Soap Brief

A promotion package for a new soap opera, to include a TV trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• a listinging magazine front cover featuring the new soap;
• two hyperlinked web pages (with video extract) for the soap's website;
• a poster for the soap.

Northern Quarter Trailer Final Draft Updated Version

Northern Quarter magazine front cover

Northern Quarter Billboard Ad

Evaluation Question 4: Using Photoshop

Evaluation Question 4: Using Publisher

Evaluation Question 4: Garageband Screen Recording

Evaluation Question 4: Keynote Screen Recording

Evaluation question 4 iMovie

Evaluation Question 3 Audience Feedback

Audience feedback is a very importantant part of creating a successful soap trailer and ancillary products. I needed to recieve feedback on my products produced in order to make improvemtns of my ancillaries and trailer. By using the blog, this enables people to comment on my posts and give feedback on what they like or don't like about my products and therefore I can make improvements prior to the feedback recieved.

Below I have placed the audience feedback alongside my ancilary products. This will help my show how i have acted on these feedbacks to create a more professional looking trailer which attracts the right target audience.


First Draft of my Billboard poster:

Audience feedback:

 

Harriet: "I like how the text is clear and i like the image you have chosen to use id probably put the date of when the show is on and what day of the week ect.."

 

Amy Jones: "This is a really good layout for a poster! The title font and main image of the characters really sets the genre for the Soap."

 

Alexander Ball: "This is a very good layout for a poster. The lighting gives it a very proffesional effect. I would just add the date of when the soap is on."

 

Laurence Lees: "I like the font you've used, it really relates to the soap's genre.
you do need a date and at time for the soap though.."

 

Rebecca Wilks: "This looks really professional! The text and colours really bring out the genre of the soap without giving much away. Adding a date and time would also be a good addition."

 

How I acted on my audience feedback:

 

I kept the title font, image and background colour the same as I felt this captures the genre for my soap through the facial expressions helping the audience to recognize the emotions portrayed and giving them an insight into the serious and dramatic atmosphere of the storylines "The title font and main image of the characters really sets the genre for the Soap." I decided to change the logo to BBC One as I thought the colours fitted in better and made the colours in the picture stand out more as my Billboard poster is very black and white. I added the date and time of when Northern Quarter was on BBC One due to this being a major theme in my audience feedback. I placed it in a simple black font so it stood out on the light grey background and catches the audiences eyes. "Adding a date and time would also be a good addition."

Final soap trailer feedback:

Laurence Lees: "The music you've chosen fits the soaps genre really well, i like the transitions they're in time with the music aswell, the title card is professional."

 

more comments on my final version of trailer "I like how the music fades in and out at the beginning and end of the trailer. The music you chose suits the genre of the soap well, the title card is good and helps the trailer look professional"

 

This is my second draft of my soap trailer:

 

Soap Trailer Second Draft Alex Cherry from Sheena on Vimeo.

In my second draft of my trailer it was hard to hear the dialogue in some clips over the lyrics in the backing track. I improved my soap trailer by editing the backing track in Garageband so it fitted the genre of my trailer more. Also, the repettive beats match the edits and transitions used in my trailer to give it a more professional look. I also, created a titile card which is conventional of BBC One title cards and changed the audio so that the dailogue was easier to hear over the cresendos and the diminuendos of the instrumental looped music.

Here is my final version of my soap trailer:

Evaluation Question 2

Here is a moodboard of the conventional narratives audiences like to see in Social Realism soaps:



List of what audiences like to see:

• Fights
• Affairs/cheating
• Fall outs
• Lies
• Theft
• Accidents
• Marriages
• Drug use
• Illnesses
• and mainly DRAMA.

Here is a colour coded mindmap of what i'm going to be talking about in relation to Evaluation Question 2:

Abbie and Harriet were chosen as the main image on the front cover as they were the main characters in one of the storylines in my trailer (the fostering storyline) and therefore appeared a lot in the trailer. This is conventional of soap magazines as the main characters in that episode are always the dominant image on the front covers, whether that the 'classy' or 'trashy' type of magazines. This is so the audience can instantly recognize them and associate the soap with the characters and the main storyline. Abbie and Harriet feature very serious and fierce facial expression and body language as this fitted the emotions of the narrative. Morover, their casual dark clothing is a brilliant representative of the genre of this soap as this is conventional to emphasize the reality of the soap. I have used casual clothing and make up throughout all my ancillary products and trailer.

