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- 1. 1 St. Paul’s CatholicCollege Center Number: 64770 Candidate Number: 6692 Candidate Name: Eleanor Mason 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 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.
- 3. 3 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 SoapOpera Codes &Conventions They all includea ‘Strong female’ (Rebecca Feasey) such as Peggie from Eastenders Diegetic and non- diegetic sound such as the dialoguebetween characters and the soundtrack Establishing shot showing the setting of the Soap Operaallowing the audienceto familiarize themselves with the environmentof the soap. Runningthemessuch as love, conflict, secrets, lies, murder etc. These themes are used in the story linesof the soaps. Point of call, where there is like an outro where the audiencesees the identat the endsof soap e.g. BBC 2 Cliffhangersthat leave the audiencewantingto know what happensso they watch the next episodeto find out Theme tunes that ‘signifies’ (Desaussre) to the audiencewhich soap it is Multi-stranded narrative, this is where many stories are shown in the soap. The idents - e.g. BBC, Eastenders. In Hollyoaksthe ident shows ‘binary opposites’ (Levi Strauss) as it has the sign for a female and male Female-targeted audience, that are usually middleaged dueto the stereotypical view of the woman stayingat home and the men are out working. Codes and Conventions
- 5. 5 2) Codes &Conventions of the SoapOpera Genre The Soap Operagenre can be categorizedby the ‘repeated’ (Steve Neale ) elements of: 1. Themes such as love, conflict and secrets 2. Idents 3. Multi-Stranded narrative 4. Theme tunes 5. Point of call Eastenders (1985 – Present) Key informationregarding this text: BBC show Eastendersbecause of the core valuesof the BBC which is ‘inform, educateand entertain’ (John Reith) Eastenderscan be watched on a catch up channel such as BBC IPlayer which can be played on TV’s, tablets, smartphones and laptops Would havea British target audiencewho will mainly be middleaged women (Hartley)
- 6. 6 Textual Analysis Task http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=related- What is the target audiencefor Eastenders? Age Middle aged women, 35 and above Gender Women Nationality British Trailer 1) – The Week of Revelations – Eastenders 2015 Trailer BBC One What is the Focus of this trailer? The focus of this trailer is the secrets that these characters have held onto are now coming to light and are going to be revealed in the forthcoming episodes. Code & Convention Evidence (Verbal, Non-Verbal, Technical) Impact on the Audience (Katz, Maslow, Hartley) Romance N/A N/A Family relationships and/or conflict Ian looking at Jane with conflict when the hand prints are shown on the window of the shop, this is a two person shop as both Ian and Jane are in shot. The ‘survivors’ (Maslow) will want security of the characters as this trailer is very dystopian and uses low key lighting with some harsh high key lighting. Focus on working class communities Both Jane and Ian working in the chip shop shows the working class family. Denise is also in the pub, which you stereotypically associate with working class communities to do. In order to show this, the producers use an establishing shot of the environment. This means that the audience can form a ‘personal relationship’ (Katz) with the characters as they will most likely going to be working class families that watch this TV show making it more relatable to the audience and so they can ‘diverge’ (Maslow) themselves into the Soap Opera. “Multi-Stranded Narrative” Shows all the characters facial expressions as they all look very glum but also scared as if their secret is going to come out, this is shown through close-ups and mid-shots. This means this captures the audiences attention because they can see something is wrong from their facial expressions giving the audience that hook to reel them into the storyline making them want to know more. The non-diegetic sound of the This acts as a ‘diversion’ (Katz) as it gets
- 7. 7 ‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) soundtrack has adystopian feel to it, which gives it that eerie feeling. There is also the diegetic sound of the gate banging and the hands sliding down the window. the audience immersed in the trailer, this also makes the audience forget their worries and allows them to think about something else and acts as an escape for them. Trailer 2) – Hollyoaks Autumn 2014 Trailer: Featuring #hollyoaksendoftheline What is the Focus of this trailer? The main focus of this trailer is a positive and happy theme with snippets of chaos which Code & Convention Evidence (Verbal, Non-Verbal, Technical) Impact on the Audience (Katz, Maslow, Hartley) Romance The gay characters get married – “will you marry me?” and Dodger professes his love – “The only one I love”. This appeals to the ‘caregivers’ (Maslow) who will want these characters to have a happy ending and will want this storyline to work out. The audience could also form a ‘personal relationship’ (Katz) with the characters. Family relationships and/or conflict Some characters in court for a trial – “the court will now proceed” showing the conflict in this trailer. This also appeals to the ‘caregivers’ (Maslow) because the audience will wish well on these characters and will hope that nothing bad will end up happening to them. Focus on working class communities There are characters in mechanic uniforms representing the working class community. This creates that ‘personal identification’ (Katz) with the audience and the characters as they can relatable and understand the background of these characters which makes the soap more relatable and parallel to the audiences’ lives. “Multi-Stranded Narrative” The discussion in the elevator, the court room this is done using close ups to show the multiple narratives. This makes the audience hooked onto the trailer and will make them want to watch more as it has given them as taste of what is to come as the characters and storylines will be more relatable. ‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) The diegetic sound of the screaming in the elevator This create that sense of danger to the trailer and will make the ‘caregivers’ (Maslow) wish for the characters to be alright which will compel them to watch the soap opera.
