Big Brother: Time for change? - Fin
 

It's inevitable, and something we're all beginning to think about. It's time Big Brother got a complete overhaul, from the house location, to the font used. Over the next few weeks (Hopefully :P) im planning to share my ideas with you including new graphics, advertising, theme music, location and a week-by-week plan as well as background details such as new spin offs, launch themes ect.


Auditions:

First though, I think this year the producers should have been out looking for strange people this year. As much as some of us might hate to admit it, the freaks & loud mouths are always the most entertaining characters that keep the show alive. The auditionees looked for this year should hopefully have been either:

- So competitive that nothing gets in the way of winning.
- Complete freaks
- People with secrets
- & people with interesting and genuine entertainment factors (Ag Alex BB3 & Victor BB5 etc)

I'd also like a series of tests introduced to eliminate bores from the audition process early on, to keep the cast as interesting and entertaining as possible.

The audition process should also have been open to a wider amount of people (more locations) and to lure in more people a larger prize fund should have been promoted in adverts as well as 'Life changing situations' ect to get people rolling in.

Interactive audition feature:

http://i44.tinypic.com/sy2hah.jpg

Eg of an audition advert:

http://i42.tinypic.com/kbzmue.jpg

- I'm still working on audition graphics, hopefuly I'll upload a few more soon ;)


Graphics:

Ditch the template. Ditch the font. Ditch the format.

Firstly a new logo:

http://i43.tinypic.com/4t3pqf.jpg

Simple, but not boring and astheticly pleasing.


As for advertising graphics, the only ones that actually work are the countdown adverts. The rest are dated, old and don't have a point/make you want to watch. I've decided all should be scrapped for a new set (Minus the countdown adverts)


In order of airing:

- The first short adverts. Clear and let you know Big Brother is back. Slightly similar to the eye flashes, but longer and more to the point:

http://i42.tinypic.com/2zqtnow.jpg

- All hearing, all seeing, all watching adverts. Basically to add a bit more verity and interest to the up and coming series:

http://i44.tinypic.com/5v7u4h.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/300r903.jpg


- Info adverts. These should defiantly spark rumours and curiosity which = publicity which should hopefully = ratings. Basically they are to provoke interest and an aura of mystery back to the show. Should grab a few extra ratings:

http://i42.tinypic.com/xlmpli.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2uj36zr.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/2yvqb15.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/9ftnwk.jpg


- Housemate adverts. The vital part of any show. Housemate teasers should definatly arouse interest. Varying from soundbite to background info, they should hopefully create yet more ratings and spark more rumours:

http://i44.tinypic.com/11l6gpd.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/e03ehc.jpg


- Countdown adverts. More or less the usual format:

http://i39.tinypic.com/21joy2w.jpg


- Summary adverts. Summarise everything so far, from housemate teasers, house clips, general info and rules ect all tied together into various 30 second clips.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2hpotbo.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/29uq6ah.jpg


- A general end sting:

http://i40.tinypic.com/167sew2.jpg



- Opening theme. It needs to change. Its still a pretty good opening theme, but it's beginning to get tired. Heres a new rough idea:

View My Video


> Stay tuned. There's PLENTY more to come, but thats all for now.

I love it!

Oh How Glad I Am That Your Back! I am sooo looking forward to this! Looks AMAZING

Erm........ WOW!! This is fantastic, better than fantastic, its pure genious!!

That is Perfect!

If you were creating Big Brother 10 it would be totally amazing!

Well done Conor.

Wow! That's fantastic Conor. I actually prefer yours to the actual graphics. :spin:

I like the graphics, but I am not sure I could ever part from the bb eye and have such a re style. I prefer darker BB anyway.

Absolutely amazing, that is exactly what Big Brother needs.

Brilliant Conor - I've been waiting ages for someone here to realise they can break away from the mould - and that's it's exactly what the show needs to do itself.

Hate your choice of theme though. I agree it needs to change, but I think a remix of the original is the best option rather than completely new. Personally I'd like something based on the rock version we saw in BBLB a few years back, but that said I don't think it would fit at all with your designs.

