Storyline

Challenge Conventions?

So far the modern soap adverts we have analysed have had a surreal theme to it, we are looking to make our advert a cross between this elements but to add more realism. I highly enjoy the adverts that I have analysed but as the brief states that it is for a new soap I feel that we need to convey the characters in much more depth, whilst combining the lighter elements of the existing adverts.

By doing this in some way we will be challenging the conventions of modern soap ads, but focus on plot and characters will hopefully entice audiences more then an advert which glamorises and particular storyline, which the existing ones seem to do.

So with Teenage Pregnancy as our chosen plot, we began research into British soaps which tend to have a strong regional identity, EastEnders is set in the East End of London, while Manchester is the setting for Coronation Street. This is not just to attract viewers from that area, but also to make it more realistic. The area in which the soap is set also has an effect on its plotting and characters, this is important to show in our trailer because it must have a brief overview of the soap.
Many people watch soaps because of its trailers it pleases us to see and hear other people's problems, which in turn distracts us from our own. However, a soap opera has no real victims as the characters are fictional. However, we like to make guesses about their actions and reactions based on our knowledge of them. We like to see them develop as we get to know them and we enjoy learning about the complex relationships between characters, which is previewed in trailers. We become semi-experts on our favourite soaps, and our encyclopedic knowledge of them, fuelled by the above points, gives us great pleasure. In a voyeuristic manner, we like to watch other people's lives like in the case of soap operas they are just like ours, but more interesting.
Rebecca and I, decided to pursuit a story much alike to that of Sarah-Louise Platt. Because when it came to men, Sarah was very unlucky.


In February 2000, just after her 13th birthday, Sarah found out she was pregnant. Her daughter Bethany was born four months later.

The father, Neil Ferns, had no interest in Bethany and was always an "absent father". However, in late 2003, after Neil died in a car crash, Bethany's paternal grandmother, Brenda Ferns, established contact after Sarah took Bethany to Neil's funeral. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah-Louise_Grimshaw

Song Choice

Now the basic premise for our video has been decided its time for the details. The first thing we need to tackle is the background music.

Choices

First of all we discussed have a dramatic instrumental in the background, as we thought that lyrics may confuse the audience away from the narrative of the advert.
We discussed and after some research we found this song on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ait-4080MxU

Although I liked the idea of the an instrumental, after vigorous searching I could not find the up-tempo music I was looking for they would successfully convey the suspense, drama and revelation that we intend to convey.

So we looked at other options. It then came to mind that we had already sent the copyright letter to Universal records regarding the Amy Winehouse song "you know I'm no good."

It then seemed like the perfect idea to use this song for our main video also, especially after closer inspection of the chorus lyrics ...


I Cheated Myself
Like I knew I would
I told you, I was Trouble
You Know that I'm no good


These lyrics seem extremely fitting for the situation that our main character is in, torn between two men. The beginning of the song also has a very catchy and upbeat instrumental that we could use, incorporating our initial idea.

Initial Ideas for Main Task

Today we started discussing ideas for our soap opera trailer. Since Rebecca and I feel comfortable to move on with the task. We developed on the brain storm shown previously, creating new ideas and combining them to establish our final idea. Eventually we decided we would start creating ideas evolving from "Who's the baby's daddy?" because it met both of our likes and interests, with what we enjoy watching. Rejected ideas included: Fraud, financial corruption, greed, kidnapping, rapes, murder trials, fake pregnancies and love triangles.

Initially we agreed on the storyline from Eastenders of Heather. When she remained tight lipped about her baby daddy's identity. Although adapting on that with having the principal character being a teenager. Teenage pregnancies is a growing issue which we can both relate too our gender and age. Teen pregnancy rates have recently been on the rise across the UK its a growing crisis.
We believed that expressing this issue will help contribute to the battle against teenage pregnancies, although with our own interesting interpretation.

Rebecca and I, although we didn't entirely like our Preliminary task. Keeping in form with Eastenders we found a starting point, as we were both keen on the music, the Amy Winehouse track "You know I'm no good" conveys precisely what we want.
Below is the copyright letter that we sent via e-mail to universal records requesting the use of the single.











Above is a mock up of what we want our front cover to eventually look like.
I drew the picture to represent where we will place our images on the page, showing the different sized images as well as accompanying text.

Preliminary Task

We split into groups, were I was partnered with Rebecca Smith we enjoy this part of the A2 syllabus, because over two days of intensive planning and filming we came to edit the final cut of our soap trailer. Rebecca played the principle character and featured in the trailer and due to time restrictions the location was in Rebecca bedroom, since we couldn't find a convenient set in such a short time. Considering the short timing-frame we could not complete the trailer to the extent we expect at A2. It was simply a learning curve to using the software and testing lighting and sound.

