Settings and Locations Finalized

Setting

We were forced to change the pub that we used, and this was due to the permissions. The landlord of the 'Hare & Hounds' pub said that were were unable to film there. With this in mind, we decided to ask at another pub, which happened to be 'The Cambridgeshire Hunter', and the Landlord said we could go ahead and use his pub for filming, and this was finalised with a permission slip and we got him to sign to prove we had permission.

 

The second location that we are using is a house in Ferrars Avenue, and we are using this  for the homosexual affair that we are creating. This is an appropriate location because there is a clear view of the house, as well as the car, which is a very important prop we use, but not just for this scene, but for the whole trailer.

The final location we have is the 'Connygear park', and this will be used for the drugs scene, as it is a stereotypical location for this to happen. We are hoping to film here at night in order to get a depressing feel to the scene, as it is a frowned upon event to occur.

Institutional Ideas Finalized

Channel

As a group, since the very first day of planning, we have been content with the idea of Channel 4 broadcasting our soap. The reasons for this are that we can be more flexible with what can be shown, and also can be more specific to our chosen target audience.

However, having chose Channel 4 to broadcast our Soap, we were almost forced to rival the popular British Soap that is Hollyoaks. This was already partly completed with the choice of target audience, as the two are very similar.

Times
The days and time of the Soap is important, and we needed to ensure they would be based around the target audience as well as taking into account our rival soap, Hollyoaks.

We decided that Ferrars Avenue was going to be broadcasted on every week day at 7:00pm-7:30pm. We chose the soap to be broadcasted on every week day because then the audience would have more time to get used to the soap. The time of day we chose was due to Hollyoaks being on at 6:30pm-7:00pm, and we were hoping that viewers would watch the soap as a followup from Hollyoaks, as it is a popular show, especially in the opinions of our target audience.

Target Audience

Target Audience

In my opinion, the target audience needed to be sorted out before any detailed and proper planning went ahead, as we needed to find out who we were aiming the Soap at, and what they would like to watch in Soap Operas.

Our initial thoughts were to go with the younger audience which was due to the channel we have chosen for our soap, which was Channel 4. The target audience we chose was 13-24, which after a few discussions we thought was too broad, and then decided to widen it out a bit, in order to achieve a slightly wider range of audience.

We then decided to aim our soap at 15-30 year olds. This decision enables us to vary the story lines a bit more, and also include a wider range of characters for the audience to relate to.

We didn't aim our soap at a specific gender, but out of both of them it would mainly tilt towards females, because they would have more time to watch the programme stereotypically. Another reason is because Soaps are considered a female genre, due to the fact they enjoy gossip, and it gives them another conversation to have. However, giving both genders certain story lines to enjoy will enable to soap to get more popular as a more varied audience would watch it.

Soap Conventions

Editing
In a Soap trailer, the editing needs to be fast paced, with at least 3 story lines to introduce social issues and characters. However, in the actual Soap, I think the editing used is quite simple, with the use of editing techniques such as cuts. Cross-cutting is also used in Soaps, such as in Eastenders when Archie Mitchell died, it showed a range of different characters removing gloves that were similar to the unknown killers. The sound of needs to be edited in perfectly as well. This is vital in Eastenders, as when a cliff hanger happens, the well known 'doof doof' sound at the beginning of the Soaps's theme tune.

Mise-en-Scene
Costume - Costume is important in the Soap genre, as it can often represent the characters personality and background. For example, the character Zainab in Eastenders often wears an Islamic dress at special occasions, which gives the audience an understanding of her beliefs, which could also challenge social issues.

Lighting - The lighting in Soaps often comes from the outdoors, as many of the scenes take place there. However, when the characters are inside, whether it be in houses, or pubs, the main source of light comes from windows or house lighting etc.

Make-Up - There are different types of make-up that are used for different types of story lines or characters in Soaps. For example, the character 'Amy' in Emmerdale wears a lot of make-up, and so does the character 'Alicia' in the same Soap, but this could be stereotypical as she works as a bar-maid. Make-up can also be used for scars or cuts, such as the time when Ian Beale became homeless in Eastenders.

