This document discusses the key elements and conventions of melodramas by comparing the British soap operas Hollyoaks and Coronation Street. It outlines that melodramas feature stereotyped characters, heroes, villains, sidekicks and damsels in distress. The origins of the term melodrama are explained, along with how different camera work, mise-en-scene, sound, editing, lighting and scene structure are used in the two soap operas to create different tones and pacing.

1. Melodramas
By Steph, Sam and Lily

2. Examples of Melodramas
Hollyoaks
Downton Abbey
Emmerdale
Coronation
Street
Eastenders

3. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/holly
oaks/4od
Hollyoaks Melodrama
• Stereotyped Characters
• Hero/Villains/Side kicks/Damsel in Distress

4. Origins of Melodrama
• Term originated from the 19th century French
word (Melodrame)
• The word Melo means music in Greek
• Drame is French for drama
• Melodrama is a combination of spoken pieces
and short pieces of music
• In ancient Greek times, they used to mime.

5. Camera work
• Free hand camera work to make the scene more
realistic.
• Coronation street uses a range of different camera
techniques from zooming out to panning across the
tops of houses, to a slight birds eye view.
• All these shots are done slowly and blend together.
• Where as Hollyoaks use of camera angles and shots are
very short and quick, creating a fast feel which matches
the music.
• Hollyoaks uses lots of close ups of the characters faces,
in contrast to Coronation street, which doesn't use any
close ups.

6. Mise en scene
• The mise-en-scene in each opening are very different.
• Coronation street is filmed in an urban setting, in an
old part of town, somewhere up North. There are no
characters shown, it is about about the location which
reflects a slow pace of life, which matches to music.
• They use the day light to film in. It is all very
naturalistic.
• Nearly all the characters seem to be young, all under
the age of 40, which contrasts with the old, slow pace
of the coronation street theme.

7. • Plots based on human crises and emotions
• Everything is over-exaggerated

8. Sound
• Dramatic music to cause suspense.
• Non-Diegetic and Diegetic sound depending
on scene or soap.
• Non-Diegetic sound in scenes where it’s
needed to cause tension.
• Diegetic sounds in bar/club/shop/restaurant
scenes.

9. Editing
• Hollyoaks is edited together, to reflect a fast,
lively feel with lots of crazy effects to give a
young and fun feel.
• Coronation street has slow and smooth
transitions, where the shots blend nicely into
each other. No effects are added.

10. Lighting
• The lighting is all from the studio and no
natural light is used in Coronation street.
• Hollyoaks uses nearly all natural light within
their shooting, apart from help from reflectors
or flash.

11. Scenes
• Coronation street is half an hour normally, with a break
generally leaving on a cliff hanger.
• Hollyoaks is the same with more breaks.
• In each episode there is normally three or four
different storylines.
• Each storyline begins with a establishing shot and
before cutting off to another story there is a cliff
hanger.
• Because each episode contains a variety of stories the
audience feel they have to watch every episode to
understand, if they miss one they wont.