Poster textual analysis

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Ancillary Product
Analysis
Name: Giacomo Pisa
Candidate Number: 3111
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. Tagline- The effective use of punctuation splits the tagline into two short
sentences, and adds a dramatic pause when reading the tagline. The
second short sentence is only one word long which gives an added dramatic
effect. Additionally the verbal code of ‘forever’ is an adverb with
connotations of never ending meaning that the drama in the soap is never
ending. Moreover, the verbal code of ‘change’ indicates how the character
won’t be the same making the new episodes something new and exciting.
Image – The main image incorporates a
medium close-up of the main character but
she is not in colour, she is in white which
contrasts the black of the remaining section
of the poster. Therefore the contrast between
the black and white colours could connote a
contrast and conflict that is upcoming in the
series.
Synergy with
social media-
By using the ‘hashtag’ in
the poster for the Soap
Opera, the institution is
successfully creating a
sense of ‘fandom’
among watchers of the
soap as the audience
will take to social media
sites such as Twitter to
discuss the upcoming
episodes. As a result of
this the programme will
be ‘trending’ on Twitter
leading to more people
reading about it and it
may attract new
watchers who have seen
the discussion on
Twitter and now wish to
watch the series.
Institution
Logo-
The inclusion of
the institution
logo, in this case
the BBC, makes
the audience
aware of who
made the series
and therefore if
they enjoy the
series the
audience will
have a good
impression of
the institution
and will explore
other
programmes by
the institution.
Brand Identity- By adding the institution logo and the
synergy with social media the BBC have expanded their brand
identity by making their logo viewed by more people. As a
result more people are more familiar with the institution and
and aware of their work meaning they are more likely to
choose to watch a series by this institution than another one
such as ITV.

3. Image – The image takes up the majority of
the poster and is immediately eye catching to
those who see the poster. This is because the
image has been manipulated to be the colour
orange to represent fire and the hair of the
protagonists has also been manipulated to
symbolise fire. The connotations of the colour
orange and the fire are that within the series there
will be large amounts of drama as well as conflict
especially. It could also symbolise how some of the
relationships between protagonists are burnt
connoting themes of jealousy and greed.
Therefore along these themes comes high levels of
drama which is the main element that people
associate with Soap Operas.
Institution Logo- The
institution logo is again used to
convey to the audience who is
responsible for the production of the
series. As a result, should the
audience enjoy the series they will
know who is responsible and will in
the future explore other
programmes by the same institution
which in the long term will increase
the profit for the institution. The
institution logo is also in a large size
which makes it stand out on the
page so the audience immediately
are aware of who produced the
series. Also, the poster is very simple
and only includes an image, a tagline
and the institution logo, with the
logo being in a white colour to stand
out and contrast the orange and
black background.
Tagline- The tagline is similar to the previous
tagline as it again includes the verbal code of
‘forever’ which connotes how after this series
nothing will ever be the same again. Moreover, the
tagline is in a white and black colour with the black
font standing out against the white background so
that the tagline is instantly recognisable to the
audience so they know what to expect from the
series. The verbal code of ‘change’ is used in a
similar way to ‘forever’ as it implies how during
the series the audience can expect a number of
twists and turns in order to keep the audience
engaged which is ultimately the am of the
institution so the audience tunes in to watch the
series every week. The noun ‘change’ also
denotes how things are different to normal, and in
this way the tagline links in to the image because
the fire indicates that things have not changed for
the better. As a result the audience are more
inclined to watch the series because they want to
see how the protagonists have changed, which will
inevitably include high levels of drama.

4. Student Exemplar Work – Textual Analysis
Tagline- the soap opera tagline is an
effective play on words as it
replicates what the priest says when
he marries a couple “I now
pronounce you man and wife”
however this soap poster cleverly
uses the verbal code of “betrayed
for life”. This therefore denotes how
there is the theme of betrayal in the
soap which incorporates evil.
Furthermore the play on words
could contrast the original meaning
of the phrase which is to convey
love and in fact in the series the
complete opposite happens. For
example someone could be
betrayed in a relationship which is a
dramatic event, this is also
supported by the image which
incorporates wedding cake but with
three people on it meaning that
love could be the centre of the
betrayal in the series.
Synergy with magazine- The synergy with the magazine effectively expands the brand identity of the soap opera as people who see the
poster will see the magazine logo because of its colour, the red stands out against the black background, and then will go out and buy the
magazine to find out more about the magazine. Not only does the poster incorporate synergy with a magazine it also includes social media
links to create a sense of ‘fandom’ among the audience to get ore people talking about the series. As a result of more people talking about
the series across a variety of social media sites, Facebook and Twitter in this case, more people will see that the soap is being talked about
and then more people are likely to tune in resulting in the highest viewing figures.
Main image- The main image of this soap opera poster is manipulated in an effective way and
looks very professional. By looking professional the audience can see a lot of time and effort has
gone into the production of the soap and therefore the high quality will encourage more people
to watch the series. In particular the props of the knife and the wedding cake indicate the themes
of crime and love will be evident in the series. These themes are very dramatic which is the main
aim of a soap opera meaning lots of people will watch the series. In addition to this the wedding
cake has been manipulated to have three people standing on it, two males and a female. This
could represent how the women is in the middle of a struggle between the two males. This is
further supported by the fact that
the female has her arms
crossed over her face which
suggests that she does not
want to be involved and is
struggling with the events
going on. This adds to the
drama and makes more people
want to tune in to watch the
series as they want to see who
wins the struggle.

5. Conclusion
For my own ancillary product I intend to ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) a number of
conventions used by the institutions to ensure that my product has a high
chance as possible of enticing people into watching the series. For example, I will
ensure that the product is very simple and only includes vital conventions such
as an image, tagline and institution logo so the product is not crowded and does
not contain too much information as to confuse the audience. If the product
included a number of different images and lots of writing it would not look
attractive and the audience will not bother to read the writing as it may even
give away what happens in the series and then there is no point in watching it. I
also intend to ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) the fact that that all the products
manipulated the main images to convey the themes that are apparent in the
series. A simple and plain main image would be boring and may look out of place
on the poster as it looks like its been placed there randomly. Additionally, from
the East Enders poster I intend to ‘repeat’ the simple black and white colours
because they are particularly effective in contrasting each other to make the
black stand out as well as the white, making everything on the product
recognisable and making more people likely to watch the soap.