independent textual analysis

Soap Opera Genre –

Independent Textual Analysis

Name: Claire OlneyCandidate Number: 1186Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

Trailer 1 – Eastenders - https://youtu.be/MCxWF9Kr3gQ

Verbal Codes – Comment on the use of Dialogue, Voiceover, Sound Effects or SoundtrackNon-Diegetic Voiceover: ‘Does he know?’ ‘Not yet’ – said in whisper tones, which connotes secrecy and a sense of fear due to the fact that the audience is able to see the person being talked about listening in on the conversation. This foreshadows that something bad is going to happen in the series, like a potential act of violence or death. Diegetic Dialogue: ‘I can’t do this’ – immediately draws the audience’s attention to what she cannot do, could connote some kind of involvement in a crime or wrong-doing. However it is revealed shortly after that it is in fact ‘the wedding’, but it still causes the audience to want to find out why she ‘can’t do this’.Diegetic Dialogue: ‘You are not going out that door!’ – said in a raised voice, thus connoting anger, and could lead people to believe that there will be an act of violence to occur, therefore making the audience want to watch it to find out what happens.Diegetic Dialogue: ‘I’m going to ring your father, and he can sort you out’ – the use of the phrase ‘sort you out’ is typically associated with someone doing something wrong, or it could even be interpreted as a violent act, as the soap opera is based in London. This could entice the audience to want to find out what the boy had done wrong, and also to find out what the father is going to do about it.Non-Diegetic Sound effects: Begins with a smash of a car’s wing mirror, which is caused by the boy who is evidently in trouble at the end, connoting that he is violent and he holds a hockey stick, which can be used as a weapon. Non-Diegetic Soundtrack: It’s the same track throughout the trailer, which has a steady beat to it, and quite a monotone sound to it, which connotes how the events coming up in the soap being shown in the trailer are negative, and potentially dangerous. It also creates a lot of tension, which the audience may also feel, which could put them on the edge of their seats. The dynamics of the beat begin to speed up slightly and a loud drum is introduced just before the woman says ‘You are not going out that door!’, which suggests that that particular part is the main focus of the text, and is very significant within the entire show.

https://youtu.be/MCxWF9Kr3gQ



Non-Verbal Codes – Comment on the use of Setting, Lighting, Costumes, Facial Expressions and CharactersSetting: The setting at the beginning is outside at night, where the boy smashes the car with a hockey stick. This connotes that the boy has bad intentions within the soap opera, and that he could be considered as an outcast from the other characters because of his violent behavior. He is also set inside the house, but he is peering round the door outside the room where people are talking about him, again connoting him as an alienated character due to his aggressiveness portrayed in the trailer. There is also a woman who walks into a house as someone is asking her ‘you’re getting married today?’, which ‘signifies’ (De Saussure) that she is running away from it because she may not want it. The woman drags her son into the room from the outside, which conveys how he’s isolated due to his attitude, so she may be trying to help him fit in in a way. Lighting: The lighting is low-key to begin with when the boy is causing destruction outside. This is because it is at night and also to connote the aggression of his character, and foreshadows how he will cause more destruction throughout the program. He is the only character viewed within the shadows and with low-key lighting, which portrays him to be a ‘villain’ (Propp) in the text, amongst other better behaved characters. Costumes: The woman saying that she can’t marry her fiancée is wearing black and he is wearing white. This therefore connotes how the woman potentially breaking off their relationship is in the wrong, and the man is seen as innocent in the situation and almost helpless. The young boy is seen wearing a black and white suit, which could be associated with a funeral of some sort, thus foreshadowing how there could be a death occurring in the soap. The woman who seems to be his mother, is seen wearing a light/pale coloured jacket over a dark dress, which could convey that she may seem innocent on the outside, but she may have dark secrets that she is hiding underneath. Facial Expressions: The young boy seems to carry the same, angered facial expression throughout the trailer, which connotes that he leads a troubled life, and struggles to find happiness within the soap, even after causing destruction. The woman who ‘can’t do the wedding’ has a very worried expression plastered on her face throughout, as if the idea of it bothers her constantly. Her partner, after finding out she may not be able to marry him expresses shock and sadness, conveying that it was completely unexpected, and it also connotes his love for her. The mother of the boy has an equally angry look to her son, which could suggest that her anger reflects on him in the program, and she may be the reason for why he’s so violent.





