Research into Viewing Figures

I have been looking into the viewing figures of Soap Operas for the week 22nd November - 28th November and how the soaps compare to reality television shows or dramas. I focussed on BB1, ITV and Channel 5, who are the main British television channels who air soap operas.

I found that during this week, no Soap Opera was the most viewed program on any channel. On BB1 for example, Strictly Come Dancing got the top spot, which perhaps indicates that the general public is slowly moving away from soap operas. However, every Eastenders episode was ranked highly for the week, which rather dispells that idea. "Strictly Come Dancing" took the two top spots for the BBCs viewing figures with 12.43million viewers on Saturday and 11.94million on the Sunday. Eastender's highest figures for the week was 10.6million on the Monday. Eastender's ranked far higher than the television Drama's aired on the BBC such as Holby City and Casualty who gained 5.88million and 5.64million respectively.

These are the viewing figures for ITV for the week 22nd - 28th February. The top three spots are taken by reality television programs, with "The X Factor" being 1st and 2nd and "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" in 3rd place. The highest number of viewers was 14.42million for "The X Factor" on Sunday. "Coronation Street" gained 10.14million viewers on Monday, which was its highest ratings for the week. "Eastender's" on BB1 did have more viewers but they are roughly around the same numbers. "Emmerdale" was ITVs lowest viewed soap opera of the week, with it's biggest number of viewers being 8.14million, and its lowest being 7.47million.

Channel 5 had the lowest viewer figures out of all of the television channels I researched into, with "Neighbours" only drawing in 1.73million viewers on its best day and at worst "Home and Away" with only 1.01million viewers. Soap Operas gained more viewers than the television drama's did on Channel 5.

Viewing Figures found on:

http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weeklyTopProgrammesOverview

Start of trailer Edit

Due to unforeseen weather conditions, we were unable to get into school to start the editing process for our trailer last week, and so today was the first day we got to go through the footage we had. We managed to import all of the film into iMovie and put together a basic draft trailer. We have several more hours scheduled for editing this week, which are as follows;

Tuesday 7th - 9-10am
Wednesday 8th - 9-10am
Thursday 9th 10-11am

After these sessions we will decide whether more time is needed to be allocated for editing. We still need to decide on the music we will have in the trailer, but a friend of ours is working on a piece for us at the moment. We are also looking through various royalty free websites.

Filming Day 4 - 26th November

This was our final day of filming, where we managed to get our whole cast together. We re-filmed the scene with the four boys outside the pub to ensure that we had the perfect shot, and we filmed the very last scene where the entire cast group around Helen and her children. Due to our change in casting we also had to re-film the reveal of the children and of Danielle's pregnancy. This was a very successful day because we finished all of the filming we required for our trailer, and so can now start to edit and put together our soap opera trailer.

Filming Day 3

On Monday the 22nd November we did our third day of filming in Great Leighs. For this, our whole cast came together and we managed to get quite a lot of our trailer filmed. We met up at St Anne's Castle pub, where we had already gained permission to film but we asked again once we got there, and will make sure we make reference to them in our credits. We filmed the close up of Helen's heels panning up to her body and the shot of the "jack the lad" characters outside the pub cheering at her as she walked past. We filmed this shot from three different points and cameras to ensure that we definitely had the footage we needed. The lighting and weather conditions were good and so the footage we have is of a high quality. We also filmed the shot of Helen walking up the road using shot reverse shot; we will be able to create this editing technique because we filmed it using two different cameras from two different angles. Finally, we filmed the scene with Stephanie and Richard , which was successful too because the positioning of the cameras meant that Richard and Stephanie's facial expressions were caught well.

Filming Schedule

Before we started filming, I created a filming schedule to aid us whilst filming. The reason this is useful is because it means we have a set idea of what we need to film each day and so will be able to make the most of our time and get as much done as possible. We will try to stick to this wherever possible. This can be found here on the group blog.

Filming Day 2

Today we were meant to be filming the scene with the three boys outside the pub and the reaction Helen causes. We were also going the film the parts with Helen walking down the road herself. However, due to the weather conditions being very heavy fog, we were unable to film because the conditions were too different to that of yesterday. We will now have to try and fit in these shots in our whole cast session tomorrow, or reschedule for Tuesday the 23rd of November.

Filimg Day 1

Yesterday we had our first day of filming in Great Leighs, and for this we had Tamer, Jasmine and Hannah. We were filming the reveal shots at the end of our trailer where Helen's children are seen for the first time. We also filmed the part where Deano realises Danielle is pregnant. Because of conflicts with Jenni's tiemtable, she was unable to take part in our trailer, and so we have replaced her with Jo, because it is a minor part in the trailer and so not much acting is actually required. Jo has similar looks to Jenni, who we casted originally because of the fact she looked right for the part, and so we will get the over all look we want for our trailer. We did have time contraints because of the light, and so had about 40 minutes in which to film these scenes; however, we filmed each part several times and from several different cameras and so I think that we have all the footage we need. We tried to make use of a variety of different shots, including shot reverse shot and a reveal shot, but we were also keeping in mind that in soap operas, the majority of the time they use midshots or two shots, so that characters expressions and reactions can be seen clearly.