I have used the same fonts throughout my ancillary products, for example, I have used the same stencil, rough font for 'NORTHERN QUARTER'  I created in Adobe Illustrator. I did this as it creates brand identity and helps the audience recognize the soap name with that particular font. This is conventional of all soaps as 'Skins' use the same image within text style font throughout their billboard adverts and trailers. Moreover, I have used the same simplistic fonts for my features on my magazine front cover and the details of when my soap is on TV in my billboard poster. This is so the attention is not distracted away from the 'NORTHERN QUARTER' and so that it doesn't appear too busy to the audience.

My characters and representations are consistent throughout my ancillaries and trailer as both Abbie and I are portryed as baddies and this is shown through the facial expressions and body language used in all my products. e.g moody and fierce facial expressions and stereotypical bullying in the trailer that Abbie does to Amy and Harriet.



I chose BBC One as my TV institution that my trailer was going to be on because this channel is home to many similar products, e.g. Eastenders. As this was my chosen brand institution I had to link all my media products together with the same logo throughout to create brand identity.












My TV magazine front cover follows the usual conventions of the 'classy' type of magazine 'TV & Satellite week.' For example, both my magazine and the orignal incorporate a strapline stating what the magazine specialises in 'BEST FOR SKY & VIRGIN.' Additionally, the masthead is in a clear simplistic font witha drop shadow effect that matches the 'TV & Satelliet week' conventions and stands out against the dark background and dominant image.

Question 1 Evaluation.

Evaluation Questions Notes

Suggested ways to present each question of your A2 coursework evaluation

 Q1: How did you USE, DEVELOP or CHALLENGE codes and conventions of real media products?

-         Compare your soap/music video to real examples within your sub/hybrid genre.

-         To frame your answer and show the examiner what you have been studying, show first of all the basic codes and conventions of the genre and your sub-genre.

-         Show a screenshot from a real soap alongside your version, with colour coded annotations for similarities (using), differences (development) and subversions (challenge)

-         Do this several times for your trailer to show the depth of your research and understanding of the genre

-         Do the same for your poster and front cover

The best ways to present this question are either in a PowerPoint, or a short film with a script where you talk the examiner through all your points and give evidence.

Example short film from last year (A Grade)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WweS4m708-s&feature=player_embedded

 Q2: How effective is the COMBINATION of your main and ancillary texts?

-         How convincing are the links between all three of your products? Same characters and representations, storylines, character names, soap name and channel needs to be consistent

-         Front cover needs to do all this AND match the sub- genre of TV magazine you are making e.g. needs to closely follow the conventions of TV and Satellite Week

-         Poster needs to do all this AND match the conventions of your channel and institution

Best way to present this is using Prezi.

If you don’t want to use Prezi, you could make a mind map in Publisher using JPEGS, screenshots and numbered bullet points to show the examiner your thought processes and the consistencies between all three pieces

 Q3: What have you LEARNED from audience feedback?

-         Feedback from drafts and how you acted on it to make more professional products

-         Copy and paste feedback so it is all in the same post and demonstrate how you used it and what you learned

-         OR print screen and insert feedback into a blog post as JPEGs so the examiner can see the actual feedback, THEN show what you have learned.

-         OR as a series of interviews in iMovie: show original footage, have an audience member read feedback off cue card, the show amended footage with notes saying what you learned.

-         PowerPoint for ancillaries could work but isn’t very creative

Best way to present this is in the blog as a post or series of posts, or in iMovie as a number of short interviews.

 Q4: How did you use TECHNOLOGIES in the research and planning, construction and evaluation stages?

-         Best way to present this is, first of all LIST the technologies you have used and which part of the coursework you used them for.

