A2 Media Studies - Ancillary Product 1 Textual Analysis

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Ancillary Product
Analysis
Name: Zakary Winsall
Candidate Number: 2144
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. The date at the top of the magazine is very
prominent. This is made very clear to the
reader, in particular ‘survivors’ (Maslow),
who want to be kept up to date with their
favourites soaps, which also may build the
hype of the upcoming episodes.
The masthead is also located at the top of
the page and is very obvious to the reader.
The red background has various different
connotations. This may include emotions
such as passion, love and possibly even
anger. This may insinuate that the readers
will read about bad news or gossip
associated with this genre.
The non-verbal code of the main
image clearly depicts who is involved
in the crash that is shown in the main
headline. These characters are clear
on the front over, also overlapping
the masthead which again illustrates
that they are the most important
feature on this magazine.
The main headline illustrates to the
reader what the main story is inside
this magazine. By reading the
magazine the reader may be given a
clue about the story and build the
hype for the episode. The yellow
colour is very prominent and obvious
on the magazine, enticing the reader
to pick it up from the shelf. The lines
going through the word ‘crash’ is also
an advertising feature in order to gain
the readers attention again.
The cover lines are located at the bottom of the page in three clear bubbles, each
with their own soap. These also include images from that soap to help back up the
story that is shown. The use of these images and the verbal code ‘new’ may help to
draw in the readers attention and cause them to watch that soap.
The cross media convergence located
directly under the masthead helps to
promote the website for the magazine and
possibly advertises that this copy of the
magazine is available to read online
whenever you want. There is also the ability
on the website to enter competitions that
are featured in the magazine as well as
various different videos.
The subline helps to promote the
main headline. The verbal code “Who
dies?” illustrates to the reader that
someone will die in this crash and
leaves them on a cliff hanger.

3. The main headline is located across the very
centre of the cover, in a very prominent
orange text “Funeral Bombshells!”. This
illustrates to the audience that it is the most
important story featured in this magazine.
The word “bombshells” suggests that
something really bad is likely to happen at
this funeral, possibly ruining it. It leaves the
reader on a cliff hanger.
The masthead is located towards the top of
the page, spreading across the entire width
of the cover. It is written in a very bold red
font with a slight shadow to add effect to it
and draw attention. The colour red may
have connotations of danger or possibly
passion which may cause the reader to pick
up a copy.
The sub heading text located in the bottom
left of the page is an exclusive one of a kind
feature that may entice the reader to pick
up a copy as these are pictures they will
only see in this magazine.
The strapline located directly underneath
the masthead states “Every Story! Every
Secret! Every Week!”. This suggests to the
reader that if they want details on all their
favourite soaps, they should buy this
magazine because they have all the gossip
about every story every single week.
The sub-line Quotations that are located to
the right of the main images include quotes
from what some of the character have said
in the coming episodes of that soap. This
may also entice the reader to purchase the
magazine.
The cover lines are located at the bottom of
the page and include an anchoring image of
what actually happens. When the reader
sees this shot on the shelf, it may force
them to stop and think about buying the
magazine.
The main image is located left centre of the
magazine and includes 3 characters from a
soap. This is very prominent on the front
cover and allows the reader to see directly
who is involved in the story that is portrayed
through the main headline.
The price of the magazine is fairly cheap at £1.60. This is very cheap for a
weekly magazine. It is also very affordable for the average working person.

4. When looking at the covers for both of these magazines, there are both positives
and negatives for both of them. What’s on TV has a very simplistic layout and does
look fairly plain. However there is a good use of fonts for the masthead as well as
the usage of various different images for the cover stories. InsideSoap however has
a much better format, with much more content on the front cover. Generally the
InsideSoap front cover looks a lot more professional and less tacky compared to
What’s on TV. If it came down to replicating features, I would most likely choose
from InsideSoap as they’re generally a much better finish to their cover.