Final Cast and Costumes

Due to several members of cast being unable to film when we needed them or through illness, we had to re-cast. These are our final choices;

Helen - Jasmine Lee

Jasmine was our first choice for Helen Howe, because she has the confidence and mannerisms we all imagined for her. This is the photo of her in her costume for the trailer and she looks very striking and authoritative, which is fitting for her role. The black dress connotes mystery and deception, which hints at future story lines which will surround Helen. Her red lipstick and shoes comply with the Male Gaze Theory as proposed by Laura Mulvey in which the assumption is that an audience is male, and so an attractive woman is used to advertise something, in our case, Helen is the focus of the trailer. The colour red is often associated with lust and sexuality also.

Deano - Lewis Spaul

Lewis was originally auditioned for the role of JJ but we decided he would be better suited to being Deano, especially after Tamer was unable to be that part anymore. The costume we decided on for him was skinny jeans, a trendy coat and a scarf. The reason we chose this is because the character of Deano is trying hard to fit in and be cool, and so his dressing trendy helps connote this. The black of his coat also connotes secrecy, which would perhaps be extended in a future storyline.




Courtney - Hannah Cullen

Hannah was our first choice for the character of Courtney because we wanted a pretty girl who came across as quite shy at the same time. The final costume we decided on for Hannah was skinny jeans, ugg boots and a fitted green and white jumper, with the white connoting her innocence and naivety, which would be explored in the first few episodes of our soap opera. The reason we chose this costume is because it is quite fashionable but understated, which emphasises the characters personality.




Danielle - Jo Peplow

When our actor who played the part of Danielle dropped out, we had to re-cast her quickly to ensure that our filming timetable was not affected. Because of this, and the fact that she had very similar looks to our original actor, we cast Jo as Danielle. The costume we decided on for Danielle was an over sized hoody, tracksuit bottoms and trainers, because this complies with the stereotype many people have of young teenage mothers. The heart on her jumper can be seen as connoting her trying to find love, which resulted in her pregnancy. The over sized clothing she is wearing connotes that she is trying to hide herself from people.


Richard - Matthew Bigg
Our original actor for the role of Richard dropped out due to other responsibilities and so we re-cast Matt as Richard. The reason for this is because he was available for each of our filming dates and he was able to portray Richard in the way we wanted him to. The character of Richard complies with the "Villain" character in Propp's Theory of Narrative who disrupts order because he is the suspected father of Danielle's baby even though he is married, and in the trailer he is seen winking at Helen. The costume we decided on for him was almost entirely black to connote the mystery and secrecy that surrounds him and how he is constantly deceiving his wife. The colour purple is traditionally a colour symbolising royalty and so connotes how he perceives himself in the community.

JJ - Lewis Montague

Our original actor for JJ also dropped out due to other commitments and so we cast Lewis Montague instead. The reason for this choice is because he was able to portray the slightly cocky and arrogant mannerisms we wanted for the character and interacted well with the rest of the 'jack-the-lad' actors. The costume we chose for him was a leather jacket, skinny jeans and trendy trainers; the leather jacket is symbolic of films such as "Grease" where the jackets show you as being part of a certain gang. The over all effect of the outfit makes him appear cool and connotes that he is the leader of the group.


Aaron - Tim Bousfield
Lewis Spaul was originally cast for the role of Aaron but as explained previously, he was re-cast for the role of Deano. The reason we chose Tim for the part is because he was able to be available when we needed him and because he portrayed the awkwardness we imagined Aaron to feel. Aaron is the character who feels out of place in the group of lads, and so we chose a costume for him that was slightly different to the others; a large hoody and wider jeans connote that while he looks similar to the other lads, there is something different about him, which will be explored in later episodes of the soap opera.



Paul - James Garrod

Paul is another of the 'Jack-the-lad' characters and the final costume we chose for him connotes how he is accepted amongst the lads. He is also wearing a leather jacket and skinny jeans which denotes his status in the group as being on a level with JJ. His character is similar to that of JJ in that he is confident and slightly arrogant, and so believes he is popular with girls; a later episode would see both him and JJ going after newly arrived Courtney.




Nathan - James Hancock

Due to the issues we had with casting, we decided to introduce a fourth 'Jack-the-lad' character so that we had a reserve if one of the other boys was unavailable. However, having four lads in the group actually worked better than having three and so we were happy with our decision. Nathan's character is included and accepted, but slightly on the outside of the group, and the costume we finalised on represents this.

Filming Groups

We looked back over our storyboards and shot lists in order to work out who is required for filming with who. We decided that Helen, JJ, Max and Aaron need to film together, Deano, Danielle, Courtney and Jasmine on another day and Stephanie, Richard and Helen on the third day. By grouping characters like this, it enables us to get as much done as possible each day and also ensures that cast members are not stood around waiting.

