My response to question one on the evaluation of my final products.

1. A2 Media Studies
OCR G324
(CONNOR WOOD)

2. A2 Media Studies
QUESTION ONE

3. My Final Products

4. Basic Soap Opera Codes And
Conventions
 Storylines that are realistic or relatable to the audience of the show and
allow the viewers to have a cathartic release, or an emotional escape.
 The characters are also based largely around social class, and gender
stereotypes to portray a character very quickly. A few perfect examples
of this are in coronation street and Eastenders.
 Each episode will usually end on a cliff-hanger that will be normally
based around common narrative points such as domestic themes,
personal/family relationships, which are portrayed in very melodramatic
means. These conflicts will usually take several episodes to progress,
develop and finally resolve.
 The show will typically fill a prime time TV slot (7-10pm on a weekday),
airing 3-5 times a week and filling a 30 minute slot (each episode being
about 23-25 minutes long). These episodes will continue along a
progressive and continuous storyline that runs from episode to episode,
as most British soap operas don’t run within typical seasons.

5. Social Realism: Codes And
Conventions
 Social realisms storylines usually focuses on giving the audience a true indication
of what life is like. Allowing the audience to relate to the show, and create
connections with the characters. This can also be used as a cathartic release or
a purging of emotions for some viewers, as they will realise that their problems
aren’t as bad as the people within the show.
 UK soaps typically tend to embrace their location as a large factor of the
program. Playing to stereotypes such as accent, occupations and costume. For
example a lot of characters in coronation street (Based in Manchester) will
speak using mannerisms that are popular within the north-west and within
working class life, they are also seen to mimic a northern accent.
 Although a lot of the storylines are based around relationships, in social realism
soaps there are a lot of deaths/murders which you wouldn’t see as much of in
real life. The reason for these over the top, dramatic deaths is to give the
element of fantasy. So although the soaps are based on real life, it keeps
viewers entertained by seeing something out of the norm. For example, The tram
crash in Coronation street, The Wolf pack Siege in Emmerdale.

6. The British soap Opera: Codes And
Conventions
 A British soap opera has plotlines based around domestic themes and
conflicts, personal and family relationships, which was almost always
cause conflicts between two or more characters. These conflicts are
based around realistic or relatable storylines, so that a connection will
be created from the show, to the audience.
 Each episode will follow on from the previous episode as the shows
usually have a continuous narrative that will last for 3 or more episodes,
that will usually be resolved by the end of the broadcasting weekly
schedule. These episodes will usually run for about 20-25 minutes and
are usually aired 3-5 times a week usually ending with a cliff-hanger,
followed by the catchy theme song and ending credits.
 The characters within these shows are also based around very tight
stereotypes, an example of some of these common stereotypes are, the
Wise Old Lady, The Troubled Young Mother, The Villain, Vulnerable Young
Child and the Homosexual Male. These stereotyped characters are
evident in almost every British soap opera.

7. Made In Chelsea & Eastenders
Comparison: Costumes
 Characters within Made in Chelsea and Eastenders both are both very different
as they both different accents, costumes and both live in totally different areas
of the country. For example characters within Made in Chelsea are usually
found to dress very smartly, take a long time perfecting their appearance and
wearing very fashionable clothes, in contrast to this, characters in Eastenders are
true working class stereotypes and dress very casually in their jeans and t-shirts
and usually don’t look to made up or bothered by their appearance and aren’t
as materialistic as characters in Made In Chelsea. Characters in EastEnders also
have a very stereotypical Cockney accent, which makes them conform even
more to the working class East London stereotype. Whereas characters in Made
in Chelsea have a very posh accent which is from the central area London and
has connotations of very rich upbringing and background. Even the character’s
name connote to a very posh upbringing, names such as “Binky” and “Tiffany”,
Which contrasts drastically with the names of characters in Eastenders, where
characters are called much more middle/working class names such as “Bobby”,
“Mike”, “Gary”.

8. Made In Chelsea & Eastenders
Comparison: Characters & Story
 The characters in Eastenders are also different to those in Made in
Chelsea, for example Eastenders has a lot of working class, middle
aged men and women, who are usually very extreme stereotypes of
characters, however in Made In Chelsea, we are faced with a
bunch of young men and women in their early to mid-20s, who are
all real people that have had private education and are very well
off, conforming to the codes and conventions scripted reality, none
of these characters are professional actors, but are told to act out a
situation and aren’t given a script. In comparison Eastenders keeps
to a strict script and has professional/semi-professional actors.

