question 3, evaluation

1. Brief overview of Leeza’
Initial reaction to the trailer
My initial reaction is that 'The Cross' will achieve success through exploring the
theme of mental illness which is a current and ongoing issue in the zeitgeist.
Comment on the use of sound
“I think the use of diegetic sound when the male says "I just don't think it's going
to work out" is effective as it helps the audience understand the narrative
unfolding. I also think the non diegetic soundtrack creates suspense and really
adds to the tension unfolding.”
Comment on the use of actors
“I think it would appeal to this age group as you've used characters who fall within
this age group so the audience can "personally identify" (Katz) with the situations
they find themselves in.”
Comment on prevalent themes you can identify
“Through exploring the theme of mental illness which is a current and ongoing
issue in the zeitgeist. The main themes I can identify are relationships, jealousy,
insanity and conflict.”
Comment on camera shots and angles
“You've used a variety of shot types, I particularly like the close up shot of the
hands on the bench as when the male lifts his hand off it denotes the
"disequilibrium" (Todorov).”
Does the trailer feel ‘authentic’ or of official standard
“The trailer does feel authentic. You've used a multi cultural cast meaning
according to Hartley, your soap will appeal to a greater range of ethnicities.”
Do you think the cross would achieve success on BBC 2
“You've used a multi cultural cast meaning according to Hartley, your soap will
appeal to a greater range of ethnicities. I think it would appeal to this age group
as you've used characters who fall within this age group so the audience can
"personally identify" (Katz).”
Do you think the trailer will successfully attract 16-24 year olds?
With the situations they find themselves in. It would achieve success on BBC 2 as
it "informs" the audience on the realistic issue of mental illness.

2. Full comment (Leeza Ah-Wan)

3. Brief overview of Ellie’s comment
Initial reaction to the trailer
My initial reaction to the trailer it looks very professional and of a high quality
through the use of editing and post-production techniques.
Comment on the use of sound
The use of both diegetic and non diegetic sound is extremely effective for
example the use of the dialogue such as "I just dont think its gonna work out"
makes creates that negative connotations instantly within the opening sequence
of the trailer and also the use of the soundtrack is effective due to it being
synchronous to the action throughout the trailer
Comment on the use of actors
Due to the use of actors i feel as though 'The Cross' would appeal to 16-24 year
olds as the audience would be able to "personally identify" (Katz) with the actors
and what they are experiencing in their personal lives
Comment on prevalent themes you can identify
Themes that are prevalent throughout the trailer is mental health issues,
relationships, jealousy etc! Themes that are quite dark however they're relatable
for the audience.
Comment on camera shots and angles
You have used a variety of camera shots and angles such as the close up of the
hands at the beginning of the trailer and the over the shoulder shot with the main
protagonist in the bathroom, giving the audience snippets of what's going on.
Does the trailer feel ‘authentic’ or of official standard
. The trailer looks authentic due to the high quality editing and transitions between
shots and the continuity that is consistent in the trailer!
Do you think the cross would achieve success on BBC 2
This soap would achieve a massive amount of success on the channel BBC2 as this
institution is well know and well established. Well done!!
Do you think the trailer will successfully attract 16-24 year olds?
Due to the use of actors i feel as though 'The Cross' would appeal to 16-24 year
olds

4. Full comment (Ellie Mason)
The positivesin the trailer
The positives of the trailer have been that it looks “professional”,
“interesting” and “authentic”. These are all positives of the soap
opera trailer and I am very proud of this positive feedback. There
were also a lot of comments on the mirror scene which is arguably
the most technical piece of editing we had to do in the soap opera
trailer.
We received further positive feedback who commented on the
camera angles we used, they were impressed with the “variety of

5. camera shots and angles such as the close up of the hands at the
beginning of the trailer”. This shows how we have incorporated a mix
of shots in order to create our soap opera trailer to be authentic. All
the participant’s when asked about the non-diegetic soundtrack said
it was “effective” and “fitting” to the soap opera trailer.
All people when asked about the themes of the trailer commented
on the mental illness of one of the characters which was exactly
what we were looking for. The theme of mental illness and
depression is what we hope to put across to our viewership as many
people still don’t realise the effect it has on an individual’s life and
actions.
All participants agreed that I repeated (Steve Neil) the conventions of
a soap opera trailer, this is another feature worth noting as if we
didn’t hit the conventions of a soap opera then we would be failing
our objective. Fortunately this was not the case and all participants
agreed with the conventions used have been integrated from
popular soaps.
Lastly, we got some comments regarding the ‘flashback’ and how
they really liked how it showed the past and what effects it had
leading to the present. This effect worked far better than we
expected as it gave a reason for the “disequilibrium” (Todorov )of the
trailer.
The Negatives in the trailer
A key criticism was when the depression leaflet was given to the
character and instantly changed to a sheet labelled “you’re a freak”.
This had to be explained to the participants as being from the view of
the mentally unstable character. Only when we told them this they
instantly recognised the impact of the scene. However, I feel without

6. my team and I telling the participants this they would not have
gotten the point of this until a few watches of the trailer. So if we
could make this scene a little clearer then it would be far more
successful in telling the audience the current state of one of the key
characters.