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St. Paul’s Catholic College

Center Number:64770

Candidate Number:5978

Candidate Name: Lydia Rama

A2 Media Studies

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media –

Production Log

Evidence of Planning & Research

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Aims and Objectives

AO2– Assess candidates’ application of knowledge and understanding in evaluating their own work, showing how meanings and responses are created.

AO3– Assess candidates’ ability to plan and construct media products using appropriate technical and creative skills.

AO4– Assess candidates’ ability to undertake, apply and present appropriate research.

Brief Chosen

A 45 second – 1 minute 30 second trailer for a NEW Soap Opera that will be exhibited on BBC 3 at 8:30pm (after Eastenders) that will appeal to a Male and Female audience.

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Contents

Textual Analysis

Eastenders - Soap Opera Codes & Conventions - Multi Strand Narrative

Coronation Street

“..the home, the family, domestic tribulationsand the strong woman, and as such, it has long been said to appeal to the female viewer”

‘Masculinity and Popular television’ – Rebecca Feasey (2007)

- Is this evident and how is this presented to the audience?

Research

Purpose of a Trailer Multi-Platform promotion Textual Analysis – Coronation Street and Hollyoaks

Deadlines – Production Work Filming Dates: 22nd and 23rd October Edited Trailer – Complete: 14th February 2014 Promotional Poster – Complete: 14th February 2014 Promotional Magazine Cover – Complete: 14th February 2014 Evaluation – Complete: 14th February 2014

Production Work

Director Producer Institution research – BBC Three

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Soap Opera Codes & Conventions – Lesson 2 1) What are some of the Codes & Conventions of this genre?

Soap Opera codes and conventions

1.) Mystery 2.) Antagonisms and conflict within community 3.) Focus on working class community 4.) Family relationships and conflict 5.) Realism 6.) Multi-standard narratives 7.) Romance 8.) Cliff hangers 9.) Set in a community

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2) Codes & Conventions of the Soap Opera Genre The Soap Opera genre can be categorized by the ‘repeated’ (Steve Neale) elements of:

1. Romance 2. Family and family relationships 3. relationships and/or conflict between characters 4. Focus on working class community + set in a community

5. Antagonism and conflict within + mystery and cliffhangers 6. The community multi standard narratives and realism

Eastenders (1985 – Present)

Key information regarding this text:

Exhibited on BBC and repeated on BBC three One of the UK’s highest rated programs Set in the ‘kitchen sink’ setting of fictional Walford, East London

It was first broadcasted on BB in the year 1985. Eastenders is broadcasted four times a week.

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Textual Analysis Task http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=related -

You MUST complete the Table below whilst watching the TWO promotional trailers for the BBC Soap Opera Eastenders. You SHOULD aim to identify key examples (Verbal, Non-Verbal, Technical) from each trailer that demonstrates your understanding. You COULD apply relevant audience theory to explain what impact these key examples would have on the target demographic. In your opinion, according to Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities, what is the target audience for Eastenders?

Age

15 to over 30’s

Gender

Male and female but mostly female

Nationality

British

Trailer 1) What is the Focus of this trailer? Max and Stacie are the focus of this trailer as they are both married couples however they are having affair with each other behind their partner’s backs. They are the focus of this trailer because they are the main storyline in Eastenders at the moment.

Code &

Convention

Evidence

(Verbal, Non-Verbal, Technical)

Impact on the Audience

(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)

Romance

‘ I love you’ - Boyfriend

This connotes that Stacey and Bradley have a romantic relationship and are boyfriend and girlfriend.

Family relationships and/or conflict

Likes father Likes son? This connotes that Stacey could be seeing both the father and the son. This

Hartley – Family – Family audience impact! This could persuade the audience to want to carry on watching Eastenders because they will be interested to see whom Stacey actually likes. They will also

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connotes that she could be having an affair with one of them. ‘I know your dirty filthy little secret’ Connotes that Max has been hiding secrets from his wife.

want to see when the affair will be revealed. This could cause conflict between the father and the son if Stacey is dating both of them secretly.

Focus on working class communities

-Market setting In a street ‘

This represents a working class community and is a typical setting for a Soap Opera as it is based on working class characters that live in a working class community.

“Multi-Stranded Narrative”

Talking to two different guys the Father and the son. This connotes that she is dating both the Father and the son.

This will make the audience interested in the current storyline on Eastenders. The audience will want to know who Stacey actually likes as it will cause a conflict between the Father and the Son.

‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)

‘I know your dirty filthy little secret’ Tanya is angry at max.

The audience will see that the affair could be revealed and Tanya could ruin Stacey’s happy relationship with Bradley if she has found out about the affair.

