The analysis of Soap magazine

I videoed the front cover of a magazine and spoke over the top of the video. I looked at what stood out on the cover and who it stood out too. Also I looked at the importance of images on a cover.
This is the clip of me analysing the magazine.

How we named our Soap

I made a post on how we came to the name Helen How, the post is on the group blog it includes research that I did about current names of soaps.

To see this post click here.

The reasons for the first two episodes

After writing the first to episodes I had to justify why I chose to do them the way I did. The first episode was simple just because I thought it would be the best way to introduce a soap however the second episode is more complex and I have justified it. To see the justifications click here.

Outline of first two episodes

After discussing with the group what storylines and characters we are going to use in the soap I put together two episodes. I kept them both quite simple so that it will be easy to use the episodes to then create a trailer. I checked with the group that they were happy with episodes I created and they were. To see the first episodes in brief click here.

Target audience profile

We had to produce a target audience profile to outline the kind of audience we are aiming our soap at. The soap needs to have a specific audience as certain storylines interest certain people and therefore we need to aim the storylines at an appropriate audience then base our soap around that type of audiences interests and views. We had decided as a group that we would aim our soap at the same kind of audience that Hollyoaks captures because we like the way Hollyoaks is edited and the storylines in it. I put a few ideas forward for the target audience however Lucy and Sophie did the majority of the target audience profile. To see the target audience profile click here.

The soap opera brief

After deciding on our characters and settings we constructed our soap opera brief, for this task we sat down as a group again and decided together what to put in the brief. We all had equal input. We had to produce a brief so that people can read the short piece of text and from the text understand the general aim of the soap. For example we mentioned the pregnant teen storyline therefore the person reading the brief can work out if they would be interested in that kind of storyline then decide whether to watch the soap or not.
To see the soap opera brief click here.

Initial ideas for our soap

One lesson we sat in a group and discussed possible storylines, characters, settings, inspirations and other key elements of our soap. We wrote all the ideas down in a mind map. We all had equal input. Some of my ideas were the types of characters for example the 'flirty female' and the 'terror children'. To see the initial ideas mind map click here.

Comparing our targert audeine questionnaire results

Questionnaire Results

Questionnaire Results

To make sure we had captured the same audience from our research we looked at our results to compare what we had found.

From looking at both sets of graphs we can see that one set of results reveals that females watch soaps more than males however, the other results show they both watch them equally. This is still reliable as the results that do show females watch soaps more is not completely unbalanced showing that males and females both watch soaps, therefore we will have to appeal to both.

On one set of results it is clear that females and males in the 30-50 age bracket are most likely to watch soaps and this is supported by the other results as the most common age bracket where soaps are watched is the 41-50 therefore showing that soaps appeal to this age group. We can therefore decide if we want to target a younger audience or continue with the current audience we found.

Other questions on our questionnaires are different where one questionnaire asks the audience about what storylines they like and the other is about why they watch soaps. Both sets of results are reliable and will help us create our target audience questionnaire but we cannot draw comparisons between them. However, we have found some supportive evidence on the results that defines the age demographic and whether males or females watch soaps.

I have also published this post on the group website.

Analysis of questionnaire results

I did a questionnaire to find out what audience soap operas attracted and who the trailers appeal to. From my questionnaire I have discovered that more females like soap operas than males however both males and females like soaps where there is story lines with explosions and murders therefore soaps that include these storyline are more likely to capture a larger audience. This could show that males are only willing to watch storylines with a more complex storyline than females making them less passive. However not that many people liked soaps to have mysterious and complex story lines so this could show that soaps have a hypodermic needle effect which is Adorno and and Horkheimer's theory that the audience is passive and the soap would just inject the viewer. Also I found that teenage females are more likely to watch soap operas than teenage males however soap operas attract middle aged females and males equally this could be the case as they watch them together as part of a family. Also the time that soaps are shown supports this as they are in the evening around 7pm onwards which is when couples from the demographic groups C1,C2, D and E would be at home and would relax and watch the television.


I have used some of my results that I found the most important and made them into pie charts on Excel. This makes the division between females and males who like soaps clearer and also the age groups that I found enjoyed soaps the most and therefore my justifications above have evidence.


Questionnaire Results

Soap Opera trailer showings and target audience.