Technical Codes – Comment on the use of Camera Angles, Shot Types and Camera Movement & EditingCamera Angles: There is a high angle shot of the woman walking up the steps to meet the level of the camera, therefore becoming higher over the man at the bottom of the stairs. This connotes that she is rising above his status in the program, and is gaining control over the marriage situation. Shot Types: There is a close up of the man’s facial expression reacting to being told that his fiancée doesn’t think she can marry him anymore. This connotes how his reaction holds importance within the trailer, as it could potentially foreshadow an event to happen as a result of this within the soap.Camera Movement: The last scene is very zoomed out, to portray the mother’s unawareness of the potential act of violence that her son is going to commit towards her. This could suggest that she is completely oblivious to how aggressive her son really is, and everyone else including the audience can see this. The camera pans at the beginning of the trailer, to get a shot of the wing mirror of the car that has been aggressively removed, and then it pans towards the young boy who has caused the damage. The fact that this appears at the beginning of the trailer before anyone can see who it is, creates a slight bit of tension for the audience as it pans slowly, enticing the audience to watch it. The camera slowly zooms in to the boy to draw attention to his hurt and angry facial expression after hearing himself being talked about in a negative light. The fact that it zooms in slowly could again create some tension for the audience to see his initial reaction. Fast-Paced Cuts: There is evidence of various fast-paced cuts particularly at the beginning of the trailer, where the boy is destroying the car, and listening in on the women talking. This connotes the dynamic atmosphere surrounding him at this point in the soap, and how the storyline that revolves around him is action-packed and thrilling. Shot-Reverse-Shot: When the man and woman are talking and the woman reveals she ‘can’t’ do the wedding, the use of shot-reverse-shot is evident, which could connote how different and separate their points of view are, which demonstrates a divide between them to the audience.





Trailer 2 – Hollyoaks - https://youtu.be/Y9V-L5Tewi0

Verbal Codes – Comment on the use of Dialogue, Voiceover, Sound Effects or SoundtrackNon-Diegetic Voiceover: ‘This isn’t a secret, it’s a grenade, don’t blow this wedding apart’ – this connotes how the secret holds a lot of power and significance over certain characters in the soap. The fact that it’s described as a ‘grenade’ could impact other people who aren’t entirely involved or supposed to be involved in the drama. Also, by projecting this in the trailer causes the audience to watch it in order to find out what the secret is. Diegetic Dialogue: ‘No! I can’t do it anymore’ – this is portrayed to the audience in the trailer where the woman is being tightly gripped hold of against her will by a man, which entices the audience to find out whether she is in danger or if someone is attempting to help her in some way. Diegetic Dialogue: ‘You ruined my life!’ – this grabs the audience’s attention because they will want to find out what has happened to ruin the man’s life so significantly, as he shouts it, as if he is in some kind of pain from the events that have occurred. Diegetic Dialogue: ‘If he doesn’t turn up soon, there is gonna be no wedding, because it’s going to be his funeral!’ – the fact that the woman adds so much emphasis to the word ‘funeral’ implies that there could actually be some sort of a funeral to occur within the soap, whether she means it literally or not. It also draws questions to why the groom has not turned up to the wedding on time, or whether he will actually turn up at all.Diegetic Dialogue: ‘Hurry up and get me out of here’ – this is said in a whispered tone, by a man sitting in prison talking to an unknown character, which immediately connotes secrecy and deception, as well as foreshadowing more crimes to be committed. The fact that man is in prison immediately suggests that he is a ‘villain’ within the program, and he is still giving out orders to people, therefore suggesting his dominant role. Non-Diegetic Sound effects: There aren’t really any sound effects present in the soap apart from when the man throws everything off the desk, and when the door to the prison cell closes. The man throwing the objects off the desk connotes his angry personality, which could cause him to be viewed as a figure of dominance, particularly because he is a male. Non-Diegetic Soundtrack: There is a steady beat present throughout the trailer, which speeds up and becomes more dynamic when a man starts to destroy a desk by throwing objects around in a fit of anger. This conveys that after he loses his temper it causes the atmosphere of the program to plummet, which could suggest that his role is quite significant in the soap.

