This document provides a production log and research for a student named Eleanor Stapleton completing an A2 Media Studies course. It outlines her plans for an advanced portfolio project involving creating a trailer for a new soap opera. The student analyzes soap opera codes and conventions through examining clips of EastEnders and Coronation Street. Research includes the purpose of trailers, textual analysis of other soap operas, and learning about the roles of a director and producer. Deadlines and plans for filming, editing, posters and other promotional materials are also included. The target channel for the trailer is BBC Three and research on this institution is presented.

1. St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number:64770
Candidate Number: 6259
Candidate Name: Eleanor Stapleton
A2 Media Studies
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media –
Production Log
Evidence of Planning & Research
1

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
A 45 second – 1 minute 30 second trailer for a NEW Soap Opera
that will be exhibited on BBC 3 at 8:30pm (after Eastenders)
that will appeal to a Male and Female audience.
2

3. Contents
Textual Analysis
Eastenders
-
Soap Opera Codes & Conventions
Multi Strand Narrative
Coronation Street
“..the home, the family, domestic tribulationsand 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:
Edited Trailer – Complete:
Promotional Poster – Complete:
Promotional Magazine Cover – Complete:
Evaluation – Complete:
Production Work
Director
Producer
Institution research – BBC Three
3

4. Soap Opera Codes & Conventions – Lesson 2
1) What are some of the Codes & Conventions of this genre?
You MUST demonstrate what you already know by completing a “Spider
Diagram” of what you know about OR expect from this genre:
Multi-stranded
narrative
Romance
No relation to the
outside world
Everyday
Situation
Codes and Conventions
Sponsors
Creates
Realism
Family
relationships/and
Not unlikely
or conflict
narratives
Focuses on
working class
communities
4

5. 2) Codes & Conventions of the Soap Opera Genre
The Soap Opera genre can be categorized by the ‘repeated’
(S t e v e N e a l e ) elements of:
1.
Romance
2.
Family relationships/ and or conflict
3.
Focus on working class communities
4.
Antagonism and conflict within the community
5.
Creates realism
Eastenders(1985 – Present)
Key information regarding this text:
Exhibited on BBC 1 and represented on BBC 3
One of the UK’s highest rated programmes (Averages around 8
million viewers a week)
Set in the ‘Kitchen Sink’ setting of a fictional Walford East London
Textual Analysis Task
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=related -
5

6. You MUST complete the Table below whilst watching the TWO promotional
trailers for the BBC Soap Opera Eastenders.
You SHOULD aim to identify key examples (Verbal, Non-Verbal, Technical)
from each trailer that demonstrates your understanding.
You COULD apply relevant audience theory to explain what impact these key
examples would have on the target demographic.
In your opinion, according to Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities, what is the target
audience for Eastenders?
Age
-?
Gender
-?
Nationality
-?
Trailer 1)
What is the Focus of this trailer?
The dilemma between Stacey’s two relationships – Romance, Family, Betrayal,
Adultery
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
Impact on the Audience
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
“I Love you”
Diversion – Can immerse within this
relationship and also personally identify.
“Does she know
something?!”
The audience members want to be
informed and educated about this
forthcoming disequilibrium and wants
going to happen. This will keep the
audience entertained and maybe allow
them to build a personal relationship with
different characters.
“I know your dirty,
filthy little secret!”
Audience can immerse themselves into this
situation between two other people and
escape from their own reality.
Romance
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Focus on working
class communities
Stacey working on the
market stall.
Verbal code of text:
Audience members can personally identify
with this situation and location as it might be
familiar with some members of the audience.
Hartley: Gender
6

7. “MultiLikes father, likes son
StrandedNarrative”
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
Zoom in on Stacey’s
facial expression
People can personally identify with this
event and members may have gone
through something similar.
Personal identification: Audience can
personally identify with Stacey’s feelings
and emotions and can maybe build a
personal relationship or sympathise with
her (Caregivers – Maslow)
Trailer 2)
What is the Focus of this trailer?
Max ‘making his bed’ and also ‘judgment day for Max ‘
Code
&
Convention
Romance
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Focus on
working class
communities
Evidence
Impact on the Audience
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Body language Stacey
walking towards Max
and also the facial
expression.
Tanya’s facial
expression
Stacey’s outfit as the
maid > not a well-paid
job, working class job.
Immerse themselves into Stacey and Max’s
situation of them having an affair.
Audience can escape from own reality and
maybe build a personal relationship with
Tanya as some members may be able to
sympathise with her (Caregivers – Maslow).
Members might also want to be informed
and educated about why she’s feeling like
this.
Some members may be able to personally
identify with Stacey’s outfit as they may have
similar or the same job as a maid/cleaner.
From this they may be able to build a
personal relationship with Stacey.
The shot of Stacey as
“Multi-Stranded the maid then cuts to
Narrative”
his wife.
Members may be able to personally identify
with the amount of situations going carried
out. Can relate to the busy lifestyle.
Low key lighting
“You can run home”
‘Disequilibrium’ “Judgment day”
(Todorov)
Audience members want to be informed and
educated about the situation going on
between these multiple characters.
7

