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St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number: 64770
Candidate Number: 6827
Candidate Name: Hannah Grace D’Souza
A2 Media Studies
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media –
Production Log
Evidence of Planning & Research

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Aims and Objectives
 AO2 – Assess candidates’ application of knowledge and
understanding in evaluating their own work, showing how
meanings and responses are created.
 AO3 – Assess candidates’ ability to plan and construct media
products usingappropriate technical and creative skills.
 AO4 – Assess candidates’ ability to undertake, apply and
present appropriate research.
Brief Chosen
A 45 second – 1 minute 30 second trailer for a NEW Soap Opera
that will be exhibited on at 8:30pm (after EastEnders) that
will appeal to a Male and Female audience.

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Contents
Textual Analysis
 EastEnders
- Soap Opera Codes & Conventions
- Multi Strand Narrative
 Coronation Street
“..the home, the family, domestic tribulations and the strong woman, and as such,
it has long been said to appeal to the female viewer”
‘Masculinity and Popular television’ – Rebecca Feasey (2007)
 Is this evident and how is this presented to the audience?
Research
 Purpose of a Trailer
 Multi-Platform promotion
 Textual Analysis – Coronation Street and Hollyoaks
Deadlines – Production Work
Filming Dates:3rd & 17th December 2014
Edited Trailer – Complete:25th February 2015
Promotional Poster – Complete:4th February 2015
Promotional Magazine Cover – Complete:4th February 2015
Evaluation– Complete:
Production Work
 Director – Roles & Responsibilities?
 Producer – Roles & Responsibilities?
 Institution research – BBC Two

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SoapOpera Codes & Conventions – Lesson2
1) What are some of the Codes & Conventions of this genre?
SOAP
OPERAS
There should be
many events within
the series that
would relate to the
viewers. Along with
a multi-stranded
narrative.
In this genre I
would expect
dramatic events to
make it more
interesting. For
example, a murder
or a fight.
They are usually targeted
at middle-classed
housewives and can relate
to the audience through
the demonstration of the
‘strong woman’ (Rebecca
Feasey-20070
Cliffhangers to engage
and almost persuade
the audience to watch
the next episode, this is
a great way to attract
larger audiences.
Characters roles would
stereotypically be a
villain (Propp), ‘alpha
female’, couples in
love, teenage ‘badboy’
Issues within the
narrative could be
teen pregnancy,
murders, money
problems,
relationship
problems etc.
The setting is
usually middle-
class, with prime
locations such as
the pub, a shop,
hospitals and
neighbourhoods.

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2) Codes & Conventions of the SoapOpera Genre
The Soap Operagenre can be categorizedby the ‘repeated’
(Steve Neale) elements of:
1. Romance
2. Family relationships and/or conflict
3. Focus on workingclass community
4. Antagonism and conflict within the community
5. Setting usually identifiesregional identity
EastEnders (1985 – Present)
Key informationregarding this text:
 Exhibited on BBC1 and repeated on BBC Three
 One of the UK’s highest rating television Soap Opera
 Set in the ‘Kitchen Sink’ setting of fictional Warford, EastLondon
Textual Analysis Task
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=related -
In your opinion, accordingto Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities, whatis the target
audiencefor EastEnders?

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Age Typically middle-aged women (20-
50year olds)
Gender Male and female; predominantly female
due to aspects of drama used.
Nationality British
Trailer 1)
What is the Focus of this trailer?
To entertain the audience
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance The trailer consisted of
no elements of romance
as it mainly focused on
the death of a young girl.
This is unusual as
‘romance’ are one of the
main themes in the Soap
Opera genre.
Romance has been replaced with the death of
Lucy. The death of Lucy is seen to have a
massive impact on the characters, especially
Max due to his affair with her. The audience are
able to personally identify (Katz) with their
relationship as people may face problems like
affairs in their lives.
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Verbal code of “you killed
Lucy” voiceover.
Katz – The EastEnders trailer helps to inform
the audience that something awful is
happening. This creates conflict as a theme in
the episode, engaging the audience with the
verbal code ‘you killed Lucy’ making them want
to watch the episode.
Focus on
working class
communities
The trailer is focused
around different working
communities in the
EastEnders like the
picture of Shirley in the
pub.
Hartley’s seven subjectivities of the ‘working
class’ are aspect audiences are able to relate to.
The ‘pub’ is a place working class families can
interact with one another after a hard day of
work, which the audience can understand and
relate with.
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
There was a sense of
multi-stranded narrative
because there are lots of
flash cuts.
Maslow – Survivors – the audience can have an
understanding of what the trailer is about from
the different narrations. It’s engaging and helps
the audience ‘escape from reality’ when they
tune in to watch EastEnders every week.
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
There is a murder in
Albert Square and flash
cuts are used to portray
the victims that are
shocked with the death.
Hartley – It appeals to all audiences who enjoy
dramatic excitement in a soap opera trailer, as
‘death’ is a common aspect demonstrated in the
genre. A characters death is an aspect the
audiences can symapthise with.