Final Costumes

Today in our meetings we discussed and finalised our costume ideas. We tried to do this in accordance with the verilasimilatude used in soap operas so that the costumes represent the type of characters we have. We have written out letters to each of the members of our cast telling them dates they are required for filming and what they need to wear, which is here on the group blog.The costumes are as follows;

Helen
-Black Dress
-Red Shoes
-Red lipstick, full makeup
(prop: red suitcase provided)

Deano
-Grey Tracksuit Trousers
-White poloshirt
-White cardigan
-Trainers

Courtney
-Skinny blue jeans
-Ugg Boots
-Green/white striped jumper

Danielle
-Tracksuit trousers
-Coloured vest
-Large oversized hoodie

Stephanie
-Tunic top
-Black leggings
-Full makeup, natural looking

Richard
-Smart Jeans
-Dark poloshirt/shirt
-Smart shoes

JJ
-Blue jeans
-Coloured poloshirt
-Plimsolls

Aaron
-Checked shirt
-Jeans
-Plimsolls

Maxwell
-Coloured poloshirt
-Jeans
-Plimsoll

16th November Update

This week and next we are filming for our soap opera trailer. We will also be taking the photos for our poster and magazine, and so we need a lot of planning and scheduling to pull this off. Because we have to fit around our actors plans, we are working out filming groups so that not everyone has to turn up at all times. This will also be more efficient because people won't be waiting around too long, and we can get more done. During these planning sessions we will decide on what our final props and costumes will be so we can inform our cast.
We are also re doing our animatic storyboard at the moment to increase the amount of depth in it; this is beneficial to us when filming because we have a more definite idea of what we want our final trailer to look like, and we know which shots and transitions to use.

Soap Poster and Magazine

As a group, we discussed the ways in which we could lay out a poster and a magazine cover for our soap opera. We looked at and analysed existing products in order to work out what works and looks effective. We sketched a very basic plan of the magazine cover, which can be seen here. From these discussions and initial plans, Jo and Sophie created draft posters and magazines, which can be found on the group blog.

Auditions and audition poster

On 18th October we held our auditions for our soap opera. We auditioned several different people for each part and from that chose those we thought were best for the part. Our first choices are as follows;

Helen - Jasmine Lee
Deano - Tamer Saleh
Courtney - Hannah Cullen
Dannielle - Jenny Pike
JJ - Tom Le Gresley
Aaron - Lewis Spaul
Richard - Nicholas Crouch
Stephanie - Steph Hadlow

For our two younger characters, Charlie and Spencer, Jo's younger brother and Jade's baby cousin will be playing them, with their parents permission. Because of their age and the minimal acting they will be doing, we didn't need to audition them.

We created an audition poster which we put up around the school, advertising what the auditions were for and who was eligible to apply. This is the poster.

Audition Poster

We put the audition video together as a group, each of us doing a voiceover explaining why certain people were good for the role and why we liked them. This is our audition tape, and it can also be found on the group blog. We used the program Final Cut to make the video.

Shot List for Trailer

On the 18th October I started working on the shot list for our soap opera trailer. The reason we make a shot list is because it means that when we're actually filming we can ensure that we don't miss anything out at each location. It also means that we can plan more indepth and get the best possible trailer out of it. This is our initial shot list, which can also be found on the group blog.

Lighting for Soap Operas

I have been looking into the ways lighting is used in professional soap operas, to get a basic understanding of what goes into the production of a soap opera. Although we won't be using these professional mehtods, it does help us to know how we could do it if we had a proper budget. I then explained how we will overcome this problem and make use of natural lighting which can be found here on the group blog.

Ideas behind Casting

On the group blog, I posted about what sort of people we want to cast for each of our characters in the trailer, which can be found here. The reason I did this is because it is easier for us during casting to have something to work from, and due to our lack of dialogue in the script, it means we have a basic idea of what we want people to do in the audition. It also helps because it means we have more of an idea of how we want our characters to be portrayed, for example, whether we want them to be likable, funny, arrogant, annoying etc.

Soap Opera Magazine Analysis 2

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JfSds68OImNLOHozvmJNlcBO19PC_HyeLIBOxxSBKQ4/edit?hl=en&pli=1#

Soap Opera Magazine Analysis 1

I looked at analysing a soap opera magazine cover because part of my brief is to create my own. By researching them, it means that my own attempt will be more realistic and professional. From researching these magazines, I have found out what sort of conventions are typical of them; for example, nearly all magazines make use of bright bold colours and block text, and feature several storylines on the cover.


Soap Magazine Analysis 1

Soap Opera Poster Analysis 2

Soap Opera Poster Ananlysis 2


Image from http://www.movieposterdb.com/posters/08_08/2008/1225901/l_1225901_461abc39.jpg

Soap Opera Poster Analysis 1

The reason I have looked into and analysed soap opera posters is because part of my brief includes producing one. Although the two posters I have analysed aren't necesarily soap oepras, they both have an open narrative which is similar to that of a soap. Image from http://film-book.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/michelle-richardson-skins-season-one-poster.jpg


Soap Opera Poster Analysis 1

First Draft Script

Me, Sophie and Jade have been working on the first draft of our scirpt, as can be seen on our group blog here
The reason we created this draft version of a script is because as our storyline develops, we may want to change certain aspects of the narrative, but we still needed a guideline to work with.