9. Wise Old Lady The Troubled
Young Mother
The Villain Vulnerable Young
Kid
Homosexual Male
Hard-working,
caring, soft
natured and wise
old woman.
Feisty attitude,
mouthy, put right
by wise old lady,
usually
sympathised
Driven by power
and money,
carless towards
other people,
Untrustworthy,
shady
Seen as
vulnerable, Parents
usually have some
issues, Picked on
Eccentric, Loves
Gossip,
Outspoken,
Effeminate,
Flamboyant
Liz McDonald
(Coronation
Street) & Peggy
Mitchell
(Eastenders)
Kylie Platt
(Coronation
Street) & Stacey
Slater (Eastenders)
Peter Barlow
(Coronation
Street) & Phil
Mitchell
(Eastenders)
Simon Barlow
(Coronation
Street) & Bobby
Beale (EastEnders)
Sean Tully
(Coronation
Street) & Christian
Clarke
(Eastenders)
BSO: Characters and Stereotypes

10. How I Used, Developed And
Challenged these codes and
conventions
 Location: The location we decided to use for filming some of the shots
of our characters was based around the coffee shop within
Coronation Street, as this fits into the codes and conventions of a
scripted reality British soap opera. We have then developed this
convention as we decided to use a more middle class looking café,
which will match how the characters are dressing, how they talk and
where they're from.

11.  Props: Similarly to the last slide we Used conventions from the British
Soap Genre, and once again took influence from coronation street,
and decided to have our characters discussing the local goings on
with a cup of coffee, which is largely associated with working class
social-realism shows. We have developed this convention as we
decided to have our characters wearing smart/casual clothing so
that we portray the social class of the characters and their
surroundings, this is also further portrayed by the location this is filmed
in as it was outside a “Costa Coffee” in the centre of Stockport, which
is contrasting to the set of coronation street which is set in quite an
industrial, working class area. We have challenged these conventions
by taking influence from non-social realism show, Made in Chelsea.

12. Coffee Mug Mobile Phone
(iPhone)
Handbag Watch
Props – Codes & Conventions
Coronation Street Made in Chelsea Made in Chelsea Coronation Street

13. Parka Coat Unbuttoned
Smart/Casual Shirt
Hoodie/Jacket
Costumes – Codes & Conventions

14. Shot Types – Codes & Conventions
Low Angle Close-Up Over The
Shoulder Shot
High Angle Mid Shot
Two Shot
Coronation
Street:
Two Shot
Coronation
Street:
Close up
Made in
Chelsea:
Over The
Shoulder Shot
Coronation
Street:
Low Angle
Coronation
Street: High
angle

15. Choosing A Song For My Trailer

16. Choosing A Song
Butterflies & Hurricanes Instrumental: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HU4h-Af7Aw
I have decided not to use this song as I feel that it doesn't fit the mood of the trailer
properly, as it almost feels a bit too epic, and the tempo was too fast. This song does
build up very well, but doesn't really fit my trailer.
Music For A Nurse Instrumental: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3-5916EsI4
I have decided not to use this song as I feel that the tempo was too slow for my trailer,
and the song didn't build up to the climax very well. Although this song is very
atmospheric and gives the trailer a very slow and somber feeling, it doesn't fit the trailer
very well.
Isolated System Instrumental: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDkcgbIZ6EE
For the final cut of my trailer I have decided to use this song as it builds up perfectly to
the climax of the song, and fits perfectly in time. This song is also the perfect tempo for
my trailer, and is also very atmospheric and portrays a feeling of mystery, and sadness.
Unravel Instrumental: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9s0WfQCCYY
I have decided to not use this song for my trailer, as it doesn't really develop too well,
whereas some of the other songs develop and build up into really tense songs. This song
does have a very good atmospheric feel to it, but doesn't have a very simple beat, and
can be off putting to the audience, as it doesn't fit the trailer very well.

17. Music Choice
 When editing together the footage I had shot and choosing a soundtrack for
my trailer, I made sure that I stayed within the codes and conventions of soap
opera trailers, to do this I took influence from Made in Chelsea’s ‘Season 7’
Trailer. This trailer had the soundtrack of M83’s ‘Midnight City’ behind it, which
created a prominent pulse, and constant tempo throughout the trailer, which
built up continually until its climax at the end of the trailer. I decided to mimic
this rhythmic style by choosing ‘Isolated System’ which fit a very similar style, as
the song progressively built up until a final climax, in which I knew the final line of
dialogue would play over, wrapping the trailer into a whole, and allowing me to
let the audience come away from the trailer remembering the final message
left. This song also contains a very significant pulse and tempo for me to
construct my trailer around, with very atmospheric sounds adding to the mood I
was trying to create.
 Link To The Trailer: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/made-in-
chelsea/videos/all/s7-ep1-trailer

18. Editing Within My Trailer

19. Conveying Narratives Using Editing
1) Tracking Shot of Elena as she walks through Stockport makes it look
like she’s being watched by someone…
2) Cuts to a shot of her phone, showing that an unknown number has
contacted her asking her to meet her, the straight cut between these
shots allows the audience to link both of these together, as they
assume she is walking to meet said mysterious person.
3) The third cut then shows Elena lay lifelessly on the floor with ‘blood’
coming from her head, this straight cut allows the audience to assume
that these three shots are linked together.

