Soap Opera Poster Analysis

I have found two soap opera posters and have analysed them. I have done this to look at the conventions of soap opera posters and this will help me when I construct my own poster for my own soap as I will be able to refer to this research and include key aspects of a successful poster within my own work.
Soap Posters

From doing this research, I have found that soap opera posters must attract their target audience. Posters combine necessary information with images and text to create a successful poster to stand out to an audience and make them want to watch the soap that is being advertised.
The two posters I looked at were very different from one another. The first used bright colours and glamour to attract their audience which was teenagers and young adults, connoting fun and excitement whilst the Hollyoaks poster used darker colours to give connotations of danger to portray the upcoming storylines. Taglines on both posters were in keeping with the image. When it comes to planning my poster, I will need to make sure that my target audience are considered and look at making the poster suitable for the storylines and plot of the soap opera so the audience can relate to it.
Both posters gave information of when to watch the soap so this must be included in my own poster otherwise the audience would not know when they were able to watch the soap.
I think that I could look at more creative ways of showing the time, date and channel of the soap for my poster to challenge these conventions.

Soap Opera Poster

This soap opera poster was found on one of the billboards at an underground train station.

• The fire effects highlight a specific storyline (a fire break out) and can give connotations of death.
• The picture also gives an idea to the audience of who is involved in the fire and would question them on who will take injury and possibly die. This makes people want to watch the soap and find out.
• The poster uses a tagline 'A week that will change Hollyoaks forever'. This immediately grabs the attention of the public and makes you want to find out how.
• The tagline and viewing time is also on a white banner which connotes innocence and purity juxtapostioning the flames of the fire and standing out so it is clear for people to see.
• The font is simple and easy to read.
• Use of the channel 4 logo to easily identify the channel of the soap for any interest taken to the poster.
• The main focus of the poster is the fiery characters which automatically draws attention to the poster and the colours are bright to stand out on the black background.

This poster was found in a magazine showing the 25th anniversary of Eastenders. It is primarily aimed at the audience of the magazine.

• The poster is set in the Queen Vic which is the prime location of Eastenders.
• All the characters are featured in the poster and all appear to be smiling and happy with the exception of a few which would mean that anyone that saw the poster would want to find out about the characters storylines.
• The colours are bright to attract the attention of people reading the magazine. 
• The River Thames which is shown in the introductory music/theme tune of the soap is portrayed through the use of ribbon on the poster which connotes a special event in Eastenders (25th anniversary) attracting audiences to watch the special upcoming episodes.
• The characters highlight individual storylines and this makes people want to watch the soap to find out what happens.  

From carrying out research into existing soap opera posters, I have gained an insight into what they include and how they attract their target audience and I will be able to apply this knowledge when I come to making my own soap opera poster.
I have found that posters generally focus on one storyline that takes a big impact on the soap opera which makes the audience want to find out what happens (increasing viewing figures) so I will make my poster in a similar, effective way to introduce a new soap and attract the target audience.
I found that posters are fairly simplistic including a main image, tagline and viewing information (channel and time of soap). This is useful information for the audience which I will need to include in my poster.
We expect to include a picture of the main characters with a catchy tagline and a simplistic design which mirrors those of existing posters.

Past Students Soap Opera Trailers

Sound
A non-diegetic, up-beat soundtrack has been used throughout the trailer which helps attract and maintain the audiences' attention. The music is also inkeeping with the theme of the trailer and the sexuality of the main character.

Mise-en-scene
Exterior settings have been used throughout the entire trailer. This helps the audience identify with the location of the soap opera and shows the area in which the soap will take place. As the setting is exterior, naturalistic lighting has been used and considered.
The costumes immediately show the character stereotypes. The main character is seen wearing a black dress and red heels. This gives immediate connotations of leadership and also signifies darkness suggesting that the character is mischevious.

Narrative
An open narrative is used within the trailer so the audience can see how storylines will go on to develop.

Titles
A street sign with the name of the soap has been created to use as the title which is a creative way to challenge conventions. The writing is clear and readable for the audience. However it could be made a little bit bigger in some parts.



Sound
A non-diegetic, high pitched soundtrack is used in the trailer. This gives an eerie feel to the soap opera trailer. Dialogue is used within certain clips of the trailer to give the audience an idea of the upcoming storylines.

Mise
The soap trailer uses interior and exterior settings. The interior settings show the charcters houses and the exterior setting gives the audience an idea on location. The lighting in the interior settings is fairly dark so this could be improved on. The costumes are also fairly dark so this gives the idea that something bad is going to happen.

Narrative
An open narrative is used in the trailer so the audience must keep watching to find out what happens next. Many different storylines rae focused upon in the trailer.

Titles
The titles used are basic. They use a bold white writing style on a black background. This does not draw as much attention but it is easy to read and the audience will be able to remember it.

Soap Trailer Analysis

Sound
Non-diegetic music is played throughout the trailer. The music is high pitched and of a slow pace which gives an eerie feel, connoting fear.
Sound effects such as the robot arms are used and a voice over concludes the trailer. The voice over questions the audience and makes them intrigued to watch the soap. The trailer does not only appeal to existing audiences but attracts new audience members to watch the soap.

Mise-en-scene
The trailer is set in a large, black room (interior setting) to give connotations of danger and fear. It could also show to the audience that there may be no escape for Peggy.
Peggy is wearing a white dress denoting a wedding and giving connotations of innocence but also weakness. Archie is seen in dark colours connoting evil and power over Peggy which is also reflected in the camera angles used.
The lighting is artificial, used to highlight the characters amongst the dark set room and to highlight their personalities and character stereotypes.

Narrative
The trailer uses an open narrative. The voice over gives the audience an idea of the storyline but leads them to find out more. Could suggest forking paths. The story could go many different ways. Uses Todorov's two first stages of his narrative theory.

Camera Angles
Long shots are used to introduce the characters and give a sense of how big the room is compared to them.
Close-ups are used to portray Peggys' emotion from the beginning and as she becomes more 'under the control' of Archie.
The trailer uses a high angle shot when focusing on Peggy and a low angle shot looking up at Archie to connote the heirarchy of the two characters and the power Archie has over Peggy.

Titles
The BBC One logo is shown at the beginning of the trailer to introduce the channel and the other informative titles (viewing time and day) are included at the end of the trailer so viewers know when they can watch the episode and so that it is left fresh in their minds.



Sound
High pitched, non-diegetic music opens the trailer and immediately gives a sense of mystery. The sound remains non-diegetic but changed to a western style themed music (in-keeping with the setting) which denotes a cowboy/western trailer.
Some diegetic sound is used throughout the trailer in dialogue of other characters.
The trailer uses the famous conventional Eastenders jingle and a voice over at the end informing the audience about the time and channel of the soap and also creating a mystery with the hint of storyline making viewers want to find out what happens (gaining and holding interest).

Mise-en-scene
Exterior setting is predominantly used and the location (Albert Square) has been given a western theme relating to the sound.
Costumes and props are used effectively and the dark clothing worn by the two main characters connotes death and could be used to create a gloomy atmosphere and suggest something bad is going to happen.
Low key lighting is primarily used to give an eerie and suspicious feel for the viewers.
Naturalistic lighting used for exterior settings.

Narrative
Open narrative that doesnt reveal too much about the upcoming storylines and characters so holds the viewers interest well.

Camera Angles
The majority of shots used in the trailer are close-ups and mid shots. These are used to show and create emotion and to show body language and character personalities.
A low angle shot is used when Alfie (main character - male) is revealed from the shadows. This has immediate connotations of power and authority.
The trailer ends with a birds eye view shot of the two characters facing one another across the square which could denote a western stand-off and thus giving an impression that they will cause trouble.

Titles
Titles are at the end of the trailer showing viewers when they can watch the soap and what channel to find it. The black text juxtaposes the white text and could connote life or death situations to be revealed in the soap regarding the two new characters or a mixture of happy and sad storylines brought with the characters.



Sound
The only sound used in the trailer is the non-diegetic soundtrack 'Heads will roll by the Yeah yeah yeahs' amd a voice over to finalise the media text.
The soundtrack used is fitting with the trailer as the song uses the words 'dance' and 'death' which are both represented in the trailer (setting and storyline).
The voice over 'strictly not for the faint hearted' is cleverly worded using 'strictly' relating to the dancing aspect of the trailer and 'faint hearted' connoting death.

Mise-en-scene
The location used is a dancing ballroom which connoted beauty and elegance juxtaposing the storyline of death.
The lighting is low key, therefore giving a sense of mystery - 'who done it?'
The victim is seen wearing a white shirt which connotes purity and innocence suggesting that the person is a good willed character who in fact does not deserve to be killed. (This is good to attract new viewers).
Other characters, who could be seen as possible killers are wearing colours such as red which denotes blood. Whilst the judges, also other characters in the soap, are wearing all black connoting death. They also reveal the score of the dancing holding scoring posts (props) which total '999' suggesting that the emergency services are needed creating an exciting trailer.
Another prop, the drink is representative of the blood and denotes the victims death.

Narrative
The trailer uses a forking paths narrative and leads the target audience to think about who the killer could be.
Open narrative - story will unravel.

Camera Angles
Close-ups are used to show emotion.
Mid shots are used to show body language between characters and give the audience an idea on character relationships for the storyline.
The shots are fast paced to build tension.
The trailer finishes on a low angle shot of the victim which would generically connote power and authority. However it is used in a opposite way as he is about to die, it could show that he was a very important character in the soap and that it was wrong for him to be killed. It is also used to show fear.
Another way this shot can be viewed is that he is looking down from heaven.

Titles
The only titles used in the trailer is the Hollyoaks title at the end to inform the audience of the soap.
The channel 4 logo is also featured to indicate the channel.

Soap Opera Trailers

I was required to find out when soap opera trailers are shown on television and which programmes they were shown in-between to gain an idea of the audience that a soap opera trailer would target as part of my research into soap opera trailers.

