Scheduling Exercise

In order to get an idea of the best time to show our soap, I decided to carry out a scheduling exercise. I did this so our soap is not in large competition with more established soaps such as Eastenders, Hollyoaks, etc. I researched the timings for popular soaps by looking at a TV guide:

From looking at the timings of soaps, I have found that between the times of 5pm and 7pm, programs such as Neighbours and Hollyoaks are shown. This is the time after people come home from institutions such as school and college. As Neighbours has a target audience of an older audience, it may be that they have chosen this time as grandparents may pick up their grandchildren from school, which works well in terms of getting an idea as to when they will be free. Hollyoaks is aimed at young adults, which therefore explains why they have chosen this time to show their soap. They also show this soap at 7pm on E4, which gives a strong indication that their intended audiences are younger viewers. On the other hand, programs shown between the times of 7pm and 9pm is a prime time for family audience, as this is the time where the whole family are home sitting around the TV. Soaps such as Eastenders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street are shown at these times as they are targeted to a family orientated audience. They are shown at this prime time in order to get the highest chance of gaining their target audience.

Overall, I feel that the best time to show our soap is between the times of 5:00pm and 6:00pm as this will prevent us from facing direct competition from established family orientated TV soap operas such as Eastenders.

Analysis of Questionnaires

Using Microsoft Excel, I produced bar graphs and pie charts for each question to present the findings of my research in quantitative form.

This bar graph shows the majority of the responses of the questionnaires were by females as the questionnaire was carried out with 19 female participants and only 11 males. This however is not a weakness for our research as our soap is mainly aimed at females; therefore their views need to be considered more than the views of males for this particularly task.

This pie chart shows that the majority of the participants were those aged 13-18, which is the age our group decided to make our target audience as our soap is based on the lives of four teenaged girls.  

The bar graph shows that most participants (14) watched 0 to 1 episodes of a soap per week. 13 participants watched soaps 2 to 3 times a week, only 3 participants watched 4 to 5 soaps a week and no participants watched above 6 soaps per week. This showed that the majority of the participants of the study watched a maximum of 3 soaps per week.

This pie chart shows that 34 per cent of the participants found the time 8pm to 9pm the most convenient for watching a soap with 30 per cent preferring the time of 9pm to 10pm. 23 per cent of participants found the time of after 10pm most convenient, and 13 per cent found the time of 7pm to 8pm most convenient.  The times between 5pm to 7pm were not convenient for any of the participants in our study.

 
The bar graph shows that the most preferred soap participants watch is ‘Eastenders’ which 24 participants out of 30 watch. Second to that, 22 participants watch ‘Hollyoaks’ and 21 participants watch ‘Waterloo Road’, which are also soaps aimed at the youth. It was found that 8 participants watch ‘Neighbours’, 2 participants watch ‘Coronation Street’ and 2 participants watch ‘Emmerdale’ which is predictable as most of our participants are aged between 13 to 18 and these three soaps target the elder ages.

This questionnaire has helped me with my soap as it I have been able to obtain the information required for knowing about audience preferences in terms of soap operas. Using the findings from this study, I can see that the majority of female participants aged 13-18 years old preferred to watch 0-3 soaps per week, which is understandable, as most of these teenagers are probably busy in full time education. Also, as most of these participants said that the most convenient time for them to watch a soap is between the times of 8pm-9pm. therefore, we will try to show our soap on the times most convenient for our intended audience. However, we can only do this after checking the times of scheduling for other more established soaps, in order to prevent us from direct competition. Judging by the soaps that most of our participants watch, it is clear to us that they are more into the family soap of Eastenders, as well as Hollyoaks and waterloo road, which are aimed at the target audience we will also be sharing. Therefore, we need to avoid scheduling our soap at the times these three soaps are shown.

Questionnaire

1. What age group do you fall under?

I have created a questionnaire in order to understand my target market and obtain a greater understanding of what they are looking for in a soap and what will be most convenient for our intended audience. I will display my results in a graph form and analyse each question.

