1. HOW DID YOU USE,
DEVEL0P OR
CHALLENGE CODES
AND CONVENTIONS OF
REAL MEDIA
Question
1.

2. BASIC CODES AND
CONVENTIONSo Soap opera’s are a continuous TV programme, they run at the same time every week and will
have a set number of episodes each week, they will also be showed on the same channel each.
This is so the audience always knows when the soap will be on and so they can make sure they
get to watch each episode every week. Soaps are often aired at tea time/after tea time, when
families are usually together as soap opera’s can be enjoyed by all ages.
o Scripted Realities although a soap opera don’t often follow the typical pattern of being a
continuous TV programme. They are often filmed in sets of series as the drama is based on real
life with real life people not written/fictional characters. This causes for them to not be on TV all
the time, but when the series is on TV then it will showed at the same time each week and on the
same channel, scripted realities are often shown a little later than traditional soaps as their
audience tends to be young adults aged 14-24.

3. o Scripted realities will often be shot around the same places and will based in one particular
town/city. Although a number of varying locations may be used within an city or aboard, a
establishing shot will be used in order to tell the audience where the action is set, allowing
hem to associate the appropriate characters with the setting.
o Soap opera’s are always set in the same location, they often have iconic landmarks within the
village/town where they are set, this helps the audience to instantly recognise the soap
instantly. They are often pubs as most soaps are set in working class communities, the pub will
be an iconic building in which will usually be at the heart of the community.
BASIC CODES AND
CONVENTIONS
o Relationships are based on a group of characters all living together in a particular area,
because the soaps are always set in the same place a sense of community is created
between the characters. This will cause for very few relationships to involve characters living
out of where the soap is set, unless a new character is introduced.

4. o Most soap operas will have storylines that are relatable to the audience, this is so that the
audience can engage with the soap or it can be used as a form of escapism due to storylines
sometimes being exaggerated to make it more dramatic/comical (especially scripted
realities, melodramas and American fantasy).
oStory line examples:
 Crime
 Pregnancy
 Relationships
 Love affairs
 Murder
 Drug/alcohol abuse
 Accident- car crashes, fires etc.
 General domestic issues
 Bullying
 Family arguments
BASIC CODES AND
CONVENTIONS
o Multi-strand narrative:
allows for more than one
story to be told at one
time, each character/set
of characters will have a
storyline that will develop
over each episode.
Some may be the main
storyline and some may
be ones which are still
developing, multi-strand
narrative allow for soap
opera storylines to be
continuous as a new
storyline line is always
being created along with
storyline that already

5. MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONS
o I researched all the different types of soap operas so that I could
understand the different codes and conventions for each sub-genre
of soap opera’s. I decided to create a melodrama soap as I felt that
there was space in the market for a new melodrama soap, but also I
felt that it would be easy for me to create as melodrama’s are very
much like realism soaps but with exaggerated drama and comedy to
help create a sense of escapism when watching the soap.
o By deciding to create a melodrama soap I then had to further
research the codes and conventions used in creating this sub-genre
of soap, this was so that I could follow the codes and convention
when planning, creating and editing my own soap opera trailer. It
also meant that I could choose to develop or even challenge these
codes and conventions, as I had a deep understanding of what they
were and what was normal of a melodrama soap.

6. o Melodrama is a sub-genre of soaps. It is an exaggerated but semi real soap, so
it still tires to relate to the audience but can exaggerate certain parts of the
drama in order to make it more dramatic or more comical. It is a mixture of
humour, farce and over the top drama, because of this is can be used as a form
of escapism but the soap is still based on reality.
o Melodrama soaps are generally set in England but can still be linked to
American fantasy as both can be used as a form of escapism
o Storylines are generally similar to those of realism soaps, as melodramas are
still meant to be relatable to the audience, however storylines and plots may be
exaggerated or more far fetched in order to make the soap more dramatic
o Melodrama soaps key aim to provide the audience with soap opera which is
linked to real life but also serve as a form of entertainment and escapism
o Melodrama’s generally have a strong regional identity as the action tends to
take place in the same town/village, however in some melodrama’s characters
may have different accents as they have travelled from another town in order to
live in where the soap is set.
MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONS

7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5Ddhrw516o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO3VlauXYLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbr4pEzZOTo
MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONSo Hollyoaks is a very famous and very popular melodrama, it has be broadcast since October
1995 by Channel 4, and is currently shown every weekday at 6:30pm.
o I decided to look into depth at the codes and conventions used in Hollyoaks as it is a very
popular melodrama and one of the very few which is actually shown like a traditional soap and
not done by series. Because Hollyoaks is the main melodrama soap opera this means that
there would be room for a new melodrama to be showed on TV.

8. o Melodrama soaps will occasionally use non-diegetic music in the background, this will usually
be used to add to the drama, either make a scene more intense or comical, but generally
diegetic sound will be used to help the soap have a more realistic quality
o Costumes will generally be reprehensive of the audiences watching it, however some of the
characters may always looked dressed up/more glamorous, especially some of the female
characters. This is so that it gives the audience something to aspire to but also something to
look at, as they may watch the soap in a sense of escapism. Women appear hyper feminine
with made up faces and walk around their homes well dressed in heels, this is not what would
happen in reality
o Attractive males appear in clothing which accentuates their features, for example, tight fitting
shirts
o Lighting will generally be kept to a simplistic level, however hi-key/intense lighting may be
used in order make a scene more dramatic or comical, extensive lighting may also be used in
over exaggerated scenes, such a fire or murder
o Editing will be simple in order to make the drama look realistic, however fades may be used
or other editing techniques in order to add tension to the soap and make it more dramatic.
o High key opening titles are often used with abstract backgrounds representing personality
traits of characters, this makes the opening titles dramatic and memorable
o Villains and femme fetals – villains often appear in dark clothing, femme fetals often wear red
lipstick and other striking clothing which is usually a deep red colour connoting danger
MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONS

9. MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONS
Over the shoulder close up is used, this allows for the
audience to see the facial expressions of the character but
also allows for the audience to feel involved with the
conversation they’re seeing on screen
High angle long shot is used, this gives the impression that the
character is being dominated by their surroundings, that they are
lost in their surroundings. The high angle is also used in order to
make the character seem smaller enforcing that they are lost and
alone within their surroundings
Extreme close up is used, this shows the audience
clearly the facial expression of the character
without the background being seen. This pulls all
the focus of the audience onto the character in the
frame

10. MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONSHigh angle mid shot, this shows the audience the character so they can
clearly see their facial expressions but also the high angle is used to
show the audience that this character is looking down and is of a
higher status/has more power than the other the character they are
looking at
The use of the high angle also makes the scene more dramatic as it
adds tension.
Low angle mid shot is used again to show the characters facial expressions
and part of their surroundings. A low angle is used to the opposite effect of a
high angle as it shows that the character is being looked down on also that
they are being watched by another character
A low angle shot adds tension as it shows that the character may be being
watched without them knowing and so adds tension and makes the scene
more dramatic
Close up of the shoes, this is so that the audience are
focused solely on the shoes
It adds drama to the scene as it creates the sense of a
gang or a group of friends all walking together and
could mean a party, or something more dramatic such
as a fight

11. MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONSMid shot is used in order to show the main character stood in the middle but
also the two characters behind him, this is done to show the facial expressions
and the clothes of the characters, therefore telling the audience that they are
at a wedding
The main character is in focus centring the audiences focus on him whereas
the two behind are out of focus, this makes the scene more dramatic and will
cause for the audience to want to know why the other two characters are out
of focus
Long shot is used to show all the characters in the scene and their
clothing, is so that the audience can see all the characters and again
the costumes allow for the audience to make the assumption that
they are at a wedding
The shot is also similar to a photo that would be taken at a wedding
and so makes it seem realistic and linked to real life
Extreme long shot is used to show that the characters are being dominated
by their surroundings, this adds drama as it shows that the characters are
out of depths and so makes the scene more dramatic
The effects on the long shot of the flash and bits of dust are also typically
melodramatic as the drama has been exaggerated and so is making the
scene more dramatic

