Thursday 15 July 2010

Analysis of 3 soaps

Hollyoaks- The loft fire trailer 2009







The clip begins with a mid shot on Warren this straight away tells the audience that the storyline is based around him, then there is a close up on the paper which says 'Murderer' so within the first three seconds the trailer hints at Warrens past story lines and explains why characters are after him. The over the shoulder shot then denotes Sascha's facial expressions worried and angry, she is wearing a pink top the signifier pink can be signified as feminine and innocent. All of the females throughout the trailer are in pink or white this contrasts with the extreme close up of the females cleavage wearing a red top. The red connotes passion, death and love. This close up shot of her cleavage which is part of Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory as the women is seen as a sexual object through the shot of her cleavage rather than a real person. The theme love is seen in the low angle shot of Justin and Hannah as they are hugging, the theme love could then be seen as a cause for the fire.


The trailer goes against Todorov's theory of equilibrium as the trailer doesn't begin with a state of equilibrium as it starts with the clue to the storyline with murderer on the paper, this is a disruption of equilibrium, however, the low shot of Hannah and Justin hugging could be seen as a state of equilibrium. The editing mixes up the theory making the audience more active as some characters like Hannah and Justin seem unaware of the murder story which draws connotations to them being innocent.

When the clip begins there is under laying non diegetic music which is deep and dull creating a fearsome mood. Then the close up on the record with lighting which denotes red, red connotes death and danger however the non diegetic music played sounds upbeat and joyful creating a contrasting mood. However the lyrics in the song are ironic ' no where to run' this tells the audience that Warren will be caught and dealt with.


All the transitions used throughout the trailer are fade to blacks this type of editing keeps this eerie, dangerous atmosphere of the trailer which draws connotations to the dark side of some characters and the depression that the fire will lead to making every one's lives dull and dark.



The majority of the men in the trailer are in black this connotes suspicion and secrecy, which is a theme in the trailer. Also this negative colour of the costume could outline them to fit 'The Villain' character that is from Propp's theory.

The short conversation clips between characters builds tension and displays more emotions from characters this then makes the audience question who could be the murderer. This is an experimental fractured narrative where the audience have to piece together the story, the type of audience that would be interested in this type of narrative would be appeal to audience members in the demographic groups B, C1 and C2.

There is two lots of titles used half way through there is block red bold title saying 'Hell hath no fury' this builds tension. Also the final clip on the trailer is the title of the name of the soap, when its on and the website for the channel it is on. The narrator also tells the audience when its on and what channel, the use of narrator gives the trailer a serious tone, which would make the viewer feel threatened by the events shown in the trailer. Also the narrator is from the perspective of a viewer as they are not part of the soap therefore as the viewer is being spoken to by the narrator they would gain a sense of belonging which Denis McQuail states is important in the Personal identity section of Uses and Gratifications theory.

The establishing shot of the loft explosion before the end title finalises the trailer as it tells the viewer the outcome and setting.


Eastenders- Return of Sam Mitchell





The clip starts with an extreme close up shot on eyes with heavy makeup the heavy make up has connotations of a glamorous female which the story is based around. The animated logo for BBC 1 then comes up obviously displaying where you can watch the soap. The shot then fades black this signifies darkness and the fear of the unknown which links to the fact that Sam doesn't know how the characters will react to her return. There is then a flash back shot the flash back effect is highlighted with different lighting as the shots with Sam are coloured and bright connoting her bright and loud personality however, the flashbacks are not in full colour this therefore contrasts Sam with the rest of the characters displaying rivalry. The editing flicks from Sam and the flashbacks this is a good way of showing different types of showing different reactions and responses and also making it is to follow. The flashbacks show characters that will be affected by the return of Sam also they are short conversations of issues based around Sam.
These conversations would make the audience more active as they would try and piece together the stories about characters and Sam on the other hand, the trailer is still reasonably easy to follow and would appeal to the target audience of people from the demographic groupings C1 to E because they are the less intelligent lower paid members of the public who would be passive. The trailer hints at Sam being vibrant but the close up shots highlighting her facial expressions make her look revengeful this could could be seen as complying with the Hypodermic Needle theory as the audience gain hints that she is a bad character and could fit into Propp's reoccurring character of 'The Villain'.

There is diegetic speech from Sam counting up to 5 this increases tension. Also there is diegetic speech from the conversations in the flashbacks. However there is non diegetic music which is slow this could connote Sam's relaxed view on the return, also the music denotes a slow version of a pop song highlighting the youthful but sincere energy from Sam.

The costume used is very significant as Sam is in a bright revealing dress whereas the other characters are in casual clothing where the colour is not seen through the editing. Also in the shot with Peggy and Archy, Peggy is in white connoting innocence whereas Archy is in black connoting mystery and death. This is ironic however does not link directly to Sam. Sam's dress denotes short and revealing this connotes her sexuality and seductress ways this complies with the Male Gaze theory as she is seen to be a sexual object rather than a human, this theory could also be implied when one of the first shots of Sam is the extreme close up of her lips, lips have connotations of kissing and passion which make women look sexual and insignificant.

The last two shots are a mid shot of Sam ready to return then a closeup of her face where she looks angry and revengeful. The non diegetic music then stops and goes into the theme tune of Eastenders this catchy recognizable theme tune associates the trailer with Eastenders immediately. The animated name of soap, logo, and website finish the trailer on a red background the connotations of red are passion and danger however red denotes the BBC 1 colours.

Coronation Street- Siege week






The clip begins with the animated ITV1 logo in the corner displaying what channel the soap is on straight away.
The police uniform automatically makes the viewer realise something bad has happened as connotations to police uniform are crime and law breaking also the viewer would be able to relate to the police uniform as it is modern and seen in society often this complies with verisimilitude, verisimilitude makes the viewer believe the trailer more as it links to reality therefore making them more on edge as they feel it could happen to them. The mid shot also indicates fear and worry as their serious facial expressions can be seen to express these feelings. The dim lighting also connotes the worried, dangerous tone of the trailer, this lighting runs through the whole clip indicating things are getting worse before they get better. Which could be seen as part of Todorov's theory of equilibrium as stage 2 of the 'disruption of equilibrium' then goes into stage 3 of the 'recognition that there has been a disruption' this can be seen through the worried conversations of the characters in the jump cuts however the trailer is left on a cliff hanger as stages 3 and 4 of the equilibrium theory are not seen throughout so 'reinstatement of equilibrium is not reached' and the audience would want to watch the soap.

There are jump cuts throughout the trailer where the camera goes from scene to scene with a reoccurring scene of a man walking down a street, the camera is slowly panning up on the males dark clothing connoting danger and anger. The panning shot builds tension as it is slowly going into a reveal shot of the escaped man.

The non-diegetic music which fades in from the beginning starts slow and quiet then immediately after the girl says 'escaped' the music goes into a drum like beat which echoes heartbeats and connotes panic.

Typical signifiers used are the hoody which connotes mischief-making and threat also the blood on Tony's lip connotes murder and violence.
The short clips of different characters introduces them into the storyline and shows the large scale of panic in the street.
The clip finishes with the narrator speaking over the animated picture of the Coronation St logo and familiar background, the viewer can either listen to the narrator to find out when the soap is on or read on the screen at the end. The sponsor is also on the last shot.

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