     -13-18            19-29            30+

2. What gender are you?

      Male               Female

3. How many episodes of a soap/s do you watch a week?

       0-1              2-3             4-5              5+

4. During what time is watching a soap most convenient for you?

      5pm- 6pm          6pm-7pm          7pm-8pm           9pm-10pm          After 10pm

5. Which soap/soaps do you watch?

       Eastenders                           Emmerdale                      Neighbours                     
       Coronation Street               Hollyoaks                         Waterloo Road                

       Other             
       Please State _________________________________________________________

6. What has been your favourite storyline in recent years?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. If a new soap was released, based on a murder investigation involving four school girls, how likely will you watch it?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your participation J

Treatment

The soap revolves around different storylines which are all occurring within the same neighbourhood. The soap tackles challenges faced by individuals in society; some of which are real life stories I have witnessed. Many of the issues addressed in the TV soap are those which are possibly faced by our target audience. Each plot will link with each storyline as the soap will be based in the same area. The soap opera will begin with introducing characters on a highstreet, making their way to work, college, etc. As this is realistically typical start to a day, viewers will be able to relate to this.

The different plots will include:

·         The first storyline reveals the lifestyle of two different cultured families; one a Pakistani family, and the other an Indian family; living side by side in society within the same neighbourhood. Rizwaan (from the Pakistani family) and Riya (from the Indian family) are madly in love, starting off as a teenage relationship, and developing into something strong and serious, after being together for almost four years. However, their relationship is not as perfect as a fairytale. Both Rizwaan and Riya are living double lives; cultural at home, and code switching to a more British identity outside their home. They face conflicts and challenges of being together, as both their families would never accept the relationship. Riwaan’s family wants a traditional Pakistani daughter-in-law, whereas Riya’s family wants an Indian son-in-law.

·         A nineteen year old boy, trying to balance the stresses of his home life and university life. Michael has recently found out that his father is suffering from cancer, making it increasingly difficult for him to focus on his exams and deadlines. Unable to cope with the stresses experienced, Michael’s social life begins to take a downfall as he becomes very depressed, and rather than his old habits of partying with friends, he spends all his free time at home looking after his father.

·         16 year old Tamika and her boyfriend Sam have an on and off sexual relationship, where Tamika becomes pregnant. Tamika wants to keep the baby as she is strongly against any forms of killing, whether it is to take the pill or have an abortion. However, Sam seems to be totally against it and is not ready to become a ‘daddy’. Tamika has full support from her single mum; however, she does not want the baby to end up fatherless and therefore becomes stressed.

Target Audience

This soap is particularly aimed at a family orientated audience, as it tackles issues that people in the contemporary society may have to deal with. Issues dealing with the family, such as the storyline of Riwaan and Riya, would benefit the families of those who are strongly cultural; by maybe helping them understand how difficult it is for the couples that love each other.

Frequency

This soap opera will be aired three times a day during the weekdays at 20:00. The time is effective in attracting the family audience as this is the time where families come home from institutions such as school, college, work etc.

Pitch Table

Title	Content	Style	Target Audience
Astray	Teenage girl is reported missing.	Drama	15+
In the UK	Different storylines of	Romance/ drama	Families
Clue	Boarding school (boys and girls). Students are killed. A group feels unsafe and tries to investigate.	Horror/ thriller	18+
J’adore ?	Love triangle with two boys and one girl, all best friends.	Romance/ comedy	18+

Analysis of an Episode - Coronation Street

1)    In the first shot we see Chris walking into the kitchen where Maria seems to be making breakfast. This can be referred to as the typical traditional stereotypes of women in the kitchen. Chris wants to take Maria out to lunch since she has a day off work; however, she thinks he would rather be at his favourite place, the pub. The atmosphere during this scene is very tense and ends with an argument.