·       Garageband

·       Keynote

·       Photoshop

·       iMovie

·       Publisher

·       Blogger

·       PowerPoint

·       YouTube/Vimeo

·       Stills cameras

·       HD cameras

·       DSLR cameras for photography and filming

·       Green screen

·       Slideshare

·       Twitter

For software and technologies you used in the Mac Suite, do a series of short screen recordings.

For all other software and technologies, print screens and PowerPoints that show your processes will work, like you did for your AS magazine.

Final Trailer, Front Cover and Billboard Poster

Rejected Images for Billboard Poster

I rejected this image for my billboard poster as some of us weren't ready for the photo to be taken and therefore the facial expressions are not a true representation of the storylines. Also, you can see the lights at the top of the green screen in the image.

 

The positioning isn't right on this photo as you can't see Abbie very well and Abbie should be closer to the camera as she is a main character as well and this is conventional of soap opera billboard posters. 



 

This image didnt work for a billboard poster image as the lighting is too light on most of the characters and then not light enough on Laurence. This makes the image seem less professional and this isn't helped by the visable lights at the top of the image.

 

This shot would have been good for an alternative billboard poster but I wanted all my characters on the poster to help give the audience a better knowledge of the characters and links between them.

 

 

Rejected Images for Front Cover

I rejected this image because the positionaing between the characters wasnt right as there was too much head space between me and laurence. Also, laurences facial expression doesn't portray the right emotions of seriousness and jealousy. There isn't enough space at the top of the image to fit a masthead in but the light of the greenscreen is visable in the image.

I decided to reject this image for my front cover as the audience cannot see clearly what emotions are meant to be put across and also doesn't give any insight into the storyline. The lack of space at the top would have made it more difficult to put a masthead on it clearly and it is conventional of soap magazines to have the 2 main characters as the dominant image and Amy wasn't a main character.

I chose to reject this image because although the body language, facial expressions and positioning works, there isnt enough room around the image for my to place features and other images.

I rejected this image because there is too many people in the image for it to suit a conventional soap magazine. Also, it would be difficult to place numerous features and images around it as it would appear to busy and not look professional enough. Moreover, the lights in the background are present and the positioning is not right.

The positionaing is nor right in this photo as Alex appears too small in the background. The lights are also present in the image and the body language is not fierce enough so it doesnt accurately present the emotions I wanted to put across to the audience.

Analysis and Deconstruction of existing soap magazines and posters

3rd draft of my soap trailer

Soap Trailer 2nd Draft

Soap Trailer Second Draft Alex Cherry from Sheena on Vimeo.

Northern Quarter Billboard Poster First Draft

Northern Quarter Soap Trailer rough cut

Rejected Clips from Soap Trailer

Hollyoaks Storyboard: Ancillary Research

Front Cover Flatplan

Billboard flatplan ancillary planning

Soap ancillary planning storyline ideas

Soap ancillary planning

Soap Opera Conventions

Soap opera presentations

Why are soap operas so popular?

• Soap operas originated from the American radio serial dramas of the 1930's.
• The undemanding nature of soap operas can be seen as a contributory factor of the genre's popularity.
• Soap operas concern with everyday people and their everyday lives, with empathsis on their problems, big or small, appears to be one of the main reasons soap operas are so popular.
• A famous quote by Ang in 1985, "When I sit down to watch, I belong to the family in a way...I can enter into all the characters because they're so familiar."
• Viewers enjoy forming a participatory relationship with the characters.
• The formation of parasocial relationships enables soap opera viwers to gain pleasure from being able to understand how a certain character feels or behaves in particular circumstances.
• The catharsis, the purging of emotions by watching others live through the same situation is one of the main pleasures for regular viewers of 'social realism' soaps.
• Viewers often use the behaviour of a character in order to justify their behaviour in a similar situation.
• Soap operas are also popular due to its continuity, regularity and familiarity. It has been labelled as a 'ritual pleasure' which offers reassurance in its longevity.
• The theme tune, being a familiar sound to our ears, makes the viewer aware that an episode is about to begin and also confirms the setting of the soap. 