Non-Verbal Codes – Comment on the use of Setting, Lighting, Costumes, Facial Expressions and CharactersSetting: There is a particular scene in the trailer where two women are discussing a particular secret that needs to be revealed. This could suggest that they are being isolated from everyone else who isn’t aware of the secret, and by revealing what it is, is the only way they will be able to rejoin society with the other characters. The blinds are drawn closed when the man has a tantrum and throws things off the desk, which could suggest that he is trying to hide his true violent side, and he stands outside the church alone at the end of the trailer with cuts on his face, which connotes how he is unable to hide his violent nature in a way.Lightning: The majority of the lighting throughout is high-key, but there is elements of low-key lighting, particularly when there are people at their breaking points, who want to reveal secrets or ‘can’t do it anymore’. This could suggest that they have been put in this lighting as the secrets have been kept in the dark for too long, and they need to come to light, therefore causing the audience to want to watch the program to find out. Costumes: There is a man standing outside the church with fresh cuts on his face, which connotes that he has got in some form of trouble/danger, and it is unknown whether he is the cause of it or not. It could suggest that he is going to bring the danger with him to the wedding. The white in the wedding dress connotes purity and innocence, which could contrast with the anger and threatening attitude of the bride. Facial Expressions: There is a contrast between the bride’s facial expression throughout the trailer. At the beginning, she presents a very happy and joyful look, and then at the end of the trailer, she looks fiercely angry, which therefore draws questions from the audience as to what has happened to cause her to be so angry. The man being told that his daughter has been killed by someone holds a very concerned and unbelievable facial expression, which could create ideas that he is shocked to find out who exactly did it, or he may have only just found out that his daughter is dead. This therefore entices the audience to watch the soap to find out more.


Technical Codes – Comment on the use of Camera Angles, Shot Types and Camera Movement & EditingCamera Angles: There is a slightly high angled shot looking down at the man in prison doing push-ups on the floor. This suggests how the audience would view him as lower due to the fact that he is in prison, and is therefore at the lower status within society. However, the fact he is viewed over the edge of a bed could suggest that the audience also should feel threatened by him, and shouldn’t announce their dominance over him in terms of status. Shot Types: There is a long shot of the woman sitting on her own on the bathroom floor, which adds emphasis to how she feels completely alone in her current situation, which is supported by her asking ‘you’re not gonna let me down are you?’. This conveys to the audience that she is a character in the program who feels very alone and suffers from trust issues from her past.Camera Movement: There is a slow zoom in to the man’s face as he stands outside of the church looking very angry. This creates a sense of tension for the audience as they are unaware of what action he is going to take next, since he has evidently been in some sort of a fight with his bloodied face. The camera tilts from over the shoulder of the man standing outside of the church. This connotes how he almost has some kind of a challenge ahead of him, which lies within the church, and he studies it as if it is his prey. It could also be interpreted to intimidate him, as he looks up at it from a lower angle.Fast-Paced Cuts: The entire trailer in this case is structured using fast-paced cuts between almost every shot. This therefore conveys all the storylines presented within the trailer are equally action-packed, which in turn will make the audience want to watch the soap. Shot-Reverse-Shot: There are various confrontations between characters in the trailer, and the majority of them feature shot-reverse-shots. This could demonstrate a divide between the characters, but it could also be used to keep the pace of the trailer fast and keep the audience engaged.


Evaluation of Textual Analysis – Compare and Contrast

Trailer 1) – Areas of Strength and what you would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) or “exploit” (Abercrombie – 1995)I would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) the way that they have used low-key lighting in order to make some characters appear more ‘villainous’ in comparison to others viewed in a high-key lighting. I would also “exploit” (Abercrombie – 1995) the way that there have been voiceovers placed to make the conversation lead into another room, as the boy could hear them talking about him. However I would expand on it to change it to suit my own soap and storyline.

Trailer 2) – Areas of Strength and what you would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) or “exploit” (Abercrombie – 1995)I would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) the way that Hollyoaks have used a soundtrack which holds a steady beat throughout, and then introduces a strong and harsh dynamic when the trailer becomes violent. I would “exploit” (Abercrombie – 1995) the way that they have used the slow panning, zooming and tilting for a tense effect, but perhaps add more emphasis to it in some way.

independent textual analysis

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