FUEL tv
on FOX cable network.
"Fuel tv embraces the primal tenets of the teenage experience and celebrates the mysterious contradiction that is youth culture."
"It possess the perspective of an insider who understands the nuances of the vital places, people, and events that define youth culture…"
The only rule is that "There are no rules: You just have to be innovative and cutting edge."
"The mission is to tap into the latest trends and styles, or even set new ones…"
Boys and young men in the transition to adulthood. "They feel both tortured and empowered by their transition."
"Fuelled by a voracious appetite for life, their wants and desires are many, yet this hunger is balanced by a sophisticated understanding of modern marketing that allows them to recognise a 'sell-out' with ease. You only get one shot to prove you're cool with them. If you blow it, they label you 'lame' and banish you into oblivion. They are tuned in and turned on in ways their parents never imagined. In lives filled with emails, faxes, cell phones, video games, pagers and PDAs, all they know is the 'digital' age. Their sisters get MTV, Pink, N'Sync and Carson Daly. But what do they get?"
"Fuel tv is also about risk and opportunity, providing a testing ground for rising young talent, whether in front of the camera or behind. It discovered new riders, filmmakers, musicians and artists who bring total commitment and endless passion to their endeavours. As such it is an active force in action sports, leading and defining innovation, evolution and expression of youth culture."
Jake Munsey (Vice president of marketing and On-Air promotions)
Todd Dever (Senior producer, On-Air promotions)
Fuel draws from the extreme sport culture for inspiration and influence in design.
Surfing had a big influence on 60s
Skateboarding on the 70s and 80s
JM: "Skateboarding and some of the other sports influence and are influenced by expressive individuals - it's a magnet for young independent thinkers and it's a place of opportunity for them too."
TD: "The unique designs on skate decks were inspiring young artists to expand their creative expression from their riding to their artwork. Many of those designs infused punk rock elements with underground cartoons and fine art in a way that we still see today."
East / West coast design - is there such a thing?
JM: "Of course. It's Westside gangster rap vs Eastside old school hip hop. Seriously, I'd like to think there's a difference. I'd hate for everything to just be a mono culture of which we only have different viewpoints."
TD: "Ditto… except it's north and south rather than east and west."
Fuel tv has variety as a theme, how does this play into keeping a clear brand / visual identity.
TD: "I always imagine fuel tv as an extension of the viewers own environment. If you think about the bedroom of your typical teenager, you would probably see that it's full of all the stuff he loves - girls, skateboards, posters of bands, cartoons, art, girls, etc."
"While we do have a basic visual language to our broadcast design package, the idea of having a set theme or anything that smells like a marketing strategy is the kind of thing that turns ours viewers off."
JM: "we are passionate about the culture and are dedicated to being an authentic 'expression of it' rather than 'about it'"
the brand comes from "as essence and is more fluid or flexible than a set of characteristics and rules like a specific colour pallet, etc… (Although we do at times choose to use certain constraints like having 'official' fonts.)"
"Basically the consistency is derived from intellectual unity and the benefit is that the forms those ideas can take are almost unlimited."
"In other words, the point is freedom of expression, to expect a progression of styles, to have the widest array of techniques and messages as possible within what would be acceptable as true to skateboarding, surfing and the like."
choosing outside design studios to work with…
TD: "it's the ability to take design somewhere special that really counts. I don't care if it was the most complex 3D animation of created with a popsicle stick, I'm looking for real inspiration."
"When I look for new designers the first thing that catches my attention is something new and different that I haven't seen before. Usually the first place I look on someone's website is not their latest reel, but for their experimental projects. That's where you find a lot of truly inspiring work and a good look at what the animators are rely into."
JM: "I never really thought much about it, but right from the beginning I made choices that focused on bringing in in different ideas, skills and viewpoints."
on the design philosophy for Fuel tv
TD: "When it comes to fuel tv's on air look for promos and internally produced shows, my philosophy is keep it "fucked up". I want the design and animation to have the feel that is was actually made by someone who watches the channel
JM: "Using hand drawn, textural and raw elements are persuasive FUEL TV themes and they're a nice counterweight to the sophisticated channel IDs. I think it's really the use of those two together (seemingly contradicting each other) in a unified way that makes our channel stand out".
"FUEL TV provides a platform for experimenting with all types of animation and new image generation techniques."
TD: Within the audience there are several sub groups who aspire to different visual aesthetics. "So, in a way we don't cater to the sport specific cultures as much as try to create an environment where they can all coexist."
"It's really all about individual freedom of expression and if we get that idea across then we've succeeded
JM: "We have a niche audience that is incredibly diverse in age, nationality, creed, income, interests and values. The visual language, through abstraction and the use of universal ideas, engages our audience while avoiding the pitfalls of the lowest common denominator approach."
The x of 100 signature series.
TD: "These IDs were inspired by the idea of signature skateboard decks created by or for the athletes, and serve many purposes: to associate the channel with a well-known
athlete, to introduce an exiting and appropriate artist to the audience, or to serve as a new and exciting outlet for athletes who express themselves in art or music.
Broadcast design: "street culture plays an important role in the look an feel of the channel."
TD: "It (street culture) really reflects much of the DIY attitude that has been a part of youth culture from the punk rock scene of the 70s"
"Because anyone can afford to do it you find it's often where the up and coming artists turn to first with their most personal and inspired work."
Everything (Ep. 16) from dannyjelinek on Vimeo.