- 8. 8 Multi-stranded narrative A Multi-strandednarrative can be defined as… The storyline of the soap is made up of several different strands that have different narratives; for example, the film ‘Love Actually’ has around eight different story strands that eventually link in the end. By juxta-positioning the stands, the audience will not only be concerned about the action, but also the outcome of each strand and how they’re related to each other. Eastenders: 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 Shirley was on the phone to child protection services, a guy was taking part in Ramadan showing different culture and Jane was talking to another person about her children. The audience is ‘informed’ (Maslow) on the different storylines in the episode making them more involved and interested in the storylines, characters and what might happen within these storylines. Family relationships and/or conflict Stacey is talking about her young child, Lily – “She won’t take her dress off” referencing to the family she has. This allows the audience to form a ‘personal identification’ (Katz) with the characters as they also will have a family and will relate to the characters. Focus on working class communities Nancy said “I’ve got to be back in the pub for a shift in half an hour” This relates more to the audience because it is most likely working class families and middle aged women watching this soap opera. Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) None of the male characters in the soap wanted to go to this party that one of them wanted to go to. The disequilibrium adds that bit of drama that soap operas always have which is why the audience watch soaps to see the interesting plot twists. Romance Shabnab and her boyfriend are talking and flirting with each other during the clip. This makes the soap more relatable to the audience as they will have experienced these things.
- 9. 9 SoapOpera Codes &Conventions - 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) I am going to 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. I am also going to 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. Someone in the family dying in the fire which creates and emotional connection to the characters and storyline by the audience 2. A mum and child playing with toys together. This means that the audience can identify with the situation as they will also be at home spending time with the family. 3. All the women in the clip are represented as the ‘strong woman’ as they are all breaking the bad news to the other characters for example, the nurse breaking the news to the family. 4. The woman behind the bar emasculated the men as she was in control and one man was drinking a more feminine drink whilst the other was talking in a more
- 10. 10 high pitched femininevoice. 5. ‘Domestic’ e.g. arguments between two ‘strong women’ regarding the burning down of a house. “Multi-Stranded Narrative” Shows the family walking through the street mourning, people in the bar however they are talking about the same thing of the family and the fire. Family relationships and/or conflict The family sticking together throughout the day to protect one another, there is also a conflict between this family and a girl which makes the soap more engaging to the audience. Focus on working class communities The bar woman working in the pub which shows this soap has that community space where they all go which is relatable to real life. Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) This occurs at the start where the family are discussing the bad news of a death/murder and this glum theme continues throughout the clip as it is centered around the fire and what happened. Romance N/A Other Themes & Issues represented: There are themes of death and mourning throughout the clip which highlights the problems people have when they go through this life changing experience. SoapOpera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson4 Textual Analysis 1) What is the purpose of a trailer? The purpose of a trailer is to advertise and promote the soap and to create an interest around a certain storyline so that more people watch the soap and gets the right audience to what the soap as it would be played in between programs and at certain times. 2) What are the benefits of Multi-Platform promotion of a media text? Allows the audience to interact with the soap e.g. comments. It also attracts a new type of audience as the soap can be accessed in multiple ways. The audience can watch the soap on different platforms at their own leisure e.g. on catch up or different channels. Ultimately, some form of Convergence is important when promoting a text to the target audience.
