Initial Ideas for Poster Work

These are my two poster layouts. I will show these to my group and this will enable us to come up with a final poster idea.

I will use these poster drafts to help me create my final poster. I will use the layouts so that I can get a good idea of what I will use on my actual poster. By looking at mine with my groups drafts I will be able to create a good layout. I will also look at what I need to include on the posters and these drafts will remind me of what I need.

Ideas on Our Presentation/Pitch

After finalising the ideas for our soap opera we had to spend the time of creating a Presentation so that we could show our idea to everyone. This would normally be held to a major company like BBC or ITV and they would invest in the soap and play it on their channel. As this was important to starting our soap we had to spend a lot of time creating something extravagant and informative.

To help my group I came up with some ideas for our pitch. We then came together and created a presentation to show the 'company'. These were my own ideas:

• To create some sort of presentation video, or powerpoint that shows the begining of our soap. It Gives a short viewing of the trailer and is suddenly stopped. This will grab the viewers attecion and make them listen to the rest of the presentation. The rest of the presentation would be included with facts and firgures about our soap opera.

To film a possible scene from our piece and do similar to the above. But this way the film piece would be a lot more interesting and would make the viewers want to see more.

• Another idea was to dress up as if we were from the soap. To take on a rural persona and explain the soap opera through our characters. We could also simply just dress up and use printed images, and important words to present to the viewers exactly what our soap opera was about.

• My least favourite idea was simply just a powerpoint or Prezi presentation full of ideas, facts and firgures about our soap opera and what it would entail. This was least likely to be used but includes the most information which is what is needed.

Initial Ideas for My Magazine Cover

Going on from my first post on Magaiznes I have made up some initial plans for my magazine cover. After completing these I will collaberate with my group to make our own magazine cover.

In these two drafts I will contain titles, ideas on images and some explinations as to why I have created it this way.

This is my first magazine draft, after I make a second draft I will go on to create a magazine plan with colours, images etc.

This is my Second magazine draft and is only slightly different. The shape is rather similar but I have included space for more cover lines to make the soap seem a lot more interesting and enticing.

I will use these two drafts when I am creating my final magazine, they will help me to see not only the layout I should use, but they will remind me of all the things I need to include. The drafts will mainly help me with the layout of the magazine covers as I will be able to see what works well and what doesn't. Also I will be able to look at my own with my groups work and see which looks the best and possibly mix some together.

Consent For Locations

When coming up with ideas about our soap opera we came across the fact that there were no soap operas based on social services. Things like Firemen and Policemen. I thought this was an interesting idea as if we chose firemen and there home lives we could create a really interesting trailer. 

As I was interested in this idea I went on to write a letter to our local fire station:

To whom it may concern

I am a student of Chelmer Valley High School Sixth Form and I am taking an a-level in Media Studies. Currently in class we are creating a trailer for a new soap opera. The course is asking us to create a brand new soap opera for a certain target audience. I am in a group of myself and three other and we are currently brainstorming ideas on what we could base our soap opera on. Some of us had the idea of looking into Fire mans lives and setting the bulk of the trailer in the fire station.

As we were unsure if this was even possible I thought I should take the time to get into contact with you and find out if this is a possibility. I understand if it is not, as I can see how it can be a hindrance to your work.

Thank you for taking the time to read and think about what we are asking

Yours sincerely

Emily Wallace 

I did not get a reply to this letter but I am glad I sent it as it gave us a chance to think out side of the box for our soap opera.

Magazine Initial Notes

As we were going to create a magazine for our new soap in our groups I decided to take the time to look into what a conventional soap opera or TV listings magazine would contain.

As we are only concentrating on making the front cover I have found out the conventions of this.


A conventional magazine cover for soap operas.

Conventions of a Magazine Cover;
Images- often airbrushed
Main Image of characters in the soap
Cover Line- takes a 1/4 of the page
The Left Third - the area that is seen in newsagents as the magazines are stack. Includes the most important parts
 Barcode
Cover lines- smaller stories included in the magazine
Selling Line- often the price
Mast Head - the name of the magazine, also included on the contents page
Date line- includes the date and the issue number

THERE IS SO WHITE SPACE!
Magazines never have a space that is not full of information or images.

