2. WHICH SOAP IS THIS? The audience can tell from the start of the programme which soap it is due to the opening credits. The setting allows the audience recognise well known buildings such as the O2 arena to establish we are in London. As soaps are run at the same time on a weekly basis for years on end, the audience recognise certain features about each soap even if they do not watch the programme.
3. WHERE IS IT SET? If you watch the soap on a regular basis you will already know where the soap is set yet even for outsiders it is easily recognisable. As there is a clear shot of the O2 arena, a recognisable building the audience know it is set in London. Also the river Thames is visible in the opening credits which is also a key clue for the audience.
4. WHICH INSTITUION BROADCAST IT? Eastenders is broadcasted on BBC1, as it is broadcasted on this channel there are no adverts and it is also not sponsored due to the BBC TV licence.
5. WHEN IS IT SET? Eastenders is set now, we know this from the opening credits as new landmarks are visible on the map of London for example the O2 arena.
6. FROM NUMERIOUS FACTORS WHAT DO WE PRESUME ABOUT THE CHARACTERS? From the music which begins at the start of the programme we assume that the characters lead normal lives. There is nothing glamorous about the piano tune which is played at the beginning which indicates to the audience that the programme is about everyday people who the audience can relate to. The text is a fairly plain font, it doesn't have any representations of a capitalist class therefore the audience again understand it is about everyday people who they will be able to relate to.
8. From this shot the audience know that there is children living in the house due to the school bag, clutter and football. As there is a football and the colour of the bag is blue this implies the child is a boy. As the shot pans up we see a pink bag on the banister and also a pink coat. This allows the audience to understand there is also a female child who also lives in the house. As the pans further up the stairs there are numerous items on the stairs which again reinforce that children live in the house, i.e. Teddy bear and a toy car.
9. When a women appears on camera from her appearance the audience know she is around her 50โs. This then implies that the children living in the house may be her grandparents yet as there is so much of there stuff around we know they live there permanently and aren't just here for a visit. From the decor around the house we know that the lady isn't wealthy, a lot of the decor is out of date and the wallpaper suggests that she can not afford to redecorate the house. The picture frames are un meaningful again suggesting she picked them up second hand from a market. The dialogue indicates the relationship she has with the man who is creeping out of her house. It suggests she doesn't really know him and he stayed only for the one night. From his reaction you can tell he feels uncomfortable, he doesn't really know what to say and he would rather of gone being unnoticed.
10. This shot indicates to the audience that they are in a local cafe, not that up market. We know this from the posters in the background and the menu in the lower left hand corner. We know the men in the background are local builders due to there vests and from the expression of the women on the right hand side of the shot we can tell from her facial language she is troubled in one way or another. The women seems of a higher class than everyone we have seen in the opening sequence so far due to her hair which taken time to be done, her makeup which looks expensive and again as though it took her a while to do and her jewellery around her neck. Due to what we have already seen the audience take into consideration that this could be an act, as though she is trying to be someone she isn't. From this mid long shot we see a man in a suit, again seems to be of a higher class than the people we have previously seen. This lighting in the shot suggests he isn't a good character as it is a very dim shot. We only have light coming from the right hand side and the small lamp in the left bottom corner indicating how messy his โofficeโ is. Due to the state of the office the audience assume he doesn't have a personal assistant implying his business isn't one of a professional standard.
11. Due to the ladies reaction we know that she and the previous man do not get on. It looks as though he is troubling her in some way or another. Her higher class is reinforces with the jewellery on her wrist and hands and as she has her nails done it implies she cares in her appearance. This shot makes the audience feel as though they are spying on the character as they are peering through furniture in his office. This impression makes the audience feel as though the character is up to something which he doesn't want anyone to know about. Again the same shot as above giving us the same knowledge yet the text implies that he is blackmailing the lady which reinforces his negative impression upon the audience.
