Chosen Treatment - "Notice Us"

After holding the group discussion it was clear that Tamika Smiths treatment was best suited to teenagers and we all felt we could include our own input into this soap in order to gain the best possible outcome. I felt it would be a good idea for me to try and relate characters who will appear in our soap "Notice Us" with key characters in "Eastenders". The treatment with my own ideas is explained below.

Characters:-

Ruth Smith 42 a mother of one, her first husband and father of her child passed away. She is currently going though a divorce with her 2nd husband. She is very protective over her only son and depends on him regularly. She is also employed as a cashier at the local newsagents.

Whilst watching soap operas, we got the inspiration from Carol Jackson (Eastenders). She is smilar to Ruth as they both would do anything for there children and are very protected of them. Carol's son Billy passed away in his sleep due to his friends who were seen as a bad influence.

Michael Smith 18 is Ruth's son, he is a vulnerable character, tries his best to stay out of trouble. He has a girlfriend Esther who he has been with since a very young age. He doesn't depend on any one. He had lost his father when he was 12, and mum divorced his step dad recently. Michael is killed tragically for no reason, leaving his girlfriend alone.

A character which we as a group feel has similar character traits to Michael would be Billy Jackson (Eastenders). Billy is portrayed as vounrable and trustworthy. He has done his best to better his life and make a new start. He sadly dies in his sleep one night. He has a great relationship with his girlfriend Whitney. In our Soap "Notice Us" we plan to express the relationship between Michael and Esther in a similar way.

Esther Clarke 18 she is currently in university studying Accounting and Economics part-time. She falls pregnant and considers having an abortion. She is deeply in love with her boyfriend Michael. Tragedy hits her life when Michael is tragically killed. She lives with her sister Emily, mother Judy and father Jim.

Esthers current position in "Notice Us" is similar to "Stacey Slater" (Eastenders). Stacey had to make a decision whether she should have an abortion or keep her baby Lilly. Staceys world feel apart when her husband Bradly died, leaving her to bring up the child alone.

Billy Gordon is 20. Currently a leader of a gang in North London . He is unemployed and loves to party with friends and gang mates. He has both parents who care about him dearly but he rebels and disobeys them.

Connor (Eastenders) plays a similar role to Billy Gorden within the soap. For example Connor is the leader of a gang in East London. Billy is also a leader and is looked up to by other members. Connor insists he is going to change, however he always gets stuck in the middle of gang battles. We intend to express the consequences for being in a gang.

Content:-

It contains a bunch of teens terrorizing the city. Gangs are also involved with both girls and boys in them. They will be different issues portrayed such as teenage pregnancy, drugs, family issues and moderate violence.

Location:-

The setting will be in North London . We could shoot some parts of the city such as bus stops, restaurants, pubs, local shops, streets and homes. We would also try to shoot the landmark that makes North London famous so the audience can relate and notice where it is.

Target Audience:-

The target audience for this soap will be mostly aimed at teens 16+, this is because the characters portrayed are mainly teenagers and their issues they go through on a day to day basis. However I feel parents could also find our soap interesting as there is also an adult cast which go through common issues with their children such as dishonestly and misbehaviour along with this they will also gain an insight to the lives of teenagers. I intend to attract male viewers by introducing a lead male character in this soap.

Channel, time of broadcast and frequency:-

The channel that this soap is suitable for is Channel 4 at 8:00pm and will be broadcast three times a week; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I feel with heavy advertising this soap can compete with Eastenders and Coronation Street as this is something fresh and will attract many teenagers. I choose this soap to be on three times a week on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday because this will allow it to get maximum exposure. i will end each episode with a mini r large cliffhanger leaving the audience to wait a day for the new episode, this will create some sspense and interest in the soap opera however main cliffhangers will be on Thursdays to Episode 1:-

In the first episode a bunch of gang members witnesses a murder and are traumatize by what they see. They were considering of going into the police and telling them what they have seen. The death of the character changes the lives of many people in the community.

Future Episodes:-

One of the gang members loses their parents in a car crash. Esther is finding her course at university difficult and now has to make a decision if she wants to continue or leave to go work. Esther finds out she is pregnant but is unsure if she should keep the baby of have an abortion.

