Stings and idents

"What is a sting?

A sting or ident generally comprises of a short animated video sequence that forms either a company logo, graphic or image.

The length of a sting varies but typically lasts around 5 – 20 seconds. 

A sting’s purpose is to reflect the ideas/products/mentality of a company in a slick, stylish and eye catching way. It creates a strong identity and is a far more pleasing way of displaying a logo as 3D allows almost limitless ways of doing so.

Logos can literally be ‘brought to life’ and manipulated in a variety of ways to produce something that sticks in a viewer’s mind. In a society where branding is paramount, a sting can be the all important way of achieving this.

20th Century Fox, Paramount and Universal Studios are three companies who have stings that most of the world can identify with.

The structure of as sting sequence usually involves ‘forming’ or revealing a logo. Of course, the way this is done is down to the nature of the company.  Universal Studios, for instance, use a camera motion flying over the top of the world with a shimmering effect moving over its surface. The word ‘Universal’ then revolves into a central position as the camera pulls away as if it has come from behind the earth. It sounds simple on paper, but with its bold font, bright colours and sense of scale, it makes for an extremely memorable piece of imagery.

Stings naturally range in complexity and in some cases simple is best. Ultimately it depends on the company and what they want the sting to ‘say’ about them that determines this.

Along with imagery, a sting incorporates sound. The sound can be simply music or sound effects, or both, but when used carefully create a really tailored piece. Sound is very important to help engage the viewer and complement the imagery. It also adds that all important professional touch." - Sting explanation taken from 3D Stings. 



Company Stings & Idents from Jeff Quinlan on Vimeo.



Company stings designed for the channel 'city'. 
They are all pretty simple compared to that of the BBCs and MTVS (shown below)





MTVs organic idents. They are all really nice because you see the work folding out and turning into the ident. Even if it isn't clear to begin with you know what it is by the send. I really like this style of working. 





BBC - Some of these idents i remember from my childhood but some i have no idea what tye are about. Its great in this sequence you can really see where the designs change as technology improves. As is the same with everything in graphics, when the technology changes so does the work you produce which is why its important for me to look at everything at the beginning of this module that interests me as a design.