Textual analysis of 2 Soap Opera Trailers

Soap Opera Genre –

Independent Textual Analysis

Name: Jonathan SheehanCandidate Number: 2127Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

Trailer 1 – EastEnders - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUqmm7RuYn8

Verbal Codes –This trailer has no use of diegetic dialogue, which could have been used to create suspense for the audience watching it. The use of the non diegetic sound track in the background, which is what seems to be a lullaby is used to emphasise the sense of horror and unknown during the trailer. The singing girl in the background is used throughout the clip to create uncertainty and causes the audience to feel sympathetic towards Lucy as from the point of view shots in the trailer we are believed to think that she has been murdered. This also creates doubt for the audience as they are left on a cliffhanger as to why she is singing. The diegetic squeak of the swing and the bashing of the gate during the trailer could connote the genre of the episodes, horror. The sound effects cause the audience to think that they are caused by the dead girl, which causes uncertainty and uneasiness. The soundtrack suddenly stops as the girl is revealed. This abrupt ending surprises the audience and divulges the case behind all of the strange actions.The non-diegetic voiceover “There’s nowhere to hide, a killer exposed” is an extremely chilling accusation and encourages the audience to watch the program as there is a sense of secrecy that has to be revealed… there will be no way to find out unless the viewer watches the program. Diegetic sound is presented in the forms of a baby screaming and the humming of a female voice which connotes a very disturbing and scary approach towards the haunting of the characters. There is also a sudden thud ambient sound effect which is extremely powerful as the camera looks up at Lucy to connote her dramatic entrance to summaries all of the suspected murderess. The ambient sounds of wind are extremely strong and may connote that there is a storm starting. This leads the audience to think that this will have something to do with the character’s personalities, in addition the swings moving and the bottle tops rotating demonstrates paranormal activity and that the death of the girl ‘Lucy’ is to be a problem for all of the characters.

Non-Verbal Codes –The trailer has multi stranded narratives highlighted by the inclusion of different families and characters both in different situations. According to Vladimir Propp ‘characters have a narrative function; they provide a structure for the text’, which connotes that each individual character has a different narrative which helps to create the entire soap opera. It seems that each character seems to be villainous as they are basically all being suspected for the murder, however some characters do appear to be weakened by the paranormal events which could connote that they are potentially not the killer.First starting with a derelict park demonstrating the loneliness of death due to the female who is suffering. The scene then quickly cuts to a supermarket with disturbing events which can only be explained through paranormal events sue to bottle tops unscrewing without human contact. The fish mongers seems to contain a normal happy family, however handprints are dragged down the misted glass which displays suffering and torture, as if the person who has died, did not perish peacefully. The whole cast then seem to be walking toward the smashing gate, which could connote the sense of the unknown. From the scenes all linking together and all of the paranormal events being controlled by the one girl ‘Lucy’ it is noticeable to see that there is a strong link and it seems that all the characters are being blamed for the death and that everyone has their own individual secret playing a part.In each scene of the trailer the cast are wearing dark clothing which connotes death and pain. The lighting is also low key which demonstrates the dark themed narratives. This is also emphasized through the use of the facial expressions of the characters as each one seems as if they are living in fear. Within the scene Jane, the blond female mother figure is appearing to act as the dominant head of the family and appears to be in charge, dishing the food out to each of the family members instead of the male figure who is standing next to her. Jane also appears taller than the male figure and overpowers him especially when she is the first tontine the paranormal activity in which he releases after she displays worried symptoms. Rebecca Feassey’s theory (2007) stated that “..the home, the family, domestic tribulations and the strong woman, and as such, it has long been said to appeal to the female viewer” which is proving the point of Jane being more dominant in this scene. Another example of the trailer appealing to the female viewer is in the last scene in which Lucy (the murdered female) is standing above all of the other members, controlling inanimate objects such as the gates and waiting for her to take control and take her revenge. This female demonstrates that women are powerful and strong and is solving her trials and tribulations.

