1. Soap Opera Genre –
Independent Textual
Analysis
Name:
Candidate Number:
Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number:
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio
2. Trailer 1 – EastEnders Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eastenders+kat+and+alfie+trailer
Verbal Codes
As soon as Kat walks into the scene the daunting ambient sound of her boots tapping against the ground ‘signifies’
(De Saussure) that she is a dominant female who is not afraid to cause trouble. Kat is not your typical ordinary girl,
she is the ‘binary opposite’ ( Levi Strausse) of “men act women appear’ (John Berger). In the trailer is she
represented as an ‘alpha female’ who is likely to appeal to ‘middle class females’ (Hartely) between the ages ’20 –
35’ because she is a young and ‘strong woman’ (Rebecca Feasey) and she isn’t in a high class but still she’s a
confident and brave lady who other women will look up to as they too find themselves in similar situations. When
Kat arrives at the Queen Vic there is western music that is played in the background which connote that there is
about to be some sort of battle that is about to occur between Kat and the other characters, it sounds like the a
stand off between two cowboys. Once some of the characters realise that Kat has arrived in the non verbal code of
their faces denotes real fear and worry. For instance the string hearted character Janine is usually brave herself in
the soap opera show however when she see’s Kat her facial expression is of concern. This implies that that there is
about to be a disequilibrium because she a tough character like Janine is frightened by what trouble Kat could cause.
This is an ‘enigma code’ (Barthes) the situation is about to get nasty. The diegetic sound of the phrase “where can I
get a drink around here” incidents her location. She is near the Queen Vic which is pub that serves all types of
beverages. The use of irony is almost humorous to an EastEnders audience because they know that the only place to
get a drink around the is the Queen Vic which is where she’s at. The voice over “it is all kicking off in the square”
connotes that there is about to be some sort of chaos in the square, Kat has come to start war and everyone knows
it. ‘Caregivers’ (Maslow) will want to know that the rest the of the characters wont be affected by the confrontation
that’s about to occur between Kat and Alfie.
3. Non-Verbal Codes
Usually the Square is a busy place there are always customers coming in and out the pub, so its never quiet however
at the beginning of the trailer there is silence, Its so silent you can hear the wind blowing and there is tumble weed
and newspapers rolling across the ground in the establishing shot this is non verbal code use of symbolism connotes
that a disaster is about strike. In the western times tumble weed roll in front of the screen to imply that something
dangerous is going to happen, which is exactly what the ‘signifies’ in this trailer. The dystopian lighting when Alfie
first comes into the trailer is an ‘enigma code’ that Alfie and Kat are in a bad place with their relationship. Darkness
is the how she first see’s Alfie and that not a coincidence it denotes the feeling they have for each other in the
trailer. This tension between Kat and Alfie connotes that they’re that they’re going through a rough patch in their
relationship as they’re known to be a couple in the actual soap and this makes the audience want to watch the
show that they’re ‘informed’ (Katz) on the Kat and Alfie’s relationship. Besides Alfie coming out of the dark he is
wearing black clothing and so is Kat which denotes gloominess between the two characters the only different is that
Kat has some red clothing which could denote that the anger she has since red is a colour of fire and danger. Their
cowboy like costumes ‘signify’ (De Saussure) that they’re both ready for action and they wont go down without a
fight because that is what cowboys do, they fight until their opponent loses. The fact that Alfie and Kat are wearing
cowboy outfits is quite funny because EastEnders has nothing to do with the western times and both characters
don’t have a cowboy background, instead these costumes indicate that trouble that is about to awake in the Square.
Trailer 1 – EastEnders Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eastenders+kat+and+alfie+trailer
4. Technical Codes
The establishing shot denotes that something tragic has just happened in Albert Square as the heart of EastEnders
‘The Queen Vic’ is burnt down. The long shot opens up the trailer with a disaster and tells the audience that there is
some sort of trouble. The low angle track from Kats big black cowboy boots denotes her dominance, her whole body
had to be acknowledged before showing her face from bottom to top. The jump cut between all the other characters
express the fear inside them, as they seem to be at ease by they realise that Kat is in town. On the other hand the
close up of Alife’s face when he first appears in the trailer ‘signifies’ that he’s her opponent and they’re paying very
close attention to each other with no emotion on their faces. The low angle low shot of Alfie through Kats legs also
connotes Kats dominance in the as Alfie appears to be miniturised and below Kat; it also provides a ‘male gaze’ to
the male gender as they could be enjoy the fact that a female is taking charge and standing up for herself in a sexy
way. The last technical code, a shot reverse shot at the end of the trailer which matches the drums of the
EastEnders theme song is a connotation that there is about to be battle between the two characters as the theme
song always plays when there’s about to be drama, almost like a cliff hanger.
Trailer 1 – EastEnders Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eastenders+kat+and+alfie+trailer
5. Trailer 2 – Skins Trailer
Verbal Codes – Comment on the use of Dialogue, Voiceover, Sound Effects or Soundtrack
6. Non-Verbal Codes – Comment on the use of Setting, Lighting, Costumes, Facial
Expressions and Characters
Trailer 2 – Skins Trailer
7. Trailer 2 – Skins Trailer
Technical Codes – Comment on the use of Camera Angles, Shot Types and Camera
Movement
8. Evaluation of Textual Analysis –
Compare and Contrast
Trailer 1) – Areas of Strength and what you would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale)
9. Evaluation of Textual Analysis –
Compare and Contrast
Trailer 2) – Areas of Strength and what you would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale)
