WATERFALL. An explorer discovers a beautiful waterfall. The channel 4 blocks are growing out from the rocks in vast natural formations. Suddenly stones are thrown down at us. A warning shot.

SHAMAN. A mythic character dances alone in a vast cave. He wears a multilayered ceremonial costume made from thousands of tiny channel 4 blocks. More blocks are growing out from the rocks around him.

DETONATION. A lush forest. We cut. It’s been chopped down to make a mine. A monkey runs away. Then boom. The earth is detonated. Within the natural rocks, many thousands of raw channel 4 blocks rain down. Hundreds of people appear to collect them.

BLOCK TESTING. We see a channel 4 block undergoing tests. In a plasma chamber, put through extreme temperatures. An electron microscope looks at the surface. It is made of nano-blocks. They are being collected by a tardigrade.

For the rebrand of Channel 4 we wanted to use the opportunity to express who Channel 4 are as well as to entertain their audience.

Channel 4 is more than a number. We didn’t want to tell people what they were watching, we wanted to tell people why they were watching. We went back to the start, to the original Lambie Nairn 3D logo from 1982 and broke it apart. The individual Channel 4 blocks are now free to reflect the channel’s remit; to be original, alternative, innovative, to be surprising and bold.

The idents, present the blocks as elemental forms born of nature and found within the earth. They depict the blocks being discovered and their impact on the world. While there is a narrative running through the four films, we wanted a less obvious approach to TV Channel branding.