Inital Ideas On Our Own Soap Operas

My initial ideas included country based soap as this would make the soap quite and have a nice mainly exterior setting. I would include at least five/ six families that all had different storylines behind them explaining who they are and what sort of personalities they had. For example i might of included a gay marriage therefore different opinions of people within the soap could be revealed and i would include an affair to show who’s feelings for who in the soap are real and who’s are fake. I may include a teenage pregnancy to show how traditions have changed over the years and then maybe a death within the first few episodes to make the characters come out of their shells more. The narrative of my soap opera would be open as it would be an ongoing soap that would always lead to another episode.

I took the idea of a quite country based soap from Neighbours and Emmadale as they are both based in the country and both are fantastic soaps which grab their audiences. I took inspiration from Eastenders for the gay marriage as currently syed and Christian are both trying to get marriage but their family is getting in the way, i liked the idea of doing a teenage pregnancy as currently in Coronation Street there is a young teenage couple who are on their own paying for a flat food etc and the girl Katie is also heavily pregnant.

The target audience for this soap is mainly families but could appeal to many more like students or senior citizens based on the characters preference.

Past Student Soap Opera Trailers

Avenue Springs Promo:

As a whole I feel this trailer is quite effective.

It quite clearly shows the narratives with the different storylines.

Through the Mise-en-scene and the clothing worn by the characters within the piece you see the black hoodies and the body bag in the car this adds a suspicious eerie atmosphere to the trailer showing connotations of death.

The narrative is shown to be murder by the suspicious way the two characters i assume as the audience they are the antagonists throwing the body bag from the back of their car and that the person in the body bag was a protagonist. Another narrative may be use of drugs or depression as there is a mid-shot of pills and water on a table. The camera angles worked well, the mid shots gave us a clear view of the suspicious characters and the use of the long shot sets the scene and shows the location of the forest.
The low key lighting works well in this film opening to set the mysterious atmosphere.

 Also the use of the blue car goes against the connotations of death use of a black or red car would have signified the murder that had occurred however I understand that this could have been difficult to obtain in a student production, but would of looked more effective if was obtainable.

The titles fit well with the conventions of soap opera they are used to a minimum they are at the end to advertise the soap to the audience letting them know when the episode is on and what channel. Also the use of the titles with the questions such as 'what if' add yet another suspicious atmosphere to the piece.

Walthambury Road Trailer:

As a whole I feel this trailer is not effective.

The narratives are not clearly shown even though they had different storylines they weren’t explained enough for the audience to have an idea about any of the characters.

Through the Mise-en-scene and the clothing worn by the characters within the piece you see the a pregnant teenager dressed in a light coloured jumper which connotes she is innocent and then a youth in a dark coloured hoodie  which portrays that he has a dark personality and is an antagonist within the piece, you also see two teenagers in a car dressed wearing stripy jumpers both black and white which shows juxtaposition as the white shows how they are innocent however the black shows a more antagonistic view towards them.

The narrative is shown to be deceit and danger by the way the two characters are kissing in the car you as assume as the audience they are two characters who are having affairs, You see danger through the antagonists throwing the pregnant women to the floor within the shop who was as far as we know a protagonist.

The camera angles worked well, the mid shots gave us a clear view of the two characters in the car kissing and the use of the high angle shot of the pregnant women on the floor with the hoodie above her shows he is dominant over her.

However the handling of the camera wasn’t good especially at the beginning of the piece as the camera is shaky and then zooms into the door of the exterior setting which didn’t look good.

The high key lighting which I didn’t think works well in this film opening to set an atmosphere or interest the audience as they lighting was juxtaposition against the storylines.

 
The titles didn’t  fit well with the conventions of soap opera as there was a lot of writing explaining the tag line and when the episode is on and what channel however they used a very formal font and that went against the look of the soap as they were not dressed or in the right scenes for a formal setting.

I have analysed two soap opera trailers and also a trailer that was made by last year's Year 13s.
I have looked at and analysed these soaps to help me understand how my trailer should be and how the conventions should be used throughout my trailer.
Looking at these trailers has helped me understand how my trailer should have unique and individual style to introduce my soap opera as a new fashionable soap whilst also introducing its characters and the story lines.

A particular convention I would like to use is the Male Gaze Theory to sexualize the female characters in my trailer in order to attract male audience members from the demographic groups C1, C2, D and E.

Times Soap Opera Trailers Are On:

ITV 1:

7pm - Coronation Street Before Emmerdale After Coronation street.

8:30pm - Coronation street before nine 11 documentory After Emmerdale.