Oh, and ditch the C4 font on the trailer endcap - it all looked fantastic up until then, so don't ruin a brilliant trailer by slapping on the corporate font.

Its very BB Australia, and i don't know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Well nice! Really fresh looking.

Conor I love it! :lovedup: It's such a huge change - but it really works!

I noticed that too. I want our ads to be completely new, not a copy of another country's ads - but copies would be better than being stuck with the same old promos.

The ad campaign is in major need of a revamp, but there are a few ideas of yours that I dislike:

- I wouldn't ditch the eye flashes. They serve their purpose - they're not meant to be anything spectacular - just a very short clip to air in front of and directly after ad breaks. I mean, if they didn't have the eye flashes, they'd only be airing stings with the Channel 4 logo on them in their place.

- I don't really like your logo idea either - the eye logo concept has now been with the show for so long that it is synonymous with Big Brother - people recognise it. Moving it to the background doesn't really work.

- I also wouldn't change the theme tune for the same reason - it's been with BB for 10 years, people recognise it. Remix it maybe, but I'd hate to see BB use a completely new theme.

I can't fault your execution though, everything looks great :thumbs:

For anyone who just left amazing feedback, thans! :hello: - Its really appreciated, and for people who left questions ect, I'll try to answer them now.

The eye: A few queries raised here. Although it isn't the main logo any longer, there will still be frequent appearances. The graphics I've made for the in-show designs all still use the old eye template in some way or another and it will still make smaller appearances during adverts, e.g: during the longer ads perhaps some of the circles with bits of house in them could come together to form the old logo, and I would deffo intend to integrate it some way into the opening titles. I've also already edited the template into a few graphics above, but I think that now the logo is getting tired, despite the changes each series. Theres only so many designs a template can produce. Apart from that, I doubt theres many casual viewers who will care/notice even if the current real logo was ditched altogether.

Eye flashes: They did once serve a purpose, but over the past few years they've literally been dancing multi coloured 3d blocks and shards of coloured glass whizzing about in a blender. I'm sure most people wouldn't even realise it was an ad for BB at all. I think in the current state, the points of a totally fresh approach to advertising the show and the first graphic below the new logo I posted would work better. It's only 3 - 4 seconds long, but to the point and could still fit neatly between ads and programmes replacing the need for eye flashes.

Similarities to BBAU: I guess that comes down to that for the past few years, BBAU have been churning out the best adverts for BB anywhere. They contain mystery and make you want to watch, look clean, modern and are to the point. However, although they were indefinitely inspired by the BBAU graphics package, I was careful to not make them to strikingly similar, which tbh I don't really think they are, anyway, its not like the world of BB isn't known for copying of each other :P

And Brekkie, I'll note the font suggestion for next time lol- I agree, the C4 font isn't the nicest font in the world :yuk:

Hopefully these replies answer your questions, and if not at least give a bit more depth into my thinking when designing the ads.

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Detailed logo deconstruction:

I dont think I went into to much detail with my ideas behind the new logo last time, so I'll explain a bit fuller now.

Essentially, the logo is an adapted and updated version of the original Big Brother logo, still widely used throughout the world. It's still blue, its still round and its still got a kinda 3D feel to it (This time it looks like its bulging from the middle, the original logo has more of a bevelled effect)

Original logo:

http://i42.tinypic.com/2u8w5xl.jpg


Anyway, moving on from the questions, heres some new info!

New location:

Elstrees resources and size are limitations to improving how the series could be run once on air. A larger area leads to larger scale tasks, a bigger audience/studio and in general more space to work with.

Heres a few ideas I came up with in sketch up:

http://i39.tinypic.com/wl956f.jpg


Houseplan:

http://i42.tinypic.com/a3ff43.jpg

Comparison to old compound:

http://i44.tinypic.com/30rqqle.jpg

- The space has almost been doubled and an additional level adds yet more space.

- I know the compound looks a bit gypo, but I've since designed the set up, and the crowd area is completely transformed. (Might post a few pics tonight)


Keep watching!

Well done, The house plan looks great!

