Stereotypical Characters used in Soaps (Academic Research)

The Grandparent Figure

A wise, older character. Male or female. This person usally provides advice and support to the soap's younger generation and family members. An example: Pat Butcher in Eastenders.



The Strong Independent Woman

This powerful, sometimes agressive woman can usually be found at the centre of the soap's conflicts. However a countertype quality is usually used where in some scenes she is shown to be soft on the inside of her hard nut image. Maybe shown if she becomes involved in a love interests, but dicipitates after a break up. For example: Kat Slater in Eastenders.



In our soap Bathwood Drive the character of Michelle Malone would fit this stereotype. She is the matriarch of the Malone family and is the rock that holds them all together.

Freida from our soap Bathwood

Jack-the-Lad

A male character that uses other people as means to his own ends, sometimes labelled as the 'baddie'. Over time he could be softened and used to include comedic humour within the soap. Such as Alfie Moon in Eastenders, he served time in prison but is also the shows main source of gaining laughs.



In Bathwood Tommy Bagwell would fit this stereotype. He is the comedic element when with his loved ones however he isn't afraid to get violent when Scott finds out about his affair with Michelle.

Tommy threatening Scott in our soap Bathwood


Young Couple

The puppy love storyline is a classic. Sometimes after facing adversity of being kept apart- maybe by their parents objections. A classic example of this would be Sonia and Jamie from Eastenders.




Feisty Young Female

A typical teenage girl, usually spoilt and argumentative, later in time she could portake the role of the Strong Independent Woman. For example Rosie Webster in Coronation Street.



In our soap Bathwood Freida Malone would fit this stereotype. She is the rebellious teenage daughter of the Malone family; represented when her drinking problem is hinted at in the soap trailer, with her passed out with a bottle of wine.

Freida from our soap Bathwood


Troublesome Oldie

An older, grumpy, humbug-type character, who is cynical and criticizes others. Stcking their noses into other people's business. However through their faults they are deep down good people. Such as Blanche in Coronation Street.



The Boss Figure

Usually a male in the role of authority. Sometimes the pub landlord or an entrepeneur of the local busniesses. He is like this in both his professional and personal life. Such as Warren in Hollyoaks.



In our soap Bathwood Barry Malone would fit this sterotype.He is the gambling business man, symbolised in the trailer with him shuffling a pack of cards with a determined facial expression.

Barry from our soap Bathwood

Soap Opera Conventions (Academic Research)

A soap opera is a dramatised programme which is aired in chronological order, often shown several times a week- all year round. Using the same core set of characters, locations and on-going plots that a dedicated fan will be able to follow through for months on end. When creating Bathwood we took this aspect into account and ensured that we had enough interesting characters for them to be involved in varied stroylines, as well as the potential to grow as individuals. As well as making them relatable for the audience by inclusing everyday issues as well as controversial.

  
Pubs from Right to Left: Eastenders: Queen Vic. Coronation Street: Rover's Return. Emmerdale: The Woolpack.

   Soaps generally have a well known logo and theme tune that changes as little as possible throughout the years. Bathwood follows this convention by obtaining a catchy melody throughout the trailer as well as using the bleak east midlands setting as an indexical reference for the pathetic fallacy of the soap.
   There tends to be set locations in soaps where the local people will meet up regularly and are the settings for the most important scenes such as public arguments, they tend to be Pubs (Queen Vic, Rover's Return, The Dog in the Pond). As is the main building for the Bathwood trailer, the Asfields pub serves as this particular necessity.
   Episodes tend to have one ongoing theme within each episode, in the first episode of Bathwood we feel the appropriate theme would be new beginnings and fresh starts. As it offers the chance to get to know the Malone family as they are in the process of reinventing themselves and therefore they won't be missing out on past events unless they are revealed through flashbacks etc.
   It is common to have special, extended episodes with riveting plots during holidays such as Christmas, New Year, or on Anniversaries (Coronations Street's recent 50th) of the show itself. Bathwood would stick to this convention as whilst it prides itself on being innovotive it would also be good nostalgia for the audience to be able to relate to television interperatations of events that everyone takes part in all over the country. Adding to the idea that soaps are windows on reality.

 
Special Edition Episodes: Eastenders Christmas, and Coronation Street 50th Anniversary.

   Cultural differences can also be seen as British soaps tend to be based around working class life (Eastenders) whereas American soaps tend to focus on the lives of the rich, glamourous lifestyles (Dynasty). In Bathwood we would include fair representations of all races and cultures fairly without falling into the traps of stereotypes, absent presence, present absence, tokenism, etc.

