OCR G324

Joe Garnett3304

Aquinas College: 33435

Evaluation Question 1:

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Using conventions = Taking the conventions of soap operas and applying them to my own product

Conventions of soap operas

-Soaps usually run week-in, week-out all year round

-Continuous storylines(narratives) based around domestic, personal and relationships

-Plots are open ended and interlinked

-Theme tunes that change rarely

-Mainly based on working class characters

-Set around a small central area (such as a square, Eastenders, or a cul-de-sac, Brookside)

-They are very mundane, and will usually have an overarching theme each programme

-Usually there is not much non-diegetic sound

-Short scenes which start off with an establishing shot

Using conventions

close ups and big close ups are used often in soaps to convey emotion, they give the audience a sense of being close to the character. A lot of the time they are shown at the end of a scene to show the characters feeling after an interaction.

Using conventions

Over the shoulder shots are very common in soaps, the audience feel as if they are peeking over the characters shoulder and they are in the scene. They show where the audience need to focus, cropping out any distractions.

Using conventions

In some soaps, before we enter a particular place we are shown an exterior shot of the mise-en-scene, this is to establish where we are. This means that the interior and exterior shots are within close proximity to each, which reinforces the small area of which the show is set.

Using conventions

Almost all soap trailers have a non-diegetic soundtrack which runs throughout the trailer.

The song we chose wasJames Vincent McMorrow – Higher love

It was sung using a very high pitch voice along with high notes of a piano, these create a slight sadness around the soap, which most soaps are as they try to realistic.

Using conventions

Piano key

Piano key

Many soap trailers are edited so that the beats of the non-diegetic sound match the cuts.

Music beat

Using conventions Influences

Hollyoaks – Murder storyline

Costumes - black Shot types (CU/BCU – emotion)

Coronation Street – Kevin cheated on his wife Sally

Costume/make-up – glamourShot types – mid shot

We chose E4 as the institution for our soap trailer. This was because of the influence that E4 shows had given us.

Using conventions

Using conventions

E4 use a white American Typewriter font, placed on a purple background with an E4 logo, they have a web address shown on their title cards. It is usually placed at the end of a soap trailer.

Developing conventions

Developing conventions = taking the conventions of soap operas and applying a different spin on them

Developing conventions

Although, villains/murderers/kidnappers are conventions of soaps and are used regularly, our villain(murderer) was much younger than what has been the norm in other soaps.

Costume can reinforce what that character is like

Developing conventions

Because we have seen murders in other soaps (Hollyoaks), the audience may assume that the character in Hilltop Farm is also a murderer because of the costume, even though the character is much younger.

Developing conventions

Towie

CorrieUnlike most soaps such as Coronation Street, most of the cast are teens, and are more glamorous in costume and make-up. The trailer has more of a Hollyoaks or even a Towie feel to it.

Challenging conventions

Challenging conventions = ignoring the conventions of soaps

Challenging conventions

Hilltop Farm is based in Alderley edge, a higher class area than the many of the places where other soaps are set.(such as Albert square in Eastenders,

There is no evidence in my media product that any of the characters have jobs, whereas is Corrie and Eastenders the jobs that people have include mechanics and bar staff.

In many soap trailers there are transitions between the cuts of different scenes and shots to show jumps in time, which is evident in my media product.

Most of the shot types are very similar (CU/BCU) and the storylines have been used in many soaps for years. (murder in Hollyoaks - Silas, cheating in Coronation Street- Molly and Kevin )

Overall I would say that my media product uses the conventions of real media rather than develop or challenge them.