CANDIDATE DETAILS

NAME - Stephanie Leanne Green
CANDIDATE NUMBER -
CENTRE NUMBER -

BRIEF

SOAP OPERA BRIEF:

 

A promotion package for a new Soap Opera, to include a TV trailer, together with two of the following three options:

- A listings magazine Front Coverb featuring a new soap;

- Two hyperlinked web pages (with video extract) for the soap's website;

- A poster for the Soap.

Q4: How did you use Media Technologies?

Below is a list of all the technologies that I have used at different points in my coursework:

TRAILER

• Garageband
• Keynote
• iMovie
• HD Camera

ANCILLARIES

• Photoshop
• Publisher
• Still Cameras
• DSLR Cameras
• Green Screen

IN GENERAL

• Slide Share
• Twitter
• Blogger
• PowerPoint
• Youtube

I have created a series of videos to show how I used Keynote and iMovie to create my soap trailer.
iMovie:
iMovie was used to create my main product - the soap trailer. Below are a series of videos to show how I created my soap and used the programme.

• How to import your footage onto iMovie

• Adding a clip to your timeline and trimming it down

• Adding in another clip

• Adding a transitition

• Changing the sound levels on a clip

• Adding a soundtrack over my video

• Cropping a clip

All of the screen recordings above show how I used iMovie to do different parts that helped create my soap trailer.


Keynote:
Keynote was used to create my title card at the end of the trailer saying - 'The Mancunian Way, Monday 10pm' Below are a series of videos to show how I created the product and how I used the programme.

• Opening Keynote

• Adding a background

• Making an image transparent

• Adding in text and transititions

GarageBand:
GarageBand is a programme on the apple mac computers used to create music and soundtracks for your movies etc. After going onto the programme and playing around with the instruments, I was soon to realise that it was not a suitable programme for me to use and it went againest the conventitions of a Made in Chelsea trailer who tend to stick to one continuos song.

HD Cameras:
The cameras was used to film our trailer. We also used a tripod which had wheels on so that our shots could be steady and look proffesional. The camera also came with a microphone which picked up the actors voices to make sure they are heard when the clips were played back.




Greenscreen:The greenscreen is a facility that we have in my college. It heps to create a background for your images and also to create a proffesional looking image. Below is a presentation of how I used the facility.

Publisher:
Publisher was used to create my billboard ancillary. I simply added in the images that I had created on Photoshop and re arranged them to create my poster.I then added in text and re arranged into a suitable layout. Publisher was more suitable for this than photshop as on photoshop you have to kepp changing the layers and adjustmenst, whereas publisher was quick and simple to create my poster.

Still/DSLR Cameras:
These were used to take images for both of my ancillaries. They were taken in front of the green screen for a proffesional image that was easy to edit.
 

Twitter:Below is a series of screenshots of what I used twitter for. It was mainly used for tweeting my peers to let them know that I left them feedback on there ancillaries and trailer. A lot of the time, I used twitter to tweet my teacher to let her know what I was doing and for her to offer advice on our work. Social networking sites at becoming a huge part of how we communicate to each other so twitter seemed like a suitable programme for us to us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photoshop:
Photoshop was used mainly to create my ancillaries. Below is a presentation of how I used the programme to create my product. Photoshop was also used to edit the images on my billboard.

 

 

Slideshare:
Slideshare is an internet programme that is used to upload your presentations onto so that you can put them on your blog. Below is a presentation of how I used the programme.
 

 
Youtube:
Youtube is an internet programme that is used to share and watch videos from all over the world. I used Youtube to upload my trailer onto but also to reasearch existing soaps and trailers.

 

 

Blogger:

Blogger is the programme we are on now. It was used to create my blog. We choose this programme as it was very simple to create and set up.It is also quick and realiable meaning my posts are all there and not lost or deleted. Using a blog is also a easy way to communicate and put across my work.

 

PowerPoint:

PowerPoint has been used alot during my planning and evaluation. It is a simple programme to use to create slideshows of my work. These are then uploaded onto slieshare to copy onto my blog. Using powerpoint has been more effective then constantly using blogger and posting work, as I can now create slideshows to show step by steps instead of simply stating them all.

Q3: What have you learned from Audience Feedback?