Soap operas are genuinely on the TV in the evening for the obvious reason that that is when people watch soap operas and therefore would be intrigued by the trailer.
Recently there has been the trailer of Peggy slapping people to advertise her leave on Eastenders. This has been seen before Eastenders and before Waterloo Road on BBC 1. This means they are seen around the time of 7.30-8.00pm. This is a time most people would be at home therefore widening the demographic groups being aimed at for example, demographic groups B, C1, C2, D and E are likely to be home and not working at home as they would be relaxing if they have been at work or would watch anyway from being at home. The only demographic group that it would not interest in A, this is because these people would be most likely to still be working or working at home.
From the questionnaire I did I found that it was more common that females watch/like soap operas therefore the evening is more suitable for females as they will be watching other soap operas around that time also females are attracted to Waterloo road especially young females as the programme is based on a high school which attracts a young audience.


19:30–19:57
Saints and Scroungers Mow and Grow
7/15. How undercover surveillance put an end to one woman's 12-year-long identity fraud scam. (R)

demographic groups likely to watch this are-C1-E because it is on reasonably early for those who have jobs such as managers and executives that would finish work later than the 9am-5pm shift.
19:57–20:00
BBC News and Regional News 06/09/2010
The latest national and international news stories from the BBC, followed by Weather.
demographic groupings likely to watch this are- A-E because everyone no matter where they stand in society is likely to have an interest in the news and weather. However, people in group A and B may have already looked this information up on other technological devices.

20:00–20:30

EastEnders 06/09/2010
As Peggy resumes ownership of the Vic, Phil continues to sink into oblivion.
20:30–21:00

demographic groups B, C1, C2, D and E are likely to be home and not working at home as they would be relaxing if they have been at work or would watch anyway from being at home.
Panorama A Risk Worth Taking?
Shelley Jofre investigates the rise and fall of the drug Avandia.
21:00–22:00
Panorama fits in the genre of a documentary and therefore people in demographic groups D and E may not have an interest in something informative and be more interested in reality programmes.

My statistics on audience viewing figures gives evidence to soaps having a wider audience and more inviting to more demographic groups is clear because Eastenders has the highest viewing figures per week on BBC 1.

Soap trailers are seen mainly in the times between these programmes.

Soap viewing figures

To get an insight into which soap is most popular and the reasons behind this I have looked on the website BARB and found the top 10 most popular shows on each channel.


Barb Viewer Figures

Soap Opera target audience questionnaire

I have created a questionnaire to find out what audience a soap opera targets, i will use my results as a source for when I start planning my own soap as I will know what different audiences like in certain soaps.

Soap opera questionnaire

This is a questionnaire to find out what kind of audience soap operas target.

(Put a circle around or tick the correct option) J

1. Male or Female

2. How old are you?

Under 12 12-18 19-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56+

3. What is your favourite soap?

Coronation St Hollyoaks Eastenders Neighbours Emmerdale Doctors

4. What attracts you to a soap opera?

Action packed storylines with murders and explosions

A good love story

Attractive characters

Mysterious and complex storylines

5. Would a trailer for a soap encourage you to watch the full episode?

Yes

No

6. What time would you watch a soap opera?

Day time around 12pm

Afternoon around 5-6pm

Evening 7-9pm

7. Do you think soaps should have classic characters which stay in the soap for years and years or renew the cast often?

Classic characters

Renew cast

8. When a soap opera uses a serious issue or illness in a storyline do you think it helps build awareness of that specific issue raised?

Yes

No

9. Do you enjoy watching special episodes of soaps that only focus on one storyline?

Yes

No

10. Do you think soaps should stick to simple editing where it goes from start to finish or do you think it should include flash backs, split screens and more complex styles of editing?

Simple editing

Complex editing

Conventions found in soap opera trailers

These are some of the conventions that are found in soap opera trailers which are not in full length episodes:

• Loud music to fit with the scene.


• Jump cuts


• Close ups and extreme close ups


• Seductive women


• Titles throughout.


• Fade to black fades.

Example of Mercedes McQueen-Hollyoaks (on right) example of seductive female.