2)    The second shot shows Becky and Sylvia. Becky has just woken up and seems in a mess, whilst Sylvia is washing up. Sylvia teaches Becky to hold herself together after her break-up and do her part by helping around the house.

3)    Kylie and David are hair spraying their hair, showing that they’re interested in their looks. “Gran won’t be there”- this foreshadows how things will be bad at the salon later on. Gail and ___ talking about his breakup with Becky, seems quite miserable.

4)    Owen has a go at Chris for not turning up to work. Chris accidently hits Jason with a pole whilst working. Owen gets mad and threatens to dock time of Chris’ wages.

5)    Kylie and David are at the salon talking about their first day of changing their lives around. Rita comes in and already complains about the music being too loud. She wants her roots to be touched up, however Kylie and David try changing her hair and insult her, calling her old and mentioning her grey hairs. During this scene, Kylie and David are shown together in one shot, whereas Rita is shown on her own. This shows the separate sides. Also, as Rita is shown sitting down whereas the other two characters are shown standing up, it shows Rita as the vulnerable character.

6)    Matt is shown stitching up Jason’s head. Whilst Chris is leaving after Jason, Matt says: “Chris, you really should tell Owen” – this shows that something is wrong and that Chris is hiding something.

7)    Sophie is seen working, saving money to pay back her dad, whereas Sian and Sunita are making other plans. This shows the tension between the three girls.

8)    Leanne and Peter are shown getting into a car. Stella walks by and speaks to Peter, however, her daughter Leanne doesn’t seem to want to talk to her mother.

9)    Owen has another go at Chris and threatens to sack him. Chris, looking angry says “stuff it”, quitting his job.

10) Kylie is shown talking on the phone. The business doesn’t seem to going well. Gail walks in to check of Kylie and David. Kylie persuades Gail to get her nails done.

11) Stella and Eccles are talking about Leanne and Eccles invites Stella over to her house.

12) Maria finds out from Jason that Chris has left his job.

13) Eccles brings Stella home to where Simon is. Stella sits down and starts talking to her grandson.

14) Chris and Maria talk about Chris quitting his job. There is a great use of over-the-shoulder shots during this scene; this shows that they are having a serious conversation.

15) Gail compliments Kylie’s work on her nails, and Sunita walks in waiting for her appointment with David.

16) Simon and Stella get talking and Simon asks Stella about how Leanne was when she was little. She shows him a picture of when she was a baby.

17) Julie walks into the salon asking if Kylie does reflexology. She does the wrong thing and ends up doing reiki.

18) Marc and Audrey relaxing in the garden. They mention the salon but Audrey feels like she has left it in good hands.

19) Sunita seems to be flirting with David whilst Kylie is doing reflexology to Julie. As Kylie becomes annoyed with Sunita, she does something wrong to Julie’s feet, who then walks out in pain.

20) Maria asks Owen to give Chris his job back

21) Whilst Stella and Simon are playing rock paper scissors, Leanne and Peter walk in. Leanne seems annoyed and rushes Simon out.

22) Sian is getting ready whereas Sophie is sitting on her couch miserably. Sian comes to sit with her and manages to make her smile. Sophie then agrees to go out with Sophie.

23) Gail shows her nails to Rita telling her how Kylie and David are doing a good job at the salon. Rita then tells her about Kylie and David insulting her and how they are not qualified. Julie walks in limping and tells Gail she has a mind to sue Kylie.

24) Peter, Leanne and Simon are sitting at the table talking about Stella. Lean seems unhappy with the fact that Stella was talking to her Simon. Simon is confused at why his mother is acting so horrible whilst Stella is being nice. Peter talks to Leanne and tells her not to punish Simon just because she doesn’t like Leanne.

25) Chris and Maria are back at their house, talking about Chris and his job which turns into an argument. Chris throws his plate on the wall and turns the table over.