Setting - The stereotypical settings and locations in soaps are pubs, houses, garages, parks etc.


Camera
Simple camera-work is used in soaps, such as:
Close-ups - used to show emotion
Extreme close-ups - used to focus on a certain prop or an example could be zooming into a characters eye.
Mid-Shots - Shows the character and their stance
Long-Shots - Shows the character totally and the background

Some of the more complex camera-work in soaps are tracking shots, and this was used perfectly in a recent episode of Eastenders, when Bobby Beale went missing, and one of the characters were being followed through the market square. Panning shots are also used a lot in soaps, and they are mainly used to show a setting. On the Emmerdale 40th anniversary special, the camera panned around the murder scene, showing the weapon and the victim, to remind the audience what had happened. Crane and establishing shots are also used to set the scene. In the title sequences of Eastenders, the camera starts of really high, and slowly zooms closer and closer, to show where the Soap is set.

Soap Scheduling - Detailed

Eastenders
The BBC Soap Eastenders is shown on BBC One on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Monday: 8.00pm - 8.30pm
Tuesday: 7:30pm - 8.00pm
Thursday: 7:30pm - 8.00pm
Friday: 8.00pm - 8.30pm

All of the weekdays above also have it repeated on BBC Three at 10.30pm.

Coronation Street
The ITV Soap Coronation Street is shown on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The times of this Soap differ regularly, and are shown on ITV, ITV+1, ITV 2, ITV 2+1.



Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks time schedule was important to our group, as they were broadcast by Channel 4, which is the same as our Soap.

The Soap is shown on all week days and at the time of 6.30pm on Channel 4.

Risk Assessment

Group Roles

The very first task our group decided to do was assigning the group roles. We agreed before assigning these roles that we would all help out with  each others roles, but the person assigned with the role would be mainly responsible for their tasks.

Director - Darren Gilbert

As I was the director, it was my job to ensure everything was done correctly on set, including the actors being their on time, the props we needed were there was well as explaining what needed to happen in each scene.

Cinemetography - Dominic Davey

Dominics role was based on the iconography of the soap, which included the camerawork as well as the visual effects on camera.

Editor - Rebecca Riley-Brown
This role consisted of everything that comes under the editing category, we includes shortening the clips and making them appropraite for the trailer, as well as adding the sound we found as a group and matching it appropriatley with the action.

Do Soaps conform/challenge Society?

In my opinion, I think that soaps do challenge society by using certain story lines that a linked with recent events, and are linked to issues in the news and modern day crisis'. An example of this is the character Patrick Newman discussing the death of Michael Jackson in Eastenders, despite this tragedy happening a few days before, and this has happened many times in different soaps.

Soaps often contain places to go if any issues or offences have been made during the programme, and do have help lines, which can include a phone number or a place to visit online. This type of activity is often used when a certain event has occurred, which is usually negative.

Many people believe that Soaps do not help situations and almost stimulate certain issues, but I disagree with this, as I think it helps to raise awareness for certain  incidents, and shows the audience what some people go through on a daily basis, depending on the story line in context. 

Initial Ideas for Soap Trailer

Target Audience

• Ages 13-24
• Mixed Genders

Institutional Information

• Channel - Channel 4
• Time - 7pm
• Days - Week days

The reason we chose this target audience and Instiutional Information is so that we would be rivalling the soap 'Hollyoaks'.

Setting and Locations

• General Estate - Park and a Pub

We chose this locations as they are both associated with a community, and most towns and estates tend to have a park and some kind of pub.

Treatment

• Love Triangle - Disagreement between couple - Arguing about affair
• Money Problems/Issues - Adult and child

Characters

• Young couple for the affair
• Mother and young child for money issues scene

Music

• We are looking for some up-beat, urban/electronic music so that is will related to the target audience.

How Brown's theory can be applied to a soap

When Soaps are being created, that put in mind Brown's theory to create a stable outline for their soap. The other main reason is because it relates to the main purposes that all soaps should have, which are also shown through the Uses & Gratifications theory.