 
British vs. American Soap Operas: Everday family life opposed to upper class glamour

   Cliffhangers are often used to entice the audience back to watch the next episode, possibly ending with a close up of a character's anguished expression as the soap's theme song begins to play, indicating the end credits are about to appear. Bathwood has many storylines that could be used as cliffhangers whether it be the revelation of secrets or the impending consequences of a characters immoral actions.

 
Cliffhangers: Eastenders plotline of a car driven into a lake, character Phil Mitchell to the rescue.

   There are usually a maximum of four or five seperate stroylines per episode, just enough to keep the audience interested, but not so much that they lose track of what's happening. In Bathwood there are four main characters of all ages so the audience would be able to relate to atleast one storyline and then be introduced to other types of dilemmas in seperate parts of the plot. This is what is good about the soap opera media in that it opens people's minds to other ways of life away from their own.

Production Process

Detailed Treatment of Bathwood Drive Trailer

The trailer begins with low angle of the four main characters legs walking across a car park, we cannot yet see their faces so their idenities are currently anonymous, creating tension as the audience wonders who they are. A variety of angles are used to show the characters bodies walking as well as giving a more of a deatiled establishment of the location.

   There is then a side shot of Barry's face, this type of shot is usually used in more cinematic productions opposed to soap opers, challenging normal conventions and hinting to the audiences that this soap will be something new and fresh, providing a unique selling point.

   We then see a eye line close up shot of Barry's face, establishing his character's features, this is done when introducing the other three character's in this trailer, and helps the audiences to differentiate each of them. We are then provided with a long shot of Barry leaning against a brick wall playing with a pack of cards, the mise en scene in this shot hints to the backstory of Barry being a gambling addict.

   We are then introduced to the affair storyline, a mid shot shows Michelle and Tommy hugging, but then she pushes him away and runs off. Showing that their love is forbidden, as she runs away her voice saying "No!" echoes, which matches on action as the screen fades into the next shot.

   The next character's storyline is linked with the affair plot, helping the trailer to flow nicely. We see Tommy pushing Scott violently as he has discovered about the afffair. Showing the audiences that there is conflict between the families of this town. The deigetic banging sound of Scott hitting the wall emphasizes the level of violence that Tommy is threatening him with and alarms the veiwers.

   We then meet Frieda, a wide range of shots to accentuate the mise en scene are used such as seeing the wine bottle in the foreground and Frieda passed out in the background, hinting to her alcoholic nature.

   To finish the trailer wth the audience wanting more, we provide the main character of Barry staring directly that the camera intensely, connoting that there is much more to come in the story. The trailer finishes with a low angle shit tilting to show the Old Badger pub. The main meeting location of the soap and the Malone family's new home.

 The trailer then ends with the Bathwood Drive logo and non-diegetic sound of the soap's theme song, something that will become synonymous with the soap's reputation.

Design Process for 'Bathwood Drive'

Breif Synopsis, Choices Made and Why

For our soap opera trailer we have written the plots, characters and locations for our first fictional episode, as well as indicating to how the plot may prgress in future episodes and storylines.
   We decided to name the soap Bathwood Drive, relating to the convention of naming the entire television programme after the fictional place where it is set, for example "Coronation Street". It is set in the suburbs of the East Midlands, as that is where we are filming so it would be the most believable setting.
   The plot to the first episode focuses on the Malone family, moving into the local 'Old Badger' pub a location which is a well known meeting place in many soap operas- such as the 'Old Victoria' in Eastenders. The audience is new to the town just as the Malones are, so it seemed an appropriate way to begin the story. There are four characters in this family; the father, the mother, the daughter and the son.
   The father's name is Barry, 42, he is a gambling addict who owes many money to loan sharks and moved his family here in an attempt to run away from his debts. But will the people he owes money to hunt him and his family down? Bringing a whole new danger to the sleepy suburbian town.
   The mother's name is Michelle, 38, she begins an affair with the local trouble maker Tommy Bagwell, 40, from a rival family, keeping screts from her husband and children. Living a double life of lies and deception. However her son, Scott, 15, discovers their sordid little secret and confronts the two of them.
   Tommy, unbeknown to Michelle, threatens Scott with violence if he dare ever reveal their secret. The daughter's name is Frieda, 17, she is led to become an alcoholic due to the stresses of her teenage worries- finding it difficult to cope with schoolwork, bullies and peer pressure.
   All this relates to common themes found in real life soap operas: addiction, affairs, secrets, violence, etc. Later on we may include even more dramatic storylines such as murder etc.