Rebecca and I, decided to imitate the well-known Eastenders trailer entitled Sam's return on YouTube. It was a popular plot this year, consequently we endeavoured to re-enact it although adding our own twist. Rebecca plays the protagonist role of Sam, with Rebeccas' room as the background, we believed it mimicked Sams setting of getting ready. Both trailers are below, to show the resemblance.

So our remake advert, its a rough cut and if we were to do this again, I would have like to spend longer filming to get more accurate shots, which would have made the final cut more similar to Sams. Although Rebecca reinforced the fact it was simply to get to grips with the equipment. We both would have liked to have focused more on the colour scheme and balanced the light better to accentuate Sam. We also would have developed it further to get more characters and stage them exactly like the Eastenders trailers. If we had more time, we would have edited it with more similarities to that of the Eastenders, including a voice over.
However we reached our targets, because we both learnt how to use the equipment and the computer programmes, like Adobe Premiere Elements.

Research into Preliminary Task

Soap trailers, or previews, are short advertisements designed to entice viewers to see the programme. They usually run between 1-2 minutes, and the companies that produce them are very good at compressing a great deal of information into a short time. We may also be able to see through them to broader social and cultural realities. Looking at the deeper message the creators try to portray. They are intended to evoke a response, make you feel emotions, enticing you as the audience.
Though very short, trailers still deliver a basic drama describing the characters are, the obstacles they face and their development between the start and the end. In a trailer the presences or return of a certain actor, could lure the audience. Eastenders use this technique



I searched this on Youtube, it has similarities to what we want to achieve in our preliminary task. Minimal use of characters and props, however it has good editing, with fades, straight cuts, close-ups and black and white footage. We believe it would be a great starting point for us since we are not familiar with the editing software.
There is a faint background track playing, the beat starts slowly then increases in tempo as the tension increases. The music stops for intervals for her counting down, as she counts, she applies make-up and get dressed into bright colours. The clothes and colours she wears, do not conform to the stereotype of her age, showing her personality. There are similarities between this trailer and the beginning scene of 'Legally blonde,' creators could have faintly based this trailer on Legally blonde, because of likeness between Sam Mitchell and Reese Witherspoons' character. They try to target the audience who would be interested in Sam's return, as the audience that would watch Legally blonde.
Her counting resembles that of the game 'hide n seek' she follows on with the well-known slogan 'ready or not, here I come.' Implying that her intension is to conquer the square and will crush any obstacles, her overconfident attitude is flaunted. Her character is portrayed as a craver for excitement and doesn't frighten easily as well as being headstrong and streetwise. She does not conform to the stereotypical East London women, who is determined to be famed, her appearance is bold and over-the-top she seeks to make it clear that she revels in attention.
The straight-cuts to the black and white scenes, accentuate her further when they cut back to her, with the contrast of colours. Meanwhile, a voice over takes over to provoke you further into watching it, encouraging the audience by saying 'is the square big enough for another Mitchell?' The slogan gives a brief background knowledge of the family, but the rhetorical question plays on the audiences mind involving them on a personal level. This aspect is usually incorporated in a good trailer, audience connection is imperative. A well-known soap like this does not need to prolong its title ending the clip because the audience would have realise from the hype in the media.

Brain storming for Preliminary & Main Tasks

This year I am working alongside Rebecca Smith, a fellow pupil from Wilmington Girls Grammar. Together we have successfully brain stormed some ideas for our main task, however decided to part take in a preliminary task as practice. The preliminary task will be important in order to familiarise ourselves with the apparatus. We would like to use all the equipment to the best of its ability when filming our final piece, so a preliminary task is vital. We have made a spider diagram to visually compile our ideas, and point us in the right direction.
I am going to research existing soap opera adverts, in order to gain valuable conventions from them. However we have not decided the main plot to base our coursework on, I am hoping to gain some ideas through watching other soaps interesting features. As I was considering the plots, I was aware that some plots have been over-used and exhausted. However no such thing as an original plot so I have concluded to do something that's been done before; just with my own twist.

Choosen Brief

OCR brief I will produce:

A promotion package for a new soap opera, to include a trailer, together with two of the following three options:
* Home page for the film
* A poster for the soap
* A listings magazine front cover featuring the new soap.

Produce a viral marketing campaign for a new soap, aiming to attract an audience primarily through social networking sites and YouTube. The trailer and the website will be the primary marketing tools to be disseminated via the internet. The poser and magazine cover will be the secondary phase, adopting mainstream ‘above- and below-the-line’ marketing techniques after the viral marketing campaign has secured media interest.
(OCR Media studies for A2, Advanced portfolio page 21)