This document contains a student's production log for a media studies assignment. It includes planning and research conducted for a trailer for a new soap opera. The student analyzed codes and conventions of soap operas like EastEnders and Coronation Street to understand narrative structures, character types, and themes that appeal to audiences. Scenes from soaps were analyzed to understand how they create meanings and responses. The log documents the student's research into the purpose of trailers, promotion strategies, and responsibilities of key production roles. It also includes details of filming schedules and deadlines.

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St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number: 64770
Candidate Number: 6146
Candidate Name: Liam De Costa
A2 Media Studies
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media –
Production Log
Evidence of Planning & Research

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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 at 8:30pm (after Eastenders)
that will appeal to a Male and Female audience.

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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
Deadlines – Production Work
Filming Dates:
Edited Trailer – Complete:
Promotional Poster – Complete:
Promotional Magazine Cover – Complete:
Evaluation– Complete:

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SoapOpera Codes & Conventions – Lesson2
1) What are some of the Codes & Conventions of this genre?
Soap opera codes
Usually end with a cliff
hanger
(suspense)
Multi-stranded
narrative
Located on a street or
street square
Large cast
-Protagonist
-Antagonist
-Multi cultural
-Range of ages
-Families
Small community
Mainly targets a female
audience
LOTS of drama
Conflict
Romance
Crime

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The Soap Operagenre can be categorizedby the ‘repeated’
(S t e v e N e a l e ) elements of:
1. Romance
2. Family relationshipand/or conflict
3. Focus on working class communities
4. Antagonism and conflict within community
5. Realism
Eastenders (1985 – Present)
Key informationregarding this text:
 Exhibited on BBC1 and repeated on BBC Three
 One of the UK’s highest ratedprogrammes (averages 6m viewers
per episode)
 Set in the ‘Kitchen Sink’ setting of fictional Watford, East London
Textual Analysis Task
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=related -

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In your opinion, accordingto Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities, whatis the
target audiencefor Eastenders?
Age Teens-Adults 16-30
Gender Female
Nationality British
Trailer 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADNwkxrCtd4
What is the Focus of this trailer?
The trailer focuses on the main characters who are suspected to have killed Lucy.
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
Non-verbal – Max
Max was in a
relationship with Lucy.
Hartley - Audience will be shocked with the
age difference between these two characters
as it is not socially acceptable. In relation to
the age subjectivity, both Max and Lucy
would stereotypically have different
priorities in their life, which would show in
their relationship; possibly leading to its
downfall.
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Non-verbal – Ian
Lucy’s father Ian
presents feelings of
tragic loss towards the
event.
Katz – Viewers who have lost a relative or a
close friend would empathise with the
character through this tragic event through
personal identification. This scene is very
relatable as death is a part of life and
everyone will experience it in their lives.
Focus on
working class
communities
Non-verbal – Taking out
the trash, making tea in
a café.
Hartley – The working class community
presented within the trailer can relate to the
nation in which it is set. It allows viewers to
understand and relate themselves to the
community of Eastenders, as they may live a
similar way of life to the characters
involved.
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
The narrative focuses
on the death of Lucy
and who murdered her.
Maslow – Audiences will want to expand
their knowledge of the current plot line
within the soap. This is an example of a
social climber and viewers will be driven to
watch the latest episode of Eastenders in
order to know what exactly has been

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happening.
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
Death of a character Hartley – Due to the fact that the character
who has been murdered was a female, it
would stereotypically gain more attention
from viewers, especially as the character
was a young adult. Because of this, the
audience may feel more sympathetic
towards her and her family.
Trailer 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWyB6Nqfhv8
What is the Focus of this trailer?
This trailer focuses on the ‘Secrets’ of individual characters that relate to the
narrative.
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
Verbal code diegetic
dialogue “That didn’t
stop you from sleeping
with her!”
Hartley – Audiences will be shocked as this
character has had sexual encounters with
the younger character as it is socially
unacceptable. This can also relate to gender
as it can be imposed that the older male
character could have taken advantage over
the fact that the female character was much
younger than him.
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
“I just want to tell him I
love him”
Hartley – The scene involves a broken
relationship between a distant mother and
son. Domestic issues are a key focus of soap
operas as they challenge these problems
with individuals from a working class
community, allowing for a more relatable
approach for viewers.
Focus on
working class
communities
Non-verbal – shaving at
barbers
Hartley – Men prefer to maintain their self
image and shaving is a prominent part of
that. Male viewers would understand that in
many areas of work, maintaining a self
image is key in order to appear respectable.
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
Lucy’s murder
Shirley and Mick
Maslow – Audiences would want to be
explorers, driven by the alternative
representation of the characters within the
soap. The multi-stranded narrative allows
viewers to relate to more than one given
situation, in this case, different narratives.

