Heart of the Matter (1995)

Concept and creative process

Following the positive response to the new ‘Everyman’ identity, BBC Religion commissioned the broadcast design team at BBC Resources at New Broadcasting House in Manchester to produce a new identity – including logo, onscreen design system and title sequence - for BBC Religion’s flagship debate series, investigating the ethical dilemmas that lie behind the issues of the day, presented by journalist Joan Bakewell. The client at BBC Religion was ‘Heart of the Matter’ executive producer Christine Morgan. Designer Gregory Millar was supported by senior designer Mark Allen. The title sequence combines a moving background of defocussed silhouetted walking figures with an edit of various video clips showing human news stories likely to be debated on the programme. The strong visual edit was complimented by the powerfully evocative ‘Heart of the Matter’ theme music. The sequence was edited and post-produced on Quantel Harry at 4:2:2 in Manchester.