Analysis of Existing Soap Opera Trailers

Analysis of Similar Texts

EmmerdaleEmmerdale is aired each weeknight at 7.00pm with an extra episode airing on Thursday at 8.00p on ITV. The target audience is mainly 20-50 year olds, both male and female, the socio-economic groups E, D and C2. This is because the show features characters of all ages, from children to pensioners and so the target audience can relate to the characters. However, some of the themes within Emmerdale may be deemed unwelcoming to children; themes such as stalking, violence, drugs and disasters. The show includes both male and female characters and there in no bias in how these genders are represented and so therefore a unisex audience would be appealed by the show. The setting of Emmerdale is the Yorkshire Dales, within a fictional village. Aspects of the setting include a pub, a farm, and a small house in which the Dingles, a poor family, live. Therefore, the socio-economic group would most likely be people who do not have a managerial job but instead do manual jobs or live off their pensions (many of the characters are retired and elderly such as Pearl and Sandy)The storylines differ between the characters. Young characters deal with issues such as teenage angst, drugs and psychological problems that affect the way they are perceived in the village. In contrast, the older characters deal with issues such as affairs, domestic violence, money troubles. The elderly characters in particular have storylines whereby they are exploited by the youth and therefore experience muggings and thefts. This is relevant to the target audience as the issues faced by the characters are similar to those faced by people in real life, especially issues that can be applied to mostly all of the target audience such as problems with money and thefts.

Emmerdale Robert and Aaron TrailerThis trailer focuses on one storyline in Emmerdale; the affair between Robert and Aaron. The trailer includes the characters of Robert, Aaron and Chrissie. How are the technical codes used? The editing is quick, only taking short snippets of scenes from the show so that the audience can see only the moments in the programme that are of interest and present the storyline. Fade to black has been used to as transitions in order to show the passing of time, suggesting to the audience that the affair has been going on for a long time and so the storyline may be coming to a conclusion. This gives a reason for the audience to watch the shows. The sound has been used effectively here alongside editing as a sound bridge has been to used to emphasise the betrayal of Robert as Chrissie says I trust you totally before the trailer cuts to a scene where Robert and Aaron are kissing. This then puts a focus on the dramatic and conflict within the storyline and implies that audiences should watch the upcoming episodes in order to see how the drama unfolds and to find out if Chrissie discovers her husbands secret. The camerawork has also been used to create meaning for this trailer. For example, at 0:13, a scene has been chosen for the trailer that features a focus pull which draws the focus from Robert walking to Chrissie talking to Aaron. This conveys the message to the audience that there is the impending danger of Chrissie finding about the affair and therefore entices them to watch the show.The lighting has been used to portray and suggest ideas about the characters for the audience to consider. For example, high key lighting has been used to clearly show Robert and Aaron by a field in the day. This may make the audience question why they are there and why the two characters have gone to a secluded place. The audience have been persuaded to watch the next episodes of Emmerdale so that they can answer these questions.

CasualtyCasualty is aired on Saturdays between the 20:0022:00 slot (the time differs) on BBC One.The target audience is mainly 20-50 year olds, both male and female, the socio-economic groups C2, C1 and B. This is because there are a range of age groups in the show that act as both patients and staff. However, due to the medical theme that the show has, it may be considered that the soap opera is unsuitable for children as there are scenes of distress, gore and disasters. The show appeals to a unisex audience as both males and females have importance in Casualty. The socio-economic group is relevant because there are characters of the show that are in a managerial role, like Connie Beauchamp, and those who are in a more manual job, like Noel Garcia and Big Mac. The audience can relate to these characters as they may share the same job as them and therefore can relate to the issues and scenarios that the characters are put in, especially audiences that have jobs in the medical field such as nurses and doctors because some scenarios (where patients are in danger, for example) are recognisable to those audiences. The themes of Casualty often come back to the overall genre of the medical drama. Such themes include drugs, pregnancies, disasters and injuries. The storylines often differ between the characters. Patients will often have storylines whereby they are in need of help and need to have medical assistance (this may be due to being apart of a disaster or drugs, for example). Whereas, the staff may have storylines of a more personal nature, whereby the show may focus more on their relationships, jobs and own struggles.

Casualty - Coming up this Summer episode This trailer showcases the events and storylines that appear in the summer episodes of the show.How are the technical codes used? The editing is quick and sues a variety of different clips to showcase the storylines that differ between scenes of dialogue and those of disasters. This gives the audience a clear idea of what is to come in Casualty, and allows them to also see different themes that feature in the show. The chosen clips gives the impression that the programme is both fun with entertaining moments but can also be tense. The sound has been used effectively in certain moments of the trailer. Throughout the trailer, "Together" by Ella Eyre is played, perhaps to attract a younger audience in particular. The music faints in place for diegetic dialogue and sound effects. At one point in the trailer, the sound of the music is fainted to the point where the audience can hear the sounds of struggle, which suggests that in the coming episodes of the show that there will be scenes of violence and conflict. This excites the audience and will makes them want to watch as conflict is particularly romanticised and emphasised in soaps to entertain the audience. The camerawork has also been used effectively. A panning shot into a close up has been included in the trailer at 1:11. This is a dramatic shot and clearly shows one of the characters in a towel, suggesting that he is in trauma. The close up shot also shows his facial expression, which is a face of shock. This implies to the audience that one of the episodes involves a scenario which causes distress for the characters, this one in particular. The lighting has been used in variety of ways as different scenes from different episodes have been used in the trailer. Both low key and high key lighting has been used in the trailer. For example, low key lighting has been used at 1:46 to show the bright fire in the background and emphasise on the chaos surrounding the characters. The darkness has been used effectively as the audience cannot clearly see the faces of the characters, meaning that perhaps the audience cannot tell either. This makes the audience worried about the characters as it is not clear who is in danger and who is not.