The next step we need to make is to produce a script and storyboard for our soap "Lopen Road" I feel a group meeting is needed to now, to ensure that all members of the group are aware of the next steps needed.

Treatment "Winchmore Hills" - Target Audience

After coming up with 4 different pitch ideas, as a group we choose to my best pitch idea was "Winchmore Hills", I then made a treatment for this soap. We now have 3 treatments to anyalise before decided on the final treatment.

Content lives of spoilt , teenagers both male and female who some live a life of luxury. I changed the previous idea to only show teenage girls as I felt that would limit the success of this soap in a large way, I will have both male and female characters. Living the life of luxury is not always easy as this soap opera will explain. Terminal illness, Pregnancy, cheating partners, drug abuse and violent behaviour. I feel the target audience for this soap will be young teenagers between the age of 18-25. This soap is not only targeted at females as there are some male characters which further the narrative. It was important to add male characters as this will increase the amount of viewers and attract males to watch the soap.

Characters

Amanda, 19 , life a soul of the party, constant drinking. Fun, loud and outspoken and single. She comes from a high class background and her family are very well respected in their home town. Amanda's mother tries to keep her grounded however she struggles. I feel the audience will find this character interesting and entertaining which will keep them watching the soap.

Tony, 19 , womanizer, takes drugs , has a bad reputation, trouble maker, rude and in a relationship with Juila who is considerably younger than him. Tony comes from a middle class background and lives in a relatively small house. He lives with his mother as his father left him when he was very young. Tony has had a hard upbringing which leads to why he is so unstable. I feel many members of the audience will be interesting to see h0w this character progresses within the soap and if he can change into a better person.

Julia, 16, Quiet, spends all her time studying for her A-level exams, hard working and in a relationship with Tony. Julia comes from a high class background and lives with her mother Judith. Her father lives nearby but has a previous record of being violent towards her mother. Julia was always the quiet girl at school until she met Tony who changed her life. Julia feels she is being forced into bad habits with Tony but loves him too much to end their relationship. I feel the audience will be able to relate to this character the most and sympathise with her issues.


Judith, 40, mother of Juila, solicitor, strict parent who only wants the best for her children and divorced. After splitting up with her violent husband Judith wants the best for her daughter and wants her to succeed in life. This character will be relatable to both teenagers and parents as many parents want the best for their children but it isn't always communicated.

Location : North London - Winchmore Hill which is explained in the title of the soap opera. It is important to make the audience aware of the location and surroundings so they can relate to the area. To show the location i will use shots of road signs, buses, inside houses along with cafe's, bars and clubs.

Episode 1 : Amanda gets ready to go out clubbing at her massive house with her friends Emma and Sarah. Once reaching the club they find Tony. Tony and Amanda get on well with each other as they have met at college. They later share a kiss which leads to taking drugs together, the security catch wind of this and call the police to the club. Juila (Tonys girlfriend) is at home studying and keeps calling Tony but he rejects her calls. The first episode ends with a cliffhanger as Tony is arrested for drug possession. This will leave the viewers in suspense to see what will happen to Tony.

Future episodes: Tony pressurizes Juila into sex with him which leads to her falling pregnant at the age of 16. Judith finds out about her daughters pregnancy and demands an abortion. Julia leaves school and home with her violent father .
Tony's count sentence which leads to other criminal sentences. Amanda and her friends become drug users with Tony. There are many future story lines for "Winchmore Hills" i feel they will keep the audience interested, it is important to involve characters from different ages to ensure we aim to target different viewers.

Target audience : Both male and female teenagers starting from 18+, this soap can expresses issues from all cultures. I now aim to attract male viewers by introducing a lead male character in this soap. This soap is not targeted at only high class people as the issues faced are common with any social class. Although we mainly are aiming at Teenagers, I feel adults will be interested in watching this soap as they will gain an insight to the lives of some teenagers. There are also main male roles in this soap so males may also view this soap opera.

Channel, time of broadcast and frequency : Channel 4 at 9.00pm on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I feel with heavy advertising this soap can compete with Eastenders and Coronation Street as this is something fresh and will attract many teenagers. I choose this soap to be on three times a week on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday because this will allow it to get maximum exposure. Its not on everyday as i will end each episode with a mini or large cliffhanger leaving the audience to wait a day for the new episode, this will create some suspense and interest in the soap opera. The time of this soap has been changed from 8.00pm to 9.00pm as although no drug abuse will be shown it may be insinuated and is not suitable for viewers at 8.00pm.

