Hollyoaks Six Weeks of Summer Trailer Analysis

2. Soap Opera
noun
noun: soap opera; plural noun: soap operas
a television or radio drama serial dealing typically with daily events in the lives of
the same group of characters.

4. A range of different shots are used
throughout the trailer. An aerial shot
is used to show the characters of Cindy
and Reece and how vulnerable they
are because the look so tiny on
camera.
A low angle shot is used to make
Ste look powerful against Finn. The
low angle shot makes him look like
he is looking over Finn, who
appears weak against him.

5. Mid shots are used throughout to
present the characters body
language to help the audience
understand how they feel. In this
shot Maxine looks uncomfortable
and her facial expression shows
that she isn’t sure about what she
is about to do.
Long shots are also used to present
the positioning of the characters to
the audience, which helps to convey
who the most important character is
in the scene and how the characters
around them are acting. For example,
this long shot helps to present Maxine
as the main character in this shot and
all the other characters are staring at
her, watching her every move as it is
her wedding day.

6. Over the shoulder shots are used
to show the characters reactions
towards each other. In this shot
the woman looks scared of the
male character.
This over the shoulder
shot is used to show that
the character Grace looks
admiringly at Trevor. It
also shows that Trevor is
the dominant character as
he has his hands on
Graces shoulders and she
is looking up at him.

7. Close up shots are used to
show the audience the
different facial expressions of
the characters. The first
character Dodger is looking
worried, and this shot is
accompanied by a long shot of
Maxine walking down the
aisle (previous slide), so this
close up helps to reiterate
what some of the main
characters are feeling as well
as Maxine.
The second shot is of John
Paul who is looking confused
as he is looking at his phone.
This is accompanied by cross
cutting of Ste, so this close up
shows how other characters
are reacting to what Ste is
doing.

9. The soap trailer features a range of
different characters, including
homosexual male characters Ste
and John Paul. Featuring these type
of characters enable Hollyoaks to
connect with a wider audience as
this type of relationship relates to
some of their audiences. This
means that the audience can relate
to the storylines and be entertained
by them.
As well as featuring homosexual
relationships Hollyoaks also
features heterosexual
relationships which their
audiences can relate to. Some of
the relationships are also
unusual, such as this one of Tony
and Sinead kissing where in fact
Tony is her stepdad. This twist to
the stereotypical heterosexual
relationship adds drama to the
soap.

10. The soap trailer also features
characters with mental health
issues like this character Cindy,
who is bipolar. Featuring these
types of illnesses helps
Hollyoaks to reach out to more
of an audience as people who
are affected by this mental
illness can relate to this
storyline.
There is also a storyline about
abuse within a relationship,
which is shown in the
relationship between Patrick
and Maxine. Featuring this
storyline adds drama to the
soap and helps connect with
their audience. Their latest
campaign saw them pair up
with a help line and encouraged
people to end their relationship
where they have suffered abuse
from their partner.

11. The soap trailer features characters
of all different ages, which helps
appeal to both younger and older
audiences. This character Sandy is
involved in storylines related to her
sons, which relates to the lifestyles
of some of the soaps target
audience.
The soap trailer also shows
characters in different job roles,
which can relate to different
audience types, because the
audiences lifestyles are reflected
in the different job roles of the
characters. The jobs range from
engineer to police and detectives,
as well as doctors, nurses and also
unemployment, ranging from B- E
on the socio economic scale.

12. Relationships between
siblings are also featured
in this trailer. This relates
to the audience as most
of them have probably
had problems with their
siblings before, so these
storylines are reflective
of the audience
emotions and situations.
The trailer also
features both
genders which
means that the
audience can
relate to the soap
easily as they see
the characters as
people similar to
themselves. All of
the different types of characters
enable Hollyoaks to connect with
their audience, meaning that
they are entertained and
influenced by the different
characters and the way they act
to similar situations (such as the
Patrick and Maxine relationship),
and encourages their audience
to be active and watch the
programmes to find out more.

14. The trailer uses lots of different editing techniques throughout to make the trailer
interesting. A cross cutting effect is used accompanied with fast paced music and close ups
of different characters faces, which gives the trailer a dramatic feel as there is so much
drama building up. This links with the genre of soap operas which are usually dramatic.
The shots are edited to match the changes in the beat of the soundtrack, which adds to the
fast pace, creating more tension and excitement for the audience as the drama is building
up.

17. The trailer features lots of different settings,
which make the village created for the soap
appear more realistic. The locations could be
similar to those that the audience are familiar
with, such as a nightclub for the younger
audiences, and prison or the office workplace for
some of the older audiences. The different
locations make the soap more entertaining
which develops the storyline and brings
something new to the soap because the
audience are not seeing the same thing all the
time.

19. The soundtrack used is very fast paced, creating a
dramatic feel which links to the genre of the soap.
Diegetic and non diegetic sounds are both used
throughout the soap for effect. The non diegetic music
adds to the dramatic tension to the trailer, which relates
to the genre and intrigues the audience to watch the
episodes to see what happens.
The diegetic speech also makes the soap trailer seem more realistic as you can see the
characters interacting with each other. This gives the audience an insight into which
characters are related to what storyline and interest the audience as they want to know
what is happening.
The sound bridges also help to give the audience an insight into what is going on in the
scene, like when Ste is with Finn and the voiceover shows him speaking to John Paul. The
narration shows the audience that Ste is doing something for Finn, which wouldn't be as
obvious if the narration wasn't there.

21. ‘six weeks of summer’
The title of the trailer uses alliteration which makes it catching and upbeat. The title is also
used to link with the target audience as the soap is aimed at young adults, who would be
on their six week summer holiday, so the title links to their lifestyle.