Diversion - This is when a soap introduces a sense of humour into it, and is used as entertainment. An example of this could be Fatboy (Arthur Chubb) from Eastenders. Fatboy it always known for the comedy that he brings to the soap.

Surveillance - This is the information given that could affect someone, and gives out information about what is happening in the real world. For example, a few years ago, Patrick in Eastenders talked about the tragic death of pop star Michael Jackson.

Personal Identity - This is when a character in a certain soap can be associate with the audience, almost as if they can relate to them in some ways. An example of this could be the character Ryan in Coronation Street, who had a drug problem. People may not only be able to relate to Ryan in this situation, but his mother Michelle, who is worried and think it was because of his poor up bringing.

Personal Relationships - This could occur when there is a murder or affair in a soap, and the audience can make a decision on who they think are responsible, and can share this opinion with others. A perfect example of this could be when Archie Mitchell was murdered in the Queen Vic in Eastenders, as no body knew who it was, but everyone had their own opinion. This was a tricky one to work out, because Eastenders showed the killing, but not assaulter and the only thing visible was a pair of black gloves worn by the suspect. There was then a numerous amount of characters filmed taking of a black pair of gloves, so the audience would not know who it was.

Settings

I noticed through my research that often the soaps have similar locations, and they are based on what you would normally find in your average town or community.

Some of the main locations found in soaps are:

• Pubs
• Cafes
• Church
• Garages
• Laundrette
• Park
• Emergency Services
• Houses
• Bed and Breakfasts

The three main soaps that I am studying (Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale) all have a pub:

• Eastenders - The Queen Vic

• Coronation Street - The Rovers

• Emmerdale - Woolpack

The reason why soaps have all these similar locations is because they are communal locations for the characters to engage with other characters. Also, they can be relatable to the place that the audience live.

Successful Soap Trailers

Conventions of a Soap Trailer

• Faster paced editing
• Maximum of 3 storylines
• Shows main characters and setting
• Catchy and relatable theme tune
• Channel, time and soap name
• Inter titles
• 60 seconds in length maximum
• Voiceovers

Emmerdale - Live Episode

• Slow paced
• Effects Uses - Explosions of love hearts and money
• Non-Diegetic Sound - Music - Appropriate to soap
• Voiceover saying channel, time and title
• Greenscreen used for the abckground/setting

Eastenders Sharon Returning

• Showed the Setting
• Non-Digetic Sound - Music
• Metaphor - Hurricane describing how big her return was
• Voiceover
• Greenscreen
• Shows the characters of Eastenders

Eastenders Branning Week

• Shows characters relevant to event
• Voiceover
• Diegetic Sounds - Characters Shouting and speaking

Representation in Soaps

Types of Representation

• Gender
• Etthnic Backgrounds
• Sexuality
• Age
• Disability
• Occupation
• Income
• Family Background

Ethnic Background


Sexuality


Age


Disability

Male & Female Representation

Female Representation

• Gossip - This is used a lot in Soap Operas, and it's a useful way for the audience to gain information. Gossipping is stereotypical used by women, as men tend to discuss rather than gossip. The gossip is usually used by a certain type of character in each soaps, such as Audrey and Gail in Coronation Street, and Kim Fox in Eastenders.

• Awarded for their Independence - Women are awarded for their Independence through management roles in some of the main settings such as pubs, factories etc. A few examples of this are Carla from Coronation Street who owns the factory, or Peggy Mitchell in Eastenders and Chas in Emmerdale who both have ran pubs at some point.

• Sexuality - People assume that sexuality difficulties or problems only happen to the young characters, but this is false. Tanya Branning from Eastenders did not tell her husband, Max, about her Cancer because she was worried about the effects the disease would have on their relationship. A similar story also affected Peggy Mitchell in Eastenders. A different scenario was used in Coronation Street, as Eileen Grimshaw had an affair with Paul, who's wife was suffering from the disease Alzheimer's.

• Power - Women are also given a lot of power in Soap Operas, whether it be through their relationship or any other factors. Two examples of this could be Kat Slater in Eastenders who is in control of her relationship with Alfie, and Kirsty in Coronation Street who physically attacks her boyfriend Tyrone. This shows that women have been given more power in soaps, which is know the case in reality as well.

