Storyboard

These are my storyboards for my soap trailer, I have detailed the shot types, planned dialogue and also showcases the film in a chronological sequence, as oppose to the filming order, the storyboard showcases the original plan of the soap, the shot choices and editing tools are subject to change due to constraints or other innovation within the group.  



Soap conventions

Some stereotypical soap conventions are: 

- Dramatic Irony 

- Long-Running story lines

   - All main storylines in soaps usually span over 6-8 months to keep the audience atching, especially if they are particuarly interested in one of the characters.

- Deaths around Christmas

   - Every soap usually incorporates some form of death or tragedy around Christmas, this is used in soaps all year round as it makes the viewer feel better about their own lives.

- Unsuccessful marriages 

   - All marriages in soaps usually end in either divorce or a contraversial story i.e. A murder of huisband/ wife, very few relationships with older cast members last longer than five years.

- Close Encounters

   - Ronnie and Michelle from Eastenders, storyline ran for 6 months without Ronnie finding out Michelle was her daughter, eventually finds out then Michelle gets run over. 

- Contemporary issues 

  -Eastenders Referenced the death of Michael Jackson days after his death, filmed new scene to include this in a short time period.

Are soaps 'dumbing down'?

There is currently a debate as to whether soap operas such as Coronation Street and EastEnders are 'dumbing down'. Soaps are viewed by millions of people on a daily basis, some people are so engrossed in the story lines they see them as real life scenarios, but do soaps give a fair reflection on real life? Are audiences being fed mindless junk or realistic documents into the average day of people from Manchester and East London? I will discuss both social realism and argue for and against my hypothesis. 

Corrie.

For a fair reflection, I watched a 10 minute extract of Coronation Street, a soap set in rural Manchester.

All British soaps try to reflect social realism, they usually focus on the negative issues such as abortion, affairs and even extreme circumstances such as domestic violence. Soaps rarely focus on the positive aspects of social realism, however when they do focus on such aspects such as 'The joys of christmas' or weddings, the outcome is usually far from positive, this makes the show more interesting for the public, this is an example of where soaps do not meet social realism.

Soaps also try to reflect contemporary social issues which are effecting their viewers, say for instance when Michael Jackson dies, there was a mention in an episode of EastEnders. 

Soaps are supposedly following a trend of realism, this started with films such as Saturday night and Sunday morning in the 60's, people like looking on onto other people lives, usually those in a worse situation than they are, this is known as voyeurism; Looking at people with bigger issues will also make the viewer feel better about themselves.

Soaps are referred to as 'social-aesthetic' which means they show working class life in a dramatic fashion. 

The extract of 'Corrie' that I watched showcased social realism, however in a hyperbolic fashion. It showed extravagant relationship scenes in a 'love triangle' fashion whilst another lover was in prison, a possible scenario which is rather unlikely in modern society, the man who was the interest of many of these women was accused of GBH, this is yet again another extravagant aspect to the story. 

From a grammatical and lexical standpoint, the language used in the soap was simple, with basic, simple Lexis being used. The Mancunian accent was also prominent within all of the characters, adding to the realism of the setting. During an argument between two characters, no overlapping occurred, in a realistic argument 'butting in' is a common feature, however each character was allowed to finish their point without disruption, this was done by the scriptwriters so the dialogue was easily audible for the viewers, this is a possible example of dumbing down.

I will now look at the positive and negative discourse regarding soap operas:

Soaps are easy viewing which take no demand of intellect to watch and do not stimulate the brain.

Soaps trivialise social issues (Love triangle example above) 

Soaps encourage people to see life in a very simple way (No overlaps in argument) 

Encourage TV addiction (engrossed in storyline) 

People lose distinction between real life and soaps. 

Now some positive discourse towards soaps:

Soaps encourage us to reflect on our lives 

People understand that soaps are social documents (majority understand this) 

Early soaps can be used as a historical document (Coronation Street in the 1960's gave a realistic showcase of that time period with the setting and contemporary fashion of that time period) 

Soaps reflect social issues in a tasteful and responsible way. 

In conclusion, I feel as though soaps should be looked upon as social documents, not true reflection of real life. I also feel that soaps are still as intellectually stimulating as they have been since they began in the 1960's, a majority watch them for simple entertainment, this meets the uses and gratifications theory as people watch them for enjoyment and for social reasons 'did you see Corrie last night? God that GBH bloke with all those women.'

Levi Strauss: Binary Opposites

Levi Strauss created a theory that every aspect of a show has a binary opposite, an easy way to remember this is to use jeans, the left leg may resemble one aspect, the other leg will resemble the other aspect. Some common binary opposites are: Light/ Dark, Cold/ Warm, Hot/ Cold, Est/ West, Good/ Bad etc.




