Questionnaire

1) What is your favourite soap?

2) What features would you like to see in a soap?

3)Do you think there are enough t.v shows/soaps aimed at teenagers?

4)Would you like to see a soap based on a urban background?

5)What is the most important feature for you to encourage you to watch the soap?

6)What type of characters would you like to see?

7)What story line would interest you?

Radio times Magazine Issue

Here we have an issue 'RadioTimes' magazine. The first thing that catches the audience's attention is the headline of 'WHO'S WHO?', this added with the image of Peter Davison and David Tennnant tells the audience this week's main feature is about 'Dr Who'. Underneath this headline is a caption, informing the audience more about what is happening, when it's happening and which channel it's on. The two men arestood one on each side of the page, mirroring each other and are in similar positions. 'Dr Who' fans will recognise the background as being the inside of the tardis, giving the audience something to relate to better than just having a plain background. For those members of the audience who don't recognise it, the darkness and unusual-looking background could bring about a sense of mystery, suspense and action.

By making the title bold and white, it really catches the audience's eye and makes it recognisable, creating brand identity. The use of the poppy flower tells us this is the November issue, supporting Rememberance Day and giving a kind of patriotic feel all round.

The way everything is laid out is very organised, only over-lapping when needed to highlight the more important features. Using bold colours such as red and yellow to catch the audience's attention and draw their eyes around the page. At the bottom of the page is a strip of red containing another feature on Daniel Radcliffe, with all the writing going diagonally and the image of him in a soldier costume, telling us more about his role.
The magazine has an overall professional feel to it, highlighting aspects in a simple and clear manner.

This magazine subverts the conventions of current tv magazine covers as it has an image as it's background, unlike the conventional plain, brightly coloured background. This makes it more interesting and informs the reader it's about a specific narrative or show. However the font used is big and bold, capturing the audience's attention right away and lets them know what it's about.
The layout is focusing mainly on the two characters, with them both centered to show their importance.

Tv Choice Magazine Issue 42

The main image of this front cover is represented very neatly, there isn't a lot of fussing about with the presentation, just straight forward set up. I think is is done on purpose to aim this magazine at a wider rage of audience putting it on the level of any age group starting from 13 years old and onwards, just depending on the persons interest. The most interesting storyline is blown up covering most of the front page with close up of the main characters included, accompanied by a main title plus, with a sub title for more information. This all builds up to keep the viewer interested only by this nevertheless actually watching the soap. At the bottom there is a few more story lines from other TV shows also from other channels, I know this because a channel indent is included, this is done for easy access to the show without even opening the magazine. Most of the front cover is filled up not leaving a lot of background behind, this keeps the magazine looking interesting, having writing and images put together again attracts a wider range of audience, as some people are brought in by images some people are more to the intellectual side.

There is 'BETRAYAL!' in large capital letters near the middle of the magazine in yellow with black lining, this is dangerous colour for danger signs, also bright attracting more attention. The image behind this is also big showing that it is connected to the writing, plus there is also a sub- title 'Sam cheats on Ricky with Jack,' if someone was interested in watching this but didn't know the characters that well, the way they are positioned gives the audience a clue. At the bottom smaller story lines are shown for other peoples interests, they have a background in pink, which could mean it is aimed at females also accompanied by titles naming the shows. In contrast the background of the rest of the magazine is in blue a cool colour completely opposite of the main storyline being shown. This is done on purpose having the background the same colour as Sam's eyes showing that she is the main interest. Furthermore, blue can also be a uni-sex colour.

There isn't really a colour scheme however, I've noticed the the most appealing words are in yellow and boxes with a photo that might not be noticeable are in yellow. Most of the colours are primary so when overlapping they 'clash' making them stand out.

Overall, there is a cool feel keeping dramatizes on high with the explosive words and larger fonts and images for greater attention.