Trailer 1 – EastEnders - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUqmm7RuYn8

Technical Codes –There are many close ups highlighting the characters facial expressions of sadness and distraught, it seems there is not much surprise as they all have a link to the murder and seem experienced with it.The tracking shot followed by a broken frame emphasis that he is trapped in this everlasting sin caused by his actions.There are many point of view shots, examples of this include Abbie looking at the unwinding bottle tops in the shop and the lady in the fish mongers watching the hands being dragged down the glass.Each scene of the characters which are potential suspects to the murder is shot with a low angle connoting dominance and power, this is due to the fact that each one of them could have taken out the action to kill Lucy. However near to the end of the trailer, when Lucy appears in ‘ghost’ form she is presented in an extremely low angle shot demonstrating that she has the largest power as she is the one with the knowledge as to who killed her. Tracking shots in the final scenes track each character as they come to watch the gate crashing validate the community between each character as they each share similar secrets about the same death. Editing techniques mainly consist of sharp cuts between each scenes with no visual effect which is quite abrupt and connotes that each potential murder is experiencing these paranormal events at the same time and that there is no time gap which would usually be implied with a fade.

Trailer 2 – Hollyoaks - http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hollyoaks/videos/all/official-hollyoaks-trailer-spring-2015

Verbal Codes –A non-diegetic soundtrack has been included which starts instantly which is extremely fast paced and summarizes the extreme amount of drama included. Tension is demonstrated by the sharp sounds of a violin throughout getting faster passed as the trailer proceeds. Fading effects separate the different snippets from the multi stranded narrative storyline. Because each individual seems to have their own issues, this leads the audience to believe that this soap has an interesting narrative and the constant inclusion of arguing diegetic dialogue promotes this, soap operas as a whole do ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) this, allowing individuals watching to absorb their daily intake of scandal and secrecy which leads to the tragic events within.The soap does seem to sympathies with the characters and tries to project this onto the viewers as when characters confess and show acts of kindness, the dramatic violin fades out, however intensifies when dramatic events unfold again.An example of powerful diegetic dialogue would be “You’ve just dug up the wrong corpse” which connotes that there is endless amounts of anger and tension from each character. Another example would be “I’m dying Teresa” demonstrating the varied array of emotions each narrative can bring, from angry to sad to emotional torture which is also featured in “I’m going to tell everyone your trying to steal my husband” indication malicious activity from the characters.Because there is no non diegetic voiceover, this may be due to the large inclusion of diegetic dialogue within the text.The ambient sound of a gun shot at the end causes tension for the viewers as they do not know where the shot has been aimed at due to the trailer cutting off. This promotes the viewers to watch the soap to find out the exclusive content.

Non-Verbal Codes –There are many different setting within the trailer and each one reflects the type of personalities each character has. The camera position is extremely close to the characters’ faces and they seem to be in enclosed spaces which could demonstrate that each character is a part of each others lives and that they are all connected in some way. Reflecting on the moods of the characters, the lighting changes, when there is a dramatic/sad scene the lighting is low key and when there is a scene of happiness the lighting is high key. Facial expressions are used in this trailer as an important way of demonstrating the emotional situations of the characters, such as shock, confusion, panic or struggle.Clothing also changes in relation to the lighting and the emotion of the characters, to demonstrate, the characters in a negative emotional situation wear very monochrome colors such as grey, white and black, whereas the happier characters are placed in bright vibrant coloured outfits.There is a great amount of women within this soap and they each seem to face problems which make them vulnerable such as being in prison or their partners committing in adultery. This may indicate that the soap opera stereotypical appeal more to women (Rebecca Feasey – 2007). It seems that Propps character role theory is extremely relevant here, as there are many individual unique characters, they seem to have different personality traits, while some seem to be honest good people, others seem to be villainous, malicious and false heroes, such as the characters that dig up the woman at the start. However many of the women seem to poses the typical ‘Princess’ trait as they seem to desire the affection of men and when they get this attention they seem satisfied. There are many experiences where Rebecca Feassey’s theory is challenged within this trailer however, for example, many of the women seem to not live up to the normal expectations in which they would appeal to woman, for example, many of the women are not necessarily domestic or deal with trials and tribulations in which make them relevant to Rebecca Feasey. Women in this soap opera are dependent and do not possess these traits. An example would be near to the end of the trailer when the woman is holding a gin and threatening to pull the trigger, a domestic woman would not have these traits at all. However in another sense this could appeal to women as it is promoting women rights and that women have the free will to do whatever they want.

