2. Emmerdale
Emmerdale is aired each weeknight at 7.00pm with an extra episode airing on
Thursday at 8.00p on ITV.
The target audience is mainly 20-50 year olds, both male and female, the socio-
economic groups E, D and C2. This is because the show features characters of
all ages, from children to pensioners and so the target audience can relate to the
characters. However, some of the themes within Emmerdale may be deemed
unwelcoming to children; themes such as stalking, violence, drugs and disasters.
The show includes both male and female characters and there in no bias in how
these genders are represented and so therefore a unisex audience would be
appealed by the show. The setting of Emmerdale is the Yorkshire Dales, within a
fictional village. Aspects of the setting include a pub, a farm, and a small house in
which the Dingles, a poor family, live. Therefore, the socio-economic group would
most likely be people who do not have a managerial job but instead do manual
jobs or live off their pensions (many of the characters are retired and elderly such
as Pearl and Sandy)
The storylines differ between the characters. Young characters deal with issues
such as teenage angst, drugs and psychological problems that affect the way
they are perceived in the village. In contrast, the older characters deal with
issues such as affairs, domestic violence, money troubles. The elderly characters
in particular have storylines whereby they are exploited by the youth and
therefore experience muggings and thefts. This is relevant to the target audience
as the issues faced by the characters are similar to those faced by people in real
life, especially issues that can be applied to mostly all of the target audience such
as problems with money and thefts.
3. Emmerdale – Robert and Aaron
Trailer
This trailer focuses on one storyline in Emmerdale; the affair between Robert and Aaron. The
trailer includes the characters of Robert, Aaron and Chrissie.
How are the technical codes used?
The editing is quick, only taking short snippets of scenes from the show so that the audience can see
only the moments in the programme that are of interest and present the storyline. Fade to black has
been used to as transitions in order to show the passing of time, suggesting to the audience that the
affair has been going on for a long time and so the storyline may be coming to a conclusion. This
gives a reason for the audience to watch the shows.
The sound has been used effectively here alongside editing as a sound bridge has been to used to
emphasise the betrayal of Robert as Chrissie says “I trust you totally” before the trailer cuts to a
scene where Robert and Aaron are kissing. This then puts a focus on the dramatic and conflict within
the storyline and implies that audiences should watch the upcoming episodes in order to see how the
drama unfolds and to find out if Chrissie discovers her husband’s secret.
The camerawork has also been used to create meaning for this trailer. For example, at 0:13, a scene
has been chosen for the trailer that features a focus pull which draws the focus from Robert walking
to Chrissie talking to Aaron. This conveys the message to the audience that there is the impending
danger of Chrissie finding about the affair and therefore entices them to watch the show.
The lighting has been used to portray and suggest ideas about the characters for the audience to
consider. For example, high key lighting has been used to clearly show Robert and Aaron by a field in
the day. This may make the audience question why they are there and why the two characters have
gone to a secluded place. The audience have been persuaded to watch the next episodes of
Emmerdale so that they can answer these questions.
4. Casualty
Casualty is aired on Saturdays between the 20:00—22:00 slot (the time differs) on BBC One.
The target audience is mainly 20-50 year olds, both male and female, the socio-economic groups C2,
C1 and B. This is because there are a range of age groups in the show that act as both patients and
staff. However, due to the medical theme that the show has, it may be considered that the soap opera
is unsuitable for children as there are scenes of distress, gore and disasters. The show appeals to a
unisex audience as both males and females have importance in Casualty. The socio-economic group
is relevant because there are characters of the show that are in a managerial role, like Connie
Beauchamp, and those who are in a more manual job, like Noel Garcia and Big Mac. The audience
can relate to these characters as they may share the same job as them and therefore can relate to
the issues and scenarios that the characters are put in, especially audiences that have jobs in the
medical field such as nurses and doctors because some scenarios (where patients are in danger, for
example) are recognisable to those audiences.
The themes of Casualty often come back to the overall genre of the medical drama. Such themes
include drugs, pregnancies, disasters and injuries. The storylines often differ between the characters.
Patients will often have storylines whereby they are in need of help and need to have medical
assistance (this may be due to being apart of a disaster or drugs, for example). Whereas, the staff
may have storylines of a more personal nature, whereby the show may focus more on their
relationships, jobs and own struggles.
5. Casualty - Coming up this Summer
episode
This trailer showcases the events and storylines that appear in the summer episodes of the show.
How are the technical codes used?
The editing is quick and sues a variety of different clips to showcase the storylines that differ between
scenes of dialogue and those of disasters. This gives the audience a clear idea of what is to come in
Casualty, and allows them to also see different themes that feature in the show. The chosen clips gives the
impression that the programme is both fun with entertaining moments but can also be tense.
The sound has been used effectively in certain moments of the trailer. Throughout the trailer, "Together" by
Ella Eyre is played, perhaps to attract a younger audience in particular. The music faints in place for
diegetic dialogue and sound effects. At one point in the trailer, the sound of the music is fainted to the point
where the audience can hear the sounds of struggle, which suggests that in the coming episodes of the
show that there will be scenes of violence and conflict. This excites the audience and will makes them want
to watch as conflict is particularly romanticised and emphasised in soaps to entertain the audience.
The camerawork has also been used effectively. A panning shot into a close up has been included in the
trailer at 1:11. This is a dramatic shot and clearly shows one of the characters in a towel, suggesting that he
is in trauma. The close up shot also shows his facial expression, which is a face of shock. This implies to
the audience that one of the episodes involves a scenario which causes distress for the characters, this one
in particular.
The lighting has been used in variety of ways as different scenes from different episodes have been used in
the trailer. Both low key and high key lighting has been used in the trailer. For example, low key lighting has
been used at 1:46 to show the bright fire in the background and emphasise on the chaos surrounding the
characters. The darkness has been used effectively as the audience cannot clearly see the faces of the
characters, meaning that perhaps the audience cannot tell either. This makes the audience worried about
the characters as it is not clear who is in danger and who is not.
