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Hollyoaks

is a British Soap opera whose main theme is


melodrama; this is depicted through the conventions in soap
trailers produced to entice viewers. To begin with the trailer
uses close up shots of 4 characters, suggesting these are the
most significant in the series and reflecting on them have
main storylines, this means it is multi stranded. From the
beginning of the trailer we first of all see the equilibrium has
been disturbed due to the characters body language, which
anchors the non-diegetic music as well as the voiceover. This
then moving onto a fast pace, panning shot of an ambulance
and women holding a child whilst running, once again
reflecting the genre of the show.

It is supposed to reach out to an audience so they can relate
to the situations and the protagonists. This is also shown
through the natural ambient lighting to once again reflect
reality. The clothing suggests the people are quite ordinary,
suggesting they have quite comfortable lives, also showing
us its modern day. To begin with the shots are quite slow
place, which incorporates itself well with the music, it
reflects the relationships we see in the trailer becoming
more intense as they deteriorate. Then as the music begins
to climax we see soon see relationships between people
conflict even more, as the non diegetic music climaxes, the
shots become more fast pace and shorter, this possibly
reflecting the fast pace of life in the program.

Though we do see some archetypal passive characters as
well as dominate characters, Men and Women in the trailer
both have similar roles giving us a reflection of modern day
relationships. The accents suggest they are from Northern
England, this giving the viewer an idea of where there from
which may insinuate different interpretations and
stereotypes.

There is not a lot of diegetic sound in the trailer as it mainly
consists of voice-overs, giving us visual iconography as well

as speech to anchor it. As the trailer proceeds there is no


real resolution, as the trailer is completely non-linear we as
an audience dont have an idea of when the events will occur
we are just being given a taster. The trailer then proceeds as
a montage giving us more characters, which once again gives
us more storylines to keep the viewer keen to watch. From
the montage we learn the soap covers various narratives;
relationships, crime, sexuality, abuse, gender and age, this
targeting an all round audience specifically young adults
who are coming of age. The music once again picks up,
speeding up to an ultimate climax; throughout the trailer
there have been complications and developments to entice
the audience to watch.

The trailer then ends with the iconic Hollyoaks title across a
cloudy dark background, suggesting there is literally a dark
cloud over Cheshire once again implying it is a drama. A
non-diegetic voice comes in with a visual of a police scene,
there is iconography of flashing blue lights, police tape and
police uniforms. It then gives us a close up of an ID, with the
non-diegetic voiceover giving the viewer a hint of what is to
happen next series. It then cuts off, given the viewer an open
narrative of what will happen next. It then once again closes
with the Hollyoaks 2014 logo. The programmes logo is
purposely made memorable for the viewer, as it is
immediately recognisable as a trademark of the show.

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