Poster Initial Notes

Similar to the magazine cover we are also creating a poster to go alongside our new soap opera.

I also went on to research the conventions in soap opera posters.

An example of a conventional soap opera poster.

Conventions to look for:

Bright, stand out colours

Symbols- is there anything to decode?

Main Figures- posters are mainly made of images and hardly any text

Background is important

What pleasures to include (gratification)

Something that gains attention- could be humor, shock, surprise, possibly familiar people

Tag lines

Details- time, date, channel

These are things I will speak to my group about including in our own poster.

Extra Soap Opera Trailer Analysis

As I had only anaylised a few soap opera trailers i wanted to look into it further as i was not thinking of any new trailer storylines or getting any inspiration. I also wanted to learn more about common conventions and what I could include in our trailer. To do this i searched for new soap opera trailers. This was extremly hard and could not find any more than the ones I had already analysised. Therefore I started to analyis trailers for soaps, weather it be for a sotryline of a new character or a chacter leaving, I thought it was better to get inspiration from popular trailers instead of looking at new trailer openings for soap operas I didnt know.


I only took simple notes as I already had an idea of what to include in my own and was simply just looking for inspiration.

Emmerdale Crash Advert

These are my comments on Mise-en-Scene;
starts feet- panic, dont know anything
Pub/Bar- safe and fun
A lot of fades to black used, shows the unknown? darkness
At the end shots of car then one of train and the car is no more seen, suspense and worry.


These are my comments on Sound;
Diegetic sounds
The sound is built up at the beginning
A car rev is used and then only a crashing sound without any image on screen, dramatic and intense


These are my comments on Narrative;
Some speech is used- funny laughs and jokes
mostly voice over at the end
The story line is intense and know one knows what could happen
Todorvos theory of elquilbrium

These are my comments on Camera;
A lot of tracking is used to show the running and the car crash
Two shots
Long shots
Close ups
Establishing shots

Neighbours on a New Channel

These are my comments on Mise-en-Scene;
Bright
Homes and drive ways used- sets the scene
Animals connotes Austrailian way?
Shows all the characters in the soap
Starts with the words same Ramsy Street
Props theory of Characters

 These are my comments on Sound;
Loud clapping sounds
Common song tune is used - happy, something the audiance know and can relate to. Similar to the actual soap
Bouncing sounds throughout
Screams and laughs of joy
The music becomes more intense at the end
Both non diegetic and diegetic sound used


These are my comments on Camera;
Aerial shots
Long Establishing shots
No close ups are used
Mid shots
Tracking throughout follows characters- excitement

These are my comments on Narrative;
There is a upbeat sound used 
Almost all of the characters say something
Fun exciting words used
The storyline is basic and the viewer knows the show is moving channel.

Eastenders New Characters

After looking at this trailer I have realised that it is not only a play on a famous song. But also a play on words as the family being introduced are actually called the 'Jacksons'.

These are my comments on Mise-en-Scene;

Bright and bold

'Chavy'

Dancing- connoting fun and enjoyment

There are other characters looking at the singing dancing crew- some are happy some look angry

These are my comments on Sound;

Song is the basis of the trailer, a popular song that catches the audiance attention but the words are changed

Voice over- introducing the Jackson five! A new family, EASTENDERS is said to show it is important

Only words spoken are the words- angrily said and only the names of the children

These are my comments on Camera;

Long shots

Mid shots

Two shots

Close ups

Establishing shots

These are my comments on Editing;

Jump shots- show quickness and energy

The names etc are added on in timing with the music

Freeze frames are used when the names appear to show its important


These are my comments on Narrative; 
The sound is upbeat
Its a well know soundtrack
There is not much talking as they are all singing
The story line is apparent in this trailer, the new family 'The Jacksons' are making there way to Eastenders. This makes the viewer want to watch more.

Soap Trailer Analysis

To get a really good idea of what conventions opening trailers have I studied three different existing trailers. I looked out for what signs and signifers it had. By learning about Propps theory of conventions and charaters it was intresting too look out for what was included and this then led me to think about what we would need to include.

Eastenders First Trailer

These are my comments on Mise-en-Scene;
Starts with Albert Square- shows the audiance where they are and that is the characters home. Possibly a social hub. There is then an establishing shot including the sign, signifing there is more than just the square. A lot of settings are brick and buildings, possibly signifiying there are a lot of homes and characters but also showing it is a urban based soap opera. A pub is shown with two women in it gossiping. This not only shows the pub is a mian feature but shows the characters are comfertable with talking about others. The shot then cuts to a man speaking about 'Gossip' in a business manner, he seems very confidant and possibly a bad boy main character.
Then at the end of the trailer and establishing shot is used to show the front of the pub and all of the characters in the soap. This shows the happiness by there waving and smiles but also lets the audiance see how many people are included.

These are my comments on Sound;
The famous 'DUN DUN DUN' is shown at the begining of the trailer as this shows the drama included in the soap. The soaps tune then starts and plays almost throughout the whole trailer, fading out at one point but soon fading back in. The tune used is happy and is now a recognisable classic tune.
These are my comments on Narrative;
Most of the narrative included in this piece is voiceover. This is helpful to me as we have to include a voiceover and this is a good example. The voiceover tells the story and lets the audiance know what is going on. The voice over at the end is also very intense and lets the viewers know the correct information.

These are my comments on Camera;
There are a variety of shots throughout this piece. The one i found most effective was the close up of the sign then into an establishing shot of the actual 'square' This was really effective and I will suggest looking into it further with my group. There are a lot of pans used, mostly to show the path of characters. There are two shots, mid shots, close ups and long shots used.

Home and Aways First Trailer
(one of the first)

 

These are my comments on Mise-en-Scene;
The trailer starts with the titles, they are bright, coulrful and eye catching. This could connote that the soap opera will be the same. There are very minimal settings in this trailer as it is mostly set in someones living room with some shots of exterior greenary. I found that most of the narrative is inside this could signify that secrets are kept well as they are only spoke about in someones home. This lets the viewer know that there is secracy and scandal in the soap. The exterior shots of the trailer are mostly of the young couple, this connotes happiness as its bright and natural.
These are my comments on Sound;
A slight quiet tune is played throughout the piece to show the tranquility throughout the trailer. The music becomes more intense at the end as the trailer is finishing this creates an atmosphere and encourages the audiance to listen careful and watch further.
These are my comments on Camera;
There are a variety of shots used in this piece including;
Two shots
Mid shots
Close ups
Long shots
and establishing shots.
These are linking with a number of pans instead of cuts. This connotes the soap moves on smoothly and possibly that the characters are closely connected.
These are my comments on Narrative;
There is a voiceover used in this trailer and it tells you exactly what is happening. With the aid of the actual narrative the characters are speaking the audiance knows exactly what is going on and everyones view on the storyline. The voice over also gived the correct information and the end of the trailer telling the audiance when and where they can see home and away.

Specific Knowledge of Soaps

This is a more detail spider diagram to show what I  have already learnt about soap operas. It includes all sorts and goes into specific detail about popular soap operas.

I then went on to make a soap opera based purely on Eastenders to document and show what else I had learnt about, including conventions.

Looking into Eastenders I have found that it includes story lines and characters that support the idea of verisimilitude. By creating story lines that could happen in the viewers life and including all sorts of characters ranging from common characters like Phil Mitchell to the token characters like Heather Trott. I will think about this when we are creating our own soap opera as we will have to think about creating a piece that includes verisimilitude.

Soap Opera History

As we are going to make a trailer for a soap opera I decided to take the time to do some research on the history of soap operas, I wanted to extend my knowledge for different statistics of a soap and knew Most Popular, least watched and how long they run for would be helpful to my final production.

Definition of a Soap Opera taken from www.thefreedictionary.com 

'' soap opera

n.

1. A drama, typically performed as a serial on daytime television or radio, characterized by stock characters and situations, sentimentality, and melodrama.

2. A series of experiences characterized by dramatic displays of emotion ''

Starting with a soap from 1931 named Clara, Lu and Em that advertised household washing soap. The soap was light heart and was based on the three girls daily life. The soap always ended on a cliffhanger, very much like the soaps of today. This is where the name soap opera comes from, the first soap advertisement sponsored by 'Proctor' and 'Gamble's were played on the radio, they included these short stories with cliffhangers and this enticed to listeners to tune in again the next day.