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Multi-stranded narrative
A Multi-stranded narrative can be defined as…..
-Telling a story from more than one persons point of view
-Telling multiple stories about multiple characters in an open narrative episode
 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
Ian and woman
Phil and Shirley
Albert bar
Questioning motives and
Ian’s affairs with
mysterious woman.
Possible love between
both characters.
‘Caregivers’ (Maslow)
 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Phil and Shirley
Conflict at bar
What is their relationship
and whether there is an
underlying love for one
another.
Questions to what and
why the character Sharon
has been attacked.
 Focus on working
class communities
Sirens
Young pregnancy
Relatable to real events on
a day to day basis.
A common social issue
that is always being raised
in local communities.
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) Conflict at bar & Ian’s
predicament
The problems that arise
from these events shake
the balance of peace in the
community by affecting
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
Murder Katz – Murder is a key element of soap
operas, as it is something that they try to
inform and educate the viewers on. They do
this by approaching the external factors,
allowing for viewers to understand the
impact of something as tragic as murder.

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individuals.
 Romance ‘first time you fell in love’ The audience could
possibly relate to this
comment , being that they
have heard it before in
their lifetime or even
provoke them to recollect
their ‘first love’
Katz
SoapOpera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson3
Textual Analysis
According to Rebecca Feasey in ‘Masculinity and Popular television’ (2007), the Soap
Opera genre tends to focus on:
“..the home, the family, domestic tribulations and the strong woman, 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)

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Code & Convention Evidence Impact on the audience
Rebecca Feasey (2007) Ideology:
1. Family
2. Financial issues at home
3. Strong woman
4.
5.
“Multi-Stranded Narrative” Family at breakfast
Mum and child
In convenience store
 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Old woman ordering family
‘Keep your trap shut’-conflict between family members
Strong front to kid
 Focus on working
class communities
‘Wish we had more money’ – a common domestic issue
Helping each other out
Slang
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)
Conflict between the brother and sister
 Romance None
 Other Themes &
Issues represented:
None

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SoapOpera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson4
Textual Analysis
1) What is the purpose of a trailer?
To inform the audience and therefore potential viewers of a media product before it
is released.
2) What are the benefits of Multi-Platform promotion of a media text?
 Reach a wider audience
 Gain popularity
Ultimately, some form of C o n v e r g e n c e is important when promoting a text
to the target audience.
3) Textual Analysis –
Next Page - YOU MUST make notes on the following areas when deconstructing this
sequence from Coronation Street:
 Multi-stranded narrative
 Character dilemmas
 ‘Personal Identification’ (Katz)

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Multi-stranded narrative
-Wedding – The trailer focuses on the forthcoming wedding of two characters who
are shown to be getting dressed.
-Male character looking upset with older female character – shot reverse shot could
suggest sexual tension due to a past affair.
-Facial expressions of concern from the assumed bride’s parents which signify their
disapproval with the man she is marrying.
Character dilemmas
-Marriage – The groom appears stressed and doubtful in contrast to the bride who
is presented to be extremely happy with getting married. This could suggest that
the decision to get married was the female’s, revealing underlying intentions.
-‘Good luck’ – emphasis on the word ‘luck’ suggests that there is a lot of doubt with
the forthcoming marriage.
-‘perfect date for a perfect wedding’ – Friday 13th is supposedly a day of bad luck.
-Both characters are alone before the ceremony which can connote that their
friends do not agree with the wedding and possibly do not support them.
Diegetic sound
“This is my lucky day” – The lyrics of the trailer present binary opposition as the
characters are shown to not be as happy as the bride. This clearly foreshadows that
something bad will happen at the wedding.
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)?
-Focus on relationships/problems (promiscuity)
-Dealing with modern issues eg. Abortion
-Male VS female colour scheme
Next Page - Hollyoaks – “White Wedding Trailer” -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu2sW-r9Vb4
2. YOU MUST make notes on the following areas when deconstructing this
sequence from Hollyoaks:

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 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
 The theme of black symbolizes death and power which can be indicated by
the drop of the china doll, suggesting the idea of a miscarriage.
 The rose that is pinned to the groom is black which contrasts the fact that
roses are stereotypically presented as a symbol of love. This could indicate
that there is no love between the bride and groom.
 The bride is clearly presented as being heavily pregnant, this could suggest
that the wedding has been conducted due to this reason. The bride is also
shown to be resting her hand on her stomach, revealing that she is possibly
afraid for her baby.
 The use of low key lighting, shown by how the light is restricted access into
the church by boarded windows. This could symbolize the feelings of the
bride, how she is possibly trapped and is struggling to break out into the
light.
 This scene could also be seen as a representation of how she views the
wedding, how she thinks others view her and what she believes will be the
likely outcome of the wedding.
 The diegetic sound of the soundtrack is a binary opposition of the
presentation of the trailer. ‘nice day for a white wedding’ juxtaposes the
black theme of the wedding that is demonstrated in the trailer.
 The statue, which can be seen as a statue of Jesus on the cross, is shown to be
covering its face. Due to the fact that marriage is a Christian sacrament of
God, it can be connoted that God himself does not agree with this wedding as
it could suggest that they are not getting married for the purpose in which
marriage was created.
Production Work
1) What is the role of a Producer?
Oversee all aspects of the production across the 3 stages: Pre production,
production and post production.
Manage everyone and ensure everything is in place in order for the text to look fit
for purpose.

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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 MUST research the institution that your trailer will be exhibited on.
Tips: Programming, Target audience, Audience figures, History of the channel.
 Average daily reach = 11,900
 Launched April 20, 1964
 Screens highly praised and prestigious drama series
 Memorable for its numerous idents
 Funded by the television license = commercial free