I will now search for an example of a member of the public who I will aim to attract with this treatment. It is important I understand who I want to attract as I can improve my treatment to suit my target audience.

Although "Winchmore Hills" may not be the final treatment chosen, I found it was good research to find out the sorts of people who watch soaps and what other activities draw them into watching soaps.


Target Audience for "Winchmore Hills"

A prime example of my target audience is shown above. Anna Philona is 18 years old who lives in Palmers Green studying journalism at University . As Anna is studying she has no job at the moment which limits to her spending power. Her favourite television programmes include 'Eastenders' 'Gossip Girl', 'The Vampire Diaries' '90210' and 'The Hills' and she often tunes into the television channels 'ITV2', 'MTV' and 'E4'. Anna watches Eastenders religiously and has not missed in episode in years, she also watches the series every week which they are on. This shows that Anna watches television in a big way and is a perfect target audience member.

Anna enjoys listening to mainly Pop music along with some RnB, with her favourite artists including 'Taylor Swift', 'Katy Perry' and 'Chris Brown'. She shops at places such as 'Jane Norman', 'H&M' and 'Topshop'. She enjoys socialising with her friends, going for a drink at Starbucks and hanging out at the shopping centre. Anna also enjoys reading in her spear time and her favourite writers are Stephanie Meyer and Katie Price.

Although Anna is an example of the type of people i will be targeting my soap opera at, I realise that Soap Operas are generally watched and enjoyed by a huge variety of people at different ages and with different interests, appearances and personalities.

As a group we must now decide on the chosen treatment. It is important that we choose the treatment that we can improve and that will be easier to target many audiences.

Trailer Analysis - Eastenders

Eastenders Trailer 2010 - Kat and Alfie's return.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p4xlLezos0 - the trailer is located on this link.

To introduce Kat and Alfie's return to Eastenders, producers choose to make a short trailer that would be played on BBC1, in order to attract audiences. The soap may have interested old viewers into watching the soap again who used to like the previous characters. However this trailer can be seen as disadvantage to producers as existing viewers may not have seen the soap when they were characters, which would confuse them as viewers and make the trailer a waste of money. Although that can be seen as a issue, many of the viewers of Eastenders are religious viewers and would be aware who these characters are. The return of these two characters has been much anticipated as the press had been writing stories in the papers insisting they were returning, along with many gossip magazines. Once the trailer appeared on TV it was then aware to all audiences that they would be returning.

The trailer as made to introduce these characters along with creating suspense and tension. For example the trailer begins with an establishing shot of the Queen Vic which is an iconic feature of the soap. Suspense is then creating as we see a close up shot of feet walking along the path way, this interests the audience as they want to find out who the mystery character is. A tilt shot upwards is then used to finally reveal who the character is. Along with this closeups of existing
characters are shown, these characters are hiding and looking very specious at Kat which will leave many questions unanswered by audiences as they will be wondering why all these characters are afraid of Kat's return, this feature also explains that Kat will have stories and scenes with these characters when she returns.

No dialogue is used in the beginning of these trailer to create suspense, Kat then speaks out " Where can I get a drink around here". An over the shoulder shot is then used to introduce the next character Alfie, her husband. He then insists "your going to need one". The characters are then placed opposite each other within the frame which explains a sort of conflict between the two characters. The theme for this trailer is Western which we are able to identify by the costumes and the soundtrack played throughout the soap. To end this trailer a quick shot reverse shot is used between these characters which expresses the tension between these characters. A voice over is then used to explain that "Its all kicking off in Eastenders this week". This then explains to the viewers that these characters are entering the soap this week which can be seen as a form of advertising.

After conducing all the different research into a soap episode, sequence and trailer I can now edit my treatment and show it to the group. I do understand that another pitch and treatment may be better suited, which is why communication is vital working in a group.

