A2

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St. Paul’s Catholic College
Center Number: 64700
Candidate Number: 6476
Candidate Name: Liam Quinn
A2 Media Studies
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio in Media –
Production Log
Evidence of Planning & Research

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Aims and Objectives
 AO2 – Assess candidates’ application of knowledge and
understanding in evaluating their own work, showing
how meanings and responses are created.
 AO3 – Assess candidates’ ability to plan and construct
media products using appropriate technical and creative
skills.
 AO4 – Assess candidates’ ability to undertake, apply and
present appropriate research.
Brief Chosen
A 45 second – 1 minute 30 second trailer for a NEW Soap Opera
that will be exhibited on at 8:30pm (after Eastenders)
that will appeal to a Male and Female audience.

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Contents
Textual Analysis
 Eastenders
- Soap Opera Codes & Conventions
- Multi Strand Narrative
 Coronation Street
“..the home, the family, domestic tribulations and the strong woman, and as
such, it has long been said to appeal to the female viewer”
‘Masculinity and Popular television’ – Rebecca Feasey (2007)
- Is this evident and how is this presented to the audience?
Research
 Purpose of a Trailer
 Multi-Platform promotion
 Textual Analysis – Coronation Street and Hollyoaks
Deadlines – Production Work
Filming Dates: 4th-20th December
Edited Trailer – Complete: 16th Trailer
Promotional Poster – Complete: 4th February
Promotional Magazine Cover – Complete: 3rd February
Evaluation – Complete:
Production Work
 Director – Roles & Responsibilities?
 Producer – Roles & Responsibilities?
 Institution research – BBC Two

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Soap Opera Codes & Conventions – Lesson 2
1) What are some of the Codes & Conventions of this genre?
Soap Opera
Cliffhangers to engage and
almost persuade the
audience to watch the next
episode, this is a great way
to attract larger audiences.
In this genre I would
expect the dramatic
events to make it more
interesting.
There should be many
events within the series
that would relate to the
viewers.
They are usually targeted
at working-classed
housewives.
I would expect there to
be a large cast for all
soap operas. This gives
the soap opera a chance
to create multi-stranded
narratives
I would normally
expect the
characters to be of
a working class
Normally in soap
operas stories are
continued over
many episodes to
keep the audience
engaged
‘Disequilibrium’s’
during each episode,
dramatic scenes.

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2) Codes & Conventions of the Soap Opera Genre
The Soap Opera genre can be categorized by the ‘repeated’
(Steve Neale ) elements of:
1. Romance
2. Family Relationships/conflicts
3. Focus on working class communities
4. Antagonism and conflict within the community
5. Realism and ideology
Eastenders (1985 – Present)
Key information regarding this text:
 Exhibited on BBC1 and repeated on BBC3
 One of the UK’s highest rated programs (Averages 6 million per
episode).
 Set in the “kitchen sink” setting of the fictional Walford, East London.
Textual Analysis Task
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye51O8WBVVM&feature=related -

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In your opinion, according to Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities, what is the
target audience for Eastenders?
Age 20-50 year olds
Gender Both male and female
Nationality British
Trailer 1)
What is the Focus of this trailer?
To entertain the audience and encourage them to continue watching the episodes as they
are released.
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
In this trailer there were
no romance to be seen
because it had focused
entirely on the death of a
young girl. In the trailer
there were many
different actors and
actresses who looked
very shocked, a main
actor which is Max was
also presented to be a
little bit teary which
connotes sadness and
grieving.
Hartley’s seven subjective – Age – The romance
in this episode has been replaced with a
dystopian setting of Lucy’s Death. The audience
may have felt for the fact that Lucy was a young
person who is either in the early 20s or late
teen years, which brings sadness as she has
died at a young age. I think it was a good idea
that this particular story has happened in
Eastenders as it has created controversy across
the entire audience as nobody knows who
actually done it. Max was presented to seem
emotional in the trailer as he was having a affair
with Lucy in Eastenders.
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
The diegetic verbal code
of one of the characters
saying “You Killed Lucy”
Katz – Inform and Educate - This quote allows
the audience of Eastenders to learn something
new. It can also be seen to be a cliffhanger as we
don’t actually know who the antagonist is, this
may be something the audience want to find out
which they have now been encouraged to watch
the following episodes in order to find out.
Focus on
working class
communities
Eastenders and this
trailer is mainly based on
working class
communities, for
example, Shirley
appeared to be in the
Katz diversion, the audience can relate to the
community and the reality of the situation. The
choice of having a working class community in
this Soap Opera has impacted many lives as it
shows that although you may be situated in a
low economically developed area, you can make