The episode begins with the Chris and Maria’s scene at their house and ends with the same scene showing that this is the main storyline in this episode. Altogether, there are five storylines presented in the episode where some seem to link to one another. I have shown this by grouping the stories with the use of different font colours. For example, scenes that involve the storyline around Chris are shown in red, etc.

The way in which the soap episode is edited is really effective, as the audience seem to be jumping back and forth between scenes, or in and out of the lives of different characters. The purpose of this is so that the audiences are exposed to the realistic nature of the soap, where although we may have left a scene to join another, the characters within the soap will continue to get on with their lives, showing the progression of time. The cutting between scenes enables the audience to understand the different storylines as well as how the characters and the storylines link up to each other. As the soap comes to an ending, the atmosphere becomes tense, ending on a cliffhanger. This causes viewers to want to follow the next episode in order to find out what happens next in the soap.

Analysis of a Trailer - Coronation Street

The trailer first introduces two policemen to establish that there is some sort of illegal problem within this week’s episodes. The policemen are presented in bright coloured uniform to show they have authority. In contrast, Carla is seen wearing dark, black clothes, blending in with the depressing background which is effective in foreshadowing the events that occur later on in the episode. Also, the shadows of the blinds create a sense of imprisonment symbolizing jail bars, emphasized by the lines presented. This also foreshadows the scene later shown in the trailer, where Carla is held hostage, where the implication of imprisonment is presented.

After the policemen tell Carla “It’s about your husband”, the scene cuts directly to Tony Gordon, slowly panning up from the ground, with the launch of a strong, steady beat that continues until the end of the trailer to attract the audience and strongly signify the importance of the story presented. The appearance of Tony Gordon is also emphasized by the voice of Claire who introduces him as soon as the scene cuts to Tony by the dialogue; “Guess who’s escaped… Tony Gordon”. Here, it cuts to her scene and then back at Tony, still panning slowly where the last cut had left of, in order for the audience to make a clear connection to the narrative structure. During the second clip of Tony, Maria is presented with her dialogue; “Where did they think he is?” with a sense of fear shown on her face to foreshadow her being held hostage. Within this trailer, Tony is presented in all black with a hoodie. This effectively emphasizes the stereotypical views of a negative character. Also, the fact that the scene of unraveling Tony Gordon is almost in black and white suggesting that there is some sort of unfolded mystery in his character, making the audience feel edgy.

The trailer consists of many quick cuts as the prisoner, Tony Gordon, is constantly shown after each short clip of a different scene. This emphasizes the narrative image of Tony being on the centre stage of the story. The quick cuts play a significant role in building up tension in order to attract the audience and make them question what will happen next. This curiosity in turn sells the program by obtaining more viewers to watch the soap opera.

Researching this trailer has allowed me to gain a better understanding of what is expected when promoting a storyline of a soap. As I will also be creating a soap trailer, I took a few things into consideration when analyzing this trailer. Firstly, there needs to be some sense of an interesting storyline shown in the trailer, using every possible convention to get the idea across to the viewers. The mise-en scene, as well as the editing and camera work are important elements in building up the tension, and revealing the hidden character. This will all be taken into account whilst I’m producing my soap. One thing I found effective was the emphasis on the main character in this particular storyline, where he is shown on the centre stage of the story with the majority of the trailer focusing on him. This is something I particularly liked about this trailer, and I will try to use this technique in my own trailer.

Analysis of a Title Sequence - Coronation Street

The title sequence of any soap opera holds a significant importance as it sets the theme for the audience before the soap begins. Coronation Street’s trailer begins with a crane-shot of a neighbourhood, as well as the appearance of the title ‘Coronation Street’ in the bottom, left-hand corner of the shot. The instrumentation plays a tune that seems to be rather sorrowful; however, the rhythmic double bass is able to merge an air of pensive wistfulness with vigilant optimism. The steady pace of the hum-drum seems to encapsulate the common day-in, day-out feel of the atmosphere in the soap. Also, as the music possesses an ‘old-time’ feel, it suggests that this soap is intended for an older audience, aged perhaps 25 and over.