Audience feedback is very important when it comes to creating a soap. For my trailer to be successful I needed to receive feedback from my target audience of improvements that needed to be made. On each blog post that shows a new draft of one of my products; trailer, or either ancillary products, I have enabled the comments box for people to comment in and leave me feedback on improvements to be made, what they like and what they don't. Each new post from there showing my new trailer or updated ancillary product, I have stated the change that I have made prior to receiving feedback.
A lot of the changes were also down to my own preference as I personally ft into the target market for my soap so it was suitable for me to leave myself some criticism so that my soap would appeal to the others in my target market.

Below are some screenshots of the feedback that people left me. I will then show how I acted upon the feedback and made the changes necessary.

Feedback received on 'The Mancunian Way' trailer draft one:

From this feedback I then made these changes:

Feedback received on 'The Mancunian Way' trailer draft two:

From this feedback I then made these changes:

 

 

Feedback for Trailer draft three:

Feedback suggested to improve my ancillary billboard draft one:

Feedback on my Ancillary front cover draft one:

Feedback on my Front cover draft two:

Feedback on Billboard Draft two:

Q2: How effective is the combination of you Main and Ancillary texts?

For my soap to be successful, I needed to create a strong representation that can be seen clearly through each of my products; the Soap Trailer, my Front Cover and Billboard. If only one product was seen then I would want the audience to remember what they had just seen and if then another one of my products was to be shown to them, they could link each other together and be aware that they are advertising the same soap.

Below is a prezi sideshow that I have created to illustrate the effectiveness of my three products together and how the brand identity can be seen through each product.



Before choosing e4 as my institution for my soap, I reaserched the channels and looked at the shows they tend to broaddcast so that I could match my subject and target auidence to the correct insitution.
Below is the mind map that I drew up to look at the different broadcasters and their soaps.

 

Below is a link to the blog post I did after reaserching into all the institutions, explaining the guidleines I must follow to re create the e4 logo.

http://stephaniegreena2mediacw.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/e4-branding-and-creating-their-style.html

How effective are the character names is my soap?
As I was creating a parody of Made in Chelsea, the names of characters in my soap needed to match the genre and high class set in the existing version. Below is a list of the character names used in my soap:
Tarquin,
Sapphire,
Penelope,
Henry,
Rose,
Evangeline.
Each of the characters names carry a representation of high class and status which is portrayed through the mise en scene,camera work and edits in my trailer. And also through the conventions of both my ancillaries.

The names I used in my soap needed to match the high class of the existing soap Made in Chelsea but also something that people for, Manchester can relate to.

The characteristics of my characters were portrayed in each product I made. An example of this is when Tarquin is seen in the trailer with two different girls; Sapphire and Penelope and a phone at the end of the trailer where Evangeline is saying you need to stop messing about with my boyfriend. This story is also seen in my billboard where all the characters are looking at him and also I'm my front cover where it states that he is a Ladies Man.

Q1: How have you used, developed or challenged existing codesandconventions?

Below is a file showing that I understand the codes and conventions of a Soap Opera, Scripted Reality, a Trailer, Magazine front cover and Billboard.
I have also done a blog post previously explaining more about the codes and conventions of scripted reality.



Click on the link below to view more about scripted reality.
http://stephaniegreena2mediacw.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/melodramas.html

The best way for me to answer this question is to show my soap and existing soap operas and annotate the simularities, differences and subversions.

Trailer
Below is my final trailer for The Mancunian Way alongside an existing trailer of Made in Chelsea.





The real made in chelsea trailer is very extravaggant and high budget made. Our trailer could not be like this due to a a number of reasons; location, time, budget and number of actors and camera crew. The trailer above for made in chelsea is more for a whole series trailer whereas, my trailer would be more of a trailer of just one episode. Therefore I am going to compare my trailer to the video below, which is a trailer for one episode of made in chelsea.



The presentation below shows a series of screenshots and notes on how my trailer uses, develops and challenges the conventions of a real, existing trailer.



USED
From The Made in Chelsea trailer, I have used most of the conventions. For example my trailer is the same time length as the existing version, we both have used buttons/stickers on the end slide to highlight and put across to the audience the show and how to watch it.

DEVELOPED
I have developed some conventitions of a trailer as I wanted to include title cards in my trailer to make it look more proffesional. On the exsisting version this is not always a key concept so I decided to include them on my trailer so that viewers can have a quick summary of what is to come.