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pub. a life for yourself by creating links and working
your way up.
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
There are many flash cuts
in the trailer, which is an
example of a multi-
stranded narrative.
Maslow – Survivors – The audience are
captivated by all of the different narrations that
have been displayed in the trailer. They have
escaped from reality and adapted themselves
into the many narratives of this trailer.
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
The disequilibrium in the
trailer is the storyline of
how there has been a
murder in Albert Square.
This is a dark story line
and has been presented
with the many flash cuts
to portray the
There is a murder in
Albert Square and flash
cuts are used to portray
how the characters are
shocked.
Hartley – It appeals to all audiences who enjoy
dramatic excitement in a soap opera trailer. But
I would think that relates to a lower class
instead of a medium or high class. The
disequilibrium in the trailer creates a deep
impact on the audience due to the opportunity
of becoming social climbers (Maslow) as this is
a major story in this Soap Opera.
Trailer 2)
What is the Focus of this trailer?
To inform the audience about the return of a character
Code
&
Convention
Evidence
(Verbal, Non-Verbal,
Technical)
Impact on the Audience
(Katz, Maslow, Hartley)
Romance
A character is presented
to be in a wedding dress,
which causes Phil to give
lustful looks to her as if
he is shocked.
This could be female gaze as the character that
is presented to be in the wedding dress looks
attractive to the male audience. Personal
identification (Katz) is used to relate to the
female audience as they may have experienced
being in a wedding dress which could bring
back good memories for them.
Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Phil and Sharon look at
each other in shook as if
they don’t believe it. This
could cause conflict in the
future.
Katz- personal relationship – Sharon has been a
star in Eastenders for many years and has now
appeared to come back to the soap opera after
taking a break. This would relate to Kat
personal relationship as the audience may feel
as if they had built a relationship with her over
the years and will know what she is capable of.
Focus on
working class
In the trailer you can see
people come out of pubs
and shops, which
Katz – Diversion – Because the soap opera
seems real with all the shops and the huge
community it get actually pushes the audience

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communities presents this, is a
working class
community.
to immerse themselves into the soap opera.
“Multi-Stranded
Narrative”
There could be a multi-
stranded narrative as
everyone stares at
Sharon as if they have
past experience with her.
Katz – Inform and educate – In the soap opera
there is a voice over “There is a storm coming”.
This voice over may connote that this time
round Sharon may be the antagonist
‘Disequilibrium’
(Todorov)
Everyone looks in shock
as Sharon. This indicates
that she may be a big
problem to other
characters.
Hartley – It can help entertain both genders of
the audience as they have now seen a past
actress return. A small portion of the audience
may also see Sharon as a self image of their
selves. This may be because of many different
reasons such as they may feel as if they
intimidate other people because of their
presence.
Multi-stranded narrative
A Multi-stranded narrative can be defined as…
Telling a story from more than one person’s point of view. Telling multiple stories about
multiple characters in an open narrative episode for example.
Code & Convention Evidence Impact on the audience
 Multi-stranded
narrative
Flip from different
storylines consistently.
Give the audience different
stories to stay engaged with
the trailer. This may signify
(De Saussure) and develop a
desperation in the
audiences eyes to keep up to
date with the episodes.
 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Sister rushes to help brother
who had a crash. Complex
relationships.
Ensures the audience that
there is hope for Sharon.
The audience may be
resulted to be ‘caregivers’
(Maslow) in this situation as
they are feeling sorry for
Sharon.
 Focus on working
class communities
Pub – setting – Seems to be
one of the main areas for the
cast to hang out at as it is a
place to have fun or get
together.
This is a stereotype, which
most viewers would expect
to happen. This is also
because some viewers may
relate to this behavior (Katz
–Personal Identification),

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Young Pregnancy is an issue,
which is presented in
Eastenders to create
dramatic affects.
Slang, which is stereotypical
behavior for young adults
and teenagers.
which will engage and
attract their attention. The
pub may be a place where
some of the audience can go
to meet up with their
friends, for this reason, this
particular aspect of the
trailer impacts them.
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov) Emergency appears in most
episodes - Sharon on the
floor.
Katz – Diversion -
Cliffhanger engages
audience and makes it
interesting. However, this is
a disequilibrium as it is a
dark time for the characters
in this soap opera. They
have to deal with another
friend collapsing which may
connote that there may be
an antagonist that is causing
all these disasters.
 Romance Phil is trying express his
love to Shirley.
Maslow – Survivors – The
viewers will now have
information to spread which
could increase their
popularity. This also could
relate to the Katz theory
with the whole personal
identification as the viewers
may have experienced a
time where they have
attempted to impress
someone.
Soap Opera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson 3
Textual Analysis
According to Rebecca Feasey in ‘Masculinity and Popular television’ (2007), the Soap
Opera genre tends to focus on:
The home, the family, domestic tribulations and the strong women’s, and as such, it
has long been said to appeal to the female viewer.
1) – Do you agree?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8_ApPT6isY (First 5 minutes)

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Code & Convention Evidence Impact on the audience
Rebecca Feasey (2007) Ideology:
1. Grown family as the episode starts. The family (Hartley) is presented to be in
their home where they are most comfortable, it may be a bit stereotypical as the
female gender is represented to be cleaning up
2. Mothers are strong (Feasey) and demanding, this is unstereotypical in the real
world as the male gender would usually be the aggressive and dominant one of the
two genders.
3. Stereotype of mothers, washing up, teen girl confronts mother. This aspect is
presented in many different soap operas, this is the act of repetition (Steve Neale).
4. Young female character seems helpless and in a bad time and thanks shopkeeper.
The world ‘funeral’ is mentioned, this is a dystopian setting as it is a time where
friends and families come to see their love one buried.
5. The word trust is mentioned and puts the older lady under pressure. The
audience may therefore start to care (Maslow) for this old lady as trust has been put
with her.
“Multi-Stranded Narrative” Transitions from different scenes. Grown family at
start, Mother and young daughter, shop keeper and
customers. The words funerals and crime scene were
also mentioned which could link to other stories.

