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.