Music

Ideas for the music for our soap trailer:

• Joman-Epedemic (Neucore Mix)-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uo9T8iI1ao
• 4String-Take Me Away (Neucore Mix)-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsKGeE5Awc8
• Non-Copyrighted Music Part 1-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMIDONPtCUE 
• Un-copyrighted Music Songs-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0PcBzNRrdg

We wanted a song that was quite modern in order to fit our young audience, we also wanted a song that was catchy and had a fast pace so that it fit with the style of our soap programme. 

We chose the 4th song on Non-Copyrighted Music Part 1-  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMIDONPtCUE

Evidence of filming

These photographs show our location that we filmed as well as the different camera angles and shots that we included in our filming. 

This photograph shows how we set up the equipment to use it accurately and effectively. 

These photographs show another location that we filmed. It also shows some of the characters that are in our soap trailer.

Characters in our soap trailer

This character is a teenager who is pregnant; she represents the young audience and demonstrates realism. This character would appeal to many young people as they may be able to connect to this character and engage in what they are going through.

This character is stereotypical of a 'thug'. He is a representation of a bully as his dark clothes connote fear and power. The other characters may see him as an enemy and the audience would recognise his characteristics perhaps in bullies in their own society. 

These characters represent a range of age. The girl is quite young whereas the grand parents are old. 

These characters represent the beginning of a new life; young mums will be able to identify with these characters. 

These characters represent a love triangle. This is the most common problem with teenagers, therefore most of the demographic will be able to relate to these characters the easiest.

Script: End voice over

For our end voice over we wanted a voice over that was quite powerful; leaving an impression on the audience's mind. We also needed the voice over to introduce the name of the soap as well as establishing it as brand new. It also needed to have which channel the soap was going to be broadcasted on.

Our idea for our end voice over:

"How would you survive a new life? Conway, coming soon to BBC1"


We chose 'how would you survive a new life?' as our strapline as it engages the audience and gets them involved in the basis of the new soap programme. All the characters are effectively starting a new life, which is evident in the soap trailer, and therefore we wanted the audience to think about how they would react to a new life.

Script: Voice overs

Ideas for our character voice overs:

• "looks like it's a new start baby"

This voice over is for Aleisha and Charlie when they arrive at the train station- the voice over implys that the young mother has run away in order to start a new life.  

• "ohhh!"

This voice over is for Helen when she realises that there is a problem with the baby she is carrying- the voice over implys that she is in danger. 

• "what is this?!"

This voice over is for Mark when he receives a picture of his girlfriend cheating on him with another woman- the voice over implys that he is angry and upset.

• "is this it?"

This voice over is for Cara when she arrives at her new home with her grandparents- the voice over implys that she is disappointed.  

• "i can't deal with this anymore"

This voice over is for Eva when she decides to run away from home- the voice over implys that she has had enough of her family or that she may be being bullied. 

Equipment

The equipment we need to film our soap trailer is:

• HD Video Camera
• Tripod
• Still Camera to capture production photos

Altered Production Schedule

We had to change our production schedule as we found out that another group had use of the HD video camera, and therefore we couldn't film what we had panned. The other group do not finish with the video camera until monday 28th November, and therefore we had to delay our filming.

Final Storyboard

Deadline

Our Deadline for the final product is the 16th December 2011

Characters and costume ideas

Mise-en-scene is crucial: every decision about costume reminds us about the type of people the characters are. These characters are from Eastenders and Hollyoaks and demonstrate typical stereotypical characters.

What channel should our programme be broadcasted on?

I think that our soap programme should be broadcasted on BBC as their is a gap in the market for a young soap on the BBC. The BBC is traditinally known for its famous soap 'EastEnders' which is aimed at the older audience and doesn't appeal to the younger audience. BBC3 is a channel aimed at the younger audience, however there are not any soaps aimed at this age group. So therefore, i think the soap should be broadcasted on BBC1 as it will get worldwide recognition and attract greater attention than if it were on a less significant BBC channel.

