Introduction of generic characters

Introduction to generic characters of Soap operas
by: scott94


 website used to createt this video is called xtranormal.com

Own soap idea

Some ideas came to mind when I thought of ideas that could make a potentially popular soap opera.

I considered a gap in the market, ‘a time period soap opera’. This has not been done before and would, I believe, attract a huge potential target audience who wish to learn as well as being entertained. This in turn would make two sections of the uses of gratification theory true, people watch to be entertained and people watch to learn.

However, without target audience research I could not even consider creating a time based soap opera. Also for a student to find locations, props, clothing and decent actors to fit the criteria of creating a time based trailer is near impossible, time consuming and money consuming, concluding the time based soap opera to be an impossible task with facilities available.

This led me to look for alternative solutions. We wanted to avoid an urban based soap opera and challenge ourselves to find rural locations, as well as props and clothing.

With few solutions left we decided to create a rural soap opera, like Emmerdale.

Are soap operas harmful?

In order to fully comprehend the task of creating a conventional soap opera trailer I researched the public’s view of soap operas. This is an important step in creating any form of media product, for it leads us to the holes in the market wanting to be filed. Here are just a small percentage of the debate, essays and complaints I researched.

UK: Soap operas ignoring negative effects of alcohol - research

Author: Katie Smith | 8 December 2010

A failure on the part of soap operas in the UK to feature the risks of alcohol abuse in their storylines could affect under 18's views on drinking, according to recent research.

Alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware has released research today (8 December) claiming that, on average, over a third (38%) of soap air time features alcohol. From examining four top soaps broadcast in the UK, the research shows that characters were more often than not depicted drinking alcohol to socialise or as a celebration. Only extreme storylines show the harmful effects of alcohol misuse.

Chris Sorek, chief executive of Drinkaware, said: "We need to avoid normalising the idea of consequence-free drinking to excess, especially among under 18s, so people of all ages can make informed decisions about their own drinking based on the facts"

Drinkaware warned that, with 42% of 11- to 17-year-olds watching pre-watershed soaps, the programmes are not depicting the negative effects of too much alcohol consumption enough.

As a result, Drinkaware has requested meetings with UK broadcasters and has developed recommendations to encourage soap opera producers to highlight the risks associated with alcohol misuse.

This article was posted on ‘just-drinks.com’ and it highlights a growing concern of negative impacts soap operas have on children.

Over the last few decades soap operas are more frequent and appear before watershed hours hosting some adult themed storyline. These plots often include alcohol; however, alcohol is now seen as a prop rather than a luxury. Many believe this could be harmful for children and a high rise of teenage alcohol abuse may be linked to television ignorance.

This can show a possible change in the potential market or call attention to the problems with watershed observations.

Furthering the defence that these shows may be copied I have a small section of an article…

Adolescent Soap Opera Viewers

Louise Saffhill

PART 1 - INTRODUCTION & LITERATURE REVIEW

Aims of study

My initial aim in undertaking this study was to investigate adolescents’ viewing of soap operas in terms of its effects upon their identity. However, I began to question the validity of this investigation upon determining my own reasons for viewing soaps. I have watched soap operas since childhood and cannot think of a simple example of how my engagement with this genre may have affected my identity or personal development. My prime reason for watching is escapism, coupled with the desire to be entertained. Herzog’s study of soap opera viewers lists the three main reasons for engagement in soap as "emotional release, fantasy fulfilment and desire for information and advice." (Brown, 1994: 68) Although this study was carried out in 1944, its relevance remains today and was adapted by McQuail, in 1987 (Brown, 1994: 69) who established four categories of reasons people use the media. They include

***

 The writers of the London-based soap have hit the headlines with their cot death/baby swap storyline involving Kat Moon and Ronnie Mitchell. I for one took that particular story with the same fictional pinch of salt I do with all soaps. Pity it left such a bad taste in the mouth for a minority.