The sequence continues with a cross-fade presenting an alley that looks on to a street. These clips all lack the presence of any characters, only showing blurred people in the background, almost seeming anonymous. This may suggest that the company may not feel the need to introduce any characters within the title sequence as this is left for the episode to present the characters, seeming as though this setting is waiting to be populated by the characters. Otherwise, the lack of characters in the title sequence may be due to the fact that the audience should maybe already know the characters as it is a soap opera after all, where the viewers follow the episodes.

As the sequence progresses to cross-fade, the back gardens of the neighbourhood is shown with a cat walking along the shed, also introducing the writer ‘Peter Whalley’. The presence of the cat can be acknowledged by the audience as a pet being a part of family life. It could also be associated with an older generation, again signifying that the soap is intended for an older audience.

The end of the sequence proposes a final cross-fade to ‘Rover’s Return Inn’, the local pub, with a train emerging in the background. The use of the shot in which the pub is shown, clearly suggests that this pub holds significance throughout the soap and could also be the setting where majority of the excitement and drama takes place.

By researching and analyzing the title sequence of Coronation Street, it is clear that music plays a huge role in attracting the audience’s attention to the soap by helping viewers identify with the music played in the title sequence. Editing is also big when it comes to creating a title sequence as the transitions used, as well as the blurring effects, are essential in setting the theme for the soap, which is something I have to consider when creating to my own soap trailer.

Researching Soaps - Plan For Group

In order to gain a better understanding of the conventions of soap operas and what is required for an effective trailer, as a group we decided to research the following soaps:

1.    Eastenders

2.    Hollyoaks

3.    Coronation Street

4.    Emmerdale

As our group consists of four members, we decided to split the research task between up. The plan is as follows:

Each group member will produce research and analysis of the title sequence, trailer, and episode for one of the above soaps which we will all then put onto our group blog to see what conventions have been used for each of the soaps.

Each of us then chose which soap to base their research on:

1.    Eastenders - Dena

2.    Hollyoaks - Katie

3.    Coronation Street – Myself (Varsha)

4.    Emmerdale - Tansu

Ligher Moments

As EastEnders is a soap opera, portraying lighter moments as well as dramatic moments is essentially needed to reflect the realism of contemporary society, as life is not always dramatic. Therefore, elements of heartwarming moments along with subtle humor effectively show the buildup of character relations. In addition, as these valuable scenes give the characters a persona, it allows the audience to grow with them and witness their life as though they are real life people. For example, the clip below showing Ricky, Bianca and the children having a food fight is effective in proposing the lighter elements of family life within the community.

Dramatic Moments

Due to EastEnders focusing mainly on social realism, viewers are instinctively made to feel connected to the characters and the storylines indulged within the soap. In life, dramatic experiences are faced by everyone, which is why dramatic elements are required in soaps to reflect everyday life. An example of a dramatic event in EastEnders is when Max and Stacey’s affair is exposed of Christmas day in 2007. Whilst the Slater-Brannings all gathered around the television to watch Bradley and Stacey’s wedding DVD, which contained the footage of Stacey and Max’s final kiss in the Brannings' bedroom shortly after she married Bradley. This resulted in the breakup of the marriages of Bradley and Stacey and Max and Tanya.

Heightened sense of drama

In order to keep the viewers entertained, a dramatic event is essential with the use of gradual increasing tension to reveal heightened sense of drama. The occurrence of these events is significant in making the soap a success. An example of this is the appearance of deception in Eastenders, where Angie lies to Den, telling him she only has six months to live.  

The audiences seem to have a birds-eye-view of the lives of all characters, almost seeming as though they are all powerful and all knowing. The fact that the truth of Angie’s lie is exposed to the audience makes them question themselves as to what may happen next when the lie is revealed to Den. This heightened event progressively builds up more tension, and may be promoted by the media through magazines and newspapers, showing that the soap effectively distributed dramatic tension.