Research on advert for inspiration

I looked at the McDonalds Advert 2011 for inspiration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIiRwGWKjQA

I really liked this advert as it inspired me as i really liked the narrative of the story behind the advert. The guy is walking to mcdonalds and passes different places and streets. I liked this idea as it shows continuity and has a sense of destination; similar to our idea for our soap programme. This is why i am really enthusiastic about the guy riding past each scene on a bicycle as it shows a sense of continuity throughout the advert. I also liked the angles of the camera and shots, as well as the cuts, used in the advert as it is quite exciting and fast paced. The camera shots are slightly obscure; therefore not like a traditional soap programme and could may be targeted at a younger audience. 

Target Audience

Our Target Audience for our soap programme is the younger generation; tennagers/young adults aged 16-24 years old. Our soap challenges traditional soaps as it is not aimed at the older audience. Our soap will contain issues that relate to the youth such as sex, violence, alcohol and drugs, etc.

Our soap has been based around programmes such as 'Hollyoaks', 'Skins' and 'Shameless'.

Production Schedule

Friday 25th November

- Film the first scene of grandparents getting out of the car onto the street.
-Film pregnant Lihenna walking down an alley way with someone walking toward the street.


Sunday 27th November

-Film young people from the local ramps making their way towards the street.


Tuesday 29th November

-Film luci and charlie at the train station making their way to the street.

Rough storyboard for final idea

Final idea for new soap programme

Our new idea for a new soap programme has now changed. We decided as a group that we could film different groups/types of people making their way to a street. one group could be getting the bus, one could be getting off the train, one man could be walking and for continuity; we decided that a man on a bicycle should be in every scene that we shoot, showing that he is also making his way to the street.

Complications on idea for soap programme

When planning for our soap programme, we found that we wouldn't be able to get everyone in one street at the same time. Also, we were struggling to think of an idea for the flashbacks. Another complication was that we couldn't find people who would drive and someone who was pregnant and available the days we needed her.

Ideas for soap name: photographs

As a group we all selected these road names as possible names for our soap programme; we didn't notice that all the roads name we'd selected begun with 'c'. Before we took pictures for our name we had decided that we wanted a name that didn't sound too city-like, we wanted something that was refreshing and new, as well as a name that targetted a younger audience. We also wanted a name that had two syllables and that was quite catchy. Overall, we decided that we preferred 'conway' as it had a ring to it and sounded quite catchy.

Ideas for location:photographs

We took a photograph of this street as we maybe wanted to film a scene from our soap programme here. We liked this street as it is quite long and looks as if a lot of drama could happen here. 

We took a photograph of this train station as it is a public local place which could create a sense of community or it could be a meeting place for social activities. 

This location is a dead end road; i liked this location as it looks very secluded which is typical of a soap setting. It is also a modern housing estate which targets a younger audience and looks like a friendly neighbourhood which would attract lots of different families in the soap programme itself.

Theses two locations are also roads but they are main roads. As they are main roads they look slightly more dangerous which may suggest that the families and people in the soap are hostile and unfriendly.These photographs create a very urban feel of community.

This is a liitle woods area, we chose to photograph this as a possible location as it looks like a place where children would play to create their own world or den. We chose to target different audiences in the location photographs as we could later decide what age target audience we would want to make our soap programme for.

These three photographs are alleyways; we chose these locations are they are a symbol of violence and teenagers. They are quite secluded, meaning that anything could happen.

We took a photograph of a wide open field as we wanted a space that wasn't enclosed. We could film a fight here or children playing; or perhaps film something that brought the community together like a party.

Our last location photograph is also of a road. However, this road is really busy and would be set in a busy street or town/city. I think that stereotypical mums would live on this street and perhaps business people. This street feels alot more urban compared to the others.

Possible Character list

We created a rough charcater list for who we could use for people in our soap programme. We wanted stereo-typical people in our soap such as chavs, blondes, posh people, a pregnant lady, homosexual couple and obviously the main character. We wanted people from different ages, genders, ethnic origin and backgrounds.