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 Family
relationships
and/or conflict
Conflict between brother and sister, “shut it”, Mother of
family is the controlling and anti-stereotyped to be the
alpha. Young female pleads for help in shop. This will
be personal identification (Katz) for the audience as
they may have brothers and sisters that they possibly
don’t get along with.
 Focus on working
class communities
Town Setting – Gossip, conflict.
“Beef” between the mother and children.
Disequilibrium’ (Todorov)
Conflict between some characters, makes it engaging
and amusing for the audience. This could be binary
opposition in the trailer as the characters don’t seem
to get on well with each other.
 Romance Young lady talks about her past relationships and how
they have not worked out well for her. The audience
may feel sorry for her which means they will
sympathise for her (Maslow)
 Other Themes &
Issues represented:
There is a stereotype seen in the trailer where the
mother of the family is seen washing dishes which
could be related to housewives.
Soap Opera Codes & Conventions continued – Lesson 4
Textual Analysis
1) What is the purpose of a trailer?
The purpose is to advertise and promote the film/series before it is released. In the trailer
there are highlights of what the episode will be like, this is done to entice the audience and
possibly encourage them to watch the episode once released.
2) What are the benefits of Multi-Platform promotion of a media text?
There are many benefits for when a soap opera tends to distribute promotional media to
their audience. This is done so that they can captivate a large audience to then increase
the popularity of their soap opera. Usually the soap opera is promoted through many
different medias, whether it is print media such as posters and magazines or online media
like the trailer.
Ultimately, some form of Convergence is important when promoting a text to the
target audience.

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3)
Textual Analysis –
Multi stranded narrative –
Switches from a guy staring at lady, possibly a strange relationship.
Two people getting married, seems to be main story.
Equilibriums such as Becky seems to be enthusiastic and disequilibrium’s where
Steve looks as if he has something to hide, this is foreshown by his nervousness.
Character Dilemmas –
Marriage
Shot reverse shot between Steve’s mum and man, could be jealousy.
“The perfect date for a coronation street wedding”
The symbol of the characters having their symbol crossed could be a sign for hope
and possibly the fact that something could go wrong.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hollyoaks/4od
The above link will take you to some of the latest episodes of Hollyoaks.
1. What are the connotations of the ident for the popular Channel Four Teen
Soap Opera Hollyoaks (1995 – Present)?
Teen conflict, possibly between boys and girls. Misandry and misogyny could be
presented. Journey of self discovery.
Next Page - Hollyoaks – “White Wedding Trailer” -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu2sW-r9Vb4

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Black suits and roses – this is dystopian and adds to the low key lighting setting of
the trailer, this connotes that there may be danger approaching the characters of
the trailer. In the trailer a non diegetic sound is used , ‘White Wedding’ is
mentioned, this is ironic for the audience as the characters are presented to be
wearing black, along with the black roses.
Dark black tears appears below the eye of the main character, this could signify (De
Saussure) that she is afraid. This is overlapped by the non diegetic voice over of “To
Love, Honour and Betray” this may suggest that the bride is going to be betrayed
after they are married. May be an example of binary opposition (Levi Strauss) of
how the groom and the bride may have they differences,
The bride appears to be pregnant in the trailer, this may connote that it is a
‘Shotgun Wedding’. This means that they are forcing the wedding to avoid
embarrassment of having a ‘bastard’ child.
“Little Sister” lyrics – possibly something bad has happened to her little sister or
something could happen.
The wave from the man with the glove on could connote “Goodbye to your life”. The
fact that he is wearing a glove could connote danger.
Production Work
1) What is the role of a Producer?
Oversee all aspects of the production across the 3 stages – Pre production,
production and post-production. Manage everyone and ensure everything is in
place for the text to look fit for purpose.
2) What is the role of a Director?
Oversee the creative aspect of the production.
Direct people in front and behind the camera
3) Institution research –
YOU MUST research the institution that your trailer will be exhibited on.
Tips: Programming, Target audience, Audience figures, History of the channel.
 The aim for BBC two is to launch ambitions and factual programs.

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 Their key is to appeal the viewer of ages 35-54 to reach out to a more
culturally diverse audience.
 The channels ethos are programs that are surprising, celebratory, witty,
warm, adventure, intelligent, playful, informative and authoritative.
 Week June 2nd 2014 – 8th June, BBC 2 reached a total of 3.2 million viewers.
 BBC Two was launched 20th April 1964.