This document contains planning and research materials for a media studies assignment to create a trailer for a new soap opera. It includes: 1. The aims and objectives of the assignment, which is to create a 45 second to 1 minute 30 second trailer for a new soap opera. 2. Research on existing soap operas like EastEnders and Coronation Street to identify codes and conventions of the genre. This includes analyzing promotional trailers and episodes. 3. Planning documents like production schedules, roles of the director and producer, and research on broadcasting institutions. The document demonstrates thorough planning and research on soap opera genres and conventions to inform the creation of an original trailer that will appeal to both male and female

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St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
Candidate Number: 4137
Candidate Name: Bethany Vaughan
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.
YOU SHOULD research when Eastenders is scheduled (Day –
Time)

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

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Soap Opera Codes & Conventions – Lesson 2
1) What are some of the Codes & Conventions of this genre?
Setting
Pub
House (estate flats and terrace houses)
Market
Square or street
Club
Characters
Manipulative
Motherly
Fatherly
Femme fatale
Bully
Aggressive
Romantic
Active
Passive
Icons
Regional identity
Family
Community spirit
Theme tune
Interlinking storylines
Gossip
Verisimilitude
Specials
Plots and subplots
Criminals
Narrative
Relationships
Sexuality
Violence/murder
Family problems
Adultery
Pregnancy

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2) Codes & Conventions of the Soap Opera Genre
The Soap Opera genre can be categorized by the ‘repeated’
(Steve Neale) elements of:
1. Romance
2. Family conflict and relationships
3. Focus on working class community
4. Antagonism and conflict
5. Murderous behavior
Eastenders (1985 – Present)
Key information regarding this text:
 Exhibited on BBC1 and repeated on BBC3
 One of the most popular TV shows (over 6 million views)
 Set in the “Kitchen Sink” setting of fictional Watford East London
Textual Analysis Task
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=related -
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.

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Extension - 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
15-60+
Gender
Female
Nationality
English
Trailer 1)
What is the Focus of this trailer?
The takeover of the vic pub, themes of violence, the murder of Michael
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
Roxie and male Romance attracts adults as they enjoy and
relate to the romantic themes (Hartley-
Young 20-40)
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Ronnie and man
fighting ‘Ma brother’
‘swear on my mother’s
grave’
‘stay away from my
sister’
‘Family pub’
Taking over pub appeals to Maslow’s ‘Social
climbers’ because of the need for money as it
highlights a want for money and
improvement of life which they will try to
repeat.
Maslow’s ‘Care givers’ will sympathize with
Ronnie’s want to care for and protect her
little sister.
Focus on
working class
communities
Mid shot of all in pub
‘EastEnders this
Christmas’ narrative
Accents
Hartley – Nationality (Accent)
All in pub together highlights community
and is relatable for working class areas,
which is something an audience would
stereotypically expect from a Soap Opera.
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
Roxie and man
romance
murder
New Vic owner
Multiple storylines create drama as they all
intertwine so there is a lot for the audience
to focus on, this increases tension and
causes it to be interesting for the audience.

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‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
Pub being taken over
Murder
Romance
These cause tension and drama between
characters which creates an interesting
narrative for the audience.
Trailer 2)
What is the Focus of this trailer?
Who is Kat cheating with?
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
Kat’s affair (possible
men)
Alfie and Kat kissing
Maslow – ‘care givers’, sympathize with Alfie
Hartley – young 20-40 old viewers will
‘personally identify’ (Katz) with the
romantic themes and themes of adultery
attract an adult audience because is is most
likely removed from their humble/normal
existence.
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Kat cheating on Alfie
with one of the
Brannings
Katz – ‘personal relationships’- Alfie.
Feel pity for Alfie because he is being
cheated on and is unaware of who it is.
Moral ethics of the audience, they will
disagree with what Kat is doing.
Focus on
working class
communities
Pub
Market
Accents
Hartley’s nationality – recognizable location
within the Soap Opera genre in conveying a
working class representation of the UK.
Katz’ Personal Identity
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
One story line The audience focuses on one story from
different perspectives rather than multiple
stories.
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
Kat and Alfie conflict The audience are encouraged to be
sympathetic of the characters as they are
fighting.

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Multi-stranded narrative
A Multi-stranded narrative can be defined as…..
The telling of a story from more than one person’s point of view. Telling multiple
stories from multiple characters pint of view in an ‘open narrative’ episode.
YOU MUST deconstruct the 10-minute extract from Eastenders and 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 Evidence Impact on the audience
 Multi-stranded
narrative
Stag and hen do
Jack locked in
Lads in pub
The audience are focusing
on multiple intertwining
storylines making it
interesting to the
audience
 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Stag and Hen (friends)
Phil and Jack
Carol and man
Max and woman
Maslow – ‘explorers’
Stag and Hens – ‘social
climbers’
 Focus on working
class communities
Stag and Hen dos, beer
and lager
Pubs and Club
Relatable to the working
class as they are common
to the class.
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)
Boys night out
Girls night out
Ronnie calling Jack
The multiple stories mean
there is a lot going on at
once causing conflict and
disequilibrium
 Romance
Jack and sharon The audience relate to
romantic themes and are
encouraged to watch
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:

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“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)
Next Page - 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.Woman cleaning wearing yellow gloves – washing up. Men not helping or offering
to help.
2. Mother believes that she is better and has a higher status than the other women.
3.Girl wants to go out for a meal and language like “swanky” and “slap up meal”
connotes wanting to spend lots of money
4.Woman putting makeup on highlights vanity and care for appearance despite only
going to the shop.
5.Girl at meal is a strong female character, she doesn’t feel the need to engage in
romance suggests she is strong and independent.

