Soap Opera Trailer weekend homework

AS Media soap trailer task:

Find any soap trailer, take and annotate print screens identifying the following conventions. Print and bring to Monday’s lesson as you will be recreating part of your trailer around college next lesson.

·       Master/ establishing shot

·       2 shot

·       Shot-reverse-shot

·       BCU (big close- up)

·      Dialogue: transcribe dialogue and explain how the plot and narrative perspective are conveyed quickly. Also sound bridging and "thought beats"

·       Eyeline matches through framing

·       Multiple narratives and main storylines repeated in the trailer to tie everything together

·       Depth of field (subjects at different distances from the camera, all can be seen clearly)

·       Pull focus (items at different distances come into focus at different times)

·       Lighting and shadow used to create suspense

·       Camera as predator (shot through/from behind objects so audience feels like they are hiding from the characters and invading privacy)

·       Title cards and channel(name of soap on screen with a brand identity)

Here's a great Eastenders trailer with lots of sound bridging, edits that match the non- diegetic score, short pieces of dialogue that conveys the plot. It also has lots of different shot types, movement, eyeline matches and good examples of shot- reverse- shots and more than one camera being used to shoot a scene.

Some good examples of Hollyoaks trailers are below:

EDITING: THOUGHT BEATS

Below are two excellent examples of sounds and images being edited to match each other. What effect does this have on you as you watch these pieces?

PROMETHEUS TRAILER



In music videos and trailers for soaps, dramas, films etc, the edits often match the beat of the accompanying music. This helps the audience to engage with the image and the product appears to run more smoothly and professionally.
The film below was made by Dr Adam Rutherford, to celebrate the 135 missions made by NASAs space shuttles. The film charts one journey into space and back, but uses footage from all 135 of the journey, including the two accidents with Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003.

The music was composed especially by 65daysofstatic and matches the edits and the changing tone of the film: hopeful and joyful at the start, fading to almost silence as the accidents occur, then restarting with new purpose and energy to reflect humanity's ability to recover from incredible tragedy and setbacks.

STARTING A2 MEDIA: Soap Operas

In the Hollyoaks trailer below, several soap trailer codes and conventions are demonstrated.

- multiple narratives: note how dialogue is used to convey plots and narrative perspective in just a few seconds.

- BCU: close up that cuts off the top of the head. This is so the emotion is clearly displayed to the audience. By using this shot type the audience feels like they are part of the scene and invest in the characters emotionally.

- "Voyeur" shots, AKA "Camera as predator". The action is filmed through windows, gates, fences or from behind objects, out of view of the actors. The meaning constructed is that the viewer is in the scene, hiding from the characters. This is used when the writers want the audience to feel suspicious, or when secrets are being disclosed.

- Actors walking into shot: A good way of creating movement with a static camera.

- Pull focus/ depth of field: used to emphasise different parts of the mise en scene. Good for revealing hidden characters in a scene where sensitive information is disclosed.

- Transitions: show the passage of time, create "chapter headings" so the audience know the difference between an edit between shots and the start of a new scene

- Dialogue: short, sharp sentences, Q&As convey plotlines to the audience quickly, make the audience curious to know what happens next and shows the audience who the protagonists/ antagonists are.

- Lighting:  Use of shadow to make audience feel like secrets are being kept and that there will be conflict.

- Editing, "thought beats": edits between shots match the beat of the music to create tension and engage interest. Makes finished piece more professional

All the above will help you gain high marks for the construction of your soap opera trailer.