Analysis of Eastenders Episode

Eastenders

There are many elements that work together that lead to the overall success of this soap including Narrative, Representation, Realism and Audience. I see Eastenders as a community of people, consisting of friendships, friction and family. When Eastenders was created in 1985, unemployment was at a high and many of the characters chosen represented the area of East London, for example Den and Pauline had distinctive accents that audiences were able to relate with the East. I feel over the years Eastenders has become glamorised and less realistic than when it first become. The sets have changed dramatically for example the nightclub, not many streets have a night club at the end of them, this can make the soap opera seem very unrealistic.

As the episode begins the audience can see Ronnie jogging through Albert Square in the morning which is the iconic location of the soap. Time is reflected through this opening scene as Ronnie is going for a morning jog this explains it is the start of a new day. In the 2nd scene past storylines and characters are brought to the future this is represented by Mo looking for her nieces birth certificate, this narrative shows how time as progressed. An old character Kat Slater plans to return to the soap. Her return has been anticipated, it was aware to many viewers that she was returning as it was all over gossip magazines and in many newspapers. Short scenes are used in this episode to leave the narrative unclear, for example the situation with Kat (new character) is unexplained creating an interest in the narrative.

Jodie and Darren are facing some issues within their teenage romance which attracts many teenagers as they can relate to it, this expresses a form of realism. Many teenagers will continue to watch Eastenders to find out what happens between their relationship as they feel they can relate to the issues expressed. Heather is holding a christening for her son in this particular episode, regular viewers of Eastenders will have a preconceived image that something bad will happen at this event as nothing runs smoothly. Sam intends to ruin the christening as she hopes to leave Albert Square with Heathers boyfriend Minty, he is unsure of his feelings towards Heather and he feels it is becoming unrequited love . Unrequited love is represented as Minty explains to Sam " I will feel bad on Heather, but i do love you more". This narrative is also expressed in Coronation Street and Home and Away at this current time. This seems to be a very common narrative for soaps and gains many viewers as they want to find out what happens next. Sam's current story line leaves future unclear which expresses a sense of time. The audience is able to identify that a christening is taking place through narrative along with mise-en scene as a christening gown is visible in the frame along with decorations and food. The event will be held in the community centre which was expressed through the dialogue used, the location of this event insinuates that characters in this soap are from a working class background. Social class is also communicated to the audience by the characters jobs for example the café, and the laundrette. Audiences can also relate to these locations which show how realism is portrayed in this soap. The locations shown in this soap are realistic as it shows characters at work and running everyday errands. There is no artificial lighting in this soap which also creates a real persona.

There are 3 main storylines which are the christening, Kats return and Sam’s departure. As one character is leaving the soap (Sam) another one is joining (Kat). This keeps the audience incised and interested as the story is forever progressing. The christening and Sam’s departure connect with each other as many soap operas interconnect main storylines with each other to create maximum drama. A cliff-hanger is apposed at the end of this episode. This particular cliff-hanger will excite the audience because It involves the new character Kat, which the audience will be interested in and wanting to find out what happens next. Although Sam has left the soap there is no closed narrative and she is able to return to the soap at any time, death is the only closed narrative available and as time increases some soaps even come back from the dead.

As one iconic character leaves Sam (Left) a new characters is re-enters back into the soap (Right). As the producers believe that many Eastenders viewers have been the same for years they expect them to know who Kat Slater is and what she represents.


This research has now enabled me to make changes to my treatment before presenting it to my group. I feel that even if we chose a different group members treatment that I can still use the lessons iv learn't from my research, and make improvements and changes to what has been chosen with my own creative eye. I feel that I need to anaylse a soap trailer as this will express to me what common shot types, movements, locations, mise-en-scene and editing can be used and why it is successful with explaining a narrative and story.

Research on Characters - Eastenders

Before deciding on what treatment was best out of the pitch ideas I produced I decided to take a further look into Eastenders and depict some different characters and there traits. This research will also help me when the final treatment as I can include some of the traits found in characters within our soap.

Lan Beale
Lan's always wanted to be more than an East End barrow boy, but things haven't always gone to plan.

First appearance: 19.02.1985

Marital Status: Married

Address: 45 Albert Square

Occupation: Caterer/Entrepreneur

Most likely to say

I've got to clinch this deal by 5pm.

Tanya Branning

Family is paramount to Tanya. Max was the love of her life, but his affair with Stacey destroyed their marriage, and nearly destroyed her.