Academic Research

Viewing Statistics: Boxing Day (26^th December) 2010-

Name of Soap	Viewing Figures (million)
Eastenders	12.61
Coronation Street	11.98
Emmerdale	8.86
Neighbours	1.69
Holby City	6.24

This data shows that Eastenders is currently the most watched soap in the UK, followed closely by Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Whilst soaps with less of a major following are Neighbours and Holby City. I am aware that due to the fact that these viewing figures were taken on a national holiday the veiwing statistics would possibly be higher than usual, due to people spending time together at home.
   This raises the question of what seperates these soaps to different levels of success. Possible reasons could be whether or not they are on a popular channels such as the BBC or ITV opposed to less popular channels such as Channel 5.
    Another point to take into account is that Eastenders is based on London working class life, Coronation Street about everyday Mancunians and Emmerdale of Yorkshire famers. They are all about humble, working class people which is the most likely demographic. Whereas Holby City is about well paid doctors and Neighbours is set in sunny Austraila, which many people can't really relate to. One would assume that escapism tries to remove you from your own reality as extremely as possible but in the case of UK soap operas people seem to prefer realism to fantasy. As seen through the fact that these types of soaps are more popular, Bathwood follows this theme of realism by following lives of normal everyday folk and their daily dillemmas.

Academic Research

History of Soap Operas-

Soap operas started life as audio plays, played by radio stations during the 20s and 30s. They relied solely on advertising for their revenue. So many either played adverts during intermissions or were sponsored by corporations. ‘Soap operas’ got their name due to many of the drama productions being sponsored by soap companies, such as Colgate-Palmolive, Proctor & Gamble.

The target audiences for this broadcast were usually housewives, as during this time period it was mainly men who spent their days working jobs, whilst the women were homemakers and raised the children.

Textual Analysis- Existing Trailers

Eastenders- Kat vs. Alfie Western Themed Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p4xlLezos0

The trailer begins with a long, establishing shot of the well-kown Old Victoria pub. However it looks more decrepit than usual, and it's windows are bordered up. A newpaper is blows by due to the wind, immiating the stereotypical tumbleweed passing by.
   The diegetic music playing is creppy and slow paced, creating suspense. We then see a mid tracking shot of black cowboy boots walking, with deigetic sound of the footsteps. Throughout the trailer we see unrelated shots of other characters reactions- such as a woman shutting her blinds with a worried look on her face shown through a close up.
   There is then a jump cut back to a staright ahead shot of the black cowboy boots, belonging to a woman character named Kat. She drops her bag and the camera then slowly tracks upwards to show a mid shot of the mise-en-scene of her 'wild west' costume and her determined facial expression. The musaic at this point speeds in temp, turning the suspense to tension.
   There is clearly a recurring theme of the Wild West showdown in this trailer, something which can inspire me when creating my own trailer.
   There are then more close up shots of intrigued strangers, either sipping coffee, adjusting his hat or gossiping women stopping to stare. A mid shot then return us back to Kat, she takes of her coat and takes out a mirror to look at her reflection. We hear a man's voice saying "Bliming Hell!" connoting that this character has a notorious reputaion.
   She then says "There's nowhere to drink around here", to which a reply comes from a mysterious stranger claiming "I think you're gonna need one." This line in itself causes intrigue as to future plots. A mid shot then reveals the mysterious stranger to be Alfie, wearing a black cowboy outfit with a toothpick in his mouth.
   There is then a shot where the back of Kat's calves can be seen in the foreground whilst the shilouhette of Alfie can be seen in the background, creating effective imagery. There is then a series of extremely fast faced editing of close up of each characters face, whilst the narrator says "It's all going down in the square." Before the Eastenders logo appears on the screen, ending the trailer.
  