- 11. 11 3) Textual Analysis – Iam going to make notes on the following areas when deconstructing this sequence from Coronation Street: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_AU3BXAlhl Multi-stranded narrative Character dilemmas ‘Personal Identification’ (Katz) A multi-stranded narrative is shown in this clip in the very first 2 minutes of the clip as the first scene shows a young woman coming into her family who are sitting round the table discussing her leaving meal, then the camera cuts to another family discussing babies and their amount of sleep they had then again it cuts to a man and a woman talking about how his girlfriend is moving away and that he doesn’t have a job. Within the first couple of minutes of this sequence the audience can see a variety of different narratives which are clear to them by the use of the cuts to change into the next scene showing the different narrative. Through having these family situations this also gives the audience that feeling of ‘personal identification’ (Katz) as everyone has had that experience of a family and the family dynamics that is shown in these scenes on the soap. By having many different narratives in a soap opera this mean that they can have a variety of different topics that the producers and directors can address which are relevant to current social issues that are going on in the UK and globally. Multi-stranded narratives are also a good convention to ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) because by having multiple narratives throughout the soap, at least one of them will appeal to the audience and giving the soap a broader and larger audience as it will cater to more people’s likes and interests. There is also lots of evidence for character dilemmas as the girl in the second scene of the clip shows her dilemma as her boyfriend asked her to go to the bank and pay the rent however he has to go out to work and as the audience we can see the conflict she has in her facial expressions as she looks very stressed and not happy that it had been sprung on her. Another example of character dilemmas is the third scene again where the male is deciding what to do with his life, whether to go to London with his girlfriend or to stay at home. Through showing these character dilemmas it gives the audience that ‘personal identification’ (Katz) towards the characters as everyone has to make some tough and important decisions and this shows that these characters also have to do this making the soap more relatable and interesting to the audience as they will want to know how they deal with this stress of making such big or small decisions that have an impact on other people.
- 12. 12 1. What arethe connotations of the ident for the popular Channel Four Teen Soap Opera Hollyoaks (1995 – Present)? The ident of Hollyoaks has the two gender signs included which could connote the type of soap opera it is maybe that the characters are all equally represented and not always conforming to the stereotypical views of a person. Next Page - Hollyoaks – “White Wedding Trailer” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu2sW-r9Vb4 2. These are 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 In this trailer it shows the binary opposition of the non-diegetic music as the bridesmaids walk down the aisle they look very miserable wearing their black dresses which denotes that this wedding may not be a happy one or being done for the right reasons as the bride is obviously pregnant which could mean that this wedding isn’t being held for the right reasons and that this wedding is happening to hide something that she or the groom has done, this is also shown in the soundtrack as the song goes “darling sister, what have you done?” this also connotes the possible falseness of the wedding. The binary opposite of the non-diegetic sound such as the song going “it’s and nice day for a white wedding” which is the complete opposite of the non-verbal codes such as all the people attending the wedding wearing black, the petals falling are black and the whole feel of this trailer is very dystopian due to the low key lighting throughout the trailer which completely contradicts what the song is singing about. The symbolism of the non-verbal code of the tear connotes that maybe the bride doesn’t want to go ahead with this wedding but could be forced to, it could also represent the remorse and regret she has as her facial expressions look sad and slightly scared. This tear being black may also symbolise the bride herself in terms of that she is black on the inside and maybe isn’t a nice person which could be why one of the guests look as though they are smiling sarcastically and drop the china doll which could foreshadow what this person may feel towards the child that the bride is carrying.The representation of pregnancy also doesn’t seem to be very positive due to the other characters seeming cold and nonchalant towards her and the baby but also through the guest dropping the china doll is acting like a warning the bride that this person may want to harm the baby to get to her. Throughout this trailer there are many different symbolic moments such as the china doll smashing, the black tear, the soundtrack and even the costumes used for the trailer. All these areas impact the audience because it makes them more intrigued into what is going to happen to the characters in the trailer as it doesn’t give much away.
- 13. 13 Production Work 1) Whatis the role of a Producer? The role of a producer is to oversee all the different aspects of the production across the three stages such as the pre-production, production and post-production. They manage everyone and ensure that everything is in place, in order for the intended outcome. 2) What is the role of a Director? The role of the director is to oversee the creative aspects of the production, and direct people in front and behind the camera making sure that everything looks good and the brief is fulfilled. 3) Institution research – Research on the institution that my trailer will be exhibited on. Tips: Programming, Target audience, Audience figures, History of the channel. Aims are the ‘inform, educate and entertain’ (John Reith) and usually contains factual programming The types of programs they produce are documentaries, educational TV shows, arts, history, science and human interest docunantaries. The typical audience for BBC 2 are people aged from about 35-54 years old both males and females. They have a viewership of around 2.5 million people. This station has been going for 50 years and caters to many peoples interests and has a wide variety of genres e.g. comedies and dramas. They want an output that is intelligent and rich in content, yet thoroughly accessible and entertaining.