First appearance: 27.06.2006

Marital Status: Engaged

Address: Outside of Walford

Occupation: Salon manager

Most likely to say

This really is the last time, Max.

Stacey Branning

Stacey's aim in life is to look after number one, and stuff everyone else! She's no angel, a

nd she's learned how to twist the truth to suit her.

First appearance: 02.11.2004

Marital Status: Widowed

Address: 23 Albert Square

Occupation: Stall holder

Most likely to say

Like that's gonna stop me!

Jay Mitchell

Street-smart Jay has been hit hard by the death of his mum, grandmother and dad, Jase.

First appearance: 14.12.2006

Marital Status: single

Address: 55 Victoria Road

Occupation: Student

Most likely to say

Got a problem?

After conducing research into four different characters within Eastenders I was able to understand common traits expressed in characters. For example we have the father/business man who often whats to clench deals in order to better his family. We also have the mother figure, who always has her childrens best interests at heart. Stacey is a teenager who is constantly causing trouble and getting herself into tricky situations. This character trait can be used in my trailer as I feel many audience members will find this interesting. Jay has faced heartbreak in his life which many people can relate to which is why he is a successful character in Eastenders. Heartbreak will be a narrative I will convey in my treatment as I feel this will create realism.

I will now watch this episode of Eastenders and anaylise it. I feel this will be important for me as I will be able to identify the common characters within soaps along with the shot types and movements that work best within the soap. It will also be good practice to see the kinds of narrative stories that are introduced in order for me to understand what audiences expect to see within a soap. I will also anaylise the realism and sense of community that is introduced in Eastenders.

Pitch Table

Idea 1
Possible Title: Changes
Content : School children witness a murder - changes their lives
Target Audience (age, gender, social class ect) : Male and Female , Teenagers and all backgrounds
Channel and time of broadcast : Channel 4 at 9.00pm
Frequency: Twice a week - Monday and Friday

I feel this soap opera can be successful because I aim to attract both male and females from all backgrounds which maximises the amount of viewers I am able to gain. Although scheduling my soap at 9.00pm can be seen as a late time , I feel it is an appropriate time because it will not clash with other soaps such as Eastenders and Coronoation Street which are my main competitors.

Idea 2
Possible Title: Living on the edge
Content : Poor families, struggling to live - consequences
Target Audience (age, gender, social class ect) : Male and Female , adults 18 + and working class backgrounds
Channel and time of broadcast : Channel 1 at 9.00pm
Frequency: Twice a week - Tuesday and Thursday

"Living on the edge" aims to attract both male and female viewers over the age of 18, this is a wide target audience so it is vital that I introduce a narrative that can be interesting to a large audience. Working class backgrounds may be interested int his soap more than others as they may be facing some of the issues expressed. This soap will be shown at 9.00pm as it is only aimed at 18 year old's plus. I understand that this may limit the success however I want to explore issues that may not be suitable for under 18s. I feel the frequency is correct for this soap as I do not want to compete against other soap operas, I want viewers to watch my soap in addition to others.

Idea 3
Possible Title: Diaries
Content : Outlining different views on sexuality
Target Audience (age, gender, social class ect) : Male and Female , adults 18 + and all backgrounds
Channel and time of broadcast : Channel 4 at 10.00pm
Frequency: Twice a week - Thursday and Friday

"Diaries" is a soap expressing different views on sexuality and how it can change families lives. As this soap will be expressing some diverse situations it was important that the age limit was 18 and over. I felt this soap would be interesting for all backgrounds as I aim to introduce characters from different cultural backgrounds throughout the soap. As the content for this soap is intense, 10.00pm seemed a suitable time to broadcast this soap. However I am aware that this timing slot may limit to the success and exposure the soap will gain. I would like to end each episode with a cliffhanger in order to entice the audience, which is why I choose the frequency of this soap to be on days after one another.