Production Process- Shooting Scheduale

Textual Analysis- Trailer Lengths and No. of Camera Shots

Name of Soap	Trailer Length	No. of shots
Eastenders- Kat & Alfie	01.01	22
Coronation Street- Tram Crash	01.00	40
Emmerdale- Beyond the Grave	00.30	20

Through watching soap trailers on YouTube I have found that the average trailer is approximately a minute long. This tells me that our soap opera trailer Bathwood is an appropriate length at just over a minute long, so we have used this short time given to adress factors such as the fact that the soap is new, introduce the characters and give some kind of idea as to what themes the plots consist of.
    Shots can vary from using many quickly edited together jump shots, or just a few long lasting shots, depending on whether the effect of the trailer is to build suspense or tension. In our trailer we focused on building suspense opposed to tension as nobody would yet know the characters, so the audience would not hold the emotional bond that would normally help to costitute a tense atmosphere.

Academic Research - Response to ‘Soap Opera’ by Dorothy Hobson

Dorothy Hobson’s book focuses on taking an analytical approach to how television soap operas have impacted western society and popular culture- namely in Britain, America and Australia.

                All soap operas run in consecutive order; with the same core set of characters, locations and ongoing plots from one episode to the next. They can be broadcast more than 3 times per week, 52 weeks of the year. Audiences grow so fond of them because people become familiar with the storylines of fictional character’s personal lives that may relate to their own- like a social mirror, and hence form an emotional attachment to the soap and its qualities. A soap opera's purpose, after all, is to entertain.

Hobson references that watching the same soaps unites the people of society, from all backgrounds, ages and beliefs, because it gives them a common topic to discuss and give their opinions on in everyday conversations; whether it be with work colleagues or your own mother.

An example of this dedication can be seen, as Hobson reminds us, in certain Eastenders storylines where the audience have shown their enthusiasm for the storylines. Such as an episode shown on BBC1 in October 1999, a character named Mathew has been wrongly accused of a crime, when in fact it had been committed by the character of Steve. Apparently y members of the public began putting up signs claiming “Mathew is innocent, Steve is guilty”, a statement which only viewers of the show would have understood.

Hobson also provides us with her own little anecdote concerning this matter as an example, such as when she was shopping in Tesco Express and eavesdropped on two fellow young shoppers’ conversation. Apparently they were discussing an Eastenders storyline where Grant Mitchell’s car crashes into the River Thames, one of them says “I think Grant may be doing a Harold Bishop”, “Could be!” replied the other. She and the strangers shared a smile of recognition she claims, as she knew exactly what they were referring to, a former Neighbours storyline where the character of Harold Bishop was thought to have drowned, but returns later on suffering from amnesia.

Hobson refers to statistics that claim over 32 million people during that time in the UK watched soap operas per week, and that averages out to the typical budding soap fan watching 45 hours of soaps a week. Also ¾ of the adult population watch a soap opera at least once a month. This just goes to show how many people actually devote their lives to watching soaps.

Now, thanks to the introduction of omnibuses for certain soaps, people are now able to catch up with any episodes they may have missed by watching them in order all at once- usually on Sunday afternoons.

Academic Research

Soap Operas- Representations and Regulations

Use of Stereotypes

Stereotypes within soap operas are usually defined by their age, gender, race, religion, occupation, nationality, interests, music taste, fashion, etc.

Features of stereotypes include:

Simplicity- When stereotypical characters are portrayed they rarely have complex or deep personalities.

Second hand judgement- When a particular sub-group of people are represented and those who are behind the creation of the portrayal haven’t had first hand experience with the stereotype being portrayed. Therefore the people behind the stereotypes won’t be accurately represented, as the character’s personalities will be based upon mainstream interpretations only.

Invalidity- Many of the stereotype’s qualities could just be a downright wrong representation of the people genre.

Outdated- Once a stereotype is put in place it can often be difficult to change the image people have of them, unless the media deliberately targets that sub-group.

Legal Regulations for the Media

Race Relations Act (1976) – To control the way people of different races are represented.

Obscene Publications Act (1959, redrafted 1964) – To assure that nothing inappropriate or offensively vulgar is shown. (9pm watershed)

Representations of People Act (1983) – What political parties are allowed to show, and how much screen time they are allowed to use.

Public Order Act (1986) – To ensure that people of different nationalities are represented fairly.

Gender Discrimination Act (1986) – To make sure both genders are treated with equality.

Broadcasting Act (1990) -  Must ensure that all programmes broadcast are not offensive to the mass public.

Communications Act (2003) – Enforces that news is reported truthfully and in an unbiased manner. Also that public competitions are carried out fairly.

Regulatory Bodies

Advertising Standards Agency: responsible for maintaning standards in adverts and adressing complaints.

Press Complaints Commisson: fulfills same role but with newspapers and magazines.

OFCOM: main regulator for all of the communications industries.