Initial Soap opera magazine

Soap opera magazine front cover on Prezi

Image collected from thejoker.co.uk

This is my short analysis on a soap opera magazine cover before i learned magazine terminology.

Siege Week Trailer - Coronation Street

I myself am not a Coronation Street fan; yet even I know the line ‘Guess who escaped, Tony Gordon.’ connotes some form of danger is arising with the return of this ex character. The word escapes makes it apparent the man broke from prison, this is also visually suggested by the policemen within the frame. The policeman who warns the wife of the husbands escape further suggests he is a dangerous man. You can tell this man is dangerous by the slow zoom towards the policemen face showing concern.

The location of the alley way holds more enigma coded information than one may think. An alley way is hidden away, stereotypically criminals can be hiding down them and this adds a fearful atmospheric mood for the audience. To further ideas of the alley way you can mention how it is situated within an urban environment connoting this man is hidden away from the public yet he is so close to their homes.  This closeness is stereotypical to the horror film genre. As criminals can be hidden close to the actor and the audience are well aware of the danger the character is in. This is called dramatic irony and I have found a quick example from the film ‘Halloween 2’. Nineteen seconds in the horror convention is used.  

What follows after the slow pan up of the Tony walking down the alley way is fast pace editing which adds a concerned atmospheric feel to the trailer. Fast pace equals worry and uncertainly as well as adrenaline within the confusion. This works well with the trailer and is a successful way to bring all the clips together showing the public unconcerned off his escape believing he won’t head home.

The fast pace editing ends with the final line “Ladies I am going to kill you and I’m going to enjoy it.” The realization that he’s headed home is the key moment for slow editing letting the confusion of the trailer glide away and the audience to identify Tony is back. This is followed like most trailers with a date, time and channel.

The non-diegtic rocky music fits well with the confusion adrenaline pumping atmosphere i referred to and it helps create the scenario perfectly.

EastEnders - And their unique trailers

Recently, EastEnderes have been twisting the rules of soap opera trailers. They have created a verisimilitude world of a different location or time period from that of the show. Yet, each still advertises the storyline effectively making them seem out of this world by the new location change. I agree with the majority of YouTube's comments such as ‘the trailers are better than the show’. This is what you need to attract your audience; a trailer that furthers the quality of the show.

This is my favourite trailer of all time. It is brilliantly corny and almost feels like its own cowboy show. The sound effects such as the gun reloading when Kat gets her mirror out it humorous and connotes that perhaps these characters will not have the most serious of roles to play to begin with. On the other hand the dialogue “Where do you get a drink around here?” (camera shot of the burned down pub) suggests that Kat and Alfie will become the new pub landlords of the Queen Vic.

The first shot in this trailer is an establishing one, in the frame the burnt down queen Vic pub. This already establishes the location of Albert Square as well as connoting the storyline regards the ruined pub. The other shot that stands out is the crane shot that reveals the character, Kat. This let the audience recognise her and it also goes with the stereotypical introduction from western films. Other shots fit with the western film genre such as Ian looking through the blinds with a close up, him hiding connoting that trouble is forming. Another humorous stereotypical western film shot is the over the shoulder shot which reveals a contender for the standoff duel.  It ends with a high angled shot which highlights the rivalry between the dual, another great shot.

The gap between Kat and Alfie connotes their relationship may be failing. The fast pace shots between their eyes suggest they are enemies and the colour of them have been edited to glow, showing power.  Further evidence that they are enemies is the non-diegetic voice over when Alfie appears, saying “It’s all kicking off in the square”. Alfie is also in the shadows connoting that perhaps he keeps secret from his wife or follows her, keeping an eye on her from afar.

The reactions of all the bystanders connote that the character, Kat is well-known within the square, perhaps too famous shown by the fearful reaction of Jane shutting the blinds. The wind which blows the rubbish around during the shots also connotes that Kat is bringing a storm with her; the storm being lots of expected drama.

The new location still advertises the show at the end with the theme tune, wording ‘EastEnders’, the voice over saying all next week (date) and the iconic locations such as the Queen Vic.