Trailer 2) What is the Focus of this trailer? The focus of this trailer is on Max, Stacey, Bradley, Tanya and Jack. The trailer is focused on these characters because Max and Stacey are having affair. They have focused on all of the characters as the story involve all of them and is hinting that the other characters will find out about the affair soon.

Code &

Convention

Evidence

(Verbal, Non-Verbal, Technical)

Impact on the Audience

(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)

Romance

Cleaner is the person Max is having an affair with.

Stacey dressed in a cleaner costume connotes that Max is having an affair with Stacey. This connotes that Stacey is from a lower class family and has a lower status compared to the other characters.

Family relationships and/or conflict

Man near death bed This connotes that Max’s secrets may come to an end or that he may die.

Tanya is pulling out the death bed which could make the audience think that Tanya is going to find out about the affair and end it. They will want to find out when Tanya will figure out what Max is doing as they will want to see what she does to him.

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Focus on working class communities

-police officer -cleaner – How is this relevant? Explain

Tanya is pulling out the death bed which could make the audience think that Tanya is going to find out about the affair and end it. They will want to find out when Tanya will figure out what Max is doing as they

“Multi-Stranded Narrative”

Different characters The cleaner The police officer Max Different characters have different emotions and feelings towards Max.

The cleaner represents that Stacey is from a working class family and has the lowest status compared to the other characters. Max is dressed in s suite which represents he has a high status and is a wealthy man. Bradley is in a police costume which suggests he

‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)

-’Judgmentday for max’ Connotes that Max secrets and lies are going to come to an end.

This ‘signifies’ that the affair is going to be revealed. It suggests hat something bad could happen to Max once the affair is revealed.

Multi-stranded narrative A Multi-stranded narrative can be defined as Soap has different types of stories and storylines from different characters. For example Eastenders have The Brannings, The Mitchell’s and the Masoods.

1.) Telling a story from more than one point of view. 2.) Telling multiple stories about characters in an open narrative episode for

example. You MUST deconstruct the 10-minute extract from Eastenders and identify where the following elements are presented to the audience:

Multi-stranded narrative Family relationships and/or conflict Focus on working class communities ‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) Romance

You SHOULD write down x1-2 examples for EACH of the elements above that are presented. Code & Convention Evidence Impact on the audience

Multi-stranded narrative

Multiple character problems

The audience see how it effects the family

Family ‘I’m sick of being this Family audience can

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relationships and/or conflict

influence Grandma ‘ -Women walks away then grabs her

relate to this as families argue with each other. The audience may also have similar arguments to the characters in Eastenders.

Focus on working class communities

-Market setting Street setting House settings

The audience can relate to the market setting, as the audience that Eastenders is targeting is middle class families.

Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)

-Arguing in the house-Lauren

Katz – ‘Personal identity’ – as this is a familiar scenario in any nuclear household.

Romance

-Max and Tanya separated. - Jack and Sharon

Maslow – ‘Caregivers’ will feel sorry for Tanya because her husband has cheated on her. They will sympathies with her.

Soap Opera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson 3 Textual Analysis According to Rebecca Feasey in ‘Masculinity and Popular television’ (2007), the Soap Opera genre tends to focus on: ‘ The home the family, domestic tabulation and the strong women, and as such, it has been said to appeal to the female viewer.

1) – Do you agree? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8_ApPT6isY(First 5 minutes)

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You MUST deconstruct the opening 5 minutes of a sequence from the popular ITV Soap Opera Coronation Street (1960 – Present) to identify examples of where this ideology is presented to the target audience. You SHOULDalso try and identify, to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the genre, any Codes & Conventions associated to the Soap Opera genre. Code & Convention Evidence Impact on the audience Rebecca Feasey (2007) Ideology: 1.The setting is in a home with the characters sitting at the dining table having a cup of tea. This represents a working class family home. 2. The two girls arguing at the table suggest that they are both strong and dominant female characters. This would appeal to female viewers, as they will be interested in what as caused the two women to argue. 3.‘She’s your Sister Leanne’ suggests that Leanne has have and affair with her sister’sboyfriend, which has caused conflict between the two sisters and their mother. This would be targeted towards the female viewers. 4.Set in a street to represent what typical working class communities are like. This would target working class families to watch Connotation street, as they would be able to relate to some of the dramas going on in Coronation street. 5.The rovers is a pub and is a typical convention used by Soap Operas as it is where most of the characters go or have confrontations.

Multi-stranded narrative

Because Coronation Street is a Soap different characters are involved with different stories and lives. For example at the begging it is set in the house with the two men and a women. It then changes to another scene to show another family having breakfast.

Different viewers from different sex and ages can relate to different types of characters and different types of character situations.

Family relationships and/or conflict

Conflict between the two men at the begging. Conflict between the two females about a man.

Families who are going through a similar situation or argue with a family member will relate to this. The audience will also want to carry on

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watching so see how the characters resolve their argument.