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Trailer 2)
What is the Focus of this trailer?
To inform the audience of a characters return to the series.
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
The character presented
in a wedding dress causes
Phil to give lustful looks
to her as if he is shocked.
The audience may be able to build a personal
relationship (Katz) with the characters
relationship problems. The use of the wedding
dress creates a ‘male gaze’ (Laura Mulvey) for
male viewers, which is also portrayed; in the
lustful looks Phil gives her.
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Phil and Sharon look at
each other in shook as if
they don’t believe it. This
could cause conflict in the
future.
Katz’ theory of ‘personal relationship’ is
signified (De Saussure) here as the viewers of
the TV show will have built a personal
relationship with Phil and not be happy to see
Sharon back, the same way Phil’s non-verbal
code of his ‘shocked’ facial expressions reveal
this potential future conflict.
Focus on
working class
communities
In the trailer you can see
people come out of pubs
and shops, which
presents this, is a
working class
community.
The audience will be able to personally identify
(Katz) with the audience, as the target audience
is also mainly working class people.
Furthermore, there can be ‘Diversion’ (Katz) the
audiences feel as they immerse themselves in
the Soap Opera. For example, the technical code
of the Queen Victoria Pub as a location is a
common place the audience come to escape
from reality (Maslow)
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
There could be a multi-
stranded narrative as
everyone stares at
Sharon as if they have
past experience with her.
Katz – Inform and educate – In the soap opera
there is a voice over “There is a storm coming”.
This voice over may connote that this time
round Sharon maybe viewed as an antagonist.
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
Everyone looks in shock
as Sharon. This indicates
that she may be a big
problem to other
characters.
Hartley – It can help entertain both, males and
females. Some of the audience view Sharon as
intimidating due to the disequilibrium of the
‘storm’ she creates.
Multi-stranded narrative can be defined as…
1) Telling a story from more than one person’s point of view.
2) Telling multiple stories about multiple characters in an open narrative episode for
example.

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 Multi-stranded narrative
 Family relationships and/or conflict
 Focus on working class communities
 ‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)
 Romance
Code & Convention Evidence Impact on the audience
 Multi-stranded
narrative
Cuts to 2 other characters
and then another 2
characters in the first
minute.
By giving the audience a
multi-story narrative,
they’re able to engage in the
trailer and therefore want to
watch the episode when it
comes out.
 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
‘That night was a one off
it’s not going to happen
again.’
This incident between
Shirley and her son helps
them relate to social issues
(Katz) and empathise with
Shirley’s character.
 Focus on working
class communities
Shirley and Phil in the
pub- Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria pub is a
prime location where
audiences are able to
recognize the trailer is from
EastEnders. The pub is also
a good way for the working
class people to relax and
communicate with their
families and the community
after work and viewers can
identify with this.
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) Sharon bleeding/ her
stories about her shady
past
The disequilibrium of
Sharon bleeding and her
stories from the past keep
the audiences interested in
the Soap Opera.
 Romance Between Shirley and Phil.
“Do you remember the
first time you fell in love.”
The audience would want to
see Phil and Shirley’s
relationship develop by
bringing them back to past
events.
SoapOpera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson3
Textual Analysis
According to Rebecca Feasey in ‘Masculinity and Popular television’ (2007), the Soap
Opera genre tends to focus on:
“The home, the family, domestic tribulations and the strong woman, and as such, it has
been said to appeal to the female viewer?”

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‘Masculinity’ is demonstrated as one of the main themes in the Soap Opera genre. This is
usually portrayed through locations like the ‘pub’ where ‘lads’ meet up after a hard day of
work to have a pint and relax with the family and the rest of the community. This is relatable
to the ‘working class’ audience (Hartley’s seven subjectivities) so audience can identify with
the Soap Opera. However, recently, the Soap Opera genre has been focusing on the home, the
family and domestic tribulations, portraying the female gender as the ‘strong woman’
(Rebecca Feasey-2007) hence appealing to the female viewer.
Some examples of the of female strong in EastEnders are:
EastEnders are able to appeal to a wider range of audience because of their representation of
the female gender viewed similar to the male gender. Furthermore, the ‘strong woman’ is also
represented in all races and ages showing no discrimination, which all women are able to
‘identify’ (Katz) with, which therefore attracts more audience attention.
1) – Do you agree?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8_ApPT6isY (First 5 minutes)
Code & Convention Evidence Impact on the audience
Rebecca Feasey (2007) Ideology:
1. The opening scene is set in the home as the characters making tea, cleaning the house,
male characters looking to older female for guidance. This is one of the typical settings of the
Soap Opera genre.
2. The code and convention “Sit down and have a cup of tea” in Soap Operas as characters
believe a cup of tea will resolve all problems. In terms of Hartley’s subjectivities, British,
working class audiences are most likely to find a relation.
Shirley
Carter
Denise
Fox