TV Choice Magazine Issue 40

The front cover of this TV Choice magazine the main image is of a man and a woman, Syed and Amira from 'Eastenders', with the main headline underneath saying 'THE SECRET'S OUT' in huge yellow letters. This headline really catches your eye and draws the audience in. Outlining the yellow font with black makes it bolder and instantly grabs your attention. There's a smaller caption carefully positioned between Syed and Amira saying 'Has Amira rumbled Syed and Christian's affair?' telling us the main storyline this week is about these two characters.

The way the page has been laid out makes sure all of the week's main events are shown, to appeal to the audience. At the top and the bottom of the page there are different story lines from other soaps, with pictures and captions for example; EMMERDALE: 'Charity's shock return!'. The price of the magazine is shown twice, once at the top left corner of the page and again in the middle of the page, in a jagged, orange circle saying 'ONLY 40p' with emphasis on the 'only' making it appear cheap.

Also by using orange it contrasts against the blue background and again stands out, immediately catching the readers eye. There is very little background showing, helping to keep the magazine looking busy and interesting.

The magazine name 'TV Choice' is positioned on the top left side of the cover in a red bubble, however part of it is being covered by the character's head, this might have been done to suggest the story line is more important or it could haven been done to highlight the fact that they don't need to show the whole name, as the magazine is well-know and the audience will recognise it anyway.

Underneath the name, there is the magazine website, 'www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk', for any fans that would like to get more information on the topics and features in the magazine. This adds a new modern edge to the magazine and appeals to a younger audience.

The use of mainly primary colours in very conventional for tv magazine covers, using these bright colours to contrast against the characters and catch the audiences attention. The font is very bold and bright to be the first thing the readers see, this is done in many magazines.

Also the layout is very conventional as in the middle of the page is the main narrative strand, with other, maybe less important, narratives underneath.

Desperate Housewives Poster

Here we see a poster for the new season of 'Desperate Housewives', using all 5 main characters together, all standing at an equal height. Even though Eva Longoria, for example,is really short in real life, she has been altered to look like she's of similar height as the others, giving them all an equally powerful status. Together they convey authority and break through the stereotypes of women being the weaker sex, becoming incredibly symbolic in America and many other western countries. They are all very glamorous and appeal to a more female audience.

They are all wearing blue dresses, connoting a sense of femininity. Also all the dresses are different, which could suggest every character's different, and has their own style or way of thinking, even though they are in a close group of friends. As well as this, they are wearing different shades of blue, using these complimentary colours to reinforce their sense of unity. Blue is seen as a calm, cold colour, this contrasts against the fiery background. Fire connotes danger or anger, an the fact that they are wearing a cold colour, suggests they are in control of the situation and in control of their lives.

The caption at the top of the poster saying 'It's a hell of a day in the neighborhood' is a play on words with the background, which is fire/hell. This also suggest that living in this neighborhood isn't as easy as it looks.The use of dark background against the fire and the contrasting characters really brings them out and immediately catches your eye.

The title really stands out and by making the word 'DESPERATE' red and in bold, capital letters is makes the word more powerful. The fact that the word 'HOUSEWIVES' is written in simple, white font could suggest that it's complying with the stereotypical suburban lifestyle, that everything is perfect, the men work whilst the women stay at home and look after the children etc. Also suggesting that the characters comply with certain stereotypes linked with suburbia

This poster conveys a glamorous feel overall, but also shows female dominance and power. Their unity appeals to the female audience members and show they are a force to be reckoned with.

Finally the channel ident for abc at the bottom of the poster tells the audience where to watch it, this helps to promote the abc channel as well as the program itself.

This poster follows the conventions of soaps and dramas as it is higly dramatic and glamorous, which helps to catch the audiences attention. However this also subverts conventional posters as many do not include an all female cast, showing strong and empowering women on posters to attract their target audience of women. The use of bright, vibrant colours is instantly eye-catching and is used in many posters to draw in the audience. The font is kept very simple and the play on words is very common in posters, to engage with the audience as well as humoring them.

90210 Poster

In this poster we see all the main characters standing tall and proud of who and what they are, also they are all shown at equal height furthermore, they all are good looking and made to almost look perfect. This i think is aimed at younger people as they all would be thinking that they would want to look like that plus, making them attractive will attract the opposite sex even if they don't know what the soap is about.

