Soap Opera Genre –

Independent Textual Analysis

Name: Syan MagahyCandidate Number: 6446Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic CollegeCenter Number: 64770

OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

Trailer 1 – Eastenders http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1v_2Xf7Xss

Verbal Codes –

In the first trailer, the use of Non-diegetic sound from the beginning till the end is a soundtrack from the rock genre with a quick, upbeat tone, which links in with the lyrics “Oh, a storm is threatening My very life today” which is warning the audience what consists of that storm, as well as providing a potential enigma clue (Roland Barthes) of what stormy character is coming back to the square, which will excite existing fans of the Soap. Another song lyric which links in with the story of the trailer is the use of the word “war” which is repeated a few times. This may mean that the audience may need to prepare themselves for anything bad that might happen because Sharon is back. The diegetic sound effects also links in with the ‘Hurricane Sharon’ trailer as the wind connotes a strong character that is back to Eastenders which is also shown for the audience to see which throws litter from the floor all around the square. From the Non-Diegetic voiceover “there’s one heck of a storm coming: Sharon’s back!” connotes that something serious is going to happen in this soap opera due to one characters arrival. This verbal code also connotes that Sharon is a character that people are afraid of and don’t want to mess around with.

Non-Verbal Codes –

However, this happening in Walford connotes that the character brings trouble and ‘disequilibrium’ (Todorov) as hurricanes bring trouble to where ever it goes. The low key lighting connotes that Sharon may be a dark character if people do not already know her, therefore conforming to Rebecca Feasey’s (2007) ideology on the genre providing a ‘strong woman’ for a predominantly female audience to get excited about as she brings this “storm” of controversy with her. The non-verbal code of the facial expressions from each character in the trailer all have surprised and shocked faces which may connote that they don’t want her back to The Square. The costume of Sharon is her in a white wedding dress looking glamorous and is the only character with a light toning in comparison to all the other characters in the trailer. This may connote that she takes an important role in Eastenders from when she was in it before. The colour white could also ‘signify’ (De Saussure) in dramatic irony to her representation that she is shown to be better than everyone else on the square and everyone looks up to her. Props such as the Queen Vic Pub sign swaying from side to side very quickly connotes that Sharon has come back to hit the whole square and the people in it. Character roles according to props are specialized in this trailer as Lucy Beale uses her fish and chip shop as protection and shelter when Hurricane Sharon hits The Square and also Billie hiding I a dark alley. This may show fear from the characters towards Sharon.

Technical Codes –

From the amount of shot types there are (21) connotes that there is much to give for the audience to understand what is happening in the trailer. The first camera angle (Mid Shot) of the sign of the Queen Vic pub swinging in a fast pace connotes that something bad may happen. For the camera angles for the characters, they are all hiding away from this ‘hurricane Sharon’ that is coming back to the square such as Lucy Beale running into the shop and slamming the door shut. In this scene of the trailer, a long shot was taken to show the fear and reaction of the characters. A lot of CGI was used in this trailer, with the trailer showing the actual hurricane coming to hit the square taking half of the houses with it, to Sharon floating down in her white wedding dress. The eye line match for this trailer is the the characters are never directly looking at the camera, they are intrigued to find out what is hitting the square. Once they realise it is Sharon, all their facial expressions are confusion and shock. This may mean that Sharon may be an evil character in this soap opera and something bad will eventually happen.

Trailer 2 – Hollyoaks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxociJjpKKo

Verbal Codes –

For this trailer which is Hollyoaks, it has use of soundtrack, Dialogue – diegetic and non-diegetic? “you should have got a better bed, better for your bed” - ???? The non-diegetic soundtrack that is used connotes that there may be a relationship interference between different characters in this soap opera as the language of ‘better bed’ may be seen as sexual tension between the different characters. The use of the verbal code “red” can also connote that something bad has happened or will happen later on in Hollyoaks as the term/colour red ‘signifies’ negative acts such as death and pain. The diegetic sound of the rain that only circles around one character may connote she may be a bad character in the soap opera, as this trailer is not just based on one character, it is based on all so all characters are signified in different ways. For this trailer, there isn’t a non-diegetic voice over that is used for the trailer. This may be the case to give the trailer more of an effect and just the synchronized sound at the end of the soundtrack playing when the trailer shows ‘ Weekends at 6:30PM Hollyoaks’There are few diegetic dialogue in this trailer such as when the two characters are playing on a funfair high striker, hitting a hammer and it reaches a bell, the sound hammer being hit connotes anger and suspicion of the characters from the audience. The diegetic dialogue for the bell ringing, may connote any warning for the characters.