The longest running soap opera as of now is Coronation street which started in sixties, there were a few other soap operas released at the time but they did not succeed like Coronation street has. 

The next most established soap opera was 'Emmerdale Farm' which began in 1971. During the 70s and 80s a wide range of soaps were released including newer soaps for teens. E.g Brookside and Crossroads.

The most recent and most successful soap opera would be Doctors which started in 2000 and is still running. I have also found two newer soap operas that aren't played at conventional times, instead played much later and often on a different connecting channel. For example E17  and Hollyoaks Later the spin off of Eastenders and Hollyoaks.

I wanted to look further into what has been and what is popular now. I found that Eastenders has a lot more viewing figures than most soaps but found that the most iconic is Coronation Street, this is most likely because its been around for longer and appeals to a wider range of people. I found that the least watched is Doctors as it is played at a strange time of the day and not many people are able to watch it, this shows its not very popular. It also has no reruns or omnibus programs which supports the fact it is the least watched. 

60s

70s

80s

90s

2000

I looked into which characters were most popular in soap operas. To do this I simply picked four different soaps and researched into who was the longest running character. I found most of my results on the Home Page of each soap.

Eastenders (Soap started in 1985)

Ian Beale

Dot Branning, dot left for a few years therfore has spent less time on the soap

Coronation Street (Soap started in 1960)

Ken Barlow

Emmerdale (Soap started in 1972)

Seth Armstrong- no longer in the soap as the actor died in 2005

Home and Away (Soap started in 1988)

Alf Stewart

References:
www.myoldradio.com
www.homeandaway.com
www.bbc/.com/eastenders
www.itv/.com/emmerdale
www.itv.com/corinationstreet
www.slideshare.com/bobusmaximus

Initial Ideas On Your Own Soap Opera

As we started looking at what sort of soap opera we could make in our group, I decided to look at it myself. I made a simple mind map to show some of my ideas and how they could contribute to the group.

 Together we touched on a soap opera about fire fighters and possibly police men and women. This would entail episodes similar to The bill, which would be based around the service jobs, but the main idea of the soap would be about their lives. By only including few shots of the service stations, it would show the viewers what the soap is based on but the story lines would entice them. This was interesting to me and I later went on to send a letter to the fire station as we immediately scrapped that idea due to location. I wanted to see if it was possible as I thought the idea was interesting.

Knowledge of Soaps

This is a research spider diagram to show what I already knew about soap operas. I started by looking at different sections and what conventions are included in them. Some things i was unsure about but i will learn about these throughout the project.

Analysis of Soap Opera Posters

As we would be making our own Soap Opera Poster I looked into posters that were already out to collect inspiration. There were very few posters on actual soaps. Therefore I decided to analysis similar products. Like Sitcom posters, mostly posters with open narratives as they are similar to soap operas.

First Poster
Neighbours

This poster is mostly Visual as its fully of one single picture, even the verbal part is masked behind a picture of a sign post. The intended audiance would be the previous audiance that Neighbours was aimed at. The common things and signified that are to grab attention are the humorous images as well as the familiar characters.

Second Poster

The Inbetweeners

This poster is made up of purely photographic images and information. It is totally visual as there is no information on the poster apart from the times channels and television show name. The intended audiance is young teens- similar to the characters in the poster.

Third Poster

The Middle

The third poster shows humor as its attention grabbing feature. The word 'Comedy' is used and the comical cow on the side proves this will be a funny show. This poster is verbal and visual as there is a tag line included but the main focus is the image included.

Analysis of Magazine Covers

To help me when creating our own group magazine I took the time to analysis some existing magazine covers. To do this I highlighted the significant pieces and named the common things.

First Magazine

Second Magazine

Third Magazine

Throughout all of these magazine covers I have found a few things are predominate in all of them. For instance the colours are all extremely bright and eye catching. Blues reds and yellows are often used. This may be because they are all primary colours and therefore are the most basic colours. The bold colours connote the moods in the magazine, as the viewer knows what is going to happen before it happens this would make them excited and happy. 