However, it is shown that 90210 is mostly about young 'love' or 'fun' life seeing it from the boys and how all of them are young. At the back there is a older women there, just as if she's there keeping an eye on them. Plus, there's a slightly younger women but still older than the rest trying to look as good as the teenagers standing on front with authority.

Also, putting 90210 right in the middle it just wouldn't bee unseen. It used to be an old show which was very popular and sold global the rankings on the radio at that time went over the roof with votes. Now it has been repeated again, of course it will have to look bigger and better for the old audience but also attract the new. Because it is such a expensive well known place in Beverly Hills , the people look so glamorous that they are glowing with smiles on their faces not showing what's going on behind the story lines as the audience will have to watch the soap to know what is 'really' going on.

The background is pink which shows that the soap is aimed mainly at females which could be because the rich, glamorous lifestyle appeals mostly to girls. In this poster they are trying to create a particular lifestyle making the teenagers think they want to be them also, having the glow around them suggesting that they are shinning like a diamond or almost like they are the superheros to make the word boredom vanish they are 'living the life.'

This lifestyle that they are creating seems to be everything a teenager could want, looks, glam, money,happiness, friends, fun all this is interpreted differently by each person that looks at this poster depending on what they 'want' that is why it is important for each feature to be put there for a reason.

The bright colours and glamorous characters is very conventional as its something every company would use to attract the audience, 'want to be like them' so making use of escapism. The layout is very basic not a lot is going on, because of this the protagonists have to look phenomenal still keeping the audiences interest in hand. Also rounded edges on the font is used for when 90210 is showing, keeping it friendly, kind, 'cute' this could be representing something the audience would envy.

Hollyoaks Poster

Here there is a poster advertising Hollyoaks, there is a lot of amusement in this, a play on words is used on the top to convey the photo furthermore, as I've noticed the colour pink is used a lot aiming at a female audience, also connecting to the photo as there is also a women on the cover. however, having a women on the cover doesn't necessarily mean it is aimed at women but could also attract men when looking at the right side.

Underneath this caption the photo is all grim, dull, old and also quite amusing. These two photos are identical with a great use of editing added, the point that is being put across is the Hollyoaks puts the glam in life and everything just looks better, and if everything looks better then why wouldn't the soap be better? Playing with the idea of spot the difference.

On top of the other photo there is the exact caption contributing with the Brand identity but with the channel indent this time, because this is the 'real' Hollyoaks, and the day and time to give further information for interested viewers.

I think the soap has been promoted well by poster still keeping the amusement there is in trailers, and also aiming it more at females as there is a higher rate of them watching the soap.

If you concentrate on the dog on the left it is big and fat something that is stereotyped for a man to own. In contrast on the right side the dog is a chihuahua and this time it would be a dog that a women would own also a celebrity putting glam into Hollyoaks making their lifestyle on the soap seem more interesting especially when put next tot he opposite. Plus, the right looks far more civilised aiming at a wider rage of audience even better the left could also represent someones lifestyle which could attract them to watch the soap to seewhat a 'better' life is. The right is more like a restaurant than a pub, could also be making fun of other soaps keeping the glamour in Hollyoaks.

Here we see a convention that is used very frequently; having the audience want to be the characters in the soap, or even relate to the story lines, costume, lifestyle. This is a clever way of appealing to a wider range of audience even thought this poster is aimed at women in particular, men could also be interested in ; good looking women, something that they might look idol for their own girlfriend/ wife to be.

Hollyoaks analysis

The opening shot is quite interesting it is layed out like a magazine comic book with The words Love Triangle showing the three characters involved in the series, this has been done purposely as if something is being reported but in a jokey way 'making fun' of the event. Each of the the characters have a say on their 'issue' there is no other music going on and to give more of a twisty feel the whole magazine starts spinning.

A loud soundtrack starts playing by Blur called Girls and Boys this was a popular pop British song in the mid 1990's. It's all about girls, boys and young people and how they have fun going out messing around. This soundtrack contributes with the story lines that are being shown in the trailer.