Animatic Storyboard

As a group, we created an animatic storyboard to help clarify our ideas and to aid us when filming. The reason this will help us is because we have our shots and the order in which they go already decided, which will mean that filming is less time consuming. We took photographs in roughly the positions we wanted people to be in and then did voiceovers, explaining why we chose the shots we did and how they relate to various theories. This is our animatic storyboard, which can also be found on the group blog.

Story board

Me and Jade created the original storyboard in accordance with the planning sessions we did as a group. The reason we did this is because it helps order our ideas and makes things like writing the final script and location scouting easier because we all know exactly what the storyline is. On the group blog, I added written directions underneath each photograph to explain what was happening in regards to shots and sound.




This would be a close up of a pair of red shoes walking along a pavement, with the extra diegetic sound of the shoes enhanced as they click on the pavement. The colour red connotes sexuality and so the audience is instantly aware of the type of trailer it will be, and the type of character who is wearing the shoes.


This is the first of three quick shots - mainly mid shots - which show different people going abouttheir normal daily life, but being distracted by the mysterious character walking past.


This is the third shot which again shows a different group of people in their oridnary lives. The people seen in these three shots are not central characters and their role is only to build suspense.


This is a wide shot looking straight down the middle of a straight road. The character in the red shoes is shown entirely for the first time and she is walking down the road pulling a suitcase behind her. This denotes that she is either moving in or out of the area, and in this case she is moving in. The red shoes and bag are subconsciously linked the Virgin Airways adverts and so the audience will be reminded of glamour. The way that people are grouped on the pavement either side of her is reminiscent of a cat walk.

This shot is a cross between a wide shot and a close up in that three pairs of shoes and the wheels of a pram are seen only. In this shot, the non diegetic music would change in tempo in that it becomes faster and more disorderly, insinuating that disorder will be bought to the soap opera.

Another wide shot is used to show the children all grouped around the main character, Helen. They are in an arrow formation walking behind her down the road, instantly making it obvious to the audience that they are family.

This shot starts as an over the shoulder shot as Helen walks past and then goes to a mid shot, where Richard and Stephanie are seen. In this, Richard winks at Helen, shifting away from Stephanie, who turns to slap him. Extra diegetic sound it used to enhance the sound of the slap.

This is a mid shot where Courtney is seen from behind. As he walks past, Deano smiles at her, and as she smiles back, a reveal shot is used to show that she is pregnant. An over the shoulder shot facing Deano is used to show her stood behind her as he hurries off.


The final shot is another wide shot from a dutch angle, showing the family stood positioned around Helen, with the other central characters slightly further back.

Target Audience Profile

Today me and Sophie Tindall wrote out our Target Audience Profile. This is here on our group blog. The purpose of doing this was to work out who exactly we are aiming our soap opera at and where we have gained our influences from, namely Hollyoaks and Eastenders. We also looked into what social classes we're targeting, using both LifeMatrix and Young and Rubicam's Four Consumers. From this, we could work out whether our characters and story lines were suitable or whether we were targeting the wrong social groups. We also looked briefly into the kind of theories that tend to apply to soap operas, in particular the Hyperdermic Needle Theory.

Soap Opera Brief

Our new Soap Opera is based around a residential street in a village in Essex, following the lives of new family in town, The Hall's. Little do they know that by moving in, they'll be drawn right into the center of the local scandals, and with teenagers Deano and Courtney around, these are only going to escalate!

Our initial cast of characters comply with the stereotypical Essex characteristics; the father of sixteen year old Dannielle's baby is still unknown, and the subject of much gossip in the local pub St Annes, whereas cheeky chappy Aaron is hiding a big secret from everyone...

Family is the main focus in everyday life, and inevitably therefore is the root of most issues. Family loyalty is key, with Helen regulaly reminding her brood that "We're all we've got!" Being a single mother, her children are sometimes a little on the wild side, but tend to mean well. Our soap is to be shown three times a week in order to give away just enough butto keep the audience always wanting just that bit more.

With such a wide range of fiesty characters, can peace be kept or will all hell break loose?

Initial Ideas

We sat down as a group yesterday and started discussing the basic ideas we had for our soap operas. This included the overall storylines for the first two episodes and planning how we wanted our trailer to look. We also had to decide what kind of soap opera we wanted to make, be it inspired by things like Eastenders, Coronation Street or Hollyoaks. We decided that, due to our geographical location, that our soap will be based on a street in Essex and we will try to make it appeal to a younger audience. Because of this, we will have to use characters that appeal to our target audience.
The main characters we are thinking of introducing in the trailer are a



newly-wed couple (Eastenders)http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/tv/east4802.jpg



A loud and likable family (Coronation street)http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01015/SNF3126B-682_1015577a.jpg



A teenage mum (Hollyoaks)http://www.virginmedia.com/images/slide-12-amy-barnes.jpg


A homosexual couple (Hollyoaks)


And a "jack the lad" character.