Non-Verbal Codes –

The non-verbal codes for this trailer is the use of lighting is high key which connotes that everyone in the trailer are happy as they are in a forest setting which may seem as they are having fun and is similar to a fairytale setting for the characters. This must mean that the soap opera is a good and happy one. This isn’t an expected element of ‘repetition’ from other soap opera trailers because there is always something that goes wrong. However, this may mean that there is some sort of irony involved in this trailer as it may show everything going well and suddenly, something bad happens. Also, the costume for all characters are all nice clothing with animal masks which may be seen as ‘funny masks’, which can connote that they are having fun, playing together. However, it may be seen as a bad coming to bad terms. Also, in the trailer, all the characters appear to have happy facial expressions which means they are all having fun together and that the soap opera is a happy one, however, they may not know. Props such as masks funfair rides all connote happy and fun activities that usually children play on. As Hollyoaks is targeted to a young audience, it may relate to them as they may be adults but acting like children when it comes to relationships etc.. The trailer itself is a high key lighting which contain all pastel colours which also connotes happy emotions.The props for characters in this trailer are ironic Rebecca Feasey (2007). All character roles are costumed to an ironic theme (fairyland) this connotes that the characters are acting like children, dressing up in costumes which is unlikely for adults. For there being a Mary Go Round connotes that they are all friends and having fun together, however, it may not be as it seems. The last prop at the end where there are many lanterns lit, floating away from the characters may connote that something has happened in Hollyoaks such as someone dying and it may be in commemoration of that character.

Technical Codes –

The use of camera angles is significant because one character is handing a hammer to another which may connote that they are going to start danger. The amount of shot types were 41, which may ‘signify’ that there is a good story to show for the audience, it will make the audience want to watch more. There are many shots in the trailer which denote slow motion, which may also connote that it will get the audience to figure out what is happening.From the picture below, there is a low angle of when one of the characters are playing on the high striker, it connotes something will happen. Special effects such as slow motion is used to make the trailer more mysterious and ironic. Usually a Mary Go Round goes reasonably fast, however, in the trailer, it is going slower than a usual one, this may connote that they may not be having as much fun as people think. The connotations for the first shot is the back of all the characters that are dressed in the costumes are entering this ‘fairytale land’. This may connote for the audience that the trailer is going to be about the characters having a good time together which may lead to the program being positive, or can connote the opposite.

Evaluation of Textual Analysis – Compare and Contrast

Trailer 1) – Areas of Strength and what you would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale - 1980) and/or ‘exploit’ (Abercrombie – 1995)

The areas I would ‘repeat’ and ‘exploit’ from this trailer would be the good use of non-diegetic sound (Soundtrack) in the trailer. This is because it links in well with the story of the trailer and what people are looking forward to when watching the actual soap opera. I would also like to ‘repeat’ and ‘exploit’ the inclusion of some of the meaningful lyrics that anchor the action on screen, as it suits with the storyline of the whole trailer itself. Having a good use of meaningful lyrics helps the audience understand what is happening and what they will expect to see when they watch the program. The last strength I would like to repeat is the low key lighting as it goes well with the narrative as the trailer was a dark one, as a hurricane creates a dark atmosphere, it links well in that Sharon is bringing darkness back to the setting.

Trailer 2) – Areas of Strength and what you would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale - 1980) and/or ‘exploit’ (Abercrombie – 1995)

A strength that I would ‘repeat’ and ‘exploit’ for my own trailer would be the enthusiasm of the characters when they are all together ‘having fun’. This denotes to the audience that they are trying to be happy but the audience can tell that they are in some sort of trouble. This would be good to use in my own trailer so the audience could think of what is happening. Another strength I would use to repeat the shot types of the characters facial expressions to get the audience to understand to think about what is happening. The last strength I would repeat for my own trailer is the slow motion that is used in Hollyoaks, as it is a very ironic trailer, that the characters are playing on funfair rides, running around and more, it is all in slow motion which may connote to the audience that they are not having so much fun as what