There is a quick cut filling the whole screen all segregated boxes showing story lines, the camera is not steady it moves to the right to each box waiting for the moving image and carry's on. At one point there is a thought bubble as there is no dialog like a convention of cartoon's "I can't think about Kris" on the two different people this puts amusement in the trailer but also makes the viewer concentrate on what is being shown because they will have to read what the thought bubble says the get the full picture.

Moving on at this point there are devastated faces in the 'cartoon strips' put together but all broken up on the sides just like a broken heart, or a broken ending. After the camera moves down to the left showing behind Nancy's head with Kris and Ravi in the background with a caption 'Share the love' then to the right it shows her face to see her emotion with a caption 'feel the pain.'This gives the viewer an idea that its Nancy 'getting it back,' however the full story isn't shown almost like a cliffhanger leaving the viewer wanting to see more.

At this moment the soundtrack has a lower volume and there is a voice over, while the screen changes to whole with Nancy's face showing through the Channel 4 ident, emphasising that she is the main 'trouble maker' of this series in the soap.

Overall, there was a comedic feel to this trailer aiming to keep the viewer amused, and laughter brings happiness, it would keep the viewers attention on the trailer and get them interested in watching the soap. From the Hollyoaks trailers I've looked at most of them are funny, however the Eastenders trailers look more fun, but if not that they are a lot more serious.

Eastenders Trailer - Mitchell Sisters

It opens with a popular dance song, 'Girls' by Calvin Harris, slowing building up. We then cut to many different shots of well-known 'Eastenders' characters in a pub, all slowly moving, one by one,to look at something which the audience cannot see yet. The lighting in the scene is very flashy , which is very different to the typical 'Eastenders' lighting, which tends to be more realistic and not very exciting. This brings a sense of change to the show and makes it more appealing to maybe younger generations. The younger characters appear to be having fun, laughing and drinking, making it appear more welcoming, whereas the older characters look abit embarrassed or shocked, suggesting that what they are looking at is not, in their minds, conventionally moral.

It then cuts to a blonde woman wearing a red dress, the red connoting she's vibrant and outgoing but could also be dangerous. She's behind the bar and as she takes the money we hear a cher-ching, which is very comic and is intended to be humorous, amusing the audience. The shot then pauses for 2 seconds, during this time a caption saying 'Ronnie Mitchell' flashing up in lights at the bottom right corner of the screen. The caption is flashy and fancy, similar to those on gameshows , this presents this character and elevates her status.

She then points, drawing our eyes and the camera to a second character, who again is a young blonde woman, wearing a cowboy hat, connoting she's in charge or she doesn't take orders. There is another caption, in the same fancy style as the previous, saying 'Roxy Mitchell', introducing the character to the audience. We then cut to shots of other characters again, showing their reactions or thoughts of these two new charcters, some having fun and joining in, whilst others look on disapprovingly. However this is all done in a very comic way, intended to be funny and makes the audience join the fun. It then cuts to many shots from different angles showing Ronnie and Roxy dancing, laughing and spraying the characters with drink. The various cuts shows the action from many angles, making the audience feel more involved in what's happening.
The final shot is of Ronnie and Roxy dancing again, but this time the shot is abit longer, giving the audience more time to concentrate and focus of these two new characters, a caption comes up at the bottom of the screen saying 'The Square Under New Management', suggesting change.

It ends with the typical 'Eastenders' score, which never fails to create drama.The closing shot is of a black screen with the caption 'There's more to Eastenders', this final line hooks the audience, and with their website appearing underneath it they know exactly where to go to see what happens next.

This trailer is very fast-paced and follows the conventions of upbeat trailers, attracting the audience with fun, playful music. Like most of the Eastenders trailers it follows a single narrative, giving the audience a better chance to get to know individual characters and connect with their stoylines better. It has also been hyper-dramatised and made almost surreal to give a fast, upbeat feel to it, developing on the forms of current soap trailers, aiming to create an appealing and interesting trailer for the audience.

