As part of my research, I have used video search engine YouTube to be able to view a wider range of Soap Opera adverts that other students have created from different colleges. Below are a few examples of the ones that I have viewed:
Each one of these videos are fantastic examples of Soap Opera adverts, and have helped me expand from my initial ideas to create more of a variety. An example would be that I have realized that Soap Operas are based around drama - the more dramatic an advert, the more attention and audience ratings that the Soap is likely to attract. Due to the 'common' stigma that seems to be attached to Hull's accent, I have decided that I do not want any spoken audio to be used within my Soap Opera advertisement. Instead, I am going to use a song continuously throughout the duration. I've also concluded that storylines such as teenage pregnancy, and murder get used far too often, which so not to bore the audience, I am going to choose storylines that I feel my target audience will be able to relate too.
This TV trailer was broadcast across BBC channels promoting the soap opera Eastenders and the upcoming storyline of the return of one of Eastender's more fanous characters - Sharon. In the opening scene, a close up shot of the famous Queen Victoria pub can be seen via an establishing camera shot. A zoom then focuses on the Queen Victoria sign of the pub as the camera catches it in a close up shot. In the background, the dark grey clouds reflect that something negative is going to happen and is an example of pathetic fallacy being used. This also relates to the Rolling Stones song 'Gimme Shelter' being used as an example of non diegetic sound in the background, immediately gripping the audience with suspense as it is evident that something drastic is going to happen. By using the Queen Victoria In the second shot a medium close up is used to capture Billy Mitchell struggling to get underneath an underpass as a way of shelter. The posters on the wall are barely there due to either being vandalised and ripped off the wall, or simply just worn away. This part of mise en scene adds to the dramatic mood of the advert which it is trying to promote. The second shot quickly moves onto the third shot with a Range Rover 4x4 speeds around the corner before abruptly stopping. These type of cars are popular with people who are wealthy due to their expensive price tag. Because the audience of the trailer are unable to see who is driving the Range Rover, it adds to the mystery of the person driving (though Phil Mitchell is later found out to be the driver). The transitition to the next shot is an establishing shot of the famous 'Walford Market' which is famous from the soap opera. The establishing shot shows that disaster has already struck and caused chaos as people frantically run about, looking as though they are trying to find shelter. Another famous landmark of the programme; Ian Beale's chip shop - is also featured in the promotional trailer as Ian's daughter Lucy (an employee at the chip shop) struggles to close the door, once again showing chaos which is likely to add to the audience's curiousity as to what is happening/going to happen. An establishing shot then shows then shows a hurricaine above Walford Square (Another famous landmark of the programme). The hurricaine is the most dominant part of the shot, therefore the focus is placed on the hurricane making it even more obvious to the audience that something is going to happen. The ending of the advert shows Sharon floating down from the sky in a wedding dress which causes the audience to think about what is going on etc. The use of costumes as part of mise-en-scene also portray the different personalities and styles of the characters within the programme. For example, Kat Slater is dressed in quite revealing clothes, which shows her flamboyant sense of personality etc.
The backing track, Billy Joel - White Wedding, has a sense of irony in the case that the fictional wedding of the storyline that they are promoting is far from a 'White Wedding'. In weeks prior to the wedding, the character who is getting married, Mercedes, has being having an affair with Carl; the father of Riley, the man who Mercedes is planned to marry. Despite this advert being shown in weeks before the wedding, the advert makes it clearly obvious to the audience that something bad is going to happen at the wedding. The Gothic style of the video with black clothing and dark lighting instantly suggests that negativity is about to pursue. A medium close up shot shows two of the characters dressed in black dresses walk across the screen, dramatically picking black petals/confetti from the bowls that they are holding, before throwing them to the ground. The next transition is a close up of Carl and Riley as Carl places a flower into the button hole of his suit, and this point, everything looks as planned. At twenty seconds into the promotional video, a medium close up of Jackie, Doug, Warren, and Mitzee shows Mitzee smiling at the camera, but the smile is quite clearly false. The camera then cuts to an extreme close up to show the porcelain doll that she is holding smash to the floor and shatter. As Mitzee is aware of the affair that is happening between Carl and Mercedes behind Riley's back, this could be interpretated as Mitzee telling Riley about the affair, and therefore 'shattering' the wedding.
This is a trailer promoting an upcoming episode and storyline of Hollyoaks. The storyline running upto the episode featured Will and Dodger Savage, both characters who are brothers, and who's characters are very different to each other.