Male Representation

• 
  Fulfil a Secondary Role - Men in soap operas often fulfil a secondary role in the family unit. A few examples of this are the Masood, where Masood takes a secondary role, and does everything that Zaneb tells him to do, which is also similar in the other Eastenders couple Kat and Alfie.

• Demonised - Soaps contain many powerful characters, and a simple example of this is Ian Beale from Eastenders. However, the characters do struggle to be make friends and be included in the community. Derek Branning from Eastenders is another example of this, as he is very powerful with his money and gangster like style, but he is not friends with many people within the community. 

• Feminity - Many characters in soaps have this trait, and if they have this they tend to suit better in the community. An example of this could again be Ian Beale, as he was engaged to Mandy, but she ran out on him leading him to go into a breakdown, and then being isolated by his family, which ended up him giving away his business to his daughter.

Audience Theories

Maslow's - Hierarchy Needs

Blumer and Katz - Uses and Gratifications

Diversion - This is when a soap introduces a sense of humour into it, and is used as entertainment. An example of this could be Fatboy (Arthur Chubb) from Eastenders. Fatboy it always known for the comedy that he brings to the soap. 

Surveillance - This is the information given that could affect someone, and gives out information about what is happening in the real world. For example, a few years ago, Patrick in Eastenders talked about the tragic death of pop star Michael Jackson. 

Personal Identity - This is when a character in a certain soap can be associate with the audience, almost as if they can relate to them in some ways. An example of this could be the character Ryan in Coronation Street, who had a drug problem. People may not only be able to relate to Ryan in this situation, but his mother Michelle, who is worried and think it was because of his poor up bringing. 

Personal Relationships - This could occur when there is a murder or affair in a soap, and the audience can make a decision on who they think are responsible, and can share this opinion with others. A perfect example of this could be when Archie Mitchell was murdered in the Queen Vic in Eastenders, as no body knew who it was, but everyone had their own opinion. This was a tricky one to work out, because Eastenders showed the killing, but not assaulter  and the only thing visible was a pair of black gloves worn by the suspect. There was then a numerous amount of characters filmed taking of a black pair of gloves, so the audience would not know who it was.

Soap Trailer Research

Emmerdale - 40th Year Anniversary Trailer
Purpose

This trailer had a main purpose and subject, which was love. The trailer shows a number of characters in the soap walking up to the camera and then almost exploding, but instead of a fire like explosion, love hearts come out, which shows the subject.



Characters
 Most of the characters that are shown are in couples, such as Debbie Dingle & Cameron Murray, Chastity Dingle & Dan Spencer, Charity & Jai Sharma etc, however some approach the camera on their own, such as Kane Dingle and Carl King.


Music
The music is quite up beat for the type of situation, but part of the song has the lyrics 'Why was I a fool to fall in love with you'. These lyrics also relate to the subject love, and also connote that the episode will have some break ups and secret outbursts.

Mise-en-scene and Iconography
The clothing in this trailer was quite interesting in my opinion. The 2 male characters that enter on their own, Kane Dingle and Carl King, are both dressed in black, which connotes mysteriousness, death and darkness, which all were linked to the actual episode. The couple Chastity Dingle & Dan Spencer are in wedding gear, as Chas is in a dress and Dan is in a suit. This shows that a wedding is going to take place, and therefore drama. The weather in the background was gloomy as well, and the clouds were dark grey which could for shadow later events.

Voice Over
The voice over was spoken by a female with a clear voice. It says 'Celebrate 40 years of drama with an explosive week in Emmerdale. Starts Monday 15th October'. The word explosive explains the characters exploding in the actual trailer, and both of these suggest explosions, which can also be described as arguments and disagreeing. The voice over also describes what it is and the time it starts.

Why are Soaps considered to be a Female genre?

The soap genre has been always considered as a female genre, and many wonder why this is.

