BBC Alba

Credits

Compiled by
LoganStuff

Background

BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic language channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba, which was launched on Friday 19 September 2008 after a BBC Trust consultation into a partnership with MG Alba in 2007 determined that a Gaelic language channel would be suitable to launch. As a Gaelic language channel, it is notable for having most of it's content produced locally within Scotland, as well as being the only BBC channel ran as a partnership. The channel runs daily for up to seven hours a day, and despite having most content available in Gaelic language only, it is available to watch across all of the United Kingdom on satellite and cable platforms.

1st Logo (19 September 2008 - 19 September 2018)

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Logo: Across various scenes in Scotland, we can see objects and people slowly floating and moving, as if under zero gravity, pointing towards a lone star in the sky. The star is revealed to be the stylised star within the MG Alba logo, which quickly expands and shrinks back down, and the new BBC Alba logo, with the 1997 BBC logo on top and the ALBA text underneath, appears in the center of the screen.

Variants:

• Urban: Starting out with an establishing shot of a city skyline at sunset, we see shots of a traffic light's shadow and various streetlamps looking up, followed by some street cones floating off the ground, and tied shoes on a powerline spinning around. The camera cuts to the final shot, featuring some houses with their terrestrial and satellite receivers turning towards the star.
• Rural: Beginning in a field with two women slowly floating into the air, we see shots of some potatoes in a truck floating upwards, two wooden posts bending and looking up, a road sign that reads 'Aiseag' in Gaelic slowly moving to point upwards, and a pair of swings slowly being lifted up. The final shot is a large lake area at sunset, with two telescopes looking towards the star.
• Statues: Starting out on a timelapse shot of the Commando Monument in Lochaber, we see the Mannie in the Green statue in Aberdeen, the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Memorial, part of the Gladstone Memorial Monument, and Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh, all moving in some way. The final shot ends on the William Wallace Statue in Aberdeen, moving his hand as if he was holding the BBC Alba logo.
• Cars: The camera zooms over to two cars, one yellow and one white, both with the number plate reading ALBA. We see a bobble head dog in the yellow car look up, followed by a fluffy dice air freshener and some sunglasses moving on the interior of the white car, and the windscreen wipers on the white car being pulled upward. The camera cuts to the wheel of the white car as it slowly begins to levitate, and the final shot shows the yellow car floating and pointing in the direction of the star.
• Vents: We see a timelapse shot of overhead clouds building up and becoming darker, as it begins to rain we see an aerial shot of a bustling city as rain falls. The camera cuts to the ground, where we see a puddle full of water, before cutting to a phone box with a phone that slowly begins to levitate upwards. The final shot ends on a rooftop with three vents looking out onto a city skyline, and the three vents begin to move and point towards the star.

Trivia: These idents were all made by Glasgow based agency Design Is Central.

Technique: The idents feature a variety of live action scenes around Scotland, with computer generated imagery used to manipulate objects into moving and floating.

Music/Sounds: Each ident features a different synthesised ambient tune, with instruments such as guitars and violins against a synthetic ambience. When the BBC Alba logo appears, a four note descending jingle is heard.

Availability: Extinct.

2nd Logo (19 September 2018 - 20 October 2021)

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Logo: We see various scenes from around Scotland depending on the variant, before two colored stars (stylised in the same way as in the MG Alba corporate logo) fade in and slowly rotate on screen. One of the stars fades away, while the other one stops on the right side of the screen as the BBC Alba logo fades in letter by letter, followed by a smaller star fading in to the top right of the BBC logo.

Variants:

• Fishing Boat: We start underwater, with the camera following a fishing basket as it is pulled up by a rope. The camera cuts to the ship, which shows a man leaning over to grab the basket as a dog watches. The fishing basket is pulled out of the water as we get a shot of the blue boat, and a shot of some seagulls flying through the sky. We see two more shots of the fishing basket, before the camera cuts away to a full view of the boat, where the BBC Alba stars appear in blue.
• Music: Starting out with an establishing timelapse shot of a small village across a lake, we see shots of people setting up an indoor musical event interspersed with more timelapse shots of the sun setting. Eventually we see the musical event itself, with shots of people dancing as well as various performers on stage playing instruments such as a bagpipe, violin and a synthesiser. The final shot shows a wide view of the crowd dancing, where the BBC Alba stars appear in blue and green.
• Loch: TBA
• Queensferry Crossing: TBA
• Bass Rock: TBA
• Glasgow: TBA

Technique: All live action shots from around Scotland, followed by simple animation for the stars appearing on screen and the BBC Alba logo fading in. The color of the stars varies depending on the ident.

Music/Sounds: TBA

Availability: Extinct.

3rd Logo (19 September 2018 - 20 October 2021)

Logo: Same as above, except now the stars animating in have been removed. Instead, the new 2021 BBC logo animates in on the top of the screen, and ALBA (now in Reith) appears at the bottom with the iconic star placed to the right of it.

Variants: Same as above.

Technique: Same as above, except the animation now consists of the BBC logo appearing instead.

Music/Sounds: Same as above.

Availability: Current, can be seen on the BBC Alba channel when it is on air.

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BBC Alba