This document discusses how the student's media products for a soap opera called "Chalk Lane" use, develop, and challenge conventions of real soap operas. The student's soap opera trailer incorporates conventions like a voiceover providing air time information, repeating soundtrack and editing techniques from other soap opera trailers. However, it also features some differences like including critical praise and displaying the channel ident throughout. The soap opera magazine cover repeats conventions from Inspiration magazine "InsideSoap" like close-up character shots and facial expressions showing emotion. However, it includes the air time for the new soap, challenging conventions. The soap opera poster attempts to repeat conventions from EastEnders posters by focusing on the key

1. Evaluation Question 1 (20
marks)
In what ways does your media product
use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

2. The denotations of the name of our soap opera is ‘Chalk lane’, due to the location
of the soap opera itself, as this is one of our set pieces that the Soap is recorded
in. Although it is not necessarily where the soap opera is filmed or location
specific exactly, the name still holds connotations relevant to what we wanted to
be interpreted by viewers for our soap opera. The verbal code of ‘Chalk’ connotes
a mixture of purity and darker themes, as chalk is a mixture of white, black and a
mixture of greys. This connotes how the cast/characters featured and their
personal situations are all different. We have made sure our soap opera ‘Chalk
Lane’ has incorporated an energetic and dynamic set of narrative themes, as well
as a sense of tension and mystery that is constant throughout which is
particularly targeted towards a young to middle aged audience between the ages
of 16-60, from a more working/middle class background, due to some topics and
subject matters that are featured, perhaps being less appealing to that of a higher
class. Our soap opera has been promoted across various different media
platforms, such as a broadcast media trailer, a print magazine cover and a poster.
The content demonstrates issues that can be associated with the lives of people
of a working/middle class background class background, which involves
pregnancy, stalking, addiction and strained relationships. The fact that storylines
involving these issues are covered within our soap opera could lead to ‘Personal
relationships’ (KATZ) being created with the audience and characters within the
soap opera.

3. My group’s trailer has a variety of features that are conventional
to a typical soap opera trailer. One conventional feature in
particular that we have included is the point of call information
at the end of the trailer, which is translated to the audience
through a non-diegetic voiceover, in order to ‘inform’ (KATZ) the
audience as to when and where to watch the soap opera. It
appears at the end of the trailer and then will have been enticed
to watch the program itself. It also features our trailer’s house
style font in order to maintain brand identity. We also ‘repeated’
(Steve Neale – 1980) the verbal code of a non–diegetic
soundtrack in the background of the trailer, which is what
EastEnders have done in the ‘Peggy Mitchell’s Last Goodbye’
trailer from May 2016. We selected and obtained permission to
use ‘Way down we go’ by Kaleo. We chose this soundtrack as
the lyrics share connotations with the trailer and the themes.
The song features the verbal code: ‘Way down we go’, which
connotes the negative themes of the Soap opera.

4. Furthermore, the consistency has continued throughout all
three products particularly involving the characters presented
on the main task and ancillary texts. Both Marianne and Max,
the two characters involved in the ‘stalking’ plotline, one of
the more prominent plots featured in the soap opera trailer,
have represented this. Stereotypically in soap operas such as
‘East Enders’, the female characters are, in the majority of
cases, victimized and/or dominated by the male characters,
which is arguably true regarding my poster, however, this
could be ‘challenged’ (Steve Neale – 1980) by my magazine
front cover as Marianne is featured in front of max, thus
interoperating her as a strong, dominant female character
(Feasey – 2007). Max was featured in the same costume
consistently throughout the production. His jacket was black
and distinguishable from the other characters. This has the
connotations of deceit and poor intent towards Marianne,
which foreshadows later events and cliff-hangers in the soap
opera trailer.

5. Our trailer is approximately two minutes long, which therefor
conforms to the typical length of a typical soap opera trailer,
which is usually between one and two minutes long. By
keeping it at a reasonable length as we have, it enables us to
include enough content to attract an audience, but it also isn’t
too long to cause them to become disinterested or to reveal
too much of the narrative. Furthermore, a convention in
which we ‘exploited’ (Abercrombie – 1995) was non-diegetic
voiceovers throughout the trailer. We used one for the point
of call information in order to make the audience aware of the
times that the soap opera is on and what channel to find it on.
Also, we used them for parts in the trailer that where not easy
to hear from the filming itself, so we had to re-record the
dialogue as a voiceover in some instances. We have also a
voiceover for scenes where there is no evident dialogue
between characters to add a sense of mystery, and it also is
typically seen in each other soap opera trailers.

