BBC One "Rhythm & Movement" idents
BBC 'Rhythm & Movement' idents were a set of on-screen channel identities used on BBC One from 28 March 2002 until 2006. They replaced the earlier balloon idents, and spelled the end of the much recognised globe identity by the BBC, which had been used in various ways since 1963. All of the idents under this theme had a common focus: people in various forms of movement and music with a somewhat upbeat rhythm. Red was also used as the pre-dominant colour in all of the idents. The music for all idents was written by Peter Lawlor of Water Music Productions in London. He was also responsible for, amongst other things, the UK number one song "Inside" performed by the group Stiltskin, and is generally considered to be one of the UK's leading composers. The idents aired for the final time on October 7 2006, at 1.10am. A montage of idents aired together, ending with the rarely seen 'Ballet' ident.
List of idents
"Capoeira"
Debut: 2002
Filmed against the London skyline, it shows mestre poncianinho and contra-mestre casquinha doing Capoeira, a Brazilian dance that brings together beauty, power, mental and physical balance, self-defence, music and art. The camera circles around two Capoeiristas throughout its duration. The two performers are dressed in red and white. An alternative edit, which joins the action a few seconds earlier than the standard version, is used in Wales and Scotland.
"Haka"
Debut: 2002
Filmed in a field in Wales, it first shows a closeup of a Māori native, Jo Hutley, and then pulls back to reveal 14 Welsh amateur rugby players performing Haka, a traditional Māori dance that shows art and movement by using hands, feet, legs, body, voice, tongue and eyes. The players are dressed in polo shirts with red stripes. The music is slow and played on strings, accompanying the sound of the rugby players' chant.
"Festival"
Debut: 2002
Sometimes known as Rave, and filmed on an airfield, it begins with a close up of two women dancing together with a "techno"-style version of the BBC One jingle playing in the background, somewhat resembling a rave party. Red takes on prominence in the background. This version of the jingle was sampled in a later dance music track, Forever and a Day by State One.
"Salsa"
Debut: 2002
Filmed in Hertfordshire against a backdrop decorated in red, the camera first focuses on a couple dancing salsa, and then reveals a large group of dancing couples doing the same thing.
"Ballet"
Debut: 2002
Filmed at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall, the ident features 10 ballerinas dressed entirely in red. The camera moves acround the Minack stage where the ballerinas perform a graceful dance, with the dramatic Cornish coastline in the background, acompanied by a string quartet with the cello dominant. This ident sequence is the most sombre of all the idents, and a still of it was used when BBC announced the death of the Queen Mother. At present time, this ident is used during times of "reflection" only, namely times of national tragedy and the death of a Royal Family member. It has mainly been used to introduce coverage of funerals, such as that Pope John Paul II and George Best.
"Hip-Hop"
Debut: 2002
Sometimes known as Basketball, and filmed on a basketball court, this ident shows three basketball players dancing in their wheelchairs to a hip-hop theme. The dancers are all dressed in red, with matching accents on their wheelchairs. The lead dancer is Adrian Adepitan, a British paralympic basketball player, and presenter of the CBBC programme Xchange. The dance is made up of different wheelchair-basketball moves used in the game.
"Tapdogs"
Debut: 2002
Filmed inside a power station, this ident shows six members of the dance troupe Tap Dogs performing a tap dance. The upbeat jingle incorporates the sound of the troupe's tap shoes.
"Acrobat"
Debut: 2002
Filmed in the Royal Horticultural Halls in Victoria, the ident shows three acrobat performers wrapped in red and white sashes performing acrobatic tricks while suspended from the roof. The accompanying jingle is mid-tempo and performed by a string section, and this ident is also used frequently to introduce the news.
"Music Video"
Debut: 2002
First broadcast on October 4th, 2002 to coincide with the premiere of Fame Academy, the ident was filmed in studio with a red backdrop. It features one lead dancer and 6 back-up dancers. This ident resembles a music video, hence its name.
"Bollywood"
Debut: 2002
First broadcast on November 8th, 2002, this ident features 9 males and 9 females dancing a traditional Indian dance, much like a Bollywood movie. The females wear red in this ident, while the males wear white.
"Tango"
Debut: 2003
Launched on January 2nd, 2003, the ident was filmed in Leadenhall Market in the City of London and features three couples dancing the tango, supposedly in the rain.