CHALLENGED
The challenges that I made in my trailer, were challenges from a Made in Chelsea trailer and not general trailers. The non diagetic sound usually begins in a Made in Chelsea trailer after a seperate scene to introduce the trailer and highlight different parts of the drama. I choose to play the music throuhgout the whole of my trailer so that all the scenes flow together and link more suffiently.



 Ancillary Front Cover
Below is my version of a front cover for a soap/tv magazine. I followed the conventions of Fabulous magazine, as my soap has simular codes and conventions to the ones that appear on a Fabulous magazine front cover.

 

The features, layout, star and masthead are all simular and follow the conventions of the fabulous magazine seen below.

 

 

The powerpoint below explains in detail with screenshots of how I used, developed and challenged the conventions of an existing product.

 

 
USED
As you can see by looking at the two front covers above, I have replicated most of the conventions of a tv magazine. For example I have copied the font style, features layout, quotes, image and the main feature which is anchored onto the star. By replicating a design it is clear that Ifully understand the conventions needed on a sucessful front cover. The main feature or the 'hook' is anchored onto the star to immediatly illustrate to the auidence that it is about him.

DEVELOPED
The only main convention that I have developed from an exsiting front cover, is the background colour. Mine is alot brighter and therefore stands out to the reader as it will catch there eyes more than the existing version - which has a fairly dull background.

CHALLENGED
I have challenged one convention on my magzine front cover, that is the stars choice of clothing. I choose to dress him in more downgraded clothes than a suit which it was a star normally wears on a front cover. This was a change that I made for a reason. It was done because my soap - The Mancunian Way follows conventions from Made in Chelsea but only the basic conventions. As my soap was based in Manchester and not a rich area like Chelsea, it was nesaccary for me to down grade the characters, even though they all have posh names, the names seem a little less exclusive to the names that usually appear in an episode of Made in Chelsea.
Another way in which I could of challenged conventions would be to mix two different magazine front covers and create mine. I followed the conventions of a classy magazine so I could of followed conventions from a trashy magazine aswell. Here is a seperate blog post which illustrates and annotates the two different sub-genres of magazines...



Ancillary Poster/Billboard
Below is my final billboard poster. I have choice to compare it to The Only Way is Essex billboard instead of a Made in Chelsea poster as the M.I.C version is very boring and plain.

The poster that I have compared it to, is a version from T.O.W.I.E which like Made in Chelsea and The Mancuinan Way is a scripted reality tv show.

 

Below I have put together a powerpoint show, stating how I have used, developed and challenged conventions of a poster in my own version.

 

USED
From looking at my poster and the T.O.W.I.E version it is clear that I followed most of the conventions of a billboard poster. By replicating the poster it made it easy for me to create a design that would appeal to an auidence and not be rejected. For example I have made each character a seperate colour so that they are all unique and stand out from one another. Using bright coloured backgrounds would make my poster stand out in the quick seconds that it would be viewed in.

DEVELOPED
I have developed conventions of a poster as on the existing version all of the stars are looking at the camera/auidence and guving out direct address to the viewer. I decided to develop this so that my stars are all looking at Tarquin - who appears on my magazine front cover and most of all in my trailer. If the viewer had not seen my trailer then they would wonder why they are all looking at him an it would hook them into watching the soap.

CHALLENGED 
The main way in which I challenged the conventitions of an existing product was by including text onto my poster. The existing T.O.W.I.E psoter doesn't include any text so the audience can not relate to it. For mine I wanted the viewer to instantly know how to find the programme and once they had seen the poster, each time they see it again, they will instantly remember which soap it is. However this conventition is only a challenge from the T.O.W.I.E version I have looked at because most soap trailers do include text and the channel logo.

OVERALL
On the whole, I used convention ofexisting products in all off my work; trailer and two ancillaries. The main conventions I followed were the use of camera shots in my trailer and the charcaters personalities. On my ancillaries, I followed conventions by mimiking the layouts and codes of a front cover or billboard.
I have challenged conventions by sometimes breaking the barrier in my trailer with different shots and giving away more of the drama than a normal soap trailer would. I have also broke conventions of a Made in Chelsea poster by re creating my own in a new style as the previous, existing version was plain and didn't stand out.
I have also developed conventions by adding in title cards at the end of the trailer, ratehr than in the middle - this reminds the reader what is to come and does not tell them the hole plot like typical Made in Chelsea trailers do.