We're doing this because these characters follow many typical conventions of soap operas and are popular types of characters, so are likely to draw in audiences. However, we will aim to ensure that our soap opera does have something different about it, so it's not just the same as every other soap opera around.

I also created a mind map to outline our early ideas, which can be found here on the group blog.

Questionnaire results

After carrying out my questionnaire, I collected and analysed my results in order to find out what it was that attracts an audience to a soap opera and also to see who actually is watching these programs. These are my results.

Question 1 is regarding the length of story lines people prefer. Exactly half of the people who took the survey declared that they enjoyed story lines that last several months whereas the other half stated that they did not like this. In regards to my own soap opera, I would make sure that I never used just long story lines, nor short ones.

Question 2 is about the type of character that people most look forward to seeing in a soap opera. The most popular character was the arrogant/confident one, with 37.5% agreeing with this, followed by someone who is likable, amusing and funny both of which gained 25% of the votes. The least popular type of character is someone who is annoying, a character which only 12.5% of people stated to prefer. This information is in keeping with long standing soap opera characters - Eastenders Alfie Moon recently made a come back to the soap as a "cheeky chappie" who is very likable.

Question 3 considers the type of story lines people are most interested in seeing. Story lines based around relationships and which are shocking both took 37.5% of votes, with story lines that deal with current issues taking 25%. No one voted for a storyline that centres around friends or family which surprised me because of the longevity of established families in soap operas - The Mitchell family in Eastenders is very long standing, with new additions Ronnie and Roxy joining the soap in July 2007. Their popularity is obvious with the actress who plays Roxy winning the award for "Best Newcomer" at the Digital Spy Soap Awards in 2008. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxy_Mitchell)

Question 4 is about the timing of soap operas; my survey shows that over 60% of viewers would like a soap opera to be shown in the early evening, followed by 25% saying Prime Time (8pm) and 12.5% in the afternoon. Soap Opera "Hollyoaks" is shown in the early evening and has lasted since October 1995 (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_did_Hollyoaks_start) and so proves that its viewing figures are still high.

Question 5 is about the times per week people watch a soap opera. 62.5% watch soap operas 2-3 times a week, which indicates that people prefer a soap opera which is aired frequently throughout the week as opposed to just once.

Question 6 is about whether soap opera trailers entice a viewer to watch the soap opera; interestingly 71.4% said that trailers aren't effective in making them watch the soap, which makes me wonder why. Regarding this, I would definitely aim to try and bring something new to my trailer so that it catches the audiences eye and offers them something different.

Question 7 is enquiring about what it is that attracts an audience to a soap opera. 37.5% of people said that interesting characters is what they look for in a soap. Typical characters include a 'jack-the-lad' type character, a nosy pensioner, a young teenage mum and a cheating husband. The reason I think these characters are so popular is because people can relate to their own lives; the use of verisimilitude forces them to draw comparisons or to emphasise with characters. Shocking story lines and attractive characters were next most important to those carrying out the survey. Examples of shocking story lines used in soap operas include a plane crash in Neighbours (2005) and a baby swap in Eastenders (2011)

Question 8 is about what peoples favourite soap opera is. The benefit of this question is that it gives us an insight as to which soap opera is the favourite and so we can then look into why it is so popular.

Question 9 and 10 looked into what type of audience watch soap operas. 62.5% of viewers are aged between 17 and 24, and so when making my own soap opera I will be concentrating heavily on that age group. We also found that more men than women watch soap operas, but I would still try to make a soap opera appealing to both genders.

Soap Opera Questionaire

In order to know exactly what it is about soap operas that attract people, I created and carried out a questionaire. This is a good way of me getting the opinions of my target audience, and therefore knowing what sort of things to feature in my trailer. I used the online quiz generator http://www.surveymonkey.com/

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Conventions found in Trailers

Typical conventions of soap opera trailers

The storylines in soap opera trailers are always hinted at and not shown in their entirity; this helps ensure that audiences remain curious and watch all episodes rather than just find out what is going to happen from a trailer and then maybe skip certain episodes. The storylines in trailers are also quite big and theatrical; trailers arent shown for just ordinary episodes, they are normally for murders, marriages or a popular or well known character returning or leaving.
Quite often trailers only feature a few characters who are central to a particular storyline and don't show all of the others. This is because the trailer gives the viewer hints at what will happen in the actual episode and so the audience feels like they are more involved because they are trying to work out what is going to happen. This goes against the idea of the "hyperdermic needle theory" where audiences are passive and don't participate in the program, they just sit back and accept whatever is given to them.

The conventions of a full episode differ slightly. Quite often an episode will feature several different storylines at once, normally making use of "real time" where a soap doesnt skip out huge sections of time. Having several different storylines going on at once is a good way of keeping audiences interested and improving viewer ratings, because there is more going on.
Also, most typical epsiodes won't all be extremely theatrical, and will center around more mainstream things, or things that viewers can relate to. If a soap has explored a certain storyline that they think will have affected people in the audience, a telephone hotline number is often displayed at the end.

