The concept was written to harness all forms of film craft whether it be captured as a shot element, realised as animation or created in CGI. The idea encourages contrast and diversity both in execution and in authorship and brings those disparate elements together as a rich and hypnotic visual tapestry. It allows multiple voices, textures, themes, sounds, locations, orientation, scale or anything else that creates variety. Film craft was at the heart of planning, designing and achieving this unique and ambitious project. The collaboration between the crafts people and makers in all departments was essential to its success.

Channel 4 was formed as a platform for alternative and unheard voices. Since its conception, Channel 4 programming and films have featured underrepresented cultures, discussed taboo topics and created a space for minority and marginalised factions in British society. As an example, its groundbreaking coverage and support of the Paralympics has not only elevated the movement in the UK but has had an impact on Para Sport that has changed perceptions globally. In addition to the values that it was built on, the channel has always been recognised as a flag bearer for British creativity. The incredible heritage of the idents extends back to its launch in 1982. These highly evocative and engaging visual excerpts form the heart and soul of the channel. Past idents have involved some of the most celebrated British creatives and directors and are much revered by the British public.

This new set of idents was tasked with reigniting the national love for Channel 4 in an ever expanding landscape of broadcasters and global streamers. These films had to be the cinematic partner to a recent re-brand of the channel which included reinstating the iconic Channel 4 logo at its centre. They had to represent a diverse and modern Britain, uphold the high creative standards of 4 while reflecting the channel values and brand positioning of ‘Altogether Different’. The result is a hugely ambitious portrait of an altogether different UK.

Twenty five individual and contrasting scenes are held together in a continuous looping system which uses the iconic Channel 4 logo as the guiding device. With each seamless revolution a new scene, representative of Modern Britain, appears with another physical ‘4’ positioned at the centre of the environment. Action and performance play out, the camera never stopping. It continues on the same Fibonacci Spiral-like arc and moves on and into another world. Different scales and orientations of the camera capture unique perspectives of the incoming scenes. We move between microscopic worlds and vast open, remote spaces. Time is frozen on a night out and intersects with the high energy of unrest. Each segment has its own soundscape and acoustic treatment. An original piece of writing is voiced over the film, not a word for word accompaniment but a comment on a modern and more hopeful vision of Britain for now.

In 2023 C4 launched a new rebrand. Most significantly they brought back the iconic 4 mark. The previous ‘anti-brand' identity presented a deconstructed 4 that reduced comprehension in a world where multinational streaming platforms hold court. They needed to re-define their identity in this competitive space.

They commissioned a set of Idents with the brief to put the iconic ‘4’ back at the heart of the visuals, connect it to the rebrand and articulate the spirit of ’Altogether Different’, the longline that speaks of their core values. The 4 should act as a guide and lead the viewer through the 4 universe. The idents must be fit for purpose and allow for continuity VO.

Art Practice wrote a concept that created a diverse portrait of modern Britain held together by a visual language, a system where 25 wholly different scenes contrast and intersect, yet sit altogether in perfect, hypnotic unity.

The C4 idents are about collaboration. Written as a visual system that welcomes all contributors, voices, diverse perspectives and encourages contrast in execution and technique throughout. Made by seventeen directors, three DOP’s, two art-directors, seven sound designers, countless animators/VFX artists and a cast of 75 shot across four studio and four location days… all realised within a challenging budget. The journey began at the creative development stage, harnessing and curating over 500 ideas to define the 25 scenes that make up the set. Our challenge was around the amount of disparate segments we had to design, build, scout, cast and prep for. Not all of the directorial team were film-makers. We had photographers, fine artists, 3D artists and young directors that had yet to make anything. This added further complication but made for a richer tapestry. Needless to say, executing this unique work was a monumental production task.