Things to considier when making a Soap

From my analysis of failed Soap Opera Eldarado, I have decided that I will have to consider key conventions such as community and representation to make mine succesful. Representation was important to Eldarado and the fact that it changed from representing only Britain, to other places in Europe arguably contributed to the show's failure. Community is also an important factor, realism is a key convention in soap and having a sense of community (various links/relationships between characters) is an element that cannot be left out. I will look at Soap Operas, particularly Eastenders and the sense of community based around  it's setting (Albert Sqaure) as well as the traditional Biritsh character representation. I will consider the predictability of my Soap's story lines in an attempt to keep the audience interested as well as plan out the Soap's cliff hangers and ongoing issues in such a way that I can rely on the audience to tune in when ever it's on. I will challenge my audience when developing emotion towards the characters with the use of realism, this will contribute to overall success as people will relate to the show and grow fond of it.

Eastenders Title Sequence Analysis

The Eastenders title sequence is arguably the most memorable title sequence in the history of Soap Opera's; it has remained pretty much the same for over two decades and has become somewhat iconic. The title sequence makes very good use of key elements such as Mise En Scene, sound, camera work & editing; this contributes to its overall success and appeal. Like the start of many films, the title sequence opens with an establishing shot of a location, whilst this is the only shot apart from the still at the end of the sequence, it is very effective as it puts the viewers into perspective with the area the show is filmed across. The only real editing that has gone on is the 'Eastenders' and the 'BBC' logo fading in at the end of the sequence, this simplistic approach is just right as there is no need for high end editing here. The use of Mise En Scene is also basic but effective, as the establishing shot spirals out the location is easily identifiable just from noticing the River Thames running across the screen. Already this is making the viewer feel at home and is a big bonus for the show's realism. The soundtrack for Eastenders is probably the most important of all of these elements, the drum roll is a motif and when it's heard it is immediately linked to Eastenders. It is also used at the end of the show as it's builds tension as the show always ends with some sort of shocking revelation or cliff hanger. The theme tune has a laid back feel to it, and sounds very slow and calm. This is a contrast to the show's storylines and is quite ironic, if I hadn't seen Eastenders or heard its theme song before I would expect it to more upbeat. The fact that it's mellow can only be described as an apparent success due to the fact that it has been embraced for so long. The theme song suits Eastenders perfectly.

Eastenders Narrative

Episode on the 30/9/2010

Narrative: The narrative in Eastenders is designed to have parallel storylines running effectively and in conjunction with one another. The amount of these parallel storylines seem to be limitless and almost always build up to some sort of climatic ending, and although a common critique for this is Eastenders’ predictability the narrative is tried and tested and is pushed by tradition Soap Opera conventions such as gossip, affairs, rivalry and more. The episode that I’m analysing starts off with a scene of Kat and Alfie in an uplifting and humorous mood, sharing jokes with one another before cutting to a shot of a very bitter looking Jannine, already setting the stage for an episode packed with mixed emotions.

Realism: Realism is a key element in Soap Operas and Eastenders tends to focus on it more than others, the whole set of Eastenders is based around a community of working class people who although at times can act over the top, lead believable lifestyles. Realism is also portrayed with camera angles, for example conversations are put together with shot/reverse/shot techniques and other professional camera tricks. Another element of realism often noticed in Eastenders is that it is linked with current affairs; the cast go by the same time zone is the majority of its viewers.  A scene towards the middle of the episode shows Alfie in the Off Licence being served by Heather whilst engaging in everyday conversation, short scenes like this are effective in making the program more realistic and believable.

Audience: The audience that Eastenders attracts is arguably key to its overall success and it’s commendable running time. People from as young as 13 watch Eastenders with their parents/grandparents, it attracts a wide range of ages as well as people from poor to rich backgrounds. Both male and females view the program, it has made such a name for itself over the years that it has viewers overseas. A lot of the things that take place on the set of Eastenders are things the everyday person can relate to, the troubles Alifie and Kat are going through in this particular episode are the troubles any couple doing what they can to pay the bills go through. For this reason the program connects with its viewers and keeps a stronghold over its audience.

Representation: Eastenders is well known for its representation of East Londoners. The representations portrayed can be described as challenging, sometimes even to an extreme. The cast in Eastenders, regardless of age, gender and other elements seem to be used confrontation and drama. Although Eastenders is flooded with a mixture of representation, some of it is marginal and as you would expect, an example is the way that cockney people are portrayed, their dialect and use of words is as you would expect it to be. The main event for this episode was Stacey beating up Jannine; this is a perfect example of how the characters are not afraid of confrontation.

What is a Soap Opera

A Soap Opera is a type of genre which has become increasingly popular particularly in the UK over a number of years, Soap Opera's are recognisable from their traditional conventions which include:

.Cliff hangers
.Parallel storylines
.Stereotypical representation of social class
.Gossip
.Affairs,
.Dialogue

All these elements are key when considering producing a Soap Opera. Soap's are almost always serial's, they're designed to juggle loads of storylines at once which lead to new storylines, having a show which can go on for decades. Eastenders is a good example of this.

        Soap's focus mainly on Narrative, (a sequence of events constructed to tell a story, Soaps use open-ended narratives so while there is resolutions to storylines there is no real end) Representation (the soaps producers point of view on things, for example characters can be represented with stereotypes or those stereotypes can be challenged. Representation plays a big part and is very common) Realism (making what the audience see believable and giving them something to realte to in the show, realism can be achieved by having the show up to date with current affairs such as exams) and Audience (the audience is the people who will view the soap, careful consideration must be taken when deciding on a target audience and many things including age, gender, ethnicity, working class and more have to be thought through)