Last Years Soap Trailers

St Andrews Road



This is one of the Soap Opera Trailers from a group in the year above me at school. I have been watching and analysing this in order to aid me in the production of my own trailer.

I think that the music used is very appropriate for a trailer; because it is advertising a new soap opera, it doesnt have a theme tune that audiences recognise yet, meaning that they had no limitations on what sort of music to chose for the trailer. I think it works so well because it has a fairly fast tempo which instantly grabs the viewers attention. As the drama in the trailer increases, so does the tempo and the volume of the music, and at the end when you see the shot of someone laying unconscious on the floor with the pills near them, the volume and pace both decrease, connoting that something bad has happened.

There are no voiceovers in the trailer, but because of the titles, this doesn't affect the piece at all; there are titles saying what channel and time the show is on at the end, and titles throughout the trailer itself giving hints about what will happen in the soap opera.

The storylines featured in the trailer are very in keeping with the idea of a soap opera; homosexuality, suspected drug abuse and relationship problems. However, the trailer is more like a short film or episode than a trailer because the whole story is shown, not just hints or few selected parts. Because of this, they havent entirely followed the conventions of a trailer and so I will try and ensure that my group manage to do this.

Although the main story is shown in completion, there are several parts of the trailer where a storyline is only hinted at. The shots filmed in the wooded area with the bottles and cans all over the floor and the mobile phone arent entirely clear as to what they relate to, which is far more like a trailer. This is good because it is intriguing to the viewer and makes them want to watch the soap opera to find out what it all means, and they are then likely to start watching it regularly.

Soap Trailer Analysis No. 3

Coronation Street, 28.02.09



This is a trailer for Becky and Steve's wedding day on Coronation Street, taken from www.youtube.com

Non Diegetic music is used throughout the trailer to create a sense of irony; the song used is "My Lucky Day" for a wedding episode set for Friday 13th. The non diegetic voice over at the end adds to this irony when it states "Friday 13th; the perfect day for a Coronation Street wedding.." The music makes use of a 'big band' which sounds very jolly and gives the a hopeful feel, which contrasts the voice over. The voice over also states the date the episode will be aired and the channel it is on. As well as this, the ITV logo is prominent on the screen throughout.

The storyline the trailer is based around is that of a wedding, quite a typical soap opera storyline. The characters shown in the trailer are those whom the episode will center mainly around, which gives the audience a hint at what will happen and who it will involve or affect. A linear narrative is used, because it shows the storyline go from A to B although an ending is obviously not shown. It also vaguely resembles a narrative because many different parts are shown, almost as if they are all separate but they in fact linked by the forth coming wedding.

Other than the ITV logo at the bottom of the screen, titling is not used until the very end of the trailer, where the name of the soap opera, the date and their sponsor is shown, with the familiar background from the programs title sequence. This reiterates what soap opera the trailer is for, as well as gaining publicity and recognition for the sponsor.

A variety of camera angles are used throughout the trailer; the very first shot is an over the shoulder shot, which shows exactly what the character is seeing. This helps the audience feel instantly that they are involved in the program. Close ups are used to show all the little details that go into a wedding, like laying the tables and icing the cakes, which provides a sense of normality, and puts the viewer at ease. Mid shots are used to show the various characters getting ready and is a good way of showing how they're feeling because as well as seeing their facial expression, their body language can be seen too. A close up of the figures on the cake is used, perhaps to contrast the fact that you never see the real couple together, and this can be seen as foreshadowing what is to come. A zoom is used on a sign on the cake saying "Good Luck" which implies that luck is needed, and that something will go wrong during the wedding. This is also implied because constantly throughout the trailer, signs of luck are made, or written.

The costumes throughout the trailer are all formal attire, as is expected at a wedding. The brides dress, however, is not the traditional white, and is pink instead. This can be seen as connoting that not all is as innocent as it seems. It can also be seen as a signifying problems because pink is made up of white and red - red is a colour often associated with death, and so by wearing pink, it is a slight hint that something goes wrong. The room the bride is getting ready in is entirely in white or other very pale colours, which gives a sense of purity and naivity, which makes the viewer feel worried on her behalf, because the signs are all there to indicate that it isnt her 'lucky day'.

Soap Trailer Analysis No. 2

Neighbours Plane Crash Trailer 2005



This is a trailer for Australian Soap Opera Neighbours, leading up to the plane crash episode, where many of the characters were killed, taken from www.youtube.com

Titles are used all the way through the trailer, and are used to build and create suspense. The titles are simple sentences normally split into two parts, and although the choice of wording is almost "cheesey" paired with the music and extra diegetic sound, it does capture the audiences attention very effectively. The titles are white against a completely black background, which means that the viewers eyes are instantly drawn to them. It can also be seen as connoting that very few will survive, the dark being the percentage who die and the white being the few that live. The titles at the very end say what the episode is (20th anniversary) and the name of the show, but doesnt give the name of the channel or the time, other than being "next week". However, the word "Neighbours" enlarges and moves further forwards, reitterating what show the trailer is for.