6. Additionally, we ‘repeated’ (Steve Neale – 1980) the technical codes of
fast past paced cuts between scenes from trailers such as ‘EastEnders’
‘Lucy’s Killer revealed’ trailer in order to make the trailer more action
packed, which fits with our chosen soundtrack. Also, it creates a dynamic
and potent atmosphere throughout the trailer, which appeals to the
target audience. By using fast paced cuts, it conforms to the speed of
typical energetic soap opera trailers, thus making the ‘Chalk Lane’ trailer
more memorable and enticing to our target audience. Moreover, in our
soap opera trailer, we ‘exploited’ (Abercrombie – 1995) the non-verbal
codes of the setting usually synonymous with this genre. Stereotypically,
soap opera trailers are set in a compacted community such as a small
village, where the main characters know each other, to enable the multi-
stranded narrative to be widened. We have attempted to create a small
community within our soap, where ‘Chalk Lane’ is a key part that brings
the community together, involving a school, a small town centre, a pub
and the woods in our soap in particular. These locations hold individual
connotations, which, can be viewed within the trailer. Therefor, the ‘Chalk
Lane’ establishing shot is placed at the beginning of the trailer in order to
display to the audience that this is the place where everyone involved in
the soap opera shares a familiarity.

7. The final convergence we have ‘repeated’ (Steve Neale – 1980) is the
multi-stranded narrative in our trailer, which involves flashbacks for
each storyline. By including these multi-stranded narratives in our soap
opera trailer, it makes the soap opera come across as more versatile
and appealing to a wider audience of people who can relate to the
storylines presented. Multi-stranded narratives are a key feature of any
typical soap opera trailer aired on the television, which was inspired by
deconstructing the ‘Peggy Mitchell’s last goodbye’ trailer from May
2016 (See previous paragraph to view the trailer) which displays a
multi-stranded narrative, wherein Peggy Mitchell stands in the street,
where future events in the soap opera are foreshadowed by the way
that the characters are presented through areas of Mise-en-scene such
as their costume and facial expressions. Although there is a large sum
of similarities between our trailer and typical soap opera trailers, there
are also a number of ‘differences’ (Steve Neale - 1980). One difference
in particular is the structure of our trailer. Typically, soap opera trailers
usually have a linier structure, wherein each scene follows on from the
next. However, our trailer involves flashbacks to introduce the multi-
stranded narrative, and also features Marianne walking through the
woods throughout the trailer, as it is a key narrative within the soap
opera.

8. A further ‘difference’ (Steve Neale – 1980) in our soap opera trailer is the
inclusion of critical praise. We have inserted four elements of critical praise in
our trailer which are revealed after a character walking, which we edited in
Adobe After Effects. By editing our critical praise like this, it gives our soap a
USP (Unique Selling Point), as other soap operas do not include this in their
regular trailers, as they already establish their popularity. We need to include
critical praise in our first trailer for ‘Chalk Lane’ because it is not an
established soap like EastEnders, so it is crucial that we include it to draw our
target audience’s attention. An additional feature that is ‘different’ (Steve
Neale – 1980) is the ‘BBC Two’ ident being featured in the top left hand
corner throughout the entirety of the trailer. We put it in a white font in order
for it to be legible over the background of the scenes on-going in the trailer,
and it is also a neutral colour that doesn’t draw too much attention away
from the trailer footage. The program is on BBC Two as opposed to BBC One
in order to compete with popular soap operas such as ‘EastEnders’ and also it
has been chosen as part of our brief to follow. However, as established soap
operas like ‘EastEnders’ have accumulated a loyal fan-base, their viewers are
already aware what channel to find the program, so they do not need to
include a BBC ident throughout their trailer. As ‘Chalk Lane’ is a brand new
soap, it needs this feature in order to keep the audience aware of what
channel to find the soap on, so it is more likely to be remembered if it is
present throughout the entirety of the trailer.