To relate this to soaps, we can look at binary opposites, as I mentioned in my previous posts, the binary opposite of Hero/ Villain. However, this theory could relate to may aspects of soaps. A transition from Rich/ Poor, Unemployed/ employed, even simple opposites such as men/ women.

Media Theorist: Vladamir Propp

Vladamir Propp was a Russian theorist who analysed old Russian folk stories. His theory pondered that there is 8 possible character roles in each story: I will look at each of these character roles and relate them to a soap character.

1. The Villain

Archie Mitchell

Archie Mitchell (right) is regarded as one of 'Eastenders best baddies' he bullied his daughters, threatened his wife and caused outrage amongst soap viewers, Eastenders always has a villain and each running storyline usually features a character similar to Archie.











2. The Hero

Peggy Mitchell

This is traditionally a male character in old folk films, however in a world of androgyny it is now just a brave and courageous person, all soaps will have a hero who usually smites the villiain and ususally end their run in the show, the polar oppisite to Archie Mitchell would be Peggy Mitchell, the wife of Archie who kicks him out of the square.


3. The Donor

The donor is the supplier of an essential object in the story, depending on the storyline in a soap this could be any character they are usually close to the hero (either a relative or have a link between the hero and the villain) they usually know a secret, making the essential object verbal rather than a physical object. 


4. The Helper. 

In The Act: Den and wife+ 'The Helper'

A character who aids the hero, like a sidekick in superhero films, they may also be the donor who supplies vital information, a certain storyline which springs to mind when thinking of a helper is the demise of previous EastEnders villain dirty den, Cat and Den's wife murdered him and buried him in the 'Vic'.




5. The Princess. 

Again, this is not a literal meaning, it could be the object that the hero is trying to protect, or the object of the villains deeds, in a literal sense, this could be Princess Peach from Mario or Maid Marian from Robin Hood. The princess of soap storyline could be a child that a couple is trying to earn custody of, a house in the same circumstance or even something as simple as respect from other members of the soap community.








6. The Father Of The Princess.


This would be the person who gives the object to the hero/ villain, the villain will very rarely win in the long run, however they may have short term gains as most soap villains are manipulative and anger the viewers as they make other cast members look stupid as they are aware that the villain is evil, however the other people in the soap are not aware of this. 


7. The dispatcher. 


This is the character who sends the message or the 'gossip' on the soap, every soap has a cast member who will tell secrets to others, they are usually older women such as Dot from EastEnders who get joy from telling secret to their friends. 

8. The False Hero. 

The False Heroes

False heroes are common in soaps, they are usually working with the villain in some way and look to 'aid' a character in need, in EastEnders Dotty Cotton and her Father were looking after Dot (above) but were actually trying to kill her as she had left them money in her will and they were trying to exploit her trust, they were looking like heroes as they were looking after their old relative. However, they initially had no good intentions. 

Casting

When we had decided on roles of characters, we immediately began the casting. For the majority of the characters, we were looking for teenagers aged between 16-20, this will relate to the demographic as they will be of a similar age to the characters. However, we also want a mixture of adults and show how each age group intergrates in a community. We aim to have around 10 characters in the trailer, 7 teenagers and 3 people between the ages of 30-50.

We hope to have a conclusive cast selected in the next few days.

Soap Trailer examples

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNeTwF8aA-c

This teaser trailer shows fast paced editing paired with powerful, gripping music, this is a feature I would like have in my trailer, but on a longer time span, for example, the drug scene may have this high pace ad will be in sync with the fast drumbeats up-tempo bass, for the slower scenes, I will have more emotional and slower editing, for example the drunk scene where the man is looking at a picture of his child, this will emphasise the emotion within the trailer. Paired with this will be drawn out, extensive shots to set the initial scene of the trailer.

Media Theories: Cultivation theory

On October 30th 1938, an American radio show broadcasted a radio episode entitled 'War of the worlds' a Halloween special radio broadcast in the style of a 60 minute news bulletin claiming that aliens were coming to earth and the 'end was nye'. Thousands upon thousands of listeners tuned in for the faux apocalyptic story, many people fled their homes into bunkers, anxiety and panic was rive amongst the american population, many claiming they could smell poison gas and see flashes of lightning in the distance. The listeners had missed the initial part of the story claiming it was fictional, as a more popular radio broadcast was occurring simultaneously, it was reported that 1.2 million people were 'genuinely frightened' by the broadcast. This is a prime example of the cultivation theory, showing that audiences are vastly influenced by the media, however not always to this extent, this example showed the extremities it can have on the general public.

Media Theories: Hypodermic theory: Bulger Murder influenced by Childs Play 3?