These conventions are extremely common in soap opera trailers as they grip the viewer, however they are not seen in full length soap operas. This is because the trailer is to entice the viewer therefore jump cuts make it easier for more storyline to be spread throughout different scenes and simply seductive women would entice some male viewers. Full length episodes do not need conventions such as titles throughout because the titles are used in trailers to reveal information and make the viewer question what they see, however viewers watching full length episodes follow the action through character conversation rather than titles.

Also music in trailers is used rather than speech because it builds tension and helps the trailer progress however in full length episodes dialogue moves the storyline on.

Last years soap opera trailer

This is a soap opera trailer from the media students from last years year 13.

Things that work in the trailer:

• Dark lighting- connotes murder/danger/fear


• Black and dull coloured costume- highlights the darkness of the bad characters.


• White writing on the black background- sticks to dark theme and looks professional


• Loud tense music- builds tension


• Dutch angle shots- puts across a confused/ unknowing feel.


• Fades- makes the clips look darker and builds tension

Dark Lighting

The dark lighting in the interior connotes danger and puts the audience in a tense state as they would be waiting for something to jump out as darkness in horror films usually leads to the conventional loud outburst of high pitched music with Propp's 'Villain' character making an appearance. So this soap trailer complies with the conventional dark and dingy lighting of a horror film.

Black and white coloured costume

The opening of the trailer is where there is a man in bed, he is in a white t shirt and sleeping in white bedding. White connotes innocence therefore the audience would associate this costume with a protagonist. So when the man in full black costume walks into the room the connotations of black are danger and secrecy therefore the audience would link this man to be the antagonist. This theme of good vs evil complies with Claude Levi-Strauss's theory that all stories operate to certain clear binary options and for instance in this trailer it is good vs evil which is shown through the contrasting costume.


White writing on the black background

The transition used make the titles seem as if they are creeping up on the characters and audience. The colour scheme of the titles are black and white, these stick to the contrasting colour scheme of good vs evil. The background is black and the white writing scrolls over. Having the background black it makes it the dominate colour therefore this could draw connotations to the evil character having the power and dominance over the good character which is highlighted through the white writing.


Loud tense music

The loud tense music builds tension and puts the audience on edge. The loud music is continuous throughout the whole trailer which would keep the audience alert and active waiting for something. There is a break in the non diegetic music at the end where the female speaks. This makes her dialogue seem extremely important and because it stops the music it connotes her importance.

Dutch angles

Dutch angles are used a lot in the trailer, the dutch angle has connotations of twisted and evil this could denote that the characters in hoods are evil and twisted. Also it is unnerving because the angle because it is seen from an uneven perspective.



Things that did not work as well:

• The prop (black bag)- unrealistic


• lack of character profile- didn't know enough about the reasons why each character were doing what they were doing in the trailer.


• Lack of narrator- the title clip of the name of the soap was very plain therefore if there was a narrator it would have had a bigger effect on the viewer.

The prop

The black bag should give the audience an eerie tense feeling as it should denote a dead body as that is conventional. However, the black bag just looks like a duvet which makes the whole storyline look unrealistic because it does not make the audience question whose body is in the bag, which should be happening keeping them more active.

Lack of character profile

During the trailer the hooded characters are not seen full front therefore their identity is not revealed, in some films this is conventional but in soap trailers it is not conventional. This is due to soap operas complying with the Hypodermic Needle theory where the audience are passive so the trailer should reveal the characters but leave the storyline and final conclusion for them to figure out.

Lack of narrator

The narrator usually makes a soap trailer more conventional and easier to follow. The narrator could have also given the end of this trailer an eerie feel. However, they just left the trailer to finish with titles, although the colours of black and white connote secrecy and fear but a narrator would have had a bigger impact with a more conventional end.

The purpose of a trailer

A soap opera trailer is similar to a film trailer as one of its main purposes is to promote. Soap Operas are extremely popular in Britain and they attract a large audience, however there is competition between soaps. Therefore for a soap to get the best television viewing ratings they need to produce a gripping storyline and promote it to win over viewers. The soap promotes this storyline through different types of media for example, they use magazine covers and columns, billboards and trailers. The trailer has to fit in an adequate amount of the storyline so that viewers understand and are intrigued and must be left on a cliff hanger so the viewer will tune in to watch the outcome. Also soap opera trailers promote both the channel they are shown on and the sponsors (if they have any) as the trailer always includes these vital details.