EastEnders viewers have always and will always turn on for a good dose of doom and gloom. And as an EastEnders spokesperson simply put it: “Our job is to be a drama”.

Around 10m of us watched the very real (followed by very surreal) turn of events over the Christmas period as Ronnie Mitchell discovered her newborn James had died in his cot before sneaking into the Queen Vic pub and swapping him for Kat Moon’s newborn, Tommy.


Shocking, thought-provoking, and utterly ridiculous at times; the storyline is everything we should expect of a soap opera and more. And it’s the ‘more’ that’s rattled a few cages, most of which appear to belong to ‘appalled’ and ‘distressed’ mothers. The same mothers who watch the soap four times a week for the reasons they’re now slating it.


Over 6,200 complaints have been made about the storyline so far. An Ofcom spokesperson told Confidential: “We are currently looking at them to see whether we are going to investigate or not.”

Information founded at http://www.liverpoolconfidential.co.uk/Entertainment/TV-and-Film-Reviews/EastEnders-from-soap-opera-to-soap-box

I remember this story to be on the covers of many magazines, news papers, news headlines and internet pages.

It is rare for a storyline to gain so much negative attention. The plot could be considered cruel to many mothers who lost children and offensive to many other viewers. Yet this boundary braking episode brought in a wave a mass audience attention which ultimately ended with huge success for ratings.

 'Unrealistic and hurtful': Mothers take to internet to protest at EastEnders cot death storyline’

Soap opera posters

Soap opera posters on Prezi

Soap opera magazine cover

Publication 1 Soap Magazxine


This is my analysis now i have learned magazine analysis terminology.

Soap Opera trailer times

Soap trailers times

What type of audience is a soap opera audience?

The reason the above question is important is as follows,

·         Firstly, if we can determine which type of audience a soap opera audience is according to the Uses of Gratifications then we can cater for their desires.

·         By catering for the audiences’ desires then we are almost guaranteed a successful soap opera.

So, I asked a selection of sixteen people, varying in age, social class and ethnicity to list two reasons why they watch soap opera trailers. I choose that they could choose two because there are often several reasons why people may watch soap operas. However, if they watched soap operas for just one reason then they did not have to select a second option.  I listed all four Uses of Gratification so the participants could select reasons why they watch soap opera trailers.

Below are the Uses of Gratifications.

‘I watch soap operas...’

1.       For entertainment.

2.       To establish a personal relationship with a character from the soap opera.

3.       To be educated.

4.       To change my personal identity which is influenced by a character from the soap opera.

Below are the results, presented in a pie chart.

All sixteen people said they watch soap operas for entertainment. Two gave a second option that they watch soap operas to establish relationship with characters. The other two uses of gratifications were not selected. This informs us that the majority soap opera audiences watch soap operas for entertainment purposes only, making them a passive audience. Also it informs us that no one believes soap operas offer any real education and that no one would like to base their personality on a soap opera character.

By realizing a soap opera audience are passive we can determine they belong to the Hypodermic Needle theory audience. Meaning the audience watches and doesn’t think, instead, are just entertained, almost injected with soap opera ideas with no resistance. By having little resistance in thought the audience also will decode messages in the preferred reading desired by the producer.

Stuart Hall (1973) is a key leading media theorist. He determines that there are three ways an audience can decode a message which was encoded by a producer. The audience can...

·         Accept the text as the producer intended. (Known as a preferred reading.)

·         Accept parts of the text but challenge other sections. (Know as a negotiated reading.)

·         Disagree with the text and rejects the producers intention. (Known as a resistant reading.)

As our audience are passive, fed ideas through the hypodermic needle then they will not challenge the producers encoding, unless the plot in extremely unrealistic. They will often accept these encoded messages unconsciously.

Tony Angellotti  (2005) “The audience have the greatest power. It’s the audience who tell you what they like.” This is why it was important that I research what type of audiences’ soap opera audiences are. I needed to know they were passive so I could deliver what they liked. I will include my findings into our soap opera trailer.