ABC2

Credits

Descriptions by
Hb1290

Captures by
Hb1290

Video captures courtesy of
John Beohm (idents.tv)

Background

ABC TV Plus was launched on 7 March 2005 as ABC2, a secondary digital channel for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. From 2011, the ABC Kids block on the main channel was discontinued and preschool content was moved to ABC2, with the new ABC Kids service airing from 6am to 7pm and ABC2 resuming during the night hours. In December 2017, the channel was relaunched as ABC Comedy with a new focus on comedies and stand-up shows. In January 2021, ABC Comedy was rebranded as ABC TV Plus, returning to a general entertainment format as part of cost-cutting measures.

1st ID (2005-2008)

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  One of the "Home of the 2" as seen in ABC TV's "There's More to..." idents from 2005-2008.
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Visuals: A giant "2" is seen in various locales (which varies depending on the ident), either from inside a vehicle or being filmed on a film camera. The screen then cuts to the "2" on a white or black background rotating into place with the ABC lissajous symbol and the url "abc.net.au/abc2" appearing below. From mid-2006 to 2007, a smoke/swirl effect is added over it as the "more choice...more often" slogan, and the url "abc.net.au/abc2" appears below.

Trivia: These idents were produced in part by Amanda Dennis. In addition, footage of the "Home of the 2" (from two of it's variants) and the "Birds" can be seen at the beginning of one of ABC TV's "There's More to..." from the same year in one of the screens.

Variants:

• Road: The "2" is seen at the side of of a country road through a rear-view mirror. The white background is used at the end.
• Sydney: The "2" is seen from a helicopter which is flying along South Head in Sydney. It is situated near the Macquarie Lighthouse. The white background is used at the end.
• Rodeo: The "2" is seen in the background behind a rodeo event. The white background is used at the end from 2005-2006, and the dark background is used at the end from mid 2006-2008.
• Outback: The "2" is seen from a helicopter in a pen on an outback ranch. The white background is used at the end.
• Birds: The "2" is seen in a wetland environment as a flock of crows fly away. The dark background is used at the end.
• Seagulls: The "2" is seen as a sandcastle in a beach environment with seagulls. It sneezes as the flock of seagulls fly away. The dark background is used at the end.
• Beach: The "2" is seen in the background of a beach. The camera pans down to reveal a sand sculpture of the "2".
• Clouds: The "2" is seen in the background behind a cloudy sky on a pink cloud. The dark background is used at the end.
• Desert: The "2" is seen in the background behind a desert environment with a frog. The white background is used at the end.
• Home of the 2: The "2" is seen at the Home of the 2 as some people arrive to have a photo shoot at the area. Several versions of this ident exist, and here are two of them:
  • Family: In this variant, a family arrive at the area to have their picture taken. The white background is used at the end.
  • Tourists: In this variant, a group of tourists arrive at the area to have their group photo taken. The white background is used at the end.
• Melbourne: The "2" is seen in Melbourne, and is placed behind the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. The white background is used at the end.
• Motorbikes: The "2" is placed behind two buildings (one has the Aussie flag on the left in front of it), and over them, three riders start up their motorbikes before they ride over to the left-side of the road in a straight line together. The white background is used at the end.
• River: The "2" is placed in the background of a park environment beside a river. The dark background is used at the end.
• Satellite Dish: The "2" is placed in the background of a field environment, with a satellite dish over it. The white background is used at the end.
• Smoke: The "2" is seen in the background behind some smoke. The dark background is used at the end.
• Storm: The "2" is seen in the background behind dark clouds as the stormy weather approaches. The dark background is used at the end.
• Town: The "2" is seen in the background of a town environment with several houses over it. The white background is used at the end.
• Satellite: The "2" is seen as a satellite in outer space. It is orbiting around the Earth until it zooms towards the camera.
• Submarine: There is a submarine driving underwater. After each scene, the "2" is seen in the underwater environment while the submarine goes to it.
• Arm: On the table, a person's arm falls down, in which there's a worm-esque thing inside. A worm forms into the "2".
• Kangaroo: There is several kangaroos jumping in the Australian outback, then the "2", in a form of a kangaroo, jumps to the viewers as it moves its "head". Plus, the clicking sounds are heard at the end.
• Kaiju: The "2" is rampaging the city when the citizens are screaming, then it roars like Godzilla.
• Train: The "2" is seen in a desert environment as the National Rail train moves in.
• Egg: A dragon's egg rolls in onto a nest and stops. Soon the rain begins to fall, and the egg cracks, revealing the "2" inside it.
• Generic: In the teal background, there is the white lines forming the ABC lissajous symbol, followed by the "2" spinning around as it settles along with the ABC lissajous symbol at the bottom.
• ABC Kids: On a field, there is the rubbery green "2" dropping in and spinning around. A blue blob morphs into the rubbery ABC lissajous symbol below it.

Technique: All live action, except the CGI "2" inserted into the various environments.

Audio: Each ident uses a variation on an upbeat, acoustic or hip-hop esque sounder, ending with the 2-note jingle.

Audio Variants:

• The "Generic" ident uses a version of the 3-note jingle from the ABC's 1988-1995 idents with a choir. Sometimes it would have a intense music or a xylophone tune with the 2-note jingle.
• The "ABC Kids" variant uses a fast-paced techno tune.

Legacy: A very quirky set of idents that reflect the novelty of the then-new medium of digital TV.

2nd ID (2008-2011)

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Visuals: Each ident takes place in live-action backdrops with the split-screen effect used in them, and is focused on the theme of "connecting". At the end of each ident, the slogan "Connecting 2" appears via a sliding effect, before "ABC 2" appears along with the metallic ABC lissajous symbol.

Technique: Live-action, with some 2D animation by Tactic for the "Connecting 2" slogan and the channel's name, and CGI for the metallic ABC logo.

Audio: Each ident has it's own music used for it. Some of the idents may also have SFX.

Legacy: The split-screen element of these idents make them just one of the most special identities in Australia.

3rd ID (2011-2017)

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Visuals: In a live-action background, there is several things happening (depending on the ident). The tagline "Always Brighter" appears, followed by the ABC 2 logo appearing with the metallic ABC lissajous symbol.

Variants: From 2014, the logo was tweaked to feature the classic Lissajous curve, which was being re-introduced to television at this time.

Technique: Live-action, and CGI inserted into the environments.

Audio: Each ident has it's own unique music and SFX.

Legacy: Some of these idents were praised for their design and uniqueness, while others were criticized. These in fact were also the last set of idents for the channel after its re-branding to ABC Comedy, thus ending ABC 2's twelve year run.

ABC2

ABC Comedy ►