Following a yearlong collaboration with BBC Worldwide, creative agency Trollb ck Companys latest branding work unveiled the premiere of BBC First in Australia last month. The global premium drama network is the first of three new TV brand identities that BBC Worldwide will roll out internationally over the next year alongside BBC Earth and BBC Brit. To develop the distinct trio of brand identities, BBC Worldwide selected Trollb ck Company on the strength of its proven creativity and its legacy of global network clients.The firm was appointed in 2013 following a competitive pitch process and is working on a 360 brand-building for each of the genre brands, including naming, brand expression, manifesto, logo creation, on-air design, station IDs, and further off-air brand assets including creative assets for trade events.
Developing the brand, we thought deeply about the characteristics that set our premium drama apart, says Amanda Hill, Chief Brands Officer for BBC Worldwide. The best drama is unpredictable. It can be visceral yet seductively complex and it should take you down a path you didn't foresee. We're thrilled that the identity for BBC First captures this spirit and will deliver our promise to audiences worldwide.
Jakob Trollb ck, Chief Creative Officer of Trollb ck Company, adds: It's a dream job. We have always been huge fans of the BBC, and here, we were asked to create three new worldwide brands for them. Every channel is totally unique, with carefully crafted expressions that illuminate the brand and energize the connection between the content and the viewers. For BBC First, we created an emotionally heightened world where nothing is just black and white, but supercharged with fine nuances and incredible plot twists. We are looking forward to seeing the new brands take the world by storm. It's unmissable entertainment.
To view the IDs:
Swing : http://vimeo.com/107596309
Staircase : http://vimeo.com/107593563
Drive : http://vimeo.com/107593561
Pursuit : http://vimeo.com/107593560
With acclaimed offerings such as Doctor Who, Peaky Blinders, The Musketeers and The Politicians Husband, the visceral nature of BBC original productions needed an expression that communicated the elegance and premium quality of the BBC First brand. To execute this visually, T Co found inspiration in the transforming nature of complex storytelling and in the luminous craft of film and photography.
We wanted to craft a brand expression that paid tribute to the complex emotions and mesmerizing beauty of BBCs unforgettable content, says T Co Executive Content Director Elizabeth Valleau. Along with the luminous navigation we've created narratively ambiguous idents. They are full of emotion but open to the projection of the viewer. Quality drama affects people in very different ways, so we wanted to allow the interpretation of the idents to be equally personal. The network design is as rich, intriguing and edgy as the programming itself, and the launch has already exceeded ratings expectations.
The IDs are live-action with multifaceted and double-exposed imagery that was captured entirely in-camera. The footage was layered and re-captured using rear projection screens and rotating panes of beam-splitter glass.
The IDs are intended to convey less of an explicit storyline, and more of a vibe - a canvas for the viewers to color with meaning themselves, explains Valleau. Drawing inspiration from the network's emotive content, each ID evokes a mood, teasing out story possibilities without ever giving away all the facts.
T Co achieved the campaign's unique look in collaboration with world-renowned cinematographer Fred Elmes in New Orleans, cinematographer Noah David Smith in New York, and Chris Webb Films, who executed the smashed-chandelier Phantom footage and helped T Co develop the bespoke camera rig for the production.
It was a pleasure working with such sophisticated, intelligent, and passionate clients, concludes Valleau. It was truly a collaboration to be cherished, and the work shows the fruit of it. As BBC demanded the best from us, we were inspired to break boundaries.
Client: BBC Worldwide
Chief Brands Officer, BBC Worldwide: Amanda Hill
Director of Branded Services and Digital, BBC Worldwide: Tom Lucas
Director of Drama Brands, BBC Worldwide: Julia Kenyon
Head of Brand and Global Campaigns, BBC Worldwide: Sara Holt
Director of Brands and Marketing, BBC Worldwide - Australia: Melissa Madden
Head of Creative, BBC Worldwide - Australia: Dan Aldridge
Production Company: Trollb ck Company
Live Action Shoot - New Orleans
Directors: Jakob Trollb ck & Elizabeth Valleau
Director of Photography: Frem Elmes
Executive Producer: Elyse Roth
Producer: Jennifer Pearlman
Post Producer: Forrest Heidel
Live Action Shoot - East Hampton
Directors: Jakob Trollb ck & Elizabeth Valleau
Director of Photography: Noah David Smith
Executive Producer: Elyse Roth
Line and Post Producer: Niabi Caldwell
Studio Shoot - Christopher Webb Studio
Directors: Jakob Trollb ck, Elizabeth Valleau, Elliott Chaffer & Mitch Monson
Executive Producer: Elyse Roth
Producer: Niabi Caldwell
Director of Photography: Christopher Webb
Design, Animation & VFX Company: Trollb ck Company
Technical Director: Peter Alfano
Lead Designer: Rachel Digerness
Senior Producers: Niabi Caldwell & Forrest Heidel
Head of Production: Erica Schrager
Production Coordinator: Anna Toyama
Designer/Animators: Peter Alfano, Josh Lynne, Seon Crawford, Animesh Dwivedi, Paris Glickman, Kelli Miller, Elaine Park, Dennis Chung, Ray Lee, John Hayley, Brandon Sugiyama, Tim Lines, Nadia Husain, Eric Epstein, Jorge Peschiera, Erin Kilkenny, Sarah Cohen & Adam Wentworth
Music Composition: Joshua Valleau
Editor: Nate Buchik
Assistant Editors: Caroline Kallback, Tommy Shull,