Hollyoaks - A Hollyoaks trailer was shown on channel 4 at 5pm after the programme 'Deal or no Deal' and before 'Coach Trip'.
As Hollyoaks main target audience is the younger genreation from the age of 15-30, showing the trailer at 5pm means that most of this audience have arrived home from school/college/work and so will have tuned into the television at this time.
Also Deal or no Deal is a popular programme and with the trailer being shown on the same channel in which the programme is aired, it attracts its main audience and would also appeal to people who enjoy similar programmes and normally watch channel 4.

I was looking for soap opera trailers on the television to give me an idea on what times they were shown which would help with our target audience of our own soap as it would give an idea on the type of people that would see the trailer. As our target audience is a younger genreation, similar to hollyoaks, our trailer would be useful to be shown at a similar time in order to attract the attention of our target audience.

I continued to look out for soap opera trailers on the TV and found The Judgement Day trailer for Emmerdale. The trailer was shown on ITV 1 at half 7 in the evening on a Sunday. At this time on a Sunday a lot of people will have sat down to watch the television and so this would enable Emmerdale to attract a wide audience for the soap.

It was shown in one of the advertisment breaks during the cube and before the x-factor results. This is a good time to show a soap trailer as it is between two popular programmes and as they have shown the trailer on the channel that the soap opera is aired on, this will attract viewers that usually watch ITV - possibly enabling them to interest new viewers into the soap that are fans of programmes on this channel.

From this research I have found that trailers are generally shown at a time in which the target audience would be watching the television.

The Purpose of a Trailer

The main purpose of a trailer is to advertise a film or television programme to a large audience. Trailers are used to attract an audience into watching a film or soap - particularly a certain episode of a soap. Trailers need to be thrilling in order to gain and hold the audiences' attention.
Trailers are shown on TV and in the cinema to be able to attract a wide range of people into watching the film/soap.
Soap Opera trailers are primarily shown on the television in advertisment breaks between programmes. By showing trailers at all times of the day this allows a wider audience to be targeted as different people will be tuned into the television. However, most soap opera trailers are shown during prime-time as this is when most people will be watching and this enables a huge audience to be targeted - people of all ages, both genders and demographic groups B-E mainly.


This trailer introduces and promotes 2 new characters to the soap, the Mitchell sisters - Ronnie & Roxy. The trailer shows a party in the Queen Vic held by the two sisters. The trailer denotes an immediate happy vibe and bubbly atmosphere with everyone dancing, The sound in the piece also relates to the theme.
The trailer gives an idea to the audience of how the sisters will behave in the square and makes viewers want to carry on watching to find out what they get up to and what mischief they get themselves in to.
As the trailer is lively, this attracts a wide audience and will gain and hold the attention of viewers.
The trailer is primarily targeted at the younger generation, demographic groups D and E and makes use of The Male Gaze Theory (Laura Mulvey) to attract a male audience as well. The use of the red dress and red lipstick is used to entise a male audience. The colour red has sexual connotations.

History of Soap Operas

I have created a presentation highlighting the history of the soap opera and the key conventions within soaps to help understand how a soap opera is put together and how it attracts a target audience.

Some of the information was found on the bbc website
BARB Figures

BBC1
w/e 28 Aug 2011 (Millions)
1 NEW TRICKS (MON 2100) 9.28
2 EASTENDERS (FRI 2000) 8.90
3 EASTENDERS (THU 1930) 8.73
4 EASTENDERS (TUE 1929) 8.54
5 EASTENDERS (MON 2000) 8.23
6 DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1910) 8.10
7 COUNTRYFILE (SUN 2000) 5.76
8 TEN O'CLOCK NEWS (MON 2200) 5.59
9 TEN O'CLOCK NEWS (TUE 2200) 5.53
10 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? (WED 2100) 5.45

ITV1
w/e 28 Aug 2011 (Millions)
1 THE X FACTOR (SAT 2000) 10.63
2 CORONATION STREET (MON 1932) 8.16
3 CORONATION STREET (MON 2032) 8.11
4 CORONATION STREET (FRI 2031) 7.87
5 CORONATION STREET (FRI 1932) 7.68
6 CORONATION STREET (THU 2031) 7.43
7 EMMERDALE (THU 1959) 7.00
8 EMMERDALE (MON 1901) 6.70
9 EMMERDALE (FRI 1901) 6.57
10 EMMERDALE (THU 1901) 6.55
Most Popular Episodes

Which have been Coronation Street’s most watched episodes?

Hilda’s farewell – 26.6 million
Deirdre/Mike/Ken love triangle – 20 million
Richard Hillman’s confession – 19.4 million
Alan Bradley under tram – 19 million
Deirdre sent to prison – 18.9 million
Fiona left at the aisle – 17.5 million
Don dies on screen – 17.3 million
Don tries to kill Alma – 17 million
Mike and Linda’s wedding – 15.8 million
Sarah Lou teen pregnancy – 15 million
Steve and Karen wedding – 15 million

Information of BARB figures found on the BARB website.