Hollyoaks Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88C2a_kHktQ (unable the inbed)


The Hollyoaks trailer begins with a straight on wide opening shot of a character in Hollyoaks plus, the sponsor of Hollyoaks is in the corner as far as i now it is there straight through for advertisement catching the viewers eyes.

A quick cut is used to a different story line with a voice over "Love Hollyoaks" then the character says "yes" this is a play on words keeping up funnies as it is aimed at teenagers, a great use of editing. The music in the background is a few guitar strings with a upbeat, quick continuous rhythm. There is another quick cut almost like a flash of another character followed by another the voice of still talking a strong voice is used with a comedic feel to it adapting to the fun trailer.

There are many other quick cuts with different characters and story lines always using a wide shot, looking at this it gives me some ideas for my own trailer seeing the spontaneous use of editing all blending in and making sense. Half way there is a quick cut to the channel indent reminding the viewer or a new viewer, followed by another cut to a story line giving a little amusement, to another quick cut whole screen "5 nights" to emphasis the words. Thus juxtaposition is used well not confusing the viewer just not letting them get bored.

This time the voice over is connected to the story lines on the screen describing what is going on just like describing what is going on in a story book making it more interesting, furthermore still keeping amusement on a high. There is a quick cut wide shot of a car racing then, a close up cut to the character inside the car seeing the facial expression just as the girls eye shows to show her identity to the viewer it cuts to another storyline, this is building up tension and making the viewer curious wanting to know what is going to happen next, also the speed of the car is equal to the speed of the editing (cuts).

Near the end of the trailer some of the story lines are being repeated showing a little more glimpse as from now we can read the viewers mind as they do want to know what is going to happen next. The voice of is still going on as he says "Hollyoaks Later" there is a quick cut to a character framing him on the right side leaving space for the writing labels to appear having the voice over still say them out "starts on the 25 November on E4." Futhermore the channel indent is put shown extra big with bubbley writing once again still keeping the fun and the modern young feel to the trailer. Plus, another use of advertisment would be the address of the website on top of the mans head aiming at a wider range of auidence.

Eastenders Christmas Trailer

We open with an animated 'BBC One' channel ident, bringing a Christmas feel with snowballs being thrown at the screen.

We start off with a popular Christmas song as the soundtrack, 'Winter Wonderland',while shots of well-known 'Eastenders' families show everyone together, fading in and out into different families, showing friends and families joint in celebration at Christmas, laughing and joking with each other whilst having Christmas dinner, creating a cheery atmosphere. The mise-en-scene is all very Christmasy, mistletoe,tinsel and wreath everywhere, with characters wearing Christmas hats and pulling crackers. During this time, the 'BBC One' logo has appeared at the bottom of the screen, keeping in line with their brand identity.

It then fades into a family in a pub, all gathered around the table, cutting to shots of all of them from different angles of them pulling crackers together as a group, still conveying a sense of happiness and joy. Suddenly the music starts distorting, slowing ending altogether. The colour starts fading from bright to grey and the camera cuts to a close up of the man's hands pulling a piece of paper out of the cracker. A voiceover then says 'Who's the Daddy....The truth is out', whilst we fade from shots of the paper, to his shocked face and of other character's reactions. This has definitely created a lot of drama and a tense situation, keeping the viewers hooked on what will happen next.
It ends with a fade out from a zoom into the man's face, looking shocked and betrayed, finishing off with the typical 'Eastenders' score, that they always end with. Finally it cuts to the channel ident, again carrying on the Christmas atmosphere with snowballs and snow.

This trailer follows the conventions of current soap trailers as it is very dramatic and contains many of the well-known characters. However by having a slow-paced atmosphere, with a slow soundtrack it subverts the forms of usually upbeat and catchy trailers which work better in keeping the audience interested. Also it is common for soap trailers to have mutliple narratives, whereas here we have one main one, all revolving around the christmas storyline. This is different and makes the audience focus more on this narrative and it's characters.