BBC One:

7pm - EastEnders trailer -  Before trailer: Total Wipeout, After trailer: Doctor Who

9.30pm - EastEnders trailer -  Before trailer: BBC Weekend News, After trailer: Doctor Who

10.30pm - EastEnders trailer -  Before trailer: Miranda (comedy), After trailer: BBC News At Ten

Coronation Street and EastEnders were played in between soaps that have similar target audiences and before or after an episode of their soap, making them more likely to watch the next episode, through that trailer. As a result of this, when thinking about when we would show our trailer we would take into consideration our target audience. We also had to think about the watershed and took this into consideration when thinking about out target audience and our information within our soap opera trailer.

Inital notes on Soap Opera Posters

Here is a mix of Soap Opera posters that i have looked over and roughly evaluated.

The most appealing poster is the Neighbours Poster as this poster has plently of the characters in the picture and is bright and colourful which attracts the audience. It also shows clearly what day the program is on and what time the program plays which makes this clear to the audience. This promotes the show to new audiences aswell.

The most unappealing poster old eastenders blue poster which is boring although it has four interesting pictures on it and shows the title clearly, the background colour is a plain boring navy blue which makes the poster look very uninteresting and not fun for the audience to look at.

Soap Opera Trailers And There Purpose:

Purpose of Soap Opera Trailers:

• To advertise the soap to new audiences as well as the already watching audience

• To encourage Viewers to watch the episode.

• To engage viewers with the Characters and storyline.
• To give viewers a sneak preview of what is about to happen

What demographic groups are most likely to watch Soap Operas?
B -(middle class)
C1- (lower middle class)
C2-(skilled working class)
D -(working class)
E -(those at lowest level of subsistence)

What time are Soap trailers normally shown?
Soap opera trailers are shown normally in the evenings normally before watershed which starts at 9 o'clock they are normally shown before the watershed as they don't include any swear words or violent scenes. A television watershed also serves as a dividing line – it divides the time between where content for families and/or children has to be aired, and where content aimed towards an adult audience can be aired . However, for special episodes which are coming up for a special occasion which has violent scenes or swearing etc they will be shown after watershed.

A little bit about narrative:
There are two narrative modes, open and closed. Open narratives are productions that leave the audience to assume what happens with multiple choices. Where as closed narratives are productions that only have one story with one ending which can not be carried on. There is also two main times of narratives which includes a fractured (or forking paths) narrative, which is a narrative which manipulates the way that an audience thinks whilst watching the film they loose all sense of time and setting as fractured narratives use effects like flashbacks and slow motion which changes the order of the film. Chronological narrative which is a narrative where the storyline runs from A-B it is simply a beginning middle and end which runs smoothly.

What is the normal narrative in a Soap Opera Trailer?
Most trailers include an open, fractured narrative allowing the audience to either guess or try to guess the plot or storyline this uses the Uses and Gratifications Theory.

Soap Trailer Analysis

Eastenders Christmas Trailer 2008:



Mise-en-scene:
All lighting throughout the trailer was dark but with the Christmas spirit within the piece it seems to brighten up just before it turns dark and from colour to black and white when the storyline comes shinning through. All the scenes are interior, no scenes take place outside, every scene had Christmas props in which included Christmas dinner, Christmas hats, Christmas crackers and cards then it gets to the final scene of the Mitchell Christmas dinner, and then inside the local pub with lots of alcohol on show to the audience which helps show the viewers something is about to go wrong.

Sound:
All sound throughout the trailer was non diegetic. The music was happy Christmas music which created suspense as we the audience then knew there would be something bad around the corner. Then the music stopped and went silence which was juxtaposition. The voice over at the end of the clip made the storyline very clear to the audience which draws the audience in. After the voice over the classic jingle came back after the use of silence which again gave the audience time to think about the storyline before the eastenders jingle comes into place.

Narrative:
In this trailer the narrative was open. The storyline was given but not fully, the audience only found out half of the plot which leaves this as open as possible.
There is also forking paths used within this trailer as there is multiple stories and multiple lives within the square being shown at the beginning but towards the end it starts to get based around one story of one family.

Titling:
There was simple titles within the trailer which related to Christmas by using snow which makes the trailer Christmas before it has even started. BBC one first and then Eastenders at the end of the trailer.

Coronation Street Trailer:


Mise-en-scene:
Within this trailer all the lighting is bright and light which connotes innocence of the characters, unlike most trailers this trailer has scenes both in interior settings and exterior settings which makes the trailer different. All the props to do with the wedding are white and pink which shows that the male getting married is doing what the female wants which is also shown when the male sighs. A lot of the props including a decorative piece on the cake, a card and message on the back of the car all say good luck which has juxtaposition to the audience making them feel something will go wrong.

Sound:
Throughout the piece there is a song which is all about being lucky and about a wedding day. The song is upbeat with brass instruments in the background which builds suspense  by getting louder it then fades out but the brass still carry on playing and then  there is a voice over the top of the music saying "Friday the 13th the perfect date for a coronation street wedding coming soon on itv1 " and then wedding bells play in the background telling the audience that this will be a episode not to miss.

