Channel 4 and ENVY Advertising have launched vibrant and varied spots as the final instalment of the broadcaster’s ‘Voices of 4’ campaign. Created by 4creative, Channel 4’s award-winning in-house creative agency, real people from all walks of life were invited to introduce some of its most popular shows.
‘Voices of 4’ is a continuation of Channel 4’s commitment to the 360° Diversity Charter, which it renewed its allegiance to earlier this year. Following through on its pledge to put diversity at the heart of everything it does, the broadcaster celebrated the cultural richness and variety of Britain by opening up the airwaves to people from across the UK with a special connection to the number four. The final instalment of spots gives a voice to Divina, a drag queen who performs at no. four Canal Street in Manchester; a Year four class at the world’s only Manx Gaelic-speaking primary school; an all-black music ensemble that performs in studio number four; and a man from number four learning disability centre in Romford, amongst many others.
Having previously collaborated with 4creative on numerous campaigns and promos, ENVY Advertising revisited this relationship for ‘Voices of 4’ in creating 60 continuity idents featuring 17 different personalities and locations. Given the large number of shoot days, the post work began whilst the shoot was ongoing. The post production house completed the offline, grade, sound design, and final online, which included a sound mix, clean-up work, matching in-camera spot effects and adding titles.
ENVY Advertising crafted a striking grade to complement the skilfully-shot films and created interesting soundscapes that were unique to each location. The post house’s sophisticated in-house workflows allowed it to deal with large amounts of rushes that were drip-fed in throughout the project and move the data between departments efficiently – something that was key for the client given the quick turnaround from shoot to final delivery.
Danny Wood, Colourist at ENVY Advertising, comments: “Voices of 4 was beautifully shot on Cook lenses in very different environments. For the grade, we went for a filmic look, pulling through colour without allowing anything to become too dominant. This worked as a theme throughout all of the films.”
Describing the process, ENVY Advertising’s Flame Artist, Martin Waller, says: “The real challenge in 2D was to recreate some of the scenes which were often highly affected by the weather and lighting changes. We overcame these obstacles by using existing footage and spot effects to create over 60 idents, each unique to the individual voice introducing the programme.”
“Working with the team at ENVY was fantastic,” comments Senior Producer, Liz Arnott. “They were able to make our very tight schedule work, and dealt with the scale of the project – creating over 120 idents with the same excellence and attention to detail given to the first and the 120th.”
CREATIVE CREDITS:
Client: Channel 4 Marketing
Head of Marketing: James Walker
Deputy Head of Marketing: Laura Ward
Marketing Executive: Zoe Baker
Agency & Production Company: 4Creative
Executive Creative Directors: Chris Bovill and John Allison
Creative Director: Dan Watts
Creative team: Jack Croft & Stacey Bird
Senior Account Director: Jane English
Senior Producer: Liz Arnott
Director: Barry Dyer
Senior Digital Producer: Christos Savvides
Digital Producer: Maddie Smith
Researcher: Rose Waite
Street Casting: Julie Tomkins
Director of Photography: Ula Pontikos
Steadicam: Andrew Fletcher
Sound recordist: Crispin Larratt
Art Director: Simon Davis
Post Production: ENVY Advertising
Editor: Ian Ashford, Sara Faulkner, Alex Lea
Online Post Production: Martin Waller
Colourist: Danny Wood
Audio Post: Rich Martin
Producers: Peter Winslett, Emma Cook