This trailer follows a linear structure in which all the storylines run in order, this somewhat subverts the conventions as trailers tend to be non-linear and bring in storylines regardless of when it is actuallly happening.

Eastenders Analysis

Eastenders

The soap advert opens with a wide straight on shot, the audience are instantly drawn into this because the whole background is pitch black with 'Peggy' sitting with her back to the camera shining making a reflection on the floor. However the audience do not know its her so a little tension is built into finding out furthermore, the reflection made makes it seem like shes floating in water.

Slowly the channel ident appears also lighting a bit more of the background, with a type of music box sound creating some kind of tension as it does sound mysterious, but also calm mood. Then there is a quick fade into the women picking up what seems to be perfume. Then another quick cut and fade in to her face and she is introduced with a smile on her face putting on the perfume and bright light shining on her, still with a pitch black background making her stand out .

A quick cut into a wide shot mirror reflection, here you see that she is wearing a wedding dress connotes marriage making the audience curious to why is this. Suddenly a strange man appears in the background of the mirror her expression dramatically changes.To emphasis this the music also changes into a loud breath sound.

A quick cut to a wide shot onto the mans face with the sound back to music box showing the mans expression which seems to look quite puzzled. Another quick cut into wide shot of the man. While lights flash onto the floor creating a path thump sounds mix into the music.

A quick cut into wide shot showing Peggy walking across the path in her wedding dress holding flowers all done up and the man waiting for her in his suit, but for some reason you hear a kind of camera sound movements mixing in the music box music. There is a cut into an aerial shot Peggy's face seeing that she is happy however, there is a quick cut closer to a wide shot when the robot hand moves in and takes her flower brooch away the audience sees her expression astonishingly turns sad and scared.

There is a sudden cut to the mans face in a wide shot showing the audience his menacing face, into another cut into a close up of the mans hands with is thumbs moving the the robot sounds just as if he is the one controlling them. Wanting the audience to see more what is going to be the resultant of this action?

A cut into a close up to Peggy's arm tearing bits of her wedding dress away the camera tracking this downwards with the robot sound movements still keeping the music box music. I think this is being done step by step so the audience can feel the pain which she is feeling.To a cut f the bottom of her dress coming off with the robot sounds this time she carries on walking with her foot steps non- diegetic adding more emphasis to the mysterious mood as is echos into the background.

A quick cut with a close up into the mans evil eyes showing his reaction to what is happening. quick cut to shallow focus of her tiara being taken off. Then a cut to a wide shot behind the man shallow focus of her walking towards him the bright lights on the floor making the dress seem very bright the main focus of what is happening. To a cut to wide shot of her face looking extremely scared, to a cut wide shot of him smiling evilly . To a quick cut to her face closing her eyes in disappointment, her face getting sprayed with white until she looks dead. A cut behind Peggy seeing the mans face still not surprisingly smiling with joy. To a cut close of both of their faces of him behind her trying to kill her putting cling film over her face, the camera tracking down with a breath sound in the background. At this point there is a voice over "He's got Peggy under control," answering the title of the video. To a cut to a extreme close up of her eye with the channel ident appearing around the eye adding so much more focus on her eye as the audience are drawn into wanting to know what is going to happen next, at this point there is another voice over "But for how much longer?" Turning all into the channel indent with the Eastenders theme tune making it even more blatant.

Overall, I feel like the man is in control of her as all the machinery connotes him keeping Peggy 'twisted around his finger.' The story line seems to look chaotic as the represented Peggy to look so weak and the close up to the mans face shows how evil he is, and the music box music added to the intense mood.

Brand Identity

• Brand identity is something that links the whole product together; print based and moving image and logo
  
• Same font, colours, style, layout
• Aiming at a certain audience
• Be able to be recognise what soap/film/music video it is all from these features
  
• Over a period of time this will be continuous and become 'famous' and the viewer will automatically notice the connection to what is being advertised
• We will try and create a sense of tragedy connected to what is happening in the soap keeping the theme similar throughout to achieve our Brand Identity
• We will keep the soap looking youthful, modern and aim it at a certain audience