Narrative:
In this trailer the narrative was open. The storyline was given but not fully, the audience only found out half of the plot which leaves this as open as possible.
There is also forking paths used within this trailer as there is multiple stories and multiple lives within the street however all the families within this trailer are all related to one story, one event of one family.

Titling:
In this trailer there is little titling until  the end when there is the Corrie in a road street block and then "The nations street" underneath it and then Friday the 13th under that. Making the date that the episode is on clear to the audience.

DIFFERENT EPISODE
Throughout the piece there was a Christmas tune which was happy and merry. Which got interrupted by the sounds of the emergency rescue which shows juxtaposition. Which helps to show the storyline. The trailer ends with sirens which shows their is a unhappy ending to the story that will be coming up.

I looked and analysed two soap opera trailers in order to develop my knowledge on trailers and real soap operas. I wanted to gain more  knowledge in all areas in order to come up with my idea for my own soap. When producing my own soap I will now know what sort of music I will need to use etc and relate it all back to  my individual soap opera trailer. I have gained knowledge on Mise-en-scene, Sound, Narrative and titling. This will help me plan out, develop and make my soap opera trailer as I will learn the about all the key conventions of a soap opera. I will learn how soaps use key conventions and also go against conventions in order to make their soap different and unique.

Real Media Texts - Soap Opera

- Neighbours 21st of June

Scene Number	Number of Characters	Types of Characters	Setting Of Scene	Storylines Evident
1	2	Harold and Toady -Respected members of the comminity as Harold is a Christian salvationist and Toady is the local lawyer.	Toadies House	Harolds return
2	2	Sonya and Jade- sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic, were as jade is the local gym instructor however they are both sisters.	The Ramseys House	Alcoholic
3	1	Toady- is the local lawyer.	Toadies House	Betrayed by sonyas lies
4	2	Sonya and Jade- sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic, were as jade is the local gym instructor however they are both sisters.	The Ramseys House	Moving Houses
5	2	Harold and Toady -Respected members of the comminity as Harold is a Christian salvationist and Toady is the local lawyer.	Toadies House	Harolds return
6	2	Kate and Mark- kate is a 19 year old girl who looks after her younger sister as both her parents are now dead, whereas mark is the local police man.	Harolds Café	Cheating
7	2	Sonya and Jade- sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic, were as jade is the local gym instructor however they are both sisters.	The Ramseys House	Alcoholic
8	2	Harold and Toady -Respected members of the comminity as Harold is a Christian salvationist and Toady is the local lawyer.	Toadies House	Harolds return
9	2	Sonya and Kate -  sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic, kate is a 19 year old girl who looks after her younger sister as both her parents are now dead.	The Ramseys House	Alcoholic
10	1	Toady is the local lawyer.	Toadies House	Betrayed by sonyas lies
11	2	Troy and Sonya - troy is a new character who hasn’t made a good impression with the locals, he is also callums biological father.  sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic, who is also callums biological mother.	The Lake	Catch up of long lost love
12	1	Mark - is the local police officer.	Café	cheater
13	2	Jade and Kyle - jade is the local gym instructor and kyle is the local car salesman.	The Ramseys House	Secret lovers
14	2	Toady and Sonya - Toady is the local lawyer and  sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic.	The Street	Old Lovers
15	2	Kate and Jade -  kate is a 19 year old girl who looks after her younger sister as both her parents are now dead, Jade is the local gym instructor.	The Ramseys House	Best friends seperated by lies
16	3	Kyle - is the local car sales man	Car Show Yard	work
17	4	Harold, Toady, Karl and Sussan - Harold and Toady -Respected members of the comminity as Harold is a Christian salvationist and Toady is the local lawyer. Karl is the local doctor who is married to sussan who is a retired school principle who now works for the local paper.	Charlies Bar	Harolds return
18	2	Troy and Sonya - troy is a new character who hasn’t made a good impression with the locals, he is also callums biological father.  sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic, who is also callums biological mother.-	The Lake	Troys return
19	1	Harold is the local salvationist	Outside Charlies Bar	Harolds return
20	3	Troy and Sonya - troy is a new character who hasn’t made a good impression with the locals, he is also callums biological father.  sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic, who is also callums biological mother.-  whereas harold is the local salvationist.	Next to lake	Old Lovers
21	4	Harold, Toady, Karl and Sussan - Harold and Toady -Respected members of the comminity as Harold is a Christian salvationist and Toady is the local lawyer. Karl is the local doctor who is married to sussan who is a retired school principle who now works for the local paper.	Charlies Bar	Harolds return
22	2	Harold is the local salvationist where as sonya is recovering gambler and alcoholic.	Charlies Bar	Harolds return

I conducted this analysis on neighbours to get a better understanding of soap operas to see how many different scenes were used, how many characters were in each scene and what the main storyline was behind
each scene. I wanted the extra knowledge to use within the soap so I can then use this knowledge and include it in the planning and production of my own soap opera.