8. Multi-stranded narrative
A Multi-stranded narrativecan be defined as…..
-Telling a story from more than one persons (characters) point of view
-Telling multiple stories about multiple characters in an open narrative episode for
example.
You MUST deconstruct the 10-minute extract from Eastendersand identify where
the following elements are presented to the audience:
Multi-stranded narrative
Family relationships and/or conflict
Focus on working class communities
‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)
Romance
You SHOULD write down x1-2 examples for EACH of the elements above that are
presented.
Code & Convention
Multi-stranded
narrative
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Focus on working
class communities
Evidence
Story with Lauren and
then cuts to Alice’s story
Impact on the audience
Diversion – Can immerse
in different situations.
Tanya on Abi: “You’re my
special little girl”
“Oh, I’m sorry, are you
apart of this
conversation?”
Working on market stalls
and the cockney east
London accent.
Younger members may be
able to personally identify
with Abi and older with
Tanya. Or families all
together.
Audience members can
personally identify with
the location and or the
accent presented in the
show.
Members can- ?
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) Max storming into Tanya’s
house.
“Are you okay?” – Peter
Romance
texts Lauren (Teenagers)
Younger members can
immerse themselves into
this relationship and build
a personal relationship
with these two characters.
Soap Opera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson 3
Textual Analysis
According to Rebecca Feasey in ‘Masculinity and Popular television’ (2007), the Soap
Opera genre tends to focus on:
8

9. The name, he family domestic tribulations and the strong women, and as such it has
long been said to appeal to the female viewer.
1) – Do you agree?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8_ApPT6isY(First 5 minutes)
You MUST deconstruct the opening 5 minutes of a sequence from the popular ITV
Soap Opera Coronation Street (1960 – Present) to identify examples of where this
ideology is presented to the target audience.
You SHOULD also try and identify, to demonstrate your knowledge and
understanding of the genre, any Codes & Conventions associated to the Soap Opera
genre.
Code & Convention
Evidence
Impact on the audience
Rebecca Feasey (2007) Ideology:
1. Home: Opening scenes focus on houses
2. Family: Mum, father, son – Dropping him at school and also giving lunch.
3. Domestic Tribulations: Issue on going to work when a loved one is ill.
4. Strong Women: Red Coat – Resilient, Mum: being the provider and standing
up from nudges from kid.
Multi-stranded
narrative
“What’s the local gossip”
Wedding and relationship
Diversion – Can immerse
in different situations.
Family
relationships
“I could wedge it down
your throat”
Some members may be
able to sympathise with
9

10. and/or conflict
“What would I do without
you?”
the character being
targeted. Members may be
able to build a personal
relationship with these
two characters.
“What you need is a drink” ‘Personally identify’
Focus on working
Language used: Dosh
(Katz) with the accent and
class communities
(local talk).
slang being used in the
show.
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) “She’s defiantly up to
‘Diversion’, can immerse
something”
themselves in the up-andcoming problem.
Audience wants to be
informed and educated.
Flowers in hand.
Personal identification
Romance
and or sympathise with
the character.
Soap Opera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson 4
Textual Analysis
1) What is the purpose of a trailer?
To promote and advertise either a film or a television programme. Soap Opera: To
advertise a certain episode or series of episodes and to hopefully sell to a mass
audience
2) What are the benefits of Multi-Platform promotion of a media text?
To promote the film or television programme series to a wider audience.
A cheap effective way to promote to a mass audience.
Ultimately, some form of Convergence is important when promoting a text to the
target audience.
3)
Textual Analysis –
10

11. You MUSTmake notes on the following areas when deconstructing this sequence
from Coronation Street:
Multi-stranded narrative
Character dilemmas
‘Personal Identification’ (Katz)
Hayley and Roy – Facial expression
Tension - Liz and Jason – Multi stranded Narrative
Romance – With Becky but binary opposite with Steve
Sign – Hayley
Eileen crossing the fingers – to say this could go either way.
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)?
It could represent the battle of the sexes in the soap and could connote the female
gender is more dominant
11

12. Hollyoaks – “White Wedding Trailer” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu2sWr9Vb4
2. You MUSTmake notes on the following areas when deconstructing this
sequence from Hollyoaks:
Binary opposition of the non-diegetic music
Symbolism of the non-verbal code of the tear
Representation of Pregnancy
Any other examples that would impact the audience
Symbolism of the tear – Black connotes fear she could be crying because of guilt >
“What have you done”
The lyrics are a complete binary opposition to what the situation is. > “It’s a nice day
for a white wedding”
Baby bump is oversized > Fake.
Production Work
1) What is the role of a Producer?
Oversee all aspects of the production across the 3 stages the pre-production,
production, post production. Manage everyone and ensure everyone 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 –
You MUSTresearch the institution that your trailer will be exhibited on.
Tips: Programming, Target audience, Audience figures, History of the channel.
Launched 9th February 2003.
Audience 1.4%
It replaced BBC Choice
The live Eastenders episode in 2010 gained 4,537,000 viewers.
The channels target audience is 16 – 34.
12