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“Multi-Stranded Narrative”
2 different family storylines at the same time.
 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Mother cleaning and dad caring for child.
Conflict between mother and grandmother, both
argumentative causing issues.
 Focus on working
class communities
“slap up meal” colloquial language is typical of working
class
Putting makeup on for the shop
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)
Argument between mother and her mum, they
obviously have conflicting status’ and this causes
friction as they are trying to rival one another causing
conflict and disequilibrium
 Romance
Married couples, discussing future honeymoon -
 Other Themes &
Issues represented:
N/A
Soap Opera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson 4
Textual Analysis
1) What is the purpose of a trailer?
They are a device used to build excitement in the audience and to encourage a
wider audience to watch. It gives a preview of the show which appeals to a large
variety of people, promoting the show and encouraging discussion within the
audience.
2) What are the benefits of Multi-Platform promotion of a media text?
 Multiple platforms means more people will see the trailer therefore reaching
a wider potential audience.
 Wider promotion of a text through multi-platform marketing encourages
more audience discussion, often on social media. Being suggested to watch

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something by a friend is very effective so audience discussion increases
viewers.
Ultimately, some form of convergence 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)
Coronation Street: Goodbye Hayley TRAILER (20th January 14)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg3BslqpqKc
 Multi-stranded narrative – the death of the character is seen from multiple
peoples perspectives so creates more emotion
o Man looking into her eyes and holding hands shows he cares
romantically and connotes that he is there for her
o Woman in hospital setting with a sad crying facial expression and
being comforted by ill woman suggesting she is a daughter, people may
relate to her emotion as they could have been in a similar situation
with a loved one (Katz ‘personal identification’)
o Woman lets out a sob and turns to man for comfort, suggests romance
and the male to be caring. They are obviously upset about the woman’s
illness so she means a lot to them.
o Out of focus hands stroking thumbs connotes care and love and is
reinforced by the in focus prop wedding picture in the background
which also suggest they are reminiscing old happy memories.
 The verbal code diegetic dialogue “I’m just determined to make the most of
what I’ve got left” connotes the woman is strong, as the line is delivered in a
very emotional manner as it makes explicit the little time the woman has and
would therefore make an audience already watching the show emotional as
they will miss the character.
 Some shots appear to be ideal through use of bright colours and soft focus,
for example the extreme long shot of the man and woman dancing, the
extreme long shot causes it to appear out of reach and like a distant memory.

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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)?
Heterosexuality signified by the male and female symbols, male and female
together in logo suggests sex. Binary opposition of the sexes from the pink and blue,
colors often associated with the male and female gender. The highlighting of the
genders may signify gender issues within the show.
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:
 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
Black
 Connotes death as typical of funeral
 Foreboding
 Forbidden
 Soundtrack is “white wedding” which is in binary opposition (Levi Strauss) to
the mise-en-scene of the trailer (blacks used in the décor and costume)
 The verbal code of the lyric “hey little sister what have you done” connotes
some kind of blame on the bride and suggests that she has done something
(perhaps getting pregnant) which has caused the scene.
 “It’s a nice day to start again” highlights how marrying the man may not be a
good idea and that she has the choice to start again, however it could also
connote that the wedding is her starting afresh.
 The lyric “It’s a nice day for a white wedding” is opposed by the bride
revealing her face and the black tear, the sadness of the tear contrasts the use
of nice as it suggests sadness and the white wedding conflicts with the black
colour scheme of the trailer.
 Black gloves could ‘signify’ (De Saussure) hiding something as gloves are
worn to stop spread of evidence
China doll shattering
 Death of baby
Strained fake looking expression
 everyone is fake
 people do not agree with the wedding

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black rose
 death
 bad relationship which will not last, the man waving with the gloves is
connoted to be a ‘villain’ (Propp) as the gloves suggest he is trying to hide
something or remove evidence. The woman looking at the bride with a
sinister expression while dropping a doll so it smashes is also portrayed as a
‘villain’ through the facial expression and destruction of the doll smashing.
 Black tear
 sadness caused by wedding
 depression
 pain
‘Love, Honor, Betray.’ – Non-Diegetic Voiceover
 Connotes how the relationship is flawed
 Someone has lied
 “Betray” connotes cheating or marrying with intentions to be unfaithful
 Baby may not be the husbands.
Production Work
1) What is the role of a Producer?
The producer oversees all aspects of the production e.g. making sure all equipment
for filming is in the right place at the right time to film the trailer.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
2) What is the role of a Director?
The director oversees all creative aspects of the production, directing 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.
 Launched in 1964
 Delivers less mainstream content in comparison to BBC1 e.g. Top Gear and
The Culture Show
 Aimed to an older audience of 35-54.
 Annual % share of viewing – individuals 2013 = 5.7
 Total share of viewings September 2014
 It was the third television channel in the UK and second the BBC channel.