If those were real I would be excited about BB again, well done Conor

I think this is brilliant. Its fresh, exciting and fantastic, exactly what BB needs. Im getting excited like its the real series:blush2:. You are a genius Conor:thumbs:

Your house plans looks great, I can't wait to see them develop.

Just addressing a couple of your replies:

- I still don't agree with the main logo simply being the words "Big Brother" on a blue curved background, especially when the eye is a long-established logo which people instantly recognise.

- RE, The eye flashes - yes, in recent years they have been " dancing multi coloured 3d blocks and shards of coloured glass whizzing about in a blender", but what do you expect from an advert that is one-two seconds long. They're not meant to be anything flashy - just short stings to replace the regular Channel 4 stings. It's okay for eye flashes to be like that - but it definitely is time that the longer adverts packed a bit more of a punch.

I absolutely cannot fault your other ideas so far though, and as always the execution is perfect, everything looks amazing. I can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve. Well done!

:cheer2:

I love the fact you've broken out of Elstree - it's what the show needs, and it's an option this place certainly allows to explore. Don't take Elstree's problems with you though - you say the crowd will be different, so I'll wait and see, but from the initial drawing it looks like you've still got the outdoor stage set up, which IMO is something that desperately needs to go. We're starting afresh so it's an opportunity to rethink evictions completely, and IMO that probably wouldn't mean an outdoor crowd.


I'm overlooking the obvious similarities with the Aussie ads and trying to look at them from a UK perspective - where I believe they really do the job. And I completely agree with the approach you're taking with the logo - I do think it's time the eye was ditched, but it's a great idea to keep it there in the background.

Thanks for the amazingly poss feedback everyone! :dance2:

Matt, Im afraid I cant think of anything to say to balance up my side of the eyeflash/logo argument, so all i'll say is, meh... :tongue:

And Brekkie, hopefully you'll be pleased by this audience plan:


The crowd problem and the studio solution:

As most of us now know, for the past few years the crowd has been booing housemates before they even get into the BB house, booing people for absolutely no reason, and most recently, even booing the winners! Having a live crowd maintains the atmosphere and keeps it more of an event, but with a live crowd you get boos, which is why I've designed this plan:

http://i40.tinypic.com/2e55hec.jpg

There is a live crowd, but housemates will be exposed to it for as little time as possible, the only impressions the crowd will be able to make before the housemate arrives is from a collection of audition footage. Next the housemates will enter a large studio, with a studio audience, mostly made up of friends, family and the press. From here, they will get a short interview and an official introduction VT, after which they will enter the house, connected to the studio unlike previous years. I'm still deciding weather or not to have an outdoor crowd during evictions.

The outside area is designed to hold roughly 200 people. Davina will only spend about 15 - 20% of presenting time outside. Housemates get out of the car, walk along the platform and enter the studio through a large LCD screen which lifts upwards, advised to spend minimum time outside. The crowd will have minimum airtime during the launch only shown during housemates arriving to enter the studio and during a select few scenes where Davina will present from outside.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2vdfok9.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/20ur8kh.jpg

The studio is designed to seat roughly 100 people. The whole set is surrounded by large LCD screens which can change to live images from the house or to different colours for atmosphere etc. The entrance to the house is located to the opposite end of the studio to the interview area, which will hopefully not be used to only interview housemates, but also pyscologists, celeb guests and the family of nominated HMs.

http://i39.tinypic.com/kbwwf5.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2v8onqb.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2latv68.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/muzdkh.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/acpch.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/99gisj.jpg


Now you know how the entrances work, I'll hopefully be able to write up a launch plan soon.

- Remember the thread isn't just about commenting on how you think the set looks in the pics, but also about weather you think my ideas will work.

I love how Big Brother Australia it is, which I think is great. They've always had great graphics and advertising - something Big Brother UK is in dire need of right now.

Great work!

This would be brilliant! Conor you should be the producer of everything! Leave the fate of BB in your capable hands.

lmao, thanks Glenn! :hugesmile:

and I agree with you Markus, BBAU has always had way better graphics than us.

Your welcome:tongue:
And I agree, BBAUS had the best graphics. They got me excited and I didn't even watch it:shrug: