coursework

1. 1
St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number: 64770
Candidate Number: 6616
Candidate Name: Lance Chirume
A2 Media Studies
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media –
Production Log
Evidence of Planning & Research

2. 2
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 using appropriate technical and creative
skills.
 AO4 – Assess candidates’ ability to undertake, apply and
present appropriate research.
Brief Chosen

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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
Production Work
 Director – Roles & Responsibilities?
 Producer – Roles & Responsibilities?
 Institution research – BBC Two

4. 4
Soap Opera Codes & Conventions
Codes and
Conventions
of the Soap
Opera Genre
Usually in the soap opera
genre there is always a
multi stranded narrative.
Many narratives happening
at the same time to affect
the overall outcome. These
types of narrative are
effective because viewers
can enjoy a variety of
different scenes ‘personally
identify’ (Katz) themselves
with the different
situations.
Cliff hangers are a
convent ion that is
found frequently in
soap opera trailer
because they add
the feeling of
mystery and are an
‘enigma code’
(Barthes) that
something has gone
Every soap has a
ident. Its how the
audience breaks
down what the soap
is about. For
instance
EastEnders’s ident is
BBC and they aim to
‘inform’ and
‘educate’ (John
Reith).
Establishing shot are a key convent in
the genre of soap opera because they
help the audience to figure out what is
going to happen next. For example in the
EastEnders trailer the establishing shot
is of the Queen Vic and the long angle
long shot is a signifies that something is
wrong because it shows the Queen Vic
burnt down.
Soap operas usually
focus their story
lines on real life
situation that people
go through, that way
more people can
actually relate to
what’s going on the
in the episodes.
In the soap opera
genre every soap
has their own
unique soundtrack,
a soundtrack that
denotes what type
of soap opera it is.
This is essential
because it helps the
audience more
aware of the soap
could also make
them watch the
show.
There are a lot of
‘strong women’
(Feasey) in soap
opera trailers and a
good example of on is
Kat from EastEnders.
She doesn’t take
nonsense from
nobody which is
evident in the trailer.

5. 5
2) The codes and conventions of the soap opera genre can be
categorised by the ‘repeated’ (Steve Neale) elements of:
1. Love
2. Conflict
3. Secrets
4. Multi stranded narrative
5. Cliffhangers
6. Exploration Regional identity
EastEnders (1985 – Present)
Key information regarding this text:
 BBC 1 and 3 exhibit Eastenders
 Eastenders regularly attracts 8 to 12 million views
kitchen sink
 Kitchen sink is usually aimed at the working British
citizens who spend time in the pub and explore
social issues and political controversies
 It is available to view on BBC iPlayer

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 The show airs every weekday on BBC1 at either
7:30pm or 8:00pm, expect Wednesdays. It is
repeated on BBC3 at 10pm.
 EastEnders aims to ‘inform, educate and entertain’
(John Reith)
 The soap opera tries to appeal to a British audience
so some of its content won’t be as interesting to
other ‘ethnicities’(Hartley)
Textual Analysis Task
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=
related -
According to Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities the target audience
for EastEnders is:
Age 15 to 50
Gender Female but will still attract a
male audience
Nationality British
Trailer 1) Week of The Revelations EastEnders – EastEnders
2015 Trailer – BBC1
Who killed Lucy? Is the focus of this trailer.

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Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-
Verbal, Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
Non verbal red
lip stick denotes
that Ian and Jane
are a couple
Personal relationship (Katz)
audience will form a bond a
bond with Ian and Jane’s
relationship and will want one
just like that
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Technical code
of the whole
family being
shown at the
cafe
The ‘Family’ (Hartley) is
connected and close even in
times of fear as the whole
family was scared. A family
would see this and ‘personally
identify’ (Katz) themselves
with the situation.
Focus on
working class
communities
Long shot of Ian
and Jane’s café
(Katz) ‘Personal
identification’ the audience
will realize that they visit the
same location that seen in the
EastEnders show. Their café is
place that is seen a lot in the
actual show and the audience
will realise this.
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
There are many
different
locations in the
trailer and
different
narratives are
happening. The
Beale’s in the
fish and chip
shop, Denise in
the Vic and Abi
is in the local
shop.
A multi stranded narrative
would appeal to an audience
who want a form of
“diversion” from the real
world and get in the shoes of
the characters situation. They
will enjoy this because they
can relate to their favourite
character and escape from
reality.
Dystopian (CGI)
setting when the
Having a disequilibrium will
make ‘caregivers’ (Maslow)

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‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
ghost of the girl
is shown (non
verbal). There
are no light what
so ever and all
you can see the
ghost of Lucy at
the top the
building looking
down upon
everyone. Even
the music being
played is very
spooky and
‘signifies’
(Saussure) that
something is
wrong.
worry about what is going to
happen next, maybe their
favourite character is in
danger and they want them to
get out of danger.
Trailer 2)
Hollyoaks Autumn 2014 Trailer
This trailer utilises the use of a multi stranded narrative, where
various narrative are shown and examples of this is when John
proposes to Steven, Dodger becoming a father and the wedding
crash.
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-
Verbal, Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
The diegetic
dialogue of
Dodger saying “I
love you”
connotes that
The ‘male’ (Hartley) audience
who view this are inspired to
be as ambitious in their
relationship their girlfriends.
They will feel encourage to

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the he is most
definitely in with
is girl. He even
confirms this by
kissing his
girlfriend a kiss
on the lips. The
non-verbal code
of kiss is a way of
him showing the
love and
affection he has
for hi girl and he
is willing to do
anything for her.
show love and affection to
their partners just like
Dodger did.
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
The verbal code
“he loves us and
going to start a
new life” shows
that she has a
man who cares
her and her
family; he is
willing to do
anything for
them. She to love
him and is
hopeful that
their life will
work out just
fine. It is clear
the she loves her
child very dearly
and she is seems
comfortable with
her toy but
unaware what’s
going on.
‘Caregivers’ (Maslow) will
sympathies with this situation
because they want they best
for Carmel, especially the
‘female’ (Hartley) gender
because are more likely to be
in the same situation as her
The technical This represents the working

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Focus on
working class
communities
code of the wide
shot used to
capture the
police officers
and their cars.
class in a good light and
would attract ‘social climbers’
(Maslow) who aspire to better
their social class. Seeing the
police men doing their job
would inspire them and make
them want to move on to the
next class. For example if
someone was unemployed
and through watching the
trailer they will be
determined to find a job.
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
There are many
different settings
and they gave
different
storylines. There
is a wedding
crash, a court
case and a baby
being born.
Having so many different
storylines is essential become
they will appeal to different
audiences and creates a
‘diversion’ (Katz) from the
real world and the current
situation. It will also keep the
viewers interest in watching
the program.
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
The diegetic
code of the
dialogue “you
need to go in
there and tell the
truth” denotes
that John lied
and he could
potentially get
into trouble if
the truth doesn’t
come out. An
audience who
watches
Hollyoaks
regularly will
realise that the
two partners are
Couples who watch the show
and have been in similar
situations will ‘personally
identify’ (Katz) and can relate
to the situation the John and
Steven are in.

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in love and care
for each other
dearly.
Multi-stranded narrative
A Multi-stranded narrative can be defined as many narratives
running at the same time, this is popular in television
programs such as Eastenders and Hobby City
A 10 minute deconstructed EastEnders text below indicates
where the following elements are present to the audience:
 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
The technical use of
jump cuts in the in
between different
storylines is used
and it keeps the
audience interested
in the trailer
because there is so
much to keep up
with. For example
Kush and Shabnam
are talking about
Kush’s birthday
and in a another
scene Patrick and
Dean are talking
about the issues
A multi-stranded
narrative makes
sure that the
audience is kept on
the edge of their
seats and
constantly enjoy
what’s going on, it
also ‘informs’
(Katz) the audience
on different
situations that
teenagers face.

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that Dean has
 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
The diegetic verbal
code “can’t you
even begin to care!”
was said by Shirley
to her boyfriend
Buster when they
were arguing over
what to do with
their sons child.
You could tell that
she was unhappy
and stressed with
this and she is
clearly a woman
who cares for her
family because
she’s the only one
trying to save it.
A ‘female’ (Hartley)
watching will
definitely admire
what Shirley is
trying to do and
will hope she
manages
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)?
The connotations of the Hollyoaks ident are that the
programme is aimed towards both male and female audience
and centres around the ‘battle of the sexes’

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Next Page - Hollyoaks – “White Wedding Trailer” -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu2sW-r9Vb4
Production Work
1) What is the role of a Producer?
They manage the production aspect when creating any type of
moving image. For example they’re in charge of the pre-
production, production and post-production stages and they
and make sure that everything runs smoothly by creating an
environment which will best suite the cast and crew. They also
decide on the sequence of the scene in the moving images.
2) What is the role of a Director?
A director controls the artistic perspective of a moving image
and they tell people what to do on and off camera, they’re
responsible of making sure the moving images portrays the
exact messages it was intended to portray. Usually they have
some sort of vision with how the media text should look like
and they have to tell the cast and crew members how to bring
that vision to life.
3) Institution research –
My soap opera trailer will be exhibited on the BBC 2 channel
 It’s a well recognised channel which natural targets older
British viewers around the age of the age of 50.
 On average BBC 2 pull in an estimated 1 million viewers
 The channel was first launched on the 20th April 1964

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 BBC 2 strives to produce content that is smart, original
and humorous at the same time.
 They mainly focus on programs that have truth behind
them.
 They aim to please a culture with diverse cultures and
individuals.
 According to John Reath BBC 2’ programs aim to ‘inform,
educate and entertain’ audiences.
 Some of the greatest shows on BBC 2 include ‘Top gear’
and ‘Dragons Den’