1. OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio
Mind Map and
Research
Name: Abigail Ronald
Candidate Number: 2121
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
2. Theme Ideas
Romance – This theme would be relevant to my soap trailer because there is a love
triangle involved. This would be an effective theme for my poster because it would
attract a wide audience as it doesn’t specifically target one age/gender. I would
incorporate this theme on to my poster by using colors generally associated with
romance, such as different shades of red.
Horror - Another theme idea I have for my poster is horror, this is extremely
relevant to my trailer because its based around a murder. The horror theme will
convey fear which will keep the audience gripped. This theme is rather common
amongst the different soaps, and are also very popular, by using this theme on my
poster I will attract a wide audience as the theme appeals to a wide range of people.
3. Propp’s Character roles
WHAT character roles will be present in the Poster and WHY?
e.g. will there be a hint of ‘villainy’ (Propp)? HOW? WHERE?
Poster
4. Taglines
“Murder in the Downs..” – This is a possible tagline for my magazine because it is
very conservative and doesn't’t reveal too much about the storyline, the verbal
code ‘murder’ will attract a wide audience because gripping storylines are the most
popular amongst soap operas.
“Who did it?” – This tagline would be very effective for my poster because it leaves
the possible suspects completely open to the audiences imagination. By using this
tagline it leaves the storyline open because the audience wont know exactly what's
happened.
“Their lives, changed forever..” – This open ended tagline would also be fitting for
my promotion poster because by using language such as ‘Forever’ it amplifies how
serious the current event are, as they are going to permanently effect the other
characters involved.
5. Images
1. The first image idea I have for my poster is an image of each of the suspects in a strip
along the top of the poster, showing only half of their face, and below this having an
image of the body of the victim presented underneath. I would make the suspects
facial expressions be completely blank so none of them look suspicious to ensure that
the storyline is not given away. I would also make the color scheme very dark, as well
as making the suspects look faded and grainy.
2. The next idea I have for my image is to have a close up image of the victim looking
scared, looking over her shoulder. I would also edit this to look very grainy and pasty
to make the image look ghostly. I would do this because this character is going to be
murdered in the trailer so the poster will then therefore relate.
3. The final idea I have is to have a long shot image simply showing the image of the
body covered up with a sheet, I think this would be an effective image for my poster
because it leaves the audience in mystery because they will not know who's dead
and/or who was involved.
6. Synergy with Social Media/ Point of Call
Information
I will ensure to incorporate social media on my poster, I will most likely do
this by putting the Facebook and twitter logo in one of the bottom corners
of the poster. By doing this it will enable the audience to be able to find my
soap opera on multiple platforms. By addressing my soap across these social
media platforms it will also allow maximum advertisement for my new,
upcoming soap opera. I will be also making sure that I include the
institutional logo (BBC 3) so the audience know where they will be able to
view the new soap opera.
7. Mind Map - Conclusion
• In order to move forward with my poster, I will need to take the main image, however I
will be not be doing this until my trailer is completed as I will be drawing my main image
from my trailer. The image I will be using is a crane shot of the body covered with a sheet,
I feel that this is the best image to use as it hides the identity of who has been killed, and
therefore reveals very little to the audience which will make them want to watch my soap
opera in order to find out who’s been killed.
• The only props I will be needing to create the image for my poster is a white sheet and
fake blood, which are both readily available to me and the group.
• I have also downloaded all of the fonts in which I am considering using for my masthead
and cover-lines so I can have them all available when creating my poster.
• I will be using using Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 to create my poster. I am using this software
as I have used it many time previously so I am used to the tools as well as methods of use.