9. A further ‘repeated’ (Steve Neale – 1980) feature from my magazine of
inspiration ‘InsideSoap’ is the technical code of a medium close up for
the majority of the images on the cover. This therefore allows the
audience to recognise the character’s facial expression, as well as
being able to judge their situation and background if they aren’t
already aware of it. Also, it is a typical shot for my magazine of
inspiration ‘InsideSoap’ to use for their own magazine images. An
extreme close up would be inappropriate as people would only be able
to judge characters based on their facial expressions, and a long shot
would also not be appropriate as the bottom half of their body is not
necessary to be displayed. The last feature that has been ‘repeated’
(Steve Neale – 1980) from my magazine of inspiration is the non-verbal
code of the character’s facial expressions. It is dependent on the
storyline represented by the actor as to which facial expression they
showcase. For example, for the main storyline, Marianne has a generic
facial expression, which displays she is unaware of Lucas’s stalking,
where he holds a devious and suspicious facial expression to express
his role in the storyline ‘Marianne’s stalker hell!’ Also for the cover line
‘Crash! Who will survive?’ the characters featured both look shocked
which fits with the cover line.

10. However, a ‘difference’ (Steve Neale – 1980) of my magazine
compared with ‘InsideSoap’ is the fact that I have included the
point of call information for ‘Chalk Lane’. This is not usually
included on soap opera magazines, as the soap operas
included are usually already-established programs. However,
as ‘Chalk Lane’ is a ‘brand new soap’ the point of call
information is essential so the reader knows where and when
to watch it if they are interested. There are forms and
conventions of a stereotypical soap opera magazine that have
been ‘challenged’ (Steve Neale – 1980), which in particular
has involved placing the female character in front of the male
character, thus representing a ‘strong, dominant female’
(Rebecca Feasey – 2007) that is very common place in this
genre. The generic facial expression Marianne is exhibiting is
often a common convention used by soap opera magazine,
and the eye contact held with the camera enables it to engage
with the reader, so it is therefore also a feature I have
‘repeated’ (Steve Neale – 1980) from my magazine of
inspiration.

11. I have made my magazine an affordable price of 50p for a working-
middle class readership in which I have targeted as my demographic.
By making it an affordable price, it therefore makes the magazine
more appealing to buy for both my target audience and a ‘pass along
audience’. Also, the working-middle class background that this price
would appeal to is stereotypically the demographic that would
consume a soap opera magazine. Finally, by including social media
idents within my barcode this creates synergy and brand identity for
my magazine, as it allows audience members to follow the magazine
and receive inside gossip and updates that the magazine doesn’t
provide that would be exclusive to the e-media platform. The inclusion
of these conventions is an example of a ‘difference’ (Steve Neale –
1980) as typically established soap opera magazines do not provide
these conventions on their own magazines. It is vital for my magazine
to provide this information on the front cover as I am targeting a
younger audience, who are typically users of social media, and it will
also draw attention to the ‘All new soap’ ‘Chalk Lane’ if it is talked
about on social media platforms.

12. I have attempted to ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale – 1980) typical conventions of a
typical established soap opera poster. One example of this is the fact that I
have focused the poster on the key storyline present in my soap opera, which
is where Max stalks Marianne in the woods. The idea of focusing the poster
on the dominant storyline can be linked to the EastEnders poster with the
tagline ‘Walford will change. Forever’, which features only Lucy Beale, as the
storyline at the time was focused around her. By ‘repeating’ (Steve Neale –
1980) this feature on my own poster, it therefore ‘informs’ (Katz) the
audience on what the soap opera will focus on in particular, so they can
decide whether they would be interested in watching it. Another convention I
have ‘repeated’ (Steve Neale – 1980) from a different EastEnders poster is
trying to involve each character and their storyline within my poster. I have
taken this inspiration from the EastEnders ‘25th Anniversary’ poster, which
features all the key characters within the pub, a key location in the soap. I
have put my other characters in the bottom left hand corner in a black space
within a rip in the page, which is ‘different’ (Steve Neale – 1980) to how
EastEnders have naturally placed them at tables in the pub, so mine is
arguably more abstract and unrealistic in comparison to this, although it
could be intriguing to some viewers, which could attract them to watch the
soap, due to this representing the multi-stranded narrative within ‘Chalk
Lane’.