In one of the most horrific news storys of the 20th century, a two year old boy was murdered by Jon Venables and Robert thomas (top left) both of whom were aged 10 at the time of the killing. They were thought to be from a bad upbringing, with alcohol, drugs and abuse riddling their home lives, they were allowed to do what they want, go where they want and watch what they want. It is thought that before they killed Two year old Bulger they had watched Childs Play 3 and were influenced by a particular scene in a fairground, in which a rollercoaster was a constant threat to both the protagonist and antagonist. In the end, Chucky is badly burnt and disfigured before he falls onto the roller-coaster tracks, James Bulger has beaten, burnt with battery acid, punched before being left on a train track, it is thought that he was dead before any trains had used the track, from this, it is clear to see that the two ten year old boys had severe mental issues and were possibly influenced by this film.

Media Theories

This year, we will be focusing on 6 media theories, these being:


1.The Hypodermic Model

'Media injects ideas/ thoughts into the viewers mind' I will make a separate post discussing this theory with an example, this being the Bulger murder case, this will be paired with copycat theory with the same example.


2. Cultivation theory


Shows that the audience gain a lot of knowledge from the media. I will make a separate post with a prime example of this theory. This could also bee seen as brainwashing/ manipulation. As the media has such a large impact on society this theory could be abused as it was with old radio broadcasts, I will discussi this in further detail in a later post.


3. Desensitisation


Where audiences have been exposed to excessive violence/ gore/ sexual content and become less sensitive to the topics in the film/ video game industry. This has been much more prominent in recent years, for example in the 70's/ 80's many more films were being cut for violence and excessive gore than today, this is due to audience change.


4. Copycat Theory


Where audiences 'copy' what they see, with such violent/ graphic films as Human Centipede 2 and Crash, if they were to be imitated it is extremely important that they are banned as it could have catastrophic circumstances. This theory suggests that people will do what they see, this would be a huge concern for parents if their children watch a horror/ psychological thriller.


5. Uses and gratifications


The uses and gratification theory discusses what the audience gain from the media, I show the 4 sub categories and a few examples below.


 Information:
-Finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the     world.
-Seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices.
-Satisfying curiosity and general interest.
-Learning; self-education.
-Gaining a sense of security through knowledge.
 
 Personal Identity:
-Finding reinforcement for personal values.Finding models of behaviour.
-Identifying with characters. 
-Gaining insight.
 
Integration and Social Interaction:
-Empathy.
-Identifying with others.
-Looking for topics to converse with friends about.

-Helping to carry out social roles.

 
 Entertainment:
-Escaping, or being diverted, from problems.
-Relaxing.
-Getting enjoyment.
-Emotional release.
-Sexual arousal.



6. Reception analysis and ethnography


Media audiences are seen as active producers of meaning as opposed to passive viewers are the hypodermic model suggests, this theories shows that different people take different aspects from a film due to their race, social class, upbringing etc.  This means that the viewers will have a unique/individual response to a media text as opposed to a one minded passive view. Life experiences of the viewer will also impact this, for example, a girl who was raped will have a stronger view against rape being glorified in films such as 'Last house on the left' as opposed to a viewer with no experiences of such occurrences.

Eastenders Extract

I have analysed an extract of Eastenders, I have mostly focus on the soap stereotypes and conventions, this will help me with my soap trailer as I have not watched soaps for several years, I have started to watch shows such as Hollyoaks and Eastenders occasionally, I have been looking at the stereotypes/camerawork in these, the extract was around 10 minutes long.

-          A common feature in Eastenders is the diagetic music in the café, they usually represent a change in scene, a non diagetic ‘train’ sound occurs then a cheery song plays in the café, usually a popular song at the date of the show being filmed.

-          Shot reverse shot is also a common camera shot within soaps as the majority of the content is conversations between characters; this was most prevalent with Bianca and Whitneys conversations.

-          Whitney and Bianca are discussing a continuous storyline which has been ongoing for around 2 months, however I was able to pick up on the storyline very quickly, this is key for soaps as some people drift in and out and don’t watch them every day, the family conflict is also stereotypical of their lower status.    

-          There is a wide array of ages in the Eastenders, from a 4 year old girl who did not meet the stereotypical character for her age, she was plotting the death of her grandmother for money with her father, however she did show some child like qualities when she saw a picture she drew for her father scrunched up into a ball, she was then seen crying later in the extract and her father lied to her about it. This scene also shows the 80 year old Dot, this is a great example of the age range within the show.

-          There was also no preference on race, with a a Muslim and Nigerian family being key to the show, this scenario is common in real East London, with many immigrants living in the city, this adds to the realism of the show, religious issues are also prominent with a current storyline being the gay marriage of a Muslim boy, however his parents are disowning him as he is against his religion.

-          Natuiralistic and simple editing is also a convention within the show, jump cuts were used frequently. Fades/ dissolves and transition would take away from the realism of a soap, this is why non-diagetic music is rarely used, however in soaps such as neighbors and Home & Away, non diagetic music is used. In my opinion, this takes away from the ambience and realism of the show. Naturalistic lighting is also common,  this also adds to the realism.