20. Conveying Narratives Using Editing
4) Fade To Black shows that time is passing, but the narrative is continuing.
5) Fade from black as it shows Sibohan’s character finding Elena on the
floor in the same position as she was the previous night. This fade shows
that time has passed and that it is the next day, as Sibohan finds Elena on
the floor and calls for help.
6) The final cut then shows an ambulance traveling at speed past the
camera, the audience will instantly assume that this is the ambulance that
Sibohan was calling. Linking the whole set of shots together into one
scene.

21. Building Tension Using Editing &
Speed of Cuts
 Throughout the duration of my trailer I decided to stick with codes
and conventions of a British soap opera, and scripted reality trailer,
especially those set by Made in Chelsea’s season 7 trailer. After I
found the right piece of music (Muse’s Isolated System) I decided
that I would build tension throughout my trailer by speeding up the
edits as the trailer progressed, alongside the music progressing and
building into its climax, this fitted perfectly, with the last few shots
coming in very quick succession allowed the whole trailer to reach
its peak at the same time, and end on a cliff hanger for the
audience to think “who really did it?”.

22. Continuity
 Throughout the whole time filming my trailer I needed to make sure the
continuity between scenes was perfect, so that the audiences
attention wasn’t taken away from the realism and immersion of the
trailer. Evaluating the continuity I believe that I managed to achieve a
very high level of continuity whilst filming for my trailer, however there
are a few examples where this isn’t a case.
 As you can see in the images above, in the first shot Elena is seen be
wearing a jacket over her t-shirt, however in the next shot she is missing
this jacket. This is an example of a bad continuity error. This could’ve
been avoided by putting the previous footage next to the footage we
were filming to see what needed to be the same.

23. How did you USE, DEVELOP and
CHALLENGE codes and
conventions of real media
products?
Ancillary Texts

24. Magazine Front Cover
 As you can see in the image comparing my
Magazine front cover to a real TV magazine front
cover, I have USED codes and conventions, as I
have stuck to having a large, bold header, with
bold mastheads and pugs, this is mirrored in the real
TV magazine front cover. This is a very basic design
technique as it simply allows the audience to
identify the genre of the magazine, what it contains
and ultimately if they are going to buy it or not.

25. Magazine Conventions
 When creating my magazine I made sure
that it stayed within codes and
conventions of a working class soap opera
TV listings magazine, to achieve this I chose
a single coloured blue background, which
seemed to be a reoccurring theme
throughout TV listing magazines. I also
decided to make sure that the masthead
was large and bold, creating a strong
brand identity so that the audience will
instantly recognise it when they look at it.
The anchoring text of ‘Merseyway’ is also
used to catch the eye of the audience
member, as they will instantly know which
show is being discussed in this weeks
magazine. When researching similar
magazines I noticed that all of the taglines
they used from within the show left the
audience member wanting to read on, as
if they were left on a cliff-hanger. This is why
I decided to use ‘Who killed holly?’ as the
tagline.

26. Billboard Conventions
The three cover stars are anchored by an image of a
car park in Merseyway creating quite a dark and
mysterious image as the wall almost looks like it has bars
on it, which has connotations of being trapped, both
emotionally and physically. This also stays with the
codes and conventions of working class characters, as
the background almost looks industrial, and not very
well off.
The characters costumes also reflect their
class and status as they aren’t wearing
particularly expensive clothes, but are
wearing very simple clothes such as a jacket
and t-shirt. All three characters have very
neutral facial expressions, which challenges
conventions of a scripted reality, as cast
members are seen in always wanting
themselves to look good and photogenic,
however all three characters have a very
neutral facial expression, implying that
something bad has happened in the show.
This is backed up by the tagline, ‘Who killed
holly?’ as this creates mystery and tension
between the two characters either side of
who the audience assume to be Holly, as her
image is in black and white so she looks
ghostly. The placement of the characters on
the billboard is also essential to what the
audience assume about the relationships
between characters, and as Holly is seen to
be ‘The rose between two thorns’ on my
billboard, its safe for the audience to assume
that she started off a conflict between both
characters either side of her.

27. Similarities to real media texts
 Above my poster is a similar poster
from coronation street, the similarities
between this billboard and my own is
that they all have a very dark and
gloomy setting, which reflects both the
weather in the location and the mood
of the show. The characters positioning
is also similar as each character is
anchored by another character,
showing a relationship between
characters. None of the characters in
either shot are over sexualised as they
would be in a social realism billboard
such as made in Chelsea. Both male
and female characters in my billboard
also dress very similarly to those in the
coronation street billboard, they also
have very similar haircuts and facial
expressions.

28. Differences to real media texts
 There are quite a few differences
between my billboard and the
coronation street billboard above.
Firstly the coronation street billboard
has a superimposed image of a truck
on its side behind the characters, with
some arising from it, this is clearly an
indication that this has some
significance to the story line, however
the location in my billboard doesn’t
have much to do with, or hint anything
at the storyline. The characters in the
coronation street billboard also have
very closed body language with their
arms folded and hands in pockets,
however on my billboard all of the
characters are seen to be very open in
how they stand. If I was to reshoot this
photo then I would make sure the
characters looked much more shadier,
and as if they had something to hide.