Storylines

EastEnders was first broadcasted in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19th February 1985, and is still continuing today. The first episode began with the introduction of badly beaten Reg Coz, who later died in the next episode in Albert Square.      

The storylines for EastEnders explore the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End of London. This soap has been successful in terms of creating storylines which directly emphasize the issues of contemporary society. This is an effective element in proposing a soap opera based on a particular society with issues relating to that society, increasing the interests of the viewers.

Creator/producer Julia Smith declared that "We don't make life, we reflect it”. She also said, "We decided to go for a realistic, fairly outspoken type of drama which could encompass stories about homosexuality, rape, unemployment, racial prejudice, etc., in a believable context. Above all, we wanted realism".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders#Social_realism)

For example, Arthur Fowler’s unemployment proposing the recession of the 1980s, the rape of Kathy Beale in 1988 by James Willmott-Brown, Michelle Fowler’s teenage pregnancy, Peggy Mitchell’s battle with breast cancer and Phil Mitchell’s alcoholism. Other issues include prostitution, domestic violence, drug addiction, euthanasia, homosexuality and Stacey Slater’s bipolar disorder, which won a Mental Health Media Award in September 2006.

These effective storyline, which reflect realism, keep the audience enticed, almost teasing the audience as to what may happen next. This is also successful with the use of cliff-hangers between episodes, as well as within episodes, where the story is slowly unfolding, creating suspense and tension.

Characters in Eastenders

Female characters are usually central to the program, as expected in traditional, British soaps. The characters tend to be strong, brassy and long-suffering, however, they seem to propose diva-like behavior and go through a lot of tragedy and misfortune. This includes characters such as Angie Watts, Kathy Mitchell, Sharon Rickman and Pat Evans.

  

Kathy Mitchell  

Pat Evans 

Sharon Rickman 

There are also female characters who do not handle tragedy as well, shown as eternal victims and endless sufferers, including Sue Osman, Little Mo Mitchell, Laura Beale and Lisa Fowler.

Little mo mitchell

Laura Beale

Another recurring character is the ‘tart with a heart’, which is often popular with viewers. These characters often hide their vulnerability and a desire to be loved, such as Pat, Tiffany Mitchell, Kat Moon and Stacey Slater.

Tiffany Mitchell

Kat Moon 

Stacey Slater

With the inclusion of various ‘macho’ male personalities, such as Phil and Grant Mitchell, ‘bad boys’ such as Den Watts and Dennis Rickman and ‘heartthrobs’ such as Simon Wicks and Jamie Mitchell, a gender balance is maintained in the show.

 Phil Mitchell

 Den Watts

Jamie Mitchell

The smartly dressed businessman often involved in gang culture and crime is another male character type, mostly viewed as a local authority figure. Such characters include Steve Owen, Jack Dalton, Andy Hunter and Jonny Allen.

Jonny Allen


The ‘loser’ or ‘soft touch’ males often controlled by their female counterparts, is another frequent male character presented in EastEnders, including Arthur Fowler, Ricky Butcher and Lofty Holloway.

Arthur Fowler

Other characters that have been presented in the serial are ‘lost girls’, including characters such as Marv Smith and Donna Ludlow, criminals such as Many Salter, Stacey Slater, Jay Brown and Lola Pearce, villains such as Nick Cotton, George Peters and Trevor Morgan, bitches such as Cindy Beale and Janine Evans and cockney ‘wide boys’ or ‘wheeler dealers’ such as Frank Butcher, Alfie Moon and Kevin Wicks.

Lola Pearce

There are many different types of characters in the soap opera ‘Eastenders’. As Eastenders has been aired for 27 years, new characters are constantly being introduced. However, with our soap trailer, it will be difficult to get as many characters since it is just the beginning of the soap. Therefore, there cannot be as many characters shown in the trailer as this can become quite confusing for the audience. Nonetheless, as the soap progresses, this allows more characters to be added later on throughout the episodes.