12. o Typical storylines:
 Crime such as murder, attempted
murder, kidnap, rape, vandalism, bullying etc.
 Relationships – Pregnancy, love, affairs, fall outs, feuds
etc.
 Accidents – Car accidents, fires etc.
 General domestic issues etc.
 Drug/alcohol abuse
 All storylines are generally realistic but parts of the
storylines/plots may be exaggerated to make the drama
MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONS

13. MELODRAMA CODES AND
CONVENTIONSo Each soap will have typical characters that the audience can instantly
recognise and will understand their role within the soap, some of these
characters will be exaggerated due to help create a sense of escapism
The hunk
The romantic
The ‘she’s not from
round here’ one

14. HOW I
USED, DEVELOPED
OR CHALLENGED
CODES AND
CONVENTIONS OF
EXISTING MEDIA

15. MY
TRAILER:
o I’ve used an establishing shot as used in the Hollyoaks trailer, this is to show a change of setting or in my case to show the
audience where all the action will be set. This is a typical tool of a melodrama soap as although the drama is mainly set in one
place an establishing shot may be used when the location changes due to a storyline. I would use an establishing shot not just to
introduce the audience to the location where the majority of the drama is set but also to show a change of location, like if my
characters travelled somewhere else due to them having to leave Adswood House.
o I have however developed the use of an establishing shot as it can often be used in melodrama’s as a way of connecting a
character to a location, for example in the Hollyoaks trailer, the character Sienna is walking towards the house. This tells the
audience that she has something to do with the house, however during my trailer, only the voice of Jackie can be heard while the
shot is on the screen. Although it links Jackie to the house, this isn’t achieved visually like in the Hollyoaks shot.
o A way in which I have challenged the use of an establishing shot is through my decision to film my shot in the daylight in order to
have a clear shot of the house. But also to make the house look inviting and welcoming to the audience and the character Ester
who is being introduced to be house. Whereas in the Hollyoaks establishing shot and many other establishing shots used in
Hollyoaks they are often used to create tension as it is unusual for the action to move away from the main village of Hollyoaks.
This is achieved through the filming being done at night and using a blue tinge to the shot, telling the audience that something

16. o I used an over the shoulder shot, this is very often used in melodrama’s (Hollyoaks) and realism soaps. This shot is used as it
helps to create a sense of conversation and sometimes intimacy between the two characters on screen. An over the shoulder shot
allows for the audience to see who the character is engaging with conversation with as the back of the other characters head can
be seen. This shot also helps to include the audience in the conversation, I wanted to achieve this effect as when Jackie is
welcoming Ester to the house I wanted the audience to feel as though they are being welcomed into Adswood House too.
o An over the shoulder shot is generally used with an close up or mid close up, however I have developed this further in my shot as
with my positioning of my two characters I have created a long shot. I wanted to achieve this as I wanted to show the audience the
rest of the room but also I wanted Ester (and the audience) to feel as though their surroundings are large to them, I wanted them to
feel dominated by their surroundings. I wanted to achieve this effect in order to make the audience feel like Ester and be nervous
about being the new one in the house. Whereas in the shot from the Hollyoaks trailer a close up is used, this creates a sense of
closeness between the characters but also helps to add tension and secrecy to the shot when Sienna says her line.
o I feel as though I challenged the convention of an over the shoulder shot due to my positioning of Jackie and how far away she
seems from Ester. I wanted to achieve this as to unsettle the audience like Ester is unsettled as it creates a sense of distance
opposite to the usual use of an over the shoulder shot.
MY
TRAILER:

17. MY
TRAILER:

18. Montage of close ups
MY
TRAILER:

19. MY TV MAGAZINE FRONT
COVER:

20. MY TV MAGAZINE FRONT
COVER:

21. MY BILLBOARD POSTER:

22. MY BILLBOARD POSTER: