Hollyoaks six weeks of summer-

In this essay I will be talking about how the codes and conventions of soap trailers
create effect for the audience. The first soap trailer I watched was Hollyoaks- six
weeks of summer this is an advert for the programme running throughout the
summer holidays. The opening scene is of a wedding in a church, this is a long shot
showing the setting and characters, this shot is used to set the scene. The audience
now know that it will be showing the wedding during the six weeks, and can get clues
of what is going to happen through mise on scene, dialogue and props etc. A
wedding is a soap convention as it is a localised theme creating conflict, realism and
drama. It then shows medium close ups of three main characters in the church and
the miserable look on their faces. The purpose of this is to show there is conflict to
the audience. There is neutral music in the background of the scene and as the
trailer goes on the music gets louder as the more dramatic scenes are played. This
is used to show more misfortune.

There is jump cuts to other scenes of the program all showing characters faces
expressing disgust, shock and worried. Showing the muti-strand narratives in the
programme. All these scene movements are fast and sudden this is to create tension
and create questions. The visual codes used in these jump cuts are normal, and
nothing out the ordinary making a sense of realism. Natural lightening is mainly
used. There is narration from each character to each scene, this is used to leave cliff
hangers so the audience watch the programme. A 180 degree shot is used to show
characters in places they shouldnt be to show part of the melodramatic story lines.
As the jump cuts go on, each snip of the show gets longer and more exaggerated.
Character representation shows an equal gender ratio, middle class, white ethnicity
cast forming realism.

Vladimir Propp established a character theory that regularly occurred in media
productions and texts. Hollyoaks uses Propps theory in this trailer. The villain, the
donor, the helper, the princess the false, the dispatcher and the hero. There is little
use of Todorov theory between equilibrium and disequilibrium because the trailer
only shows the disruptions of the equilibrium to create interrogations and the
audience wanting answers.
Love and Conflict is shown throughout this trailer as it is a soap convention, the
ending of the trailer jump cuts close ups of each characters face of hollyoaks again
each showing discomfort. Then it goes on to jump to a car crash. This filmed in the
view of the character in the car, this is called a point of view shot. Showing exactly
what the person in the car saw and put the audience in there position.it then shows
investigators and police on a high angle shot to show what has happened, looking
down onto the accident shows that is a disaster. It then finishes on the police
cleaning up the crime scene. The ending is a cliff hanger and an open ending this is
the whole reason of making a trailer- to make the audience watch the actual
programme. I think that the hollyoaks six weeks of summer trailer is a great trailer as
it shows suspense and makes the target audience want to watch it.


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