Idea 4
Possible Title: Winchmore Hills
Content : Spoilt, rich teenagers living the life
Target Audience (age, gender, social class ect) : Female , Teenagers 16+ , all backgrounds
Channel and time of broadcast : Channel 4 at 8.00pm
Frequency: Three times a week - Monday , Wednesday and Friday

"Winchmore Hills" is a soap following the lives of teenagers around the area of Winchmore Hill (expressed in the title). Although I am targeted all ages above 16 and all backgrounds I understand that I will have a small target audience as mainly only females will be interested in this soap. 8.00pm is a appropriate time for this soap and will enable this soap to gain exposure to all ages. I feel the frequency of three times a week will aid the target audience to watch the soap as it will give them a break of two days a week in between episodes.


All members within my group held a meeting to discuss all our pitch ideas before choosing one. It was important for each group member to come up with many different pitch ideas so we could have a wide range to choose from. It was vital that we could all confer about each idea and decide which one we felt was best for our soap opera. As a group we went through each idea and discussed the strengths and weaknesses. It was important we gave each idea the same amount of time as at a first glance the idea may not seem interesting but after a discussion each idea was clear to our group. We now have an idea in which we would like our project to go however a sufficient amount of planning and preparation must go ahead first. We would first choose the best treatment amongst our own pitch tables which would result in 3 final treatments to pick the final one.However before completing the treatment for my best soap idea, I will carry out more research into the soap Eastenders as I feel the input I will gain, can influence the treatment I finalise.

Eastenders Title Sequence

There are many conventions that work together in order to make the title sequence of Eastenders effective and memorable to the audience. Camera work/movements , Sound, Editing and Mise-en-scene are all very important factors of the title sequence. Viewers of Eastenders are able to voyeur in on characters lives which is shown in the title sequence through the use of a birds eye view (camera work). The ariel shot puts the audience in perspective and allow them to gain a full viewing point. The camera also spirals out throughout the title sequence which represents the narrative within the soap as many situations spiral out of control and become larger over time.

Picking the correct theme tune for Eastenders was a important decision for producers in 1985 when the soap opera was created. Although some viewers may feel the theme tune isn't correct for the genre of Eastenders, it has become very memorable to viewers and others who do not even watch the soap. The iconic drum roll at the start of the title sequence creates an intense image to the audience before watching the soap. The tune familaries the audience to the particular soap, and allows them to get into the mind fame of the world of Eastenders before it begins. Although the sound can be seen as intense at the start because of the drum roll, as it progresses the pace of the sound slows down creating a mellow atmosphere which represents the slow pace of some story lines within Eastenders.

Editing is used to create an effect during the title sequence of Eastenders, for example the title of the soap is shown at the end of sequence to stay fresh in the viewers mind before the soap begins, this may also be because the music has already established what the soap is without showing the title itself. The color of the title is dull and dismal which represents the overall mood of Eastenders.

Mise-en-scene is a vital element to the title sequence as it portrays everything you can see within the sequence. The river thames is shown as it is idenficiation of the location of the soap for example the east end of London. This shows a sense of realism and allows the audience to relate to the soap for example the millennium dome is shown on the title sequence which can influence them to watch the soap.Colors are enhanced on the title sequence for example the river thames is a bright blue color which can express the overall dullness of the rest of the title sequence, the dullness represents the reality of the soap as it generally expresses morbid and dark situations.

After analysing the title sequence of Eastenders I feel I now have a better understanding on the ommon conventions that make a soap sequence effective. As a group we now decided that we would now make own our pitch ideas for a new and upcoming soap. After making these pitches we would decide the most effective soap idea that we can focus and improve in order to fit all of our creative needs.

What is a Soap Opera ?

Soap Operas

A Soap Opera is known as ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction which is presented in serial format on television. According to Albert Moran soap operas, is "that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. Each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode”. An individual episode of a soap will generally switch between different story treads that may interconnect and affect one another however they may also run entirely independently.

Soap Operas are built up by many different elements, when producing a soap opera it is important to consider all elements which can be represented in the form of a check list. These elements include :

• Dialogue of characters - everyday characters
  

• Reflecting daily life e.g. Christmas , Easter, summer exams and results.

• Cliff hangers - A cliff hanger ends in suspense in order to interest the viewer in the next installment.

• Narrative - A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.

• Target Audience - The intended group for which my soap will be targeted at. For example Females aged over 18.

• Representation - The way in which issues are expressed. This includes stereotype, arch-type, gender , ethnicity and sexuality

• Realism/ Real time - Many Soap Operas ensure their narrative has a sense of realism so the audience can relate to it. Soaps run in real time which also expresses realism.
  

