Unit G324 Planning and Research

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Ancillary Product
Analysis
Name: Imani Ayimba-Golding
Candidate Number: 1012
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. Masthead- Tells you
what's going to be on
TV. This is informative
for a reader. Bright
attractive colours
makes it more
intriguing.
Main Headline- BOLD,
Pink outline draws
attention.
Verbal codes such as
“stolen” “Kills” and
“dies” are used to
attract the audience of
the magazine. The
words connote drama
and give an insight onto
what the magazine
entails.
The Main image of ‘Tina’
from Coronation Street
helps grab the targets
audiences attention.
The use of a puff
promotion makes the
audience aware of what
its trying to promote.
“THE FINAL” Stands out
due to the puff
promotion.
A group of illustrated
lures such as ‘Corrie’
and ‘EastEnders’
denote identification
and that fans will be
able to recognise their
program by looking at
these illustrated lures
accompanied by the
pictures.
The use of punctuation
makes the text seem more
important. The question
marks makes the audience
question what's going and
therefore are more likely to
read it.
The puff used for this
promotion appears
impactful and
therefore catches an
audiences eye.

3. The repetition of the
verbal code “EVERY”
highlights that the
magazine contains lots of
valuable information for
soap watchers . It also
shows how regular the
magazine will be released
“EVERY WEEK”.
The red house colour
attracts the audience at
first glance. Red is a very
emotionally intense color.
It enhances human
metabolism, increases
respiration rate, and raises
blood pressure. This is key
for a soap opera as they
are very emotionally
intense.
The masthead
suggests that this
particular magazine
gives readers an
insight deeper into the
soap world.
The use of the banner
across the top of the
magazine allows more
stories to be reveled.
The use of bright
colours will draw the
attention of the
reader.
The verbal code “KILLER”
in the main headline is
highlighted using a red box
with a white font. This
makes the story stand out.
The verbal code of killer
also suggests danger and
drama.
The main image
consists of images of 3
characters from
EastEnders. I would
describe their facial
expression as dark. A
dark look or remark is
angry and
threatening.
The fairly low price
make the magazine
suitable for its
stereotypically low
income audience.

4. Evaluation
• What’s on TV: The elements that I would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale-1980) from this
magazine would be the prominent image positioning as it attracts the reader and
stands out on the page. What’s on TV has a very simplistic layout and does look
fairly plain. However there is a good use of fonts for the masthead as well as the
usage of various different images for the cover stories. I would also repeat the
effective positioning of the main headlines again I felt that it stood out on the page
and was eye-catching for the reader.
• Inside Soap: There are different aspects of the this cover that I would like to repeat
for my own magazine. The first of these conventions is the masthead. I like the way
in which it is positioned at the top of the page. It gives it importance and
significance on the page which is appealing to the reader as the image stands out
to them. I also would like to repeat the way in which the strap line is bold on the
page. This presentation appeared successful to me and was a good way to brand
the magazine to the audience. I would also ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale – 1980) the use
of bright colors and a bold background color. I would also repeat the use of
exclamation marks and language to sensationalize the story. Another thing I would
repeat the use of puff promotions and secondary images and headlines as they are
eye catching and attractive.