Slide 1

The soap genre is clearly recognisable due to the stereotypical characters, types of advertising, and soap style filming conventions: e.g: many narratives, similar issues etc.Recently, there has been a shift in the soap genre. Some soaps, such as Hollyoaks, are becoming more like TV dramas, and some TV dramas, such as Desperate Housewives, are becoming more like soaps.

2.1.Evaluation Questions:1.2.3.4.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?What have you learned from your audience feedback?How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?My Products:Final Soap Opera Trailer:BORDERLINE(Click to watch)

Final Magazine Front Cover:TV WEEKLYFinal Billboard:BORDERLINE

In what ways does your media product

use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?Question 1Colour coded words apply throughout this question1.I have used three different existing media products to inspire and inform me of the conventions of soap trailers.

1.Comparing the 90210 trailer that inspired my own trailer with my finished media product.

Click above image to see trailer.1.What I have learnt from the 90210 trailer...

Two Person close up.Female slightly larger and in better focus than male in shot, due to soap being a female dominated genre.Also because she is the one portraying the emotion.Lighting: Soft, warm lighting, to complement the sad, but comforted emotion in the sceneThe two person close up allows the viewer to feel like they are actually in the scene, watching the conversation.Main character is wearing hardly any makeup to show that she has her emotions on display and isn't hiding anything1.What I have learnt from the 90210 trailer...

Two Person close up.Lighting: Cold, bright, outdoor lighting, to complement the threatening situation shown.The two characters have relatively equal spacing on the shot because they are both females, and both their emotions are equally important in the scene.Colour coding the lipstick shows the characters personality and also the emotions she is feeling e.g: fear, danger.1.What I have learnt from the 90210 trailer...

The character in shot is filling the right half of the screen. He is not central because this shows that there is a disequilibrium in the shot/scene.The colour red is used to connote the confusion and negative emotions the character is showing.One Person close up; off centre.Lighting: The lighting is warm because that is the general atmosphere of the soap, but brighter than the previous shot because the emotion is harsher.The background is out of focus so that the whole attention of the viewer is on the character.1.12What I have learnt from the 90210 trailer...

The colour red is used to connote the negative emotions the character is showing.The running makeup is a audience recognised indication of someone who has been crying.Lighting: Like the inspiring shot, the lighting is warm, but bright.The background is plain so as not to detract from the characters performance.The character is looking down to signify her storyline: alone, sad, hiding something.

One Person close up; off centre.1.

What I have learnt from the 90210 trailer...Off centre, long shot.Body language here shows the relationship between the two people; angle, proximity, etc.The out of focus couple is here to show the audience what the in-focus couple are looking at.The Mise en Scene of the shot is created to show that they are in a hotel lobby, due to the layout and features.Lighting: The lighting is warm because that is the general atmosphere of the soap, and also quite dark to signify that they are indoors.1.What I have learnt from the 90210 trailer...

Off centre, long shot.The railings here are used to reflect the negative storyline of the character.Lighting: The character is walking away from a very bright light, through a shady area. This is reflective of the characters storyline.The effect of being able to see the whole of the character means that the audience can read the body language of the character: fast walking = urgency, moodiness.The use of dark colours contrasts with the bright light behind, and again is used to reflect the inner darkness of the character.

1.

The main convention that I took from the 90210 trailer was the fact that most of its scenes were random flashes of information, that to a new viewer would look confusing, but will entice them to watch it to understand it.1.

Comparing the Downton Abbey trailer that inspired my own trailer with my finished media product.Click above image to see trailer.1.

What I have learnt from the Downton Abbey trailer...Both: Crash zoom, medium close upLighting: Dark, lit from one side, to show the atmosphere. Links with dark music.

Lighting: Not particularly bright, but cold, so as to reflect the atmosphere.1.

What I have learnt from the Downton Abbey trailer...All: Extreme Close up of eyes.

Extreme close ups of eyes help the viewer to empathise and recognise the emotion being displayed1.

Much like in the 90210 trailer, the Downton Abbey trailer has inspired my use of short, effective, non-connecting shots to grab the attention of the viewer.1.Comparing the Hollyoaks trailer that inspired my own trailer with my finished media product.

Click above image to see trailer.1.

What I have learnt from the Downton Abbey trailer...Both: Crash zoom, medium close up

The crash zoom in the Hollyoaks trailer is used to show that the character is shocked, or suddenly worried about something, due to the facial expressions.I have used the crash zoom to emphasise the anger and sadness of the character, which I think is developing the convention.1.

What I have learnt from the Downton Abbey trailer...Character similarities.

In the Hollyoaks trailer, there appears to be a character who is obsessive over another girl. She is seen in a close up two shot with the girl, and portrayed in cleverly emphasising lighting.In my trailer, I have used a similar character, and portrayed her in candle light, next to a picture of the stalk-ee. The candle-light relies on the viewers prior knowledge to link this set up to shrines and places of worship.1.

As in the other trailers, the main convention that I used from the Hollyoaks trailer is the fast editing, and the use of short, unexplained shots to capture the audiences curiosity.

1.The music used in the Hollyoaks trailer was also the main influence for my own music choice.

The heavy distressed guitar effect targets the intended audience.Although guitar music isn't often used in this genre, I believe that the blurring of the boundaries between soap and TV drama means that it still attracts the correct audience.See slide 43

Click image to watch YouTube video of my chosen song1.