Past Student Soap Opera Trailers

To inpire me on our Soap opera I decided to look at previsous trailers that students from our school had created. This would help me as I will be able to see what worked well and what didnt work so well. I will be kind but critical when looking at these trailers as it will be good to look at what went wrong and why it was so wrong.

Valley Hill Soap

These are my comments on Mise-en-Scene;
Starts with setting of green trees, connoting envy and jealousy
Allley way setting signifing scandal and deep dirty
A kitchen, a sterotypical womans area

The costumes of the characters sign a lot of things. Black suits and jakcets connotiong lies and death
White shirts and tops connoting being pure simple and innocent
A red jumper, possibly showing the woman in full of anger and deccet


The contrast of white on black for the titles is a main factor for me, although its not very skilled and this most likely would not be used in a new soap trailer, the contrast really signifies the two different sides. How one may be pure and innocent but is surrounded by a bad black lying side.


These are my notes on sound;The trailer starts with silence and no bacjground music. The scene then carries on to include diegetic sounds. In the background of the whole piece there are always every day sounds playing, like birds and wind sounds. This show verisimiltude within the soap. The most important sounds are the gun shots at the end, they are played over all of the other sounds, this is most likely the foley effect as the sounds are extremly prominant and bold.
These are my notes on narrative;There is a lot of narrative in this piece, there are several different conversations throughout the piece. Some about love and some about hate. This shows there is always contraversey within the soap. From looking at other soap opera trailers i have learnt there should always be a voice over included at the end, although this piece has included the correct information at the end, it is not right as there should be a voice over to capture the audiance in another way.


These are my notes on camera angles;
There is a wide range of camera angles used in this piece:
Over the shoulder
Close up
Mid shot
Long shot
Two shot
Point of View
All of these shots are conventional shots used in a soap opera. There is only one missing and that is an establishing shot, this would help as it would enable the audiance to know where they were.

Court Road Soap

These are my notes on Mise-en-Scene;Throughtout this piece i found the lighting was very low key. I do not know if this was on purpose but it makes no sense to be so low as it makes the whole piece look unfinished and shows no contrasts between scene. For instant the wedding scene should be a lot brighter. I will think about this when we are creating our film as it is a common convention used in soap operas.

I also found the scene set inside the church didnt resemble a church well enough, it was very bare and looked just like a pub. For our piece i dont want to set our goals to high and when creating a storyboard we will think about where we can actually film.

In most soap opera trailers there is more than one story line, this piece however only contains one single story line. Allthough it does sow the character relations well its more of a film trailer or a trailer for an episode.

The cosutmes used in this piece are very simple they dont signify much and they literally look like the actors own clothes. they are very basic and no colour theory is used.

These are my notes on sound;
The heart beat at the begining is quiet odd at first but as the piece goes on it is played again. I still find it slightly odd as ialthough its an intense piece it seems pointless. The piece is mostly silent but it would have been enhanced by using some sort of intense tune. The piece is more like a film trailer without the music. Although there is a voice over at the end  the girl whispers it and although it gives an eerie feel it is pointless.
These are my notes on narrative;There is also a lot of narrative in this piece, which is fitting to the piece as it lets the audiance know about the characters we are watching. The narrative tells the sotry as well. I like this piece as at the end of the trailer they have included a really good voice over. It clearly says the information the audiance need and is supported by images and text.

These are my notes on camera angles;
There are less shots and angles included in this piece. Although an esabhlishing shot is used and its really helpful as it lets the audiance know they are in a church. There are also some closer shots, to the mans hands etc. This makes the piece more intense. There are long shots, mid shots and close ups used throughtout this piece.

Soap Opera Trailers and the Purpose of Them

In order to establish when best to air our trailer I had to watch a range of channels and identify when soap trailers were aired. This was hard to find as there aren't that many trailers on about soap operas because all of the soaps on television at the moment are well set up and have been for a long time. Obviously, it was very hard to find adverts for new soaps but there were a few trailers for soaps with special story lines in already established soap operas.