This trailer is brilliant in capturing the viewer’s attention. An iconic British women, Barbara Windsor, the actress for Peggy Mitchell (the damsel in distress) makes the viewer scream at the television screen warning her to avoid the clutches of dirty Den (the villain), as many people grew up with this well-known character, helping affect nerves of the audience. By including a damsel in distress and a villain the trailer starts building the foundations of Vladimir Propp’s theory of narrative, which concludes that all soaps include a hero, villain, damsel, helpers, princess, the dispatcher and finally the false hero.  If we further applying this theory to the trailer, you realise Peggy also plays the role of the hero and princess as well as the damsel. Den plays numerous roles also including the dispatcher (as he dispatches Peggy to his life via a engagement proposal) and a false hero. Peggy and Den can also been seen as binary opposites, Peggy being good and Den evil.

The juxtaposition of the child's lullaby framed with an old lady (Peggy) really highlights how vulnerable Peggy is, perhaps more vulnerable than a child. At the start there are several close ups of Peggy; she looks oblivious of the approaching danger, childlike. When the danger first appears (the arrival of Den on a lighted floor) it is seen through a mirror allowing the audience to both see Peggy reaction and the villains arrival, furthering this it is stereotypical of horrors to see danger appear in the mirror before facing and confronting it, showing the trailer in conveying that of a horror. Within eleven seconds the trailer already portray many of the same conventions of horror films, like the last trailer did with wild western films. This tells me that experimenting between soap trailers and movie genres is coming into play and works well grabbing the audience’s attention.

Also once again this trailer tells the viewer the time, date and channel of this episode.

This trailer shows several close up shots of the characters faces. These were used to show the gradual transition from Peggy being happy to vulnerable. Den is seen from kind/caring too evil. The trailer ends with an extreme close up of Peggy eyes becoming a zombie, a perfect shot for a horrifying ending.

This is another great original trailer, very cool and very interesting. It connotes several things, such as Max may die connoted by “Judgement day for Max.” However, Max doesn’t seem concerned in this trailer which suggests to me he will live and carry on fighting. To further this suggestion the question “But will he lye in it?” makes it apparent he won’t go down without fighting.

Once again it tells us which characters are include within the storyline, such as Bradley in his police uniform, connoting he is the one who will stick to the law no matter what is thrown his direction. Tanya who clinches the death bed connoting she misses the departed or she wants him desperately dead. Jack, who holds up Max's death label, is perhaps suggested to be the killer. Jack also wears distinct black gloves, connoting evil and darkness; are these gloves to hide fingerprint evidence?

I feel this trailer has connotations of a film genre, like the other two, however this genre is thriller. To be more precise, a psychological thriller, this could explain the confusion within the trailer and the disappearing of Tanya and the appearing of Jack. Also the lyrics use an enigma code to feed the audience key information about Maxes potential fate.

"God's Gonna Cut You Down", also known as "Run On" and "Run On for a Long Time", is a traditional folk song which has been recorded by numerous artists representing a variety of genres. The lyrics are a warning to sinners that no matter how hard they try, they will not avoid God's judgment; in the chorus, God tells the narrator of the song to

“

Go tell that long tongue liar, go and tell that midnight rider, tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter, tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down.

”

Wikipedia

The trailer also tells the date of the episode as well as the soaps name alongside its theme tune and logo. Yet, this trailer doesn’t show a time, which would confuse potential new audiences.

Each title appears differently. The first trailer, the western cowboy one, has the title appear in black font still within the frame. The second, the horror trailer, has the title appear on the red default/home screen of BBC ONE.  The third, the thriller trailer had the title appear in front of its London area shot logo as the show usually does.

I feel the reasons they did these different titles were simple. Trailer one – They wanted the tension between the stand of to remain, like a build up of a hugely anticipated film such as the last Harry Potter. They did this by introducing the title within the same shot which leaves the stand of remaining on a cliff hanger; this doesn’t give the audience any release, leaving the tension dwelling.