The non diegetic music at the start of the trailer sounds quite exotic, especially when paired with the visual of the cabin crew on the plane. The music is instantly stopped and replaced with extra diegetic screams and loud noises after the title saying "next week" comes up, which indicates how quickly the storyline will change. The only time the screams are paused is when the pilot says "Ladies and gentlemen, adopt the brace position now" which means that the audience has to take note of this, because there is nothing else to distract them. The absense of the screams also implies that death is iminent.

The first two camera shots are calm and steady, and clearly show the happiness of the characters involved. As soon as the music stops and the titles start to change and mention the plane crash, the shots become unsteady and all are close ups of peoples faces. This is effective because it shows the panic and fear of the characters and involves the audience because it feels like they are right alongside them.

The transitions between shots are very quick, giving the effect of a montage; the speed mirrors the situation spiralling out of control. The flickering of the lights eluminates some people and throws others into darkness, which could indicate which characters die and which survive, or it could also be seen as showing who the innocent are. The establishing shot shows two of the characters on the plane, the man being in a white suit which seems very glamourous and the woman who is impeccably dressed and with her hair done. After this, you only see people wearing life jackets, which shows the contrast between the two scenes.

The trailer can be seen as following Todorov's theory of narrative because of the state of equilibrium at the start, which is followed by a disruption (the plane crash). This is recognised and there is an attempt to save the situation (the pilot telling them to take the brace position and them all putting on life jackets) but because it is a trailer, the viewer doesnt know whether the equilibrium is restored until the watch the episode.

Soap Trailer analysis No. 1

Eastenders Christmas Trailer 2009



This is a trailer for a Christmas episode of Eastenders centred around the mystery of "who killed Archie?" taken from www.youtube.com

Sound is used to attract the viewer in this trailer; the use of the non diegetic music gives the audience a false sense of security because it is a simple piece of music they know very well. By using chimes and a Christmas song, the piece sounds very soft and peaceful, and is at a fairly slow tempo; however as the trailer goes on, this starts to feel slightly sinister, especially when paired with the extra diegetic voice overs saying things like "I'm going to kill him." By using voice overs, the audience is able to find out exactly what each character is thinking; the use of a re verb on the voice overs gives the impression that you are hearing the characters thoughts rather than words. The music slowing down can be seen as representing the end of Archie's life which puts the viewer on edge slightly, because they know that the mystery is finally going to be solved.

Titles are used throughout the piece effectively; within the first couple of seconds, the BBC logo appears at the bottom of the screen which reminds viewers what channel the program will be on - this both aids the viewer because it means they won't miss the program, but it also helps the television channel gain more viewers. At the end of the trailer, the time and date of the program is shown with the channel again, which ensures people definitely know when and where they can see it. The titles are bought up in a red font, which can be taken in several different ways. Because of the time of year it is, it can be seen as being very festive, especially against the snowy scene it is placed on. However, red also signifies death and blood, and so once again reiterates the fact that you will finally find out who killed Archie.

The establishing shot is of the "Queen Vic" pub, the most famous and well known part of Eastenders. By doing this, audiences are instantly aware of what program this is a trailer for, and are more likely to pay attention. Over the shoulder shots are used to show the reactions of characters, in the case of Stacey, she looks panicked and worried; because of the type of shot it is, the audience feel involved because it feels as if she is looking directly at you. The use of tracking gives the impression that someone is watching and following the characters, which is almost uncomfortable because the viewer worries for the characters, and creates a sense of unease. The way that two of the characters appear out of the shadows or from behind trees imply that something malicious and devious is happening, and increases the suspense that the trailer is creating for the audience.

The narrative of the trailer has the feel of being a fractured narrative, because the audience is constantly trying to work out who the killer is. It can also be seen as being fairly episodic because the shots throughout the trailer don't appear to be linked, other than the fact that the audience knows that one of them killed Archie.

The use of Christmas decorations and the non diegetic music gives a very naive and peaceful feel to the trailer; this is a stark contrast to the nature of the storyline in the trailer, and so the audience is instantly caught off guard. Phil's face is shown half in darkness and half in the light when he says "I'm going to kill him" - the light implies that he still has a sense of goodness to him despite what he is saying, which makes the audience wonder whether he really does act on his word. Sam Mitchell is dressed entirely in black; black is often used to connote bad things, death and evil, which makes the audience consider her as the possible murderer. However, her blonde hair questions this, as often in television, producers use small blonde women as innocent and vulnerable people. Janine wearing a red dress and with her hair up looks very glamourous, and red is often seen as being both sexual and representative of death.