The main reasons for Soaps being classed as a female genre is because they generally enjoy watching this kind of television programme, where as men are more stereotypically known to watch Sports and Comedies.
Soaps also provide many different story lines and events that could be relateable by women, or just something they would enjoy. This could include money problems, and an example of this would be Bianca Butcher in Eastenders, who has had a lot of money problems, and also has four children to go with that. Recently, Bianca has been arrested for theft, despite her only ambitions being to look after her children. Other soap story lines can also relate to women, such as women who play the role as housewives in reality, can be portrayed in the soap, and therefore relateable.

However, the most obvious reason for soaps being considered as a female genre is the fact that they may have enough time to watch them. What I mean by this is that stereotypically, it is the men in the household that work, whereas there are many women in the UK who do not work, and therefore have a lot of spare time on their hands, so they have enough time to watch certain programmes that they enjoy.

The final reason for this is because women are very well known for gossipping and talking about certain subjects. Soaps like Eastenders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street provide more for women to talk and gossip about, and very similar character are portrayed in the soap.

Narrative Theories and Types

 Open Narrative - Runs on over several episodes - Soap
 An example of an Open Narrative is Eastenders. The soap runs on over several episodes and this is reminded through characters mentioning the past and also new characters coming in and having their own personal storylines.

Closed Narrative - There is an end - Films

Multistranded Narrative - Multiple stories - Could have an overlap


Narrative Theories

• Todorov- Equilibrium - disruption, attempt to repair - new equilibrium

 

• Propp - Russian - He started Russian folktales - Told through character function - People - eg. hero, villain, prize/princess, false hero - used in Soaps. 

An example of this could be Phil Mitchell from Eastenders because he acts like a hero one episode, and then the next he is mistreating others.

• Barthes - Understanding of signs - His theory was that it was shown through codes - This could be easily shown in soaps, such as a clinched fist connotes anger.

Action Code - Something happens  - see the police vehicle

Enigma Code - Clues or hints  -  sirens suggests crime

• Levi-Strauss - Binary Opposition

Old   New

In      Out

Rich  Poor

                  

Start of Soaps

Soaps

Eastenders                                                                        

         

Coronation Street

Emmerdale

Home and Away                                      

  

Hollyoaks

The Bill

Holby City

Neighbours                                 

Casualty

I personally think that the role of soaps is to engage families and friends and to give the audience a wide range of personalities, so there is something for everyone, as some of the characters are funny, some are nasty etc. Also, the audience may feel as though they can relate to the characters in the soap, and therefore enjoy their actions a lot more.

However, many people think of soaps as a female genre. I personally disagree with this statement, however I am able to see why people would think that. The reasons could include that they stereotypically have more time on their hands to be able to watch such programmes, and the reason I think most is so that they can discuss and gossip about it with their friends. 

In class, we watched an episode of Eastenders to try and see how they manage to make the audience remember things that have happened in the past. 

- Charlie Slater lists history in an argument with Kat Slater. 

- The use of the characters names. For example, on the character 'Minty's phone', it reads 'Sam Calling' to let the audience know that there is something going on between the two. 

Camera work

- Close up of Kat Slater which shows the anger on her face, tension and the relationship with the person that she is talking to. 

- The previous example is also shown through two shots

Editing

- Shot-reverse-shots are also used a lot in Eastenders, and this is to show the two people having a conversation, and can show the tension between them too. 

- Eastenders tend to use a lot of simple cuts in their production. 

- Cross-cutting is also used a lot in this soap, as well as all the others, and this shows you what is happening else-wear in the community. 

Sound

- Most of the sound in Eastenders is diegetic, as it is pretty much people talking and having conversations. 

- In this episode of Eastenders I also noticed a sound-bridge, which is when you hear the sound before the clip. An example of this is when everyone is in church for Baby George's christening, but then you hear Stacey Slaters voice shout 'My Baby', and then it cross-cuts to the Slater house. 

Locations

- Soaps tend to have the obvious locations that you would normally find in any town or community, such as houses, pubs, parks etc. 

- However, there was a christening in this episode of Eastenders, which obviously took place in a Church. This is a different type of location because not everyone would feel comfortable in such a place. This location also helps as many of the different characters went into that location with their own problems, such as Max Branning having trouble with his girlfriend, Heather with Baby George, Minty with his female problems etc. 

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