The one trailer I found was for Hollyoaks. It was played late at night between a documentary on Skateboarding. This was timed well as I'm sure a lot of young teens would be watching this documentary and the target audiance of Hollyoaks is teenagers.

I tried to find more advertisements and trailers but it was extremly hard to find as there werent many shown.

These are a few basic ones I have found

Saturday 27th of August after Doctor Who an Eastenders advert was shwon at 8pm.

The same day the same Eastenders advert was played after the BBC News at 10pm.

On channel E4 on the break of the Inbetweeners Countdown a Hollyoaks advert was played at 10.45pm.

Thursday the 1st of Septemeber on BBC One after Watchdog an Eastenders advert was played at 9pm.

When we decide what type of soap opera we are going to make I will look further into adverts and what time they are played.

For instance childrens toy adverts are played early in the morning and often closer to Christmas. They have clearly looked at there target audience.

It is clear that there is a strategy used when airing soaps, generally, a trailer is played at a time when the target audience is watching. Therefore it is imperative that we chose a suitable time for our soap trailer to be aired


Another factor that affects times of adverts is the watershed. The watershed is any time before 9pm. The point of the watershed is so that nothing on television is offensive to younger children. This means they can watch TV without parents and guardians worrying about what they are seeing or hearing. We will have to take this into account when creating our final soap opera trailer as if it is rude or offensive we will have to play it after 9pm, however if it is not we can play it at any time.

Real Media Texts- Soap Opera Episodes

To start research on soap operas I thought it would be best to start with creating notes on actual soaps. I've taken notes on what type of characters there are in each soap, the different settings included in the episode and some of the story lines that are portrayed.

I watched an episode of Eastenders and looked at Characters, Settings and the story lines that are included in them. I made brief notes and this is what I found.

Characters featured in Eastenders

• Angry Mother
• 'Angry Bitch'
• Upper Class Family
• Two Homosexual Lovers
• Funny one
• Grovelling Man
• Manly Man
• Young Boy
• Advising woman
• Chavy Teenager

Settings featured in Eastenders

• Housing - at least four different houses
• Bed and Breakfast
• Cafe
• Street
• Indian Restaurant
• Pub- Queen vic
• Church
• Hall

Story Lines featured in Eastenders

• Marriage- a secret marriage has already happen for the Bride and Groom
• Culture- Hindu wedding
• Split of marriage families
• New guy. Famous actor David Essex
• Alcoholism
• Drug takers- getting stuck in a bad place
• Jealousy
• Being afraid of losing a lover

I watched an episode of Home and Away and looked at Characters, Settings and the story lines that are included in them. I made brief notes and this is what I found.

Characters Fetured in Home and Away

• Children
• Alf - a classic character
• Young teenagers - forward girl and a boy that has been reccently dumped
• Date rape victim
• Doctor
• Police Woman
• Bad Boy
• Trustful Guy
• Two teenagers in love
• House of adults
• River Boys- gang of young lads
• Alfs Daughter

Settings featured in Home and Away

• Street
• Cafe
• Hospital
• Home- Kitchen and living room
• Beach
• Juice Bar
• Police Station
• Bar
• Three more Separate houses

Story Lines featured Home and Away

• Party, teens waking up
• Date rape drug used
• Alf is back from holiday
• Girl that wants a date- flirt and mysterious
• River boys in trouble
• Rape- police trouble
• Loss of a baby

I watched an episode of Emnmerdale and looked at Characters, Settings and the story lines that are included in them. I made brief notes and this is what I found.

Characters featured in Emmerdale

• Single Mum - older teens
• Moody Child
• Moody adopted teenager
• Conflicting fathers
• Chaz- Funny one
• Clingy Boyfriend
• Vicar
• Loving and caring boyfriend
• Interfering old lady
• Mother/Daughter

Settings featured in Emmerdale

• House, more than three
• Cafe
• Bed and Breakfast
• Police Station
• Police Car
• Police interrogation
• Pub
• Pub Kitchen
• Corner Shop

Story Lines featured in Emmerdale

• Death and police trouble
• Blood during pregnancy, not a good sign
• Hatred between two mothers
• Someone has died
• New cafe
• Funerals
• Someone has recently left with their baby