Initial idea for new soap pogramme

This was a rough sketch for our first plot; a man walking down the street past groups of stereotypical people. He's either on drugs or he has been arrested by the police. As he walks past each group he has a flashback or incident that happened between him and them.

Initial idea for soap programme

Our first idea for our soap programme is to have someone, preferably a boy, walking down a street. He/she would have to walk past groups of stereotypical charcaters of a soap programme such as: pregnant women, chavs, sluts, matriachacal characer, homosexual and well as people from a different ethnic background. The man/woman walking down the street would either be on drugs or un handcuffs.

We then thought that as the main character walked past each of the groups; there could be flashback to him being involved with somethingwith them particular people.

Mindmap for initial ideas for a new soap programme

We made a mind map for our initial ideas for our new soap programme. As our soap is aimed at a younger audience of around 16-24 year olds we scheduled our soap to be on the TV at around 7pm on monday-thursday and the omnibus repeated on a saturday/sunday at 3pm. We thought that our soap could be broadcasted on BBC as the BBC have a gap market for soaps aimed at a younger audience. We thought about using stereotypical characters such as 'chavs', 'dumb blondes', pregnant women as well as having different people from different ethnic backgrounds. Originally we thought of having a fight or someone on drugs as the main idea of the soap trailer in the setting of a park or a pub. We also wanted the soap to be set in a small town or village; somewhere that would appeal to the younger audience. We want to use face paced cuts and obscure camera angles in our trailer to make it more refreshing and appealing rather than old fashioned. We also wanted the theme tune to be upbeat and energetic. Lastly, we really struggled on a name for our soap; we thought of road names like the soap 'Coronatiom Street' but we thought we would take photographs of signs for inspiration.

Launch Trailers

We looked at the original trailers for EastEnders and HollyOaks when they were due to be released as new soaps. The EastEnders trailer was traditional (a lorry driving around London with an advertisement for EastEnders written on the side and the classic theme tune) whereas the HollyOaks one was post modern and broke the verisimilitude (young group of characters from the soap talking about the programme in a studio setting; they acknowledged that it was something that was going to be put on TV rather than real life). 

Screen capture from a trailer for EastEnders, aired before the show began in early 1985.

In 1995 Channel 4 introduced Hollyoaks, a soap with a youth focus till this day (original cast from launch trailer for Hollyoaks)

Stock Characters in Soap Programmes

Often in soaps the stock characters are stereotypical; they have functions which we recognise them for. 


For example:

• The grandparent figure (matriarch)- a wise old person, usually female. This character helps others with their problems with advice and support. He/she has lots of contact with many of the other characters. Sometimes the character will not be related to any others, but will serve this function. For example: in EastEnders Pat Butcher who many marriages have left her with connections to almost everyone in Albert Square.
• The strong woman- an independent, powerful, aggressive woman. She can usually be found at the center of conflicts. Often, this hard, aggressive woman will be revealed to have a soft side that she keeps hidden. Usually it will be exposed by a new love interest whose sudden and inevitable departure in the future will only serve to make the woman even tougher than before. 
• Jack-the-lad- a male character that manipulates others to his own ends. often the stock 'baddie'. This character may become softened over time, and this often leads to him becoming the comic relief of the soap.
• Young couple- a couple that bravely face the difficulties of life through their own serious relationship problems. Too many to mention- every single British soap has had one set on the  go at any one time.
• Troublesome oldie- an older, grumpy, meddling, interfering character, always be with their nose in everyone else's business. For all their faults this character is still loved for their generally good intentions. The archetype has been created by Coronation Street's Violet Carson.
• Feisty young female- a strong-willed girl, almost always young, who desires independence. She is usually argumentative and miserable. 
• The boss figure- usually male, in a position of authority, either as landlord of the local pub or as owner of some other business that has an involvement in the lives of other characters. He continues his natural authority and leadership into his personal life. He has in the past been combined with the jack-the-lad character. 

Stock Characters in HollyOaks:

Thug:                                     

                
This can be associated with Vladimir Propp's theory that whatever surface differences there night be in the stories, it is possible to group the characters into character roles. 

Settings in Soap Programmes

• Workplace/Community place (e.g. a square) 
• Meeting place (e.g. a pub, cafe) -a place to be sociable and gossip. Major events from soap history have happened in these places as they are mentioned in practically every episode. Their important position in the soap makes them symbolic to the programme. 
• Individual homes- create realism, place for privacy and family interaction. 
• Most British soaps all tend to have a strong regional identity: for example, in EastEnders it is set in the East End of London and in Coronation Street it is set in Manchester. Although these soap programmes attract many viewers, especially those who live in the region, they also make the soap setting seem realistic.
• Soaps set in rural areas tend to have a smaller community and fewer characters than an urban setting.

EastEnders Settings: 

 Coronation Street Settings:

Can we read soaps as Social Documents?

Soaps are 'junk TV', easy to follow and limited in stimulation of the mind.

• Because soaps are 'easy viewing', they do not demand any intellectual activity on the part of the viewer. 
• Soaps are ridiculously far fetched, with an incredible number of incidents constantly happening to a small number of people. 
• Soaps encourage to see life in very simple, black and white ways.
• The tabloid press focus so heavily on events in soaps that people lose sight of the distinction between reality and television, characters and actors/actresses. 

However, defense of soap operas say:

• Soaps reflect the society in which we live and encourage us to reflect on our own lives and attitudes.
• Soaps are hugely popular because they are relevant to the lives of the audience.
• Soaps reflect social issues in a topical, challenging and responsible way, maintaining a balance between drama and realism.
• Soaps depict ordinary people, different genders, and people from different ethnic backgrounds in positive ways.

About the BBC

The BBC is the largest broadcasting organisation in the world. Its mission is to enrich people's lives with programmes that inform, educate and entertain.

It is a public service broadcaster, established by a Royal Charter and funded by the licence fee that is paid by UK households.

The BBC uses the income from the licence fee to provide services including 8 national TV channels plus regional programming, 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations and an extensive website.

BBC World Service broadcasts to the world on radio, on TV and online, providing news and information in 32 languages. It is funded by a government grant, not from the licence fee.

The BBC also has a commercial arm, BBC Worldwide. Its profits are returned to the BBC for investment in new programming and services.

Michael Grade was responsible for introducing stripped and stranded schedules to BBC television in his role as controller of BBC 1: from 18 February 1985 onward the schedule has consisted entirely of half-hour or one-hour programmes starting on the hour, or half hour (the BBC channels do not carry spot advertising).

Research on Soap Title Sequences

EastEnders     


Eastenders has had the same theme tune for the past 25 years. The drum beat at the beginning of the theme tune is the start of the interpellation; the audience recognise this tune as Eastenders. There is a picture of the Thames which is typical iconography of London. The theme tune repeats itself (almost as if it is on a loop) and it is very simple and easy to remember. It almost sounds like an orchestral piece and therefore sounds old-fashioned, perhaps representing the soap's long running history. The writing of 'EastEnders' is a serif font which looks casual and traditional; catching the audience's eye. There is also a BBC logo on the title sequence promoting the BBC as it has a good reputation for dramas. Overall, the title sequence lasts for 40 seconds running into the opening scene creating a sound bridge.

HollyOaks      


The colours, characters, music, pace of editing and style indicate that this soap is aimed at the younger generation contrasting directly to Eastenders. The music of the theme tune has been produced by much better technology and has also been synthesized. The title sequence is 1 minute and 10 seconds long including the 'previously' section. The title sequence has obscure camera shots and angles, fast cuts and is more visual, once again highlighting its target audience. It has a completely different narrative structure to Eastenders and follow Barthes' theory; gives the audience enigma codes so they can guess what will happen in the episode.