Production log planning & research.docx2

1

St. Andrew’s Catholic School

Center Number: 64135

Candidate Number: 4067

Candidate Name: Hannah Hughes

A2 Media Studies

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media –

Production Log

Evidence of Planning & Research

2

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 at 8:30pm (after Eastenders) that will appeal to a Male and Female audience. YOU SHOULD research when Eastenders is scheduled (Day – Time)

3

Contents

Textual Analysis

Eastenders

- Soap Opera Codes & Conventions - Multi Strand Narrative

Coronation Street “..the home, the family, domestic tribulations and 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: Edited Trailer – Complete: Promotional Poster – Complete: Promotional Magazine Cover – Complete: Evaluation – Complete:

Production Work

Director – Roles & Responsibilities? Producer – Roles & Responsibilities?

Institution research – BBC Two

4

Soap Opera Codes & Conventions – Lesson 2 1) What are some of the Codes & Conventions of this genre? Elements Settings o Vic (pub) o Houses/estate o Market o The Square

Characters o Manipulative o Geezer o Spy o Bully o Range of active characters o Grandparents

Icons o Community o Regional identity o Soundtrack/theme song o Long storyline o Plots and subplots o Focusing on small number of characters o Interlinking stories o Gossip o Special episodes

Narrative o Relationships o Killer o Adultery o Family issues o Sexuality

5

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 relationships and/or conflict

3. Focus on working class communities

4. Antagonism and conflict within the community

5. Murderous behavior

Eastenders (1985 – Present)

Key information regarding this text:

Exhibited: BBC1 and repeated on BBC3

One of the UKs highest rated program’s (average 6 million viewers)

Set in the ‘kitchen sink’ setting of fictional Walford East London Textual Analysis Task http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=related -

6

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. Extension - 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+

Gender

Female

Nationality

English (Londoners)

Trailer 1) What is the Focus of this trailer? Theme of violence, takeover of the Vic, murder of Michael

Code &

Convention

Evidence

(Verbal, Non-Verbal, Technical)

Impact on the Audience

(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)

Romance

Roxie and guy Hartley: young 20-40, young audience. This is because

Family relationships and/or conflict

‘ma brother’ Ronnie and man fight ‘swear on my mother’s grave’ Family pub Red on man ‘it was me’ ‘stay away from my sister’

Care givers: Ronnie protects sister this is shown when Ronnie says ‘stay away from my sister’ Katz –The audience can ‘personally identify’ with the characters. As they know how it would feel to loss everything and what it’s like to protect the ones you love. E.g. Ronnie protecting Roxie.

Focus on working class communities

All in the pub together - Mid shot

Narrative ‘Eastenders with Christmas’

Hartley: Region/Nationality (accents) Location appeals to the audience as they can recognize with the characters.

7

“Multi-Stranded Narrative”

Pub Roxie romance Murder New owner of the Vic

Katz: it is more entertaining to have more stories going on at once, rather than one constant narrative

‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)

Pub Murder Roxie romance

-Community Drivers/Explorers- agree/disagree

with it? -Personal identity to the storyline

Trailer 2) What is the Focus of this trailer? Who is Kat cheating with?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Code &

Convention

Evidence

(Verbal, Non-Verbal, Technical)

Impact on the Audience

(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)

Romance

Kats affair Alfie and Kat kiss

Maslows: ‘care givers’ want Alfie to find out Hartley – characters 20-40 appeals to 20-40

Family relationships and/or conflict

Kats cheating on Alfie with one of the Brannings Fire is a main theme throughout the advert

Katz: personal relationships - Feeling bad for Alfie

Moral ethics: people disagree with Kats cheating.

Focus on working class communities

Pub Market Accent

Hartley: nationality Personal identity – Katz Regionality - Hartley

“Multi-Stranded Narrative”

None N/A

‘Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)

Kat and Alfie fight

‘Caregivers’ (Maslow) - Audience feels sympathy for the characters as they are fighting.

8

Multi-stranded narrative A Multi-stranded narrative can be defined as…..

- Telling a story from more then one persons point of view - Telling multiple stories about multiple characters in an ‘open narrative’ episode

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

Stag and hen Jacks locked in office Lads in pub

Social interactions- which makes people feel they can relate to the characters.

Family relationships and/or conflict

Stag and hen (friends) Phil and Jack Carol and guy Max and his girlfriend

Maslow: explores - Stags: social climbers

Focus on working class communities

Stag and hen dos Pub and the club Beer and larger

Relates to them as it is a working class place

Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)

Boys and girls night outs 2 men in the office Ronnie ringing Jack

Adds another story

Romance

Jack and Sharon Audience can relate to romance

9

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 tribulation and the strong women, and as such, it has long been said to appeal to the female viewer”

- Personal identity - Stereotypes

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

Next Page - 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 SHOULD also try and identify, to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the genre, any Codes & Conventions associated to the Soap Opera genre.

10

Code & Convention Evidence Impact on the audience

Rebecca Feasey (2007) Ideology: beliefs and values 1.woman cleaning

- men not helping - yellow gloves

2.mother thinking she is better than the other woman

- sarcastic comments

3. girl wants to go out for a meal

- ‘Swanky’ and ‘slap up meal’ 4.women putting on their make-up before going to the shops 5. girl is a strong independent woman

- She doesn’t think romance is all that great “Multi-Stranded Narrative”

2 different families which leads to different stories Granddad talking about kids mother Man leaving and honeymoon

Family relationships and/or conflict

Mum cleaning – Dad looking after child Mum thinking she’s better than the other woman Family sitting down eating together Couples

Focus on working class communities

‘slap up meal’ Make-up before going to the shops

Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)

Arguments: Mother and Grandmother

Romance

Marries couples - Honeymoons

Other Themes & Issues represented:

N/A

11

Soap Opera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson 4 Textual Analysis

1) What is the purpose of a trailer? To build hype, gain larger audience, display that show, appeal to a larger variety of people, promote the show and to get people talking.

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

Can reach larger amounts of people

More advertising Ultimately, some form of Convergence is important when promoting a text to the target audience.

3) Textual Analysis –

Next Page - YOU MUST make notes on the following areas when deconstructing this sequence from Coronation Street:

Multi-stranded narrative

Character dilemmas ‘Personal Identification’ (Katz)

12

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)? Sex, binary opposites, male – female, stereotypical colours, gender issues Next Page - Hollyoaks – “White Wedding Trailer” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu2sW-r9Vb4

2. YOU MUST make 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

Binary Opposites (Levi Strauss)

o Black: death at wedding o ‘white wedding’ soundtrack – good contrast to black costume of the characters. Binary

opposite white and black – good and bad. Murder – someone the wife knows The verbal code of the non-diegetic voiceover ‘love, honor and betray’ – she’s going to betray husband? Black gloves ‘signify’ (De Saussure) Tears: something bad happened

- People don’t want the wedding to happen China doll shattering: her baby is doomed Creepy smiles: everyone is fake Black rose petals connote death or the end of a relationship

13

Production Work

1) What is the role of a Producer? Decision making, oversees production, organized, consider target audience, finance and budget, building up production and contacts.

2) What is the role of a Director? Visualization of scene, they are the audience, rate acting skills, leader, calm, focused and strict

3) Institution research –

Launched on 20th April 1964

Audience share was 6.6% in July 2014

From 1st July 1967it was Europe's first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour

Target audience: people who are not already served by BB1 or ITV

It has several sister channels including: BBC1, BBC3, BBC4, BBC News, BBC Parliament, CBBC and CBeebies