Soap Opera Research

Where and when did soap operas originate?
Soap operas originated from the radio in America in the 1930's. The original dramatic serials broadcasted on the radio had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble and Lever Brothers as sponsors and producers. The ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction didn't arrive in Britian until the end of the Second World War.

Who were they traditionally aimed at?
Soap operas were traditionally aimed at housewives as married women rarely worked. The early radio series were broadcast in weekday daytime slots, usually five days a week because they were consumed by a predominantly female audience.

Why were they nicknamed 'soaps'?
They were nicknamed soaps as during the breaks of the dramtic series they always advertised soap companies and the programmes were sponsored by them as well.

Soap magazine front cover

Hollyoaks Trailer

What have you learnt about camera angles and shot types?
I have learnt that the different camera angles and shot types are very important to help the audience recognize the type of storyline instantly in the trailer. The close ups and extreme close ups used help to portray the emotions and facial expressions of the characters which demonstrates the storline even more. Also if there is a high angle shot of characters this helps to represent the stars as powerful and a villian, where as low angle shots connote weakness and vulnerability. For example, Mercedes is looking down while Paul is positioned closer to her. This explains the Paul is the domiant one and that Mercedes is quite afraid of him.

How did your choice of music reinforce the narrative of the trailer?
The song I chose for my trailer was Cheryl Cole's 3 Words. I thought this song helped to portray Pauls obsession with Mercedes with the lyrics 'I love you' especially. The repetitive 3 chords used throughout the video helps to create tension and suspence for the audience. The heavy beats both balance and contrast with the light piano style motifs and acoustic guitar elements to demonstrate both the obessive and loving parts of Mercedes and Pauls relationship.    

What have you learnt about editing to make it clear to the audience what is happening?
To edit my trailer it was important that all the clips were in chronological order so there is no confusion for the audience and the music was at the right volume to hear the dialogue as well. The transitions were simple to give the trailer a professional feel and not make it seem cheesy.

What will you do differently next time?
Next time I would probably choose different sets and mise en scenes for my clips as in some there was a lot of background noise and it is hard to hear the dialogue clearly in some clips. Moreover, I would make sure the charcters spoke their lines louder and clearer and kept eye contact with the camera when need be. Also, in the close ups to present the correct emotions in a more exaggerated way.

Decontruction of Ancillary Magazine

Rejected Images

Soap magazine deconstructions

Soap magazine deconstructions powerpoint from alexcherry3

Hollyoaks Trailer Analysis

• Sponcered by Nikon - They understand that people live life through their phones/cameras so this connects with the audience and draws in a bigger audience.
• Opens with title card
• establishing 2 shot of paul and mercedes, paul dominating the frame. This shows that he maybe dominates the relationship.
• House mise en scene - light shining through window, picture on wall and clothes.
• Pauls eyes are trained on hers, his body is turned towards her. Bit obsesive.
• Mercedes in softer focus, she's not meeting his eye, hair hiding face from him - negative body language.

• Kitchen mise en scene of mercedes and jacki.
• Mercedes dominating frame in foreground in focus whilst jacki in background looking at her.
• Yellow light not daylight - softer suggesting Mercedes is safer here rather than the harsh daylight with paul.
• 'Never seen a man so obsessed with me' paul watching her and riley proving her point more.

• Paul watching merceds and riley, music sounds like heartbeat - creates suspence and tension.
• Reece saying Mercedes needs help to jacki
• quick sucessionof shots bridges from scene in cafe to jacki crawling around in office mise en scene, blinds, desk etc. Pauls office.
• Jacki going through draw then shocked facial expression.

• Mercedes gets 5 missed calls from jacki - extreme close up of phone - gives detail.
• Pauls face dominates frame - see intense stare at Mercedes. He's above her in shot  - dominating again.
• Can't see much of mercedes face so she appears weak and vulnerable.

• Jacki saying 'It's Mercy, she's in danger' in hospital mise en scene - Pauls place of work.
• Then Jacki running towards Pauls flat .
• Trailer ends before Jacki reaches door, creates suspence making viewers want to carry on watching more.

• This trailer focuses on 1 storyline rather than several iml[pying that this is the dominating storline at the moment.