Focus on working class communities

Set is a street. Set in people’s houses in a working class community.

Viewers are middle class families who live in similar areas and houses to the characters in Coronation street. The setting represents the people who watch the Soap so therefore they can relate to the families.

Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)

When Leanne talks about seeing her sisters ex boyfriend. This causes the sisters to argue at the breakfast table an also causes them to argue downstairs in the pub.

Maslow Caregivers will feel sorry for Leanne’s sister as her Leanne has had an affair with someone she likes or is romantically involved in.

Romance

Leanne and her sister are both involved with the same man or where both involved with the same man.

The audience will be interested in who the man is if they do not no who he is. They will also choose one of the sisters to side with over the other.

Soap Opera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson 4 Textual Analysis

1) What is the purpose of a trailer? To promote and preview a new product, that will attract a target audience. It will need to contain a USP*. Convergence* Marketing*

2) What are the benefits of Multi-Platform promotion of a media text?

- Attract a larger target market so that more people will be persuaded to watch their Soap.

- More exposure to the public. They will be able to attract new viewers who have never watch their Soap before to watch it.

3.) Ultimately, some form of convergenceis important when promoting a text to the target audience.

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You MUSTmake notes on the following areas when deconstructing this sequence from Coronation Street:

Multi-stranded narrative Character dilemmas ‘Personal Identification’ (Katz)

Male getting married-dilemma-looks worried/unsure Personal identification- + Multi standard narrative Dilemma-irony ‘I’m feeling lucky’ This could suggest to the audience that something might ruin the day and they day might not be as lucky. The male’s body language shows him looking worried and unsure. This connotes that he might not be ready to marry or that he is not sure if he wants to marry the bride. This connotes that he might change his mind last minute before marrying the bride, which could ruin her lucky day. There is a multi standard narrative. The different characters such as the bride and the groom are shown in the sequence so that the viewers can see the different points of views from both of the characters.

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http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hollyoaks/4od

The above link will take you to some of the latest episodes of Hollyoaks.

1. What are the connotations of the Ident for the popular Channel Four Teen

Soap Opera Hollyoaks (1995 – Present)? Targeting an under–30 target audience for both genders, challenging conventional view. The logo is pink and blue, which represents boys and girls so therefore the Soap Opera, is aimed at both genders. The gender logos are also shown on the logo. The female sign is pink to represent females and the male sign blue to represent the male gender. Hollyoaks – “White Wedding Trailer” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu2sW-r9Vb4

2. You MUSTmake notes on the following areas when deconstructing this sequence from Hollyoaks:

Binary opposition of the non-diegetic music Symbolism of the non-verbal code of the tear Representation of Pregnancy Any other examples that would impact the audience

+ Death + Marriage + Pregnancy + ‘it’s a nice day for white wedding’-everyone is wearing black. Black is the opposite to white so therefore it could suggest that it is not going to be a nice day. Brides always wear white on their wedding, which represent happiness and joy, as it is a light color. The bride is wearing a black dress so therefore her wedding day I not going to be a joyful happy day. Black is usually worn at a funeral so this Connotes that death could happen or that the wedding might come to a horrible end. Song lyrics are a non-diegetic sound ‘It’s a nice day to start again. These verbal diegetic lyrics are used when the bride

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and groom are working together towards the alter. This Connotes that they are planning to have a fresh start which Connotes that they may not have had a good relationship in the past or may have secrets. Their secrets or things from the past may come up during the wedding. The black tear Connotes that the bride could be emotionally unstable to get married and might not want to marry her fiancé. The doll being dropped on the floor and smashing to pieces as the bride is walking down is which could suggest that the wedding is going to be a disaster. The black tear from the bride’s eye connotes that she might die on her wedding day, as she looks emotionally unstable.

Production Work

1) What is the role of a Producer? –Oversee all aspects of the production across the 3 stages of the coursework. –Manage everyone and ensure everyone and everything is in place in order for the text to look fit for purpose.

2) What is the role of a Director? - Oversee the creative aspects of the production. - Direct people in front and behind the camera - To make sure that all of the creative aspects are complete to fit the

purpose of the trailer.

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3) Institution research –

1.3 % audience watch BBC Three.

BBC Three was launched in February 2009.

The age group for BBC Three is people aged 16-34.

Only broadcasted on Freeview T.V.

They received over £2 billion TV license during 2002 and 2003.

BBC three have a 60 second news update so that they do no have to spend time doing live broadcasts.

9 million people watch BBC three every week.

BBC three have completion with other channels such as ITV2 and E4 who

have similar target audience to them.

The BBC have always found it hard to attract a younger audience so it is important that they promote BBC three in the correct way so that they can get higher ratings than the other channels .