to give it its smokey look. The ident had no soundtrack and was played off modified LaserdiscLaserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
. Upon first impressions, the ident doesn't appear like a globe, as the smoky CGI effects hide and disfigure the continents. However, land masses can be seen in the globe and their shadows can be seen on the background of the ident.
A clock accompanied the look, which used GNAT (Generator of Network Analogue Time), resulting in the clock mimicked the movement of an analogue clock by moving the minute hand every second, rather than every minute as was found on previous station clocks. The counters on the clocks alternated between dots and dashes pointing towards the centre, a smoky static background and included the BBC logo at the bottom of the screen, although no on screen reference to the channel being 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...
. The clocks size was originally large to fit the screen best, however the size contrast between the clock and the globe resulted in difficulty at closedown, as the two don't fade easily. This was resolved in 1992, when the clock size was shrunk down to the same as the globe, easing fading between. The background was also altered to a ripple effect, yet retaining the smoky feel.
The look also featured an updated style of captions and promotions. Promotions featured the '1' above a BBC logo in the top left of the screen, with the end screen of promotions featuring the programme name at the bottom of the screen. Captions were similar, being formed of a sidebar with the '1' and BBC logo in top left corner with the background of the sidebar featuring a smoky background similar to the ident.
Christmas idents
During Christmas times, the '1' and the globe was altered into a variety of guises. One was made for each year the ident was in existence.| Title | Air dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
An icy figure ‘1’ is in a snowy landscape, with two polar bears and Father Christmas Father Christmas Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India... in his sleigh flying above it, which the bears watch. Two versions were made, one in day-time and one in night-time. |
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The figure ‘1’ is a Christmas present Christmas Present - References :*... with a snowman either side of itpping their hats. This ident was unusual in that it had three different variations. In the run up to and on Christmas Eve Christmas Eve Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25... it was neatly wrapped, on Christmas Day it was unwrapped by the snowmen to reveal a shining gold numeral and on Boxing Day Boxing Day Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as... and onwards the wrapping remains had been removed to display the gold numeral ‘1’. The Christmas Day version was occasionally used on and after Boxing Day. Normal idents were used for closedown. |
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The figure ‘1’ is on top of a Christmas tree in place of a star, with starry glitter surrounding it and a toy plane flying around it. In addition to this, a variation was made without the plane, which was used at closedown. |
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A circular box is opened by two toys to reveal a gold figure ‘1’ inside. A version without the toy figures was used for Closedown and introduction into serious programming, should the need arise. |
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