• Script - The script will hold the lines in which every character must say in order for the narrative to progress.
  

• Short scenes - Short scenes are used in many soaps to entice the viewer by leaving the narrative unexplained.
  

• Series - A series is mainly known for being a weekly program with the same cast and format and a continuing storyline.
  

• Serial - A serial is known as a program that never ends and is on all year round with a continuing storyline.

• Parallel story lines - Parallel story lines include interconnecting narratives.
  

• Contradiction - Many soap operas can contradict themselves throughout story lines. For example the death of dirty Den in Eastenders who came back from the dead to rejoin the cast.
  

• Peak viewing times - When aiming to produce a new soap it is important to understand peak viewing times, this could be to ensure you do not play your soap at the same time as a competitor.
  

• Gossip - Gossip allows the audience to easy pick up on current story lines, may it be through gossip within the soap or other medias.
  

• Other media - such as newspapers, magazines and internet spoilers
  

• Regional identity - accents, sometimes it can be aware to a viewer where a certain character is from by the accent in their voice.

• Social class - Social class is known as grouping people based on common economic and other characteristics determined by society and reflecting a social hierarchy. When producing a new soap opera the producer will have to decide which social class they will market to.
  

• Resinate - This is a long term viewer, somebody who has watched the same soap for years.
  

• Social indicators /cultural
  

Narrative

A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of
fictional or non-fictional events. Narrative is described through tension and the resolution of that tension by reaching a satisfactory ending. Open ended narratives are used in soap operas which show no closure at the end of an episode, the only real moments of closure are death or departure. Cliff-hangers are used in soap operas to gain audience attention and create an exciting moment of suspense or mystery at the close of an episode. Eastenders may have up to 6 different story lines progressing in each episode.

Representation of characters

Representation of characters are important in Soap Operas because they reflect the different conventions and aspects of the Soap Operas. Characters are used to show realism and by having realistic characters in Soap Operas it makes the soap more realistic for the audience. They can relate or have similar views with the character.



The pictures represent the older characters in Eastenders for example Dot and Jim Braning. These characters will be relatable to the older generation who watch this soap. They have different morals and views to the other younger characters.


Realism

Soap Operas must have a sense of realism so they can relate to the audience. Audiences can be enticed by the soap operas because of the taboo issues shown on TV. Neighbours an Australian Soap Opera for example use realism through the young adult characters and they deal with love triangles, family feuds. Neighbours is more glamourised to Eastenders. Eastenders show more Teenage pregnancies, alcoholics, affairs, prostitution etc. If a person from Australia was to view Eastenders they would think it is more gritty.

Realist issues in Eastenders:





Stacey Slater who suffers from bipolar, and the viewers get to see how she deals with the disorders. Her storyline about bipolar proved to be very interested and informative for the audience. Many viewers can sympathise with Stacey as well as she is also a single mother.





Phil Mitchell is shown to be an alcoholic and we see the affects of him being addicted to alcohol. Audiences were intrigued to see if he could get himself clean and how his problem affected his family.

By showing issues like these on British TV it shows the realism of society and how these things are happening and could happen. This is why it is different soap operas from different countries.

Audience

Measuring an audience is very important when producing a new product and it is useful for all media institutions. Research of audiences is vital and is done thought all the stages of production in order to receive the best possible outcome. It is important to ensure that audiences feel connected to a particular media text and that they can relate to it.

When producing a drama of any kind it is important that producers are aware of the target audience which is the group in which the program is aimed at. For example if producing a teen drama it is important to aim to attract teenagers between the ages of 13-18.

Many different soap operas have different target audiences for example whilst Eastenders aims to attract people of all ages Hollyoaks only aims to appeal to teenagers which can limit the success of the serial.

Attracting audiences can be done by the use many different conventions such as Editing, Sound/Dialogue, Mise-en-scene and Camera work. For example using large amounts of dialogue to explain the narrative will be useful.

I will now watch Eastenders's title sequence. I feel it would be useful for me to anaylse this title sequence to see what common conventions are used and what they can represent. This anaylsis will aid me when producing my soap opera as I may find it useful to use some of these conventions in my soap trailer.