Trailer two – They wanted the audience to have relief after the hard hitting creepy trailer, so they allowed it by bringing in the BBC default/home screen. Release of tension meant the audience could think about what they just saw and draw up predictions.

Trailer three – This trailer built no tension but instead just told a rough outline of the narrative, meaning they had no reason for the title to release tension, nor keep it, allowing the iconic logo title to be featured.

Each trailer has a key line which clearly shows the narrative is open. Trailer one – “It’s all kicking off in the square.” Suggesting hell will brake lose.

Trailer two – “He’s got Peggy under control, but for how much longer?” Hinting that Peggy will escape Den’s claws.

Trailer three - “Judgement day for Max.” Connoting this is the end of Max.

Each one ends on a cliff hanger, and with the connotations of what to follow from these lines makes the audience very eager to watch the episode.

What is the purpose of a trailer?

There are two obvious purposes to a trailer. Number one is to advertise a new film, video game or television show. Number two is to grab the viewer’s attention and make them eager to see the film, buy the video game or watch the television show.  To do this they need a hook in their trailer to grab the audience’s attention as well as appealing to their target audience usually using verisimilitude or genre usage (e.g. action films appear to younger male audiences.)

Film Trailer

Video game Trailer

Television Trailer - Soap Opera

Each trailer for the following three categories clearly tells the audience a date of realise.
One thing that makes the soap opera trailer stand solo from the other two was the fact it had no warning or viewing guidance at the start of it. This is linked to why the soap opera trailers feature before the water shed; they cannot be inappropriate as young audiences may be watching and therefore, need no warning.

Also, soap opera trailers can be simpler than their cousins. This may be due to budget reasons, but most likely to do with not needing to attract the viewer in the same way. By this I mean soaps have several chances to attract their audiences using individual episodes. Films and video games only have one shot.

Also, video games and films often will show reviews from critics, if they are good. Soaps aren’t viewed until their premier on television; therefore the audience can be its on critic making fairer judgement.

Sound wise, the film trailer is breath-taking but plays different roles from that of a soap opera. The film has moments of silence which is battled against huge, dramatic, stunning orchestrial moments. It tells you the basic plot of the film using dialogue quotes from the film, an often occurrence from film trailers.

Camera angels are varied and change often thanks to the fast pace editing which coincides perfectly with the powerful roar of the music. When the music softens, almost lying to the viewer suggesting equilibrium, the editing becomes much slower and shots that introduce you to key characters faces take host of the framework.  

Video games are more like interactive movies now days than an actual virtual world. That’s why this trailer follows the same traits as that of a film. It has speech from dialogue games; false equilibrium during silent pieces and a quick tempo, diegetic soundtrack.  

It’s almost degrading how simple trailers for soaps are. However, I must remind myself that I only have paid special attention to old soap trailers rather than modern. This is why I question, if being complex and revolutionary with our soap trailer, would it be a rejoiced replacement or a discarded misfit? Should we stick with trends or move aside technology?


Videos posted from youtube

Hollyoaks first Trailer

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One thing this trailer does outstandingly well is target a particular audience: the young, stereotypical, dumb teen. I hate this trailer, as it is so cheesy, however, I like the fact the actors talk to the viewer to advertise the up and coming soap. By doing this the characters are taken out of their world (which is Hollyoaks) and join our own through this interaction making them more appealing. The audience can indentify with one of the characters; one of the four parts from the uses and gratifications theory.

Unlike the EastEnders original trailer characters are introduced to audience before launch. The character who says ‘I’m not doing this’ has already briefly revealed some of her personality by refusing to play along and by teasing the man she has matched with. This trailer also reveals all the actors are young and therefore targets a particular young audience.

The actor named Benson clearly tells us the show's name and launch date but the time of the show is not said. In fact it is hidden away in small writing, until second screening I did not realise the times existence and therefore I would be led to say this trailer isn’t clear, nor bold enough.

Similarly to EastEnders the trailer was simple, and I believe would also not demand a high budget. So there it is, soap opera launch trailers need to be simple and clear without needing a high budget.