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3. Manager of pub is female – This connotes Rebecca Feasey’s ideology of a strong
independent female. The sentence, “alright that is enough” comes in contrast with the
emotional female who is extremely happy and expressive.
4. Also, binary opposition (Levi Strauss) to representation of females: “I thought he was the
one…I put everything into that relationship”. This makes the ‘Caregivers’ (Maslow) feel
sympathetic towards the characters.
“Multi-Stranded Narrative” Characters in the local shop
 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Two sisters fighting over a man. Survivors (Maslow) will hope
that the sisters resolve their problems.
 Focus on working
class communities
The pub. Audience maybe able to personally identify with the
surroundings (Katz) as they too maybe working class.
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) The conflict between the sisters. Audiences hope everything
will be resolved between them.
 Romance Young female character cries about her past relationship.
Caregivers (Maslow) as the audience feel sorry for the female
because they may be able to personally identify with her.
 Other Themes &
Issues represented:
There is a stereotype seen in the trailer where the mother of
the family is seen washing dishes which could be related to
housewives.
SoapOpera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson4
Textual Analysis
1) What is the purpose of a trailer?
The purpose of a trailer is to feature a short promotional film composed of clips showing
highlights of a movie due for release in the near future. It is also used to engage the audience
in the television series, especially when introducing a new television series. This provides
audience with information about what the series is about and also what to expect from the
episodes along with the time it airs and any other useful information.
2) What are the benefits of Multi-Platform promotion of a media text?
The benefits of a Multi-Platform promotion are that it is released to a wider audience range so
more people are able to learn about the television series and watch it when it airs on
television. It gives audience a chance to get involved in sharing the trailer themselves for
example, through the use of ‘hashtags’ on twitter, whilst making it easier for the audience to
access in terms of their preference in consuming media texts.
Ultimately, some form of Convergence is important when promoting a text to the target
audience

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3)
Textual Analysis –
Coronation Street:
 Multi-stranded narrative
 Character dilemmas
 ‘Personal Identification’ (Katz)
Multi-stranded narratives-
-The actual wedding.
-Marriage (celebration) of Steve and Becky.
-Steve and Becky’s perspectives
-Different emotions expressed in the trailer.
-Some people in the neighbourhood appear to be unhappy.
-Becky appears excited whilst Steve appears nervous (Binary Opposition: Levi
Strauss)
Dilemmas-
-“I’m Lucky” – the song lyrics create a sense of irony as a problem could occur.
-Voiceover: “The perfect date for a Coronation Street wedding” – Sarcastic as there
aren’t ‘perfect days’ in soap operas
-Young man in the street looks annoyed
-Lady’s ‘sigh.’
-Friday the 13th.
-Groom not happy.
The symbol of the characters having their symbol crossed could be a sign for hope
and possibly the fact that something could go wrong.
Personal identification (Katz)
-The stresses of the wedding turning out perfect.
-Men relate to Steve.
-Women relate to Becky and the clothes she wears and it being the ‘happiest day of
their life’.
-Going to a wedding in general.

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http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hollyoaks/4od
The above link will take you to some of the latest episodes of Hollyoaks.
1. What are the connotations of the ident for the popular Channel Four Teen Soap
Opera Hollyoaks (1995 – Present)?
Relationships, friendships, love.
Teen problems, promiscuity.
Boys vs girls, finding themselves.
Next Page - Hollyoaks – “White Wedding Trailer” -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu2sW-r9Vb4
‘Tear’ connotes unhappiness. It could also indicate her being scared. Black tear indicates
depression she might be facing. Audience could personally identify with the ‘tragedy’ she’s
going through of a ‘shotgun wedding.’
‘White wedding’ consists of non-diegetic music, which is ironic. Furthermore, the black
clothing connotes mystery and death, which could signify the death of the bride.
Disequilibrium of the close up of the mascara running down the brides face.
‘Shot gun wedding’ infers their marriage because she’s pregnant. Teenage pregnancy is a
common theme in Soap Operas that young women could face. For example, the dilemma of
having a baby at a young age or having an abortion. The trailer identifies with the younger
audience through Mercedes’ ‘shotgun wedding’ as she faces the problems of having a baby
with someone who she’s not married to and hence, feels like she has to and audience are
able to empathise with her through this.
‘Hey little sister, what have you done?’ This non-diegetic music connotes guilt. -The
shocked expressions on the choirs face shows that pregnancy was an unexpected turn of
events.
The wave from the man with the glove could connote “Goodbye to your life”. The fact that
he is wearing a glove could create suspicion in the audience minds. The non-verbal codes
of his facial expression from a ‘smile’ to a ‘serious face’ confirm the audience suspicion
towards him.

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Production Work
1) What is the role of a Producer?
Oversee all aspects of the production across the three stages: Pre- production, production ad
post-production.
Manage everyone and ensure everything is in place in order for the text to look fit for purpose.
2) What is the role of a Director?
-Oversee the creative aspects of the production.
-Direct people in front and behind the camera.
3) Institution research –
Tips: Programming, Target audience, Audience figures, History of the channel.
 The aim for BBC two is to launch ambitions and factual programs.
 Their key is to appeal the viewer of ages 35-54 to reach out to a more culturally
diverse audience.
 The channels ethos is programs that are surprising, celebratory, witty, warm,
adventure, intelligent, playful, informative and authoritative.
 Week June 2nd 2014 – 8th June, BBC 2 reached a total of 3.2 million viewers.
 BBC Two was launched 20th April 1964.