Dodger is seen as being a massive flirt, and a bit of a 'ladies man' towards the majority of the female characters within the soap opera. Whereas Will is the complete opposite and is quite shy and quite timid, but is also quite intelligent too.
After finding out the family were having financial difficulties, Will decides that he is going to host a themed party that will hopefully raise some money. Dodger however, doesn't believe that Will is capable of this, and sets him a challenge.
The opening scene of the advert is of Ash and Sinead running with their backs towards the camera. They are dressed in quite a formal way, though the white colours of their clothing suggests something 'pure' and 'simple', which would reflect the enchanted forest themed party, which you would expect a child to enjoy, not people who are teenagers or older.
Ash's hair is white and quite fluffy too, which could be a signification towards the song 'Stealing Sheep' as her hair is similar to the wool that you would find on a sheep, and also something that you might be expecting to find at an echanted forest themed party too.
The next shot then focuses on three other characters Barney, Scott and Rob running down a slope. The high angle shot of the camera makes them look smaller than they actually are. In the soap, the three characters are all quite immature, and by making them look smaller, this could be a way of representing this.
One of the next shots is a long shot of Dodger passing a hammer to Will, to hit one of those attractions you'd find at a fair were the aim is to get it to hit the top so a bell rings.
A medium close up of Dodger is the next camera shot, were he looks quite smug as if it suggest that Will is not capable of doing it. This too could reflect the reaction of Dodger when Will told him his plans to host the Enchanted Forest party.
After the camera shows Will hitting it, and successfully making the bell ring, the camera then focuses onto Dodger again were he looks quite suprised, and then returns to a long shot of both Dodger and Will, were Will too looks quite suprised that he has managed to do it.
The next part of the advert focuses on the storyline of Brendan, Ste and Doug, were both Doug and Brendan fancy Ste, and Ste seems to be stuck inbetween both of them - another storyline which was present at the time of the enchanted forest themed party.
A medium close up is focused on Brendan who is stood in the centre of the merri-go-round, leaning back against the centre of it with his arms closed. Brendan's character is quite an evil character, and doesn't really open up about his past, or anything in general really, which could be represented by having his arms closed. A close up is then of Ste who seems to be enjoying himself whilst riding on the merri-g-ride, which then swaps to high angled medium close up on Doug who is putting his finger across his mouth as a way of possibly silencing Brendan, though the high angled shot makes him seem smaller, and in some way inferior to Brenddan. The next shot is of Bart who is wearing a a hare's mask, jumps from a settee and then proceeds to flip a table up so the contents of the table go everywhere. This could have a reference towards the March Hare in the fictional story of Alice in Wonderland. Bart's storyline at the time of the advertisement was that he was growing cannibis in the loft of his house, and as it was rumoured that the writer of Alice in Wonderland was on drugs at the time of writing the story, then this could be referred too as part of the 'Mad Hatter's tea party'.
Whilst this advert will be mainly aimed at the fans of the soap opera, the fun theme of the advert may also be appealing to people who watch Channel Four were the advertisement would be advertised.
The lighting is quite humid - not too light, nor too dark. This prompts a reflection of the mellow style of music that is being used in the background. Nothing seriously dramatic is happening in the advert, and there is no suggestion of any 'gritty' storyline upcoming in the near future which promotes a positive optimistic perspective from the audience watching it.
Soap Operas haven't always been on the TV - they used to be broadcast on the radio when they first came around in the 1930's. Some years later, after the TV had been released, manufacturers of household cleaning products saw a gap in the market and decided to create their very own soap operas which is how the term 'soap opera' came about. In 2012, we're still watching Soap Operas as their popularity is still high, and I'm certain that this will continue for many years to come. The main Soap Operas that we have that are broadcast in the UK are shown on all the main TV channels. > Eastenders - BBC. > Coronation Street - ITV. > Emmerdale - ITV. > Hollyoaks - Channel 4. > Home and Away - Channel 5. > Neighbours - Channel 5. They're meant to portray a sense of 'Working Class Life', though the realism of this can be questionned. The community spirit that each soap opera has is meant to reflect the neighbourhoods that we live in - but this too can be criticused. There are different storylines that the Soaps focus on; some good, some bad. But storylines can also raise awareness. The storyline in Eastenders of Witney getting abused gave courage to people in reality who are also suffering, and let them know that help can be given. Statistics suggest that the number of people reporting such crimes surged dramatically at the time of the storyline, and is still a continuing trend. Audiences of Soap Operas like suspense - and by leaving an episode on a cliffhanger, viewers are then more likely to return to watch the following episode to find the result of the 'cliff hanger'.