Trailer 2 – Hollyoaks - http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hollyoaks/videos/all/official-hollyoaks-trailer-

spring-2015

All of the camera shot types appear to be close ups and focus directly on the characters faces for their facial expressions. This is to demonstrate the fluctuations of both positive and negative emotions different characters express due to the different situations they are involved in.Tracking shots are used, one scene where an example of this is demonstrated is when the girl replies to the men “You dug up the wrong corpse” which connotes her anger and frustration, focusing on her face to capture these emotions for the viewers.Medium close ups are used when the scene requires more than just the characters faces such as near to the end of the trailer when the lady is holding a gun. This is still a medium close up as her vexed facial expression is important to capture just as much as the weapon.A fading effect separates each scene so that the transition looks professional and clear, without the effect it would be hard to determine the separation of each characters narrative. Many of the dominant men in the trailer are presented through a low angle shot which is used to indicate their importance and power when finding their ‘friend.’ However the majority of the characters are shot with a eye line shot which doesn’t necessarily connote power nor weakness which may be used to promote that each character is within the same level of distraught and instability.

Evaluation of Textual Analysis – Compare and Contrast

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

From observing this trailer I will not ‘exploit’ (Abercrombie – 1995) the use of the non-diegetic soundtrack as I feel that it is too powerful and too dramatic and takes the attention from the viewers away from the actual narratives. I will use a calmer soundtrack that is more professional and less cliché to intensify the drama. Also, the trailer implemented the soundtrack form the start which I will choose differently, having the establishing shots first, then the soundtrack featured later.I aim to ‘exploit’ (Abercrombie – 1995) the fading editing techniques as I feel that this is a professional way to separate the different narratives and keep them separate, avoiding any confusion.I will not ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) the large amount of clips that have been used as I have a shorter cast due to the soap I am creating is new, also viewers are likely to get confused and lose track over which character is which. Also, the speed of the clips is extremely fast paced due to the amount of content they tried to cram into the trailer, I hope mine will be slower paced and will focus more on what the content has to offer and in depth what it entails. I also will not repeat the way in which the soap describes women as I feel that it is very negative and follows the old expectations of women which is that they seem to be materialistic, I will adopt a more feminist view and include women to be dominant figures the same as male.

Trailer 1) – Areas of Strength and what you would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) or “exploit” (Abercrombie – 1995)From observing these trailers I have decided to ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) both tracking and broken frame shots as I feel that these are a professional way to capture the emotions and demonstrate the point of view of the characters and how they are emotionally connected to their situations.Also, I would like to ‘repeat’ having a soundtrack as this is a great way to build suspense, I would divert away from the intense violins from the ‘Hollyoaks’ trailer however and chose a powerful song that relates to the current situation.Camera angles help to demonstrate different levels of dominance and control, for example the high angles are used to give weak characters a weaker image. I also think that the lack of diegetic dialogue is extremely powerful and demonstrates a simplistic and professional approach, because the characters are unknown to the viewers due to this being a new soap, they would not yet know their personalities so it would be irrelevant to include dialogue. I do not want to ‘exploit’ (Abercrombie – 1995) the use of constant low key lighting as this could portray a wrong image towards the soap and make it seem as if it has constant depressing narratives, the use of both high key and low key lighting gives the fluctuation off both happy and sad emotions.Having a female character that relates to typical female activity in which Rebecca Feasey (2007) describes would also be extremely wise as her theory is descried as soap operas relating more to the female audience, so having a dominant female controlling some form of the soap would be extremely beneficial to the success of the audience numbers.