Trailer show time

Trailers are often shown at prime times, when the biggest possible number of people will be watching television. This is because it gains access to a larger number of viewers, and so is more likely to gain new audiences this way. On BBC1, trailers for a big soap opera episode are shown very regularly in the lead up to the sheduled showing, especially before and after the program is on. This is because those who are most likely to watch the trailered episode will be watching the normal episodes too.

Purpose of a Trailer

Soap Opera trailers are often used to advertise a particularly big or important storyline where the producers are aiming to get more viewers. In this situation, the time that the program is on will always be mentioned, to ensure that they get viewers and the channel it is shown on, even if these things are always the same. By repeating this, it promotes both the show itself and the television channel.

They are also used to introduce a new soap opera. For this particular kind of trailer, the producers have got to appeal to their target audience in a way which ensures they get the audiences attention. Because all the characters are unknown at this point, trailers often show the new characters in a way that grabs attention, be it through shocking clips or making them very likeable. This can be seen in the launch trailer for Hollyoaks in 1995; it is very simple, where the characters introduce themselves, but by making it humourous, audiences would instantly be drawn to it, especially teenagers who it is clearly aimed at.

Group Research

As a group, we researched the most common conventions of a soap opera and produced a short piece of film that conveyed what we found out. We chose to film this in the style of a soap opera to be in keeping with what we were researching.

History of Soap Operas

Soap Operas originated in America in the 1930's; at the time, they were radio series aimed predominantly at women, who were more likely to be at home during the day when they aired. The name "soap opera" derives from the sponsorship these series received from household product companies, mainly cleaning products and washing powders. Over the years, these series have been bought to television and draw in some of the biggest television audiences. The worlds longest running Radio soap opera is "The Archers" which has been aired at the BBC since 1951.



British Soap Operas include Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, and are often focused around a small community, with the local pub a prominent location. Story lines often tend to focus on real life events and issues in the public attention; for example, a rising storyline in the last decade is that of homosexuality - in 1993, Brookside was the first soap opera to show a lesbian kiss before the 9pm watershed, and since then many others have done the same. In Hollyoaks, a whole storyline was dedicated to the emerging relationship between two male characters, John Paul and Craig.


(Brookside)

Other typical story lines are based around illness, eating disorders, rebellious and negatively portrayed teenagers, pregnancy, murder and marital affairs. The reason these story lines occur time and time again is that audiences can relate to them, because they are realistic situations, or because they have experienced something similar. Often after dealing with a difficult or controversial storyline, soap operas will feature the number for a telephone help line alongside the credits to aid viewers who may have been affected by the subject in that episode. These types of storylines are appealing to active audiences because they can feel involved because the storylines relate to their own personal lives.


Most soap operas started out having one episode per week, which featured the majority of the cast; nowadays, there tends to be between 3 and 5 episodes a week, which adds to the sense of real life. Although episodes are filmed up to a month in advance of broadcasting, sometimes live episodes are shown when there has been a particularly intense storyline. For example, in 2010, Eastenders broadcast a live episode dedicated to solving the mystery of "who killed Archie?" where not even the cast members knew who had until a very short time before airing.



In recent years, producers of soap operas have made a concerted effort to portray a range of diverse characters from different backgrounds and ethnic groups. Eastenders has been slated in the past for not showing what a community in East London would actually be like, because there are not enough characters from ethnic minorities.

All soap operas have an instantly recognisable theme tune and introduction sequence, which is important because it gives viewers a sense of stability and is something they know well, and so are more likely to watch it.

Episodes tend to be half an hour long, and throughout the episode will feature several story lines. Soap Operas are open narratives because story lines continue for an extended period of time, and don't end at the end of each episode. Soap Operas can be seen as following the "Hypodermic Needle" theory, because audiences tend to be passive and fed the information the producers give them without any input. However, there are times when this isn't the case; in 2009, Hollyoaks amended a storyline they were planning to run after criticisms over the similarities between it and the murder case of James Bulger. A character in the show was to be revealed to having killed a child when she was 12 years old, and James Bulger's mother appealed to them, saying that they were "turning James's death into a topic for entertainment".


Photos from
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKx853_9NXCt9-bTDqcJQxqgfdaCZbnHSFxI3c7MOi-lIyt7sOZC_HkvxtEWBiCNFK-q9EdOBEMAssSiLUO8elIwhYE6kgwWV-eTKTspHIogSCogqGYFiCruRDvr5W1tjLaTlu_oRImJzb/s400/brookside-anna-friel-kiss-431x300.jpg

http://holysoapcdn.five.tv/assets/images/8532/20100211T170303_Soaps_Spoilers_4-1_1265907797_large.jpg?1265909414

Information from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollyoaks#Criticism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_opera

Soap Opera Mindmaps

In order to get my main points about soap operas, I created several mindmaps detailing the typical settings, storylines and characters. To get this information I had to research several different soap operas and watch them to gain an insight.

Target Audience

Soap Operas

Soap Opera Research

I am currently carrying out research on typical and stereotypical conventions of soap operas, in order to have a good knowledge for when planning and producing my own trailer. A good understanding of their history will also be beneficial and so I have been researching early soap operas and how they compare to modern ones.