"Tai-Chi"
Debut: 2003
First broadcast on June 16th, 2003, the ident features seven people dressed in traditional Chinese clothings performing tai chi on a lakeside. This ident has two versions: one with the camera drawing back, revealing all the performers and their mirror image on the lake; the other (no longer used) starts with the mirror image and spins round to reveal that the viewer is actually looking at the reflection.
The tai chi exponents in the ident were mainly students of Edinburgh-based tai chi instructor Ian Cameron, most of whom are teachers in their own right. The particular tai chi form performed was taken from the traditional Wudang system, adapted to suit the demands of the landscape. It was filmed near Loch Rannoch in Scotland.
"Skateboarders"
Debut: 2003
Launched on September 5th, 2003, the ident features three skateboarders skateboarding through a shipyard. This ident was filmed on location at the Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The featured skateboarders are, from left to right, British professional skateboarders Olly Todd, Franklin Stephens and Danny Wainwright. Because the accompanying jingle is a mellow interpretation performed on a solo piano, this ident is often used to introduce the news. It is often used in the Midlands.
"Maasai"
Debut: 2004
Launched on January 5th, 2004, this ident was filmed on an African Savanna. It features 9 native Maasai tribesmen dancing in the centre. The music is predominantly percussion-based.
"Tumbler"
Debut: 2005
First broadcast on January 4th, 2005, the ident features five people (all with some red on their clothes) breakdancing on a walkway. It had to be relaunched after 24 hours, apparently due to a copyright dispute over the background music. BBC1 Scotland continues to use the original version. The jingle is upbeat and features synthesised brass. It was filmed on location At BBC Birmingham Pebble Mill (demolished). This is also the last BBC 'Rhythm & Movement' ident to be added to its playlist.
Spoofs
E4
The idents were spoofed not long after their launch, when E4, one of Channel 4's digital stations, spoofed BBC One's Capoeira, Ballet, and Acrobat idents.
French & Saunders
The Acrobat and Hip-Hop idents were spoofed by comedians French & Saunders in their 2002 Christmas special, dressed as old women. The Acrobat spoof featured themselves coming loose from their ribbons and falling to the ground, while the Hip-Hop spoof featured them driving slowly around in scooters.
Comic Relief
Two spoofs of the Hip-Hop ident featuring comedian Peter Kay were broadcast on Comic Relief night in 2003, with the second one (this time without the red BBC One box) reshown in 2005.
Dead Ringers
Another spoof featured Jon Culshaw as Tony Blair dancing in a fictional ident outside 10 Downing Street. This was shown on a July 2003 episode of Dead Ringers, broadcast on BBC Two.
Other
Christmas
As of 2002, there have been three different idents produced for the Christmas period, each one of them featuring children.
The first, shown in 2002 and 2003, featured them dressed as snowflakes against a red sky, falling to the ground and then walking round in circles.
The second in 2004 also had a red background, with the children dressed in red and bouncing on Space Hoppers that looked like Christmas puddings.
The third in 2005 had several children, again dressed in red, walking round a giant Christmas tree, carrying brightly coloured balls. The background this time was green, and the look and music of the ident appear to be inspired from the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory directed by Tim Burton.
It should also be noted that in 2003, the BBC showed the 2002 ident again - the first time that a Christmas ident has been re-used in its history. BBC Two also followed suit the same year, although rather than re-using an ident, they were used alongside that year's newer one. In 2004, no new ident was produced for BBC Two, instead staying with the previous three years', and all of these were dropped for a new ident in 2005.
Replacement
In August 2005, BBC One controller Peter Fincham had hinted that the dancers may be on their way out. He told the Edinburgh International Television Festival that "It may well be that the time is coming to look at a new way of doing it. No date or direct decision has been made but it's under review".
According to the Media Guardian, Fincham then confirmed that in Autumn 2006, the 'Rhythm and Movement' idents would be replaced with a new presentation package, along with a new schedule. As speculated, Red Bee Media (formerly BBC Broadcast) would create the new presentation package. Red Bee created the new idents for the ITV channels that were introduced in January 2006.
On September 26, the BBC confirmed that from October 7 2006, all 'Rhythm and Movement' idents would be replaced by a new Circle ident collection, including the Moon, surfers and hippopotami.
The 'Rhythm and Movement' idents aired for the final time on October 7 2006, at 1.10am. A montage of idents aired together, ending with the rarely seen 'Ballet' ident.