1.

1.

Similar button, red, contrasting white.Inspired by second existing product. Contrasting coloursYellow haloaround main characters to highlightWhite outline around cut outcharacters from other soapBarcodeRhetorical questions1.Red colour-codingFeatures I have used from the existing products...Existing soap logos that audiences are familiar withHighlighting important words.How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?Question 22.

I think that the fact that all three of our products have the same two characters on them makes the viewer/reader associate those characters with the soap, and therefore the soap becomes more well known through the use of those characters.2.The font we have used for the logo is suitable for the genre because it is still easily readable, but also different enough to be easily recognisable.

It fits with the soap because it looks like handwriting, and as the soap is set partly in a college, it lends itself to being used as writing on a blackboard.2.

The fact that the logo appears on two of the three products (and the only reason that it couldnt be on the billboard is that its not allowed in the rules of the E4 style guide) means that the soap will be well recognisable by its logo to potential viewers.2.The next few slides show theSignificant use of the colour redthroughout my products:2.

In our Front Cover:2.

On the Billboard:

2.

In the trailer:2.The use of the colour red is to symbolise many different emotions and emphasise the themes of the plots.ANGERFEARJEALOUSYSADNESSLONLINESSWORRYI think that because I have used the colour throughout all my products, it makes it very clear to viewers what the atmosphere of the soap isSEXUALITY2.

My soap is being broadcast on E4. Having the E4 logo on the soap adverts does more than just tell the viewer what channel its on...2.

www. channel4.com/corporate/4producers/commissioning/e4.htmlE4 has consolidated its position as the leading channel for younger audiencesTarget audience of Adults aged 16-342.3.

www. channel4.com/corporate/4producers/commissioning/e4.htmlThree-quarters of the ratings to the channel now come courtesy of viewers under 35yrsSkins, The Inbetweeners and Misfits2.3.The fact that our soap is being broadcast on E4 shows that it is aimed at a certain audience: youngdiscerning post-big brother generation people who watch similar programmes of the same genre/style.theme

The logo is a clear indication to people who already watch shows on E4 that they might like to watch the soap.2.3.

The fact that the soap is being aired at 7pm tells the audience that, because it is before the watershed, its not too explicit, but its on in the evening because at that time, the intended audience (young females) are most likely back from work/college and sitting down for tea.2.3.We aimed to make our soap most like Hollyoaks; A soap, but with definate similarities to TV drama.

This fits our intended audience because they are the new generation of TV viewers, and therefore will be excited by this hybrid genre style.

2.What have you learned from your audience feedback?Question 33.

Audience Research Questionnaire:

Before making my soap, I researched a range of people to get a view of peoples attitudes to the genre.3.Males mostly watch Coronation Street.Females watch mostly Coronation Street, but not as many as Males.3.

More females started watching soaps later in life than males.Most males and females started watching soaps around the same age.3.Females have a variety of reasons for watching soapsMales mainly watch their soaps because of the time scheduled.3.Niether males or females think they learn anything from soaps, meaning that their reason for watching is purely recreational.3.The males I interviewed only watched their soaps on live TV.The females i interviewed watched their soaps on both media.3.All the males I interviewed were of a similar age.The females I interviewed were of mixed ages.3.The males I interviewed were all in full time workThe females I interviewed had varying employment status3.My audience research gave me a good basic knowledge of the kind of people who do and don't watch soaps, and therefore how to best target my intended audience.

This also helped me decide what channel I would broadcast my soap on, See Slide 393.Intended audience:

My intended audience is mainly young, female students, who have the time to watch soaps and can also relate to the characters. Therefore, it is also aimed at emoswho can relate to Emily and Sasha. However, other people will be.able to relate to other characters in the soap, who aren't necessarily so heavily stereotypical.3.Audience FeedbackPositives: editing matches music lyrics create meaning shows audience whats happening different narratives feed well into main storyline & create enigmas fast cuts show that there is conflict but dont show cause of conflict makes the audience want to watch. clear genre clear audience brand chalk board connotes audience & where soap will be set channel creates audience young females, hollyoaks audience.Negatives: Needs title cards no title cards AND no dialogue throughout means the audience has nothing to relate to and therefore you risk losing your audience.If I were to redo the trailer, I would use title cards/more dialogue because I think I have taken the enigmatic, random, fast cuts to an extreme, to the point where I risk losing my audience.3.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?Question 44.

Getting media onto Adobe Premiere Elements 8:4.

Using the spilt tool to split a long clip:4.

Using Photshop to remove a background:Remember to save as a JPEG image!The background eraser tool does not remove the foreground image.4.

Uploading my trailer to YouTube:

4.

These are the digital products we used to film and capture our trailer...... And create our ancillaries.4.

Sharing a YouTube video on Blogger:4.

Saving an image in PowerPoint as a JPEG:

Group all the images to make one big image first...4.

Uploading a JPEG image to Blogger:

4.I made this JPEG image by importing images I found on Google into PowerPoint, and using effects in the format tab to get rid of the background and get shadows on the Polaroid's. I print screened the insert from urbandictionary.com from the website itself and used the crop tool to isolate the paragraph that was relevant.

4.