Final Ancillary Front Cover - Marvellous

Final Ancillary Billboard

Final Soap trailer - The Mancunian Way

Audience feedback and Front Cover Draft 3

From the feedback received on my last draft for my Front cover, it suggested that I make the following changes...


Below is my updated version of my ancillary front cover having made these changes.

Audience Feedback and Ancillary magazine Draft Two

Below is my second draft of my soap magazine front cover. 

On this version, from the previous I have added in another feature and a quote at the top of the page, edited the image contrast and background colours. 

I made most of these changes on my own accord,  to make my work appear better. I made all my text and features bigger and bold so that they can be read a lot easier, previously they were small and hard to read. I still think that the two features on the right need enlarging as they appear smaller than the feature on the right. 

I edited the image as previously it was very bright, but now it looks more sharp and airbrushed.

The background colour was also changed as now it looks more professional as it is not as bright, and the star stands out on the page as he has a slight glow around him.

Ancillary Front Cover Magazine - First Draft

Below is my first draft of my magazine front cover. 
 

 

I took inspiration from the Fabulous magazine seen below. 

I decided to call my magazine 'Marvellous' because, much like Fabulous, it connotes incredibility and excellence. 

Improvements still to be made:

• Needs a quote and date at the top of the magazine, above the masthead
• Needs more features on the other side of the magazine
• The font could maybe be bolder and stand out more

Marvellous Magazine

My magazine does not need a barcode on it because it is a supplement of a Sunday newspaper - the sun.

The Sun is a magazine, stereotypically read by men mainly, this is seen by the page 3 in the newspaper that features topless women. Therefore 'Fabulous' magazine, and in my case 'Marvellous' is for their wife's/girlfriends to read and be intrigued  This is not only the reason why my magazine does not feature a barcode but also why there is a male star on the page. Because the magazine is a supplement for women, for them to be interested, a male is featured on the page. After looking at research, I found that this was not always the case as sometimes women were featured on the front cover. The women shown on the front covers were big characters who have made an impact on the soap/music/television genre and therefore would appeal as a role model to the women reading the magazine. 

Rejected Photos for ancillary - Front Cover

I rejected the photo below because the stars facial expression ins't right for the mood trying to be portrayed through the magazine. Tarquin Jackson is a character who is a big flirt and has several women on the go. Everything else on the photo is correct, the lighting is nice and clear and the mise en scene is easy to be changed. Another criticism of the photo is his denim jacket as the star looks to casual and not like a posh 'Mancunian' boy.

 

The photo below was rejected because of the lack of eye contact from the star. Sometimes eye contact doesn't matter on a front cover, but in this case, this photo doesn't work. The lighting on this photo is also odd as his arm shadows his face leaving him looking in the dark and mise coloured.

 

 

 

 

The photo below was also rejected due to the lack of eye contact from the star. Also his facial expression is wrong as he looks puzzled and not a 'cocky' arrogant boy, which was needed. Everything else about this photo is good and could be used if it wasn't for the minor factors.

The photo below was rejected due to the wrong mise en scene of his clothes. He looks very casual and doesn't connote the correct meaning of 'The Mancunian Way.' Also his facial expression is wrong and his lips should maybe be closed in order to show more arrogance and his 'smug' ways.

 

Ancillary Magazine - Planning/Deconstruction

After researching Fabulous Magazine front covers, I decided that the Front cover below, is most suited to my soap. Because the trailer we made, the star most seen and who it is based around is Spencer/Tarquin, so as a group we decided that he would be most suited to being on the front cover.

Also on our previous planning pages we looked at typical Spencer, from Made In Chelsea poses and figured out he poses are similar to the star Olly Murs, on the front of this magazine. 

Fabulous magazine is a classy magazine front cover and Made in Chelsea/The Mancunian way is a upper class soap so the genres fit well together.

This is shown from the lack of writing on the cover as it is very simple and not full of other pictures so all the focus is on the main star.

After putting all of these factors into place, I have decided that this is the front cover I will follow the conventions of and mimic in my own way.

Below is a practise/basic layout of my magazine.

Front Cover planning - most recent fabulous magazine

Below is an image of the most recent come out fabulous magazine front cover. I have chosen to show this as if for any reason my front cover doesn't work out as planned then I can copy this style as it is new and unique.

Ancillary Magazine Front Cover - Planning

Below is our initial plan for our ancillary - magazine front cover. 

On the sheet, we have come up with several plans for different magazine genres, whether 

it classy or trashy.  From this we then came up with several names for our 

magazine, the colour schemes and who and what would be featured/seen on the

 front cover.

Below is another spider diagram illustrating more ideas for our ancillary. On this, there are names of existing magazines which are similar to what we will be looking at and mimicking when we create our final magazines. This links in with the image 2 below, looking at existing magazines.

Below, we have shown images of existing magazine front covers such as:

• Buzz
• Tv & Satellite
• Fabulous

These magazines are all examples of classy magazines as they are simple and sophisticated and not full of text like trashy magazines are.

From our diagrams before, we decided as a group that Spencer/Tarquin alone, would be on the front cover. This is because classy magazines look better when there is just one star on the front. As you can see below we looked at typical Spencer (From Made in Chelsea) poses, so that our star - Tarquin could mimic his posture. 

Also another thing chosen at this stage was to have Spencer in a shirt and make the image grey-scale  expect from his shirt so that he stands out and therefore there is a simple colour scheme  This colour would then match the billboard, masthead of the magazine etc.

Below is another image of suggested story lines for our front cover. As Tarquin is the only star on the front, we needed to make sure that the image was striking and that the story published matched the image.

Looking at our storyboard and script plans helped a lot at this stage, as we was able to pick out elements from our trailer to come up with a story for the front cover.

Below is a basic plan for our ancillary front cover. The magazine wont be called Fabulous as that is plagiarism , but it simply has that title on the plan as we mimicked the style of this magazine.

Audience feedback and Billboard Draft 3

After having received feedback from my peers and using my own opinions, I made the following changes to my billboard to make it more effective...

Below is my updated version of the billboard

Audience Feedback and Ancillary Billboard Draft Two

Below is my second draft for my billboard. I decided that it needed a title on it and the e4 logo for brand identity and reach. The last draft I did, had no title on or logo so it has improved considerably.

 



Under the title on the billboard, I have wrote words such as 'gossip, drame and friendship.' These words also appear at the end of my trailer,so tye two link together. Personally I prefer this design to the other as it has the soap name on and e4 logo meaning the viewers can determine the soap easier than the previous one and relate more to it.

Ancillary Billboard - First Draft

Below is my first draft for my ancillary billboard.

All of the stars are looking at Tarquin (bottom middle) to show that the focus is on him. 

I took inspiration for this poster from the Towie billboards that are sometimes seen.

Improvements to be made:

• Top Left - Rose's hair could be edited so it is not as yellow
• Bottom Right - Image could be changed as she is not looking at the star correctly and doesn't look annoyed that her boyfriend is cheating on her with 2 other girls

The colour's behind the stars do not match their mood in the soap. This is for the reason that on the Towie billboard, there are only 4 different colours, all of which do not connote their mood or role. Therefore, I felt that as I was replicating this in my own way, my colours did not need to match the stars mood. Another reason why this wasn't done was due to Tarquin wearing red, and because he is seen as the 'love-rat' or 'devil' in the soap, red would be a suitable coloured background but it would clash to much with his clothing.

Rejected photos from Ancillary Billboard

I rejected the photo below because the stars facial expression is not serious and therefore unsuitable for use. 

I rejected the photo below because of the stars clothing and his facial expression. His clothing is too casual to be shown on a billboard for a posh soap, also the green jacket blends in with the background so it would be hard to edit. His facial expression is wrong aswell, as he needs to look annoyed at the fact his girlfriend has been stolen from him. The lighting is also to harsh making the star look washed out.

The shot below was rejected because the lighting is to harsh on the actresses face. As it is artificial light, it is very harsh and washes out her tone, therefore blending her hair and skin together.

The shot below was rejected because the star is glaring too much which makes her eye look half closed. Also her facial expression is wrong because she doesn't need to be looking that angry at Tarquin, because she still loves him at the end of the day.

The shot below was rejected because the stars face is covered by her hair and the lighting is very harsh. As she is natural fair, her skin, hair and top all blend into one because of the usage of artificial lighting.

The shot below was rejected because of the wrong facial expression from the star. She is smiling slightly which connotes she is happy that her boyfriend is seeing other people, when she should really be looking annoyed and concerned.