1. This frame is the very first that appears in my soap opera trailer. It immediately sets the scene, as the soap opera is called 'Eaton' and the pub is called 'Eaton Oak'. We wanted to do a mid to close up shot of the pub, so that the sign was clear and could be read easily. We also thought the pub was too large to fit into a whole frame, and because of this we thought that our audience may not even recognise it as a pub. We wanted to include the windows and the door to emphasise the realism, and ensure that the sign was obvious. We wanted to include a pub in our soap opera because they are a conventional setting in other soap operas such as 'Eastenders' and 'Coronation Street'. Pubs allow characters to be social, and we wanted to incorporate this idea into our soap opera trailer because it is emphasises the realism. I also included a 'BBC 1' logo in the corner of each shot. This is to create realism, as it makes the trailer look more professional. I also wanted to include it so that it was clear to audiences that the soap would be aired on BBC1, so that they would know what channel to watch it on. I chose the bright red colour because it is the colour that BBC1 uses in its logos, and it is also an eye catching colour that would draw in the audience's attention.
2. This frame is from the 'drug dealing' storyline we included in our trailer. We decided to include a midshot of the physical exchange of 'drugs' for money. This is because we wanted to make the shot look as realistic as possible, and to make it clear that was what the two male characters were doing. The mid shot allows enough detail to be portrayed, while at the same time showing the males from the neck down, and their arm movements when they do the exchange. This enables audiences to see clearly what is going on without the shot looking too 'busy'. Initially the shot looked very dark as we wanted to have darker lighting for this particular storyline to give off a 'dangerous' and 'mysterious' mood. We shot this scene in the winter time, and it gets dark very quickly so when we started shooting it was just beginning to get dark, but it was still light enough to capture footage successfully. However, by the time we had finished, it was too dark to see our footage clearly. This meant that I had to lighten the contrast on Adobe Premier Pro during the editing process. I made sure that I did not make the shot too light that it looked unrealistic or too different from the rest of the trailer because that would look odd, so I still kept in an element of darkness, but lightened the contrast enough to make the shot clearer. In other soap opera trailers, and even full length soap opera episodes that I have watched, there seems to be a lot of storylines dealing with social issues. I wanted to incorporate this within my soap opera trailer as other soaps such as 'Eastenders' has dealt with social issues such as drug addiction successfully.
3. This frame is from the 'poisoning' storyline. We needed to ensure that the storyline was made absolutely clear so that our audience would understand what was going on. To do this we used a few close ups to emphasise what was occuring, and to make sure it was obvious too. We used a close up to show the elderly female physically placing a tablet of some sort into her husband’s tea. We made sure we used a tea mug that would be recognisable, so that it was obvious that her husband was drinking from the same mug the tablet was in. We used quite large white tablets so that they could be seen going into the tea, which makes it clearer to our audience as to what is going on. We also made sure that the elderly lady wore a recognisable top, and so we included this in the close up so it was made clear that it was her that was putting the tablet into the tea. The elderly female's wedding band is also clearly on display, this is to emphasise that she is married, and helps audiences to work out an obvious connection between her and her husband.
4. This frame is from another one of the storylines included in my soap opera trailer, which is called the 'peer pressure' storyline. We wanted to use an over-the-shoulder shot from the victim’s point of view. This is to emphasise that she is standing alone, and has 3 girls ganging up on her. It also allows the audience to see what she sees, and thus in a way they are able to experience it and empathise with her. While the victim is evident in the shot, it is the three bullies that are the focus of attention. We used a mid shot to incorporate all of their facial expressions which could be described as sneering or mocking. The roles of the three bullies are also made clear, as there is a female stood on either side of the 'leader', who is in the middle. In other bullying storylines other soap operas such as 'Hollyoaks' has looked at, there are examples of group bullying, but there is mainly a focus on the one main bully who then focuses on one victim.
5. Frame number five is also from the 'peer pressure' storyline. The act of peer pressure that is shown within my trailer is a group of teenage girls pressurising another girl to drink alcohol. We wanted to emphasise that this was what was happening, and so we ensured that we used an authentic alcohol bottle, but filled it up with water instead. Because the alcohol that was in the bottle was clear vodka, water still looked realistic. When one of the girls who is enforcing the peer pressure pushes the victim with the bottle, she drops it. We wanted to make this look as dramatic as possible, to make our audience interested in what the storyline will develop into, which means that they will want to watch the soap when it starts. To do this, we cut when the vodka bottle touched the victims chest, and cut to a shot of the bully and the victims feet. We had to ensure that in between shots neither of the characters moved, otherwise the shots would not match up because they would be standing in different positions and then the audience may not be able to recognise the characters. We then got the bully character to drop the vodka bottle so that we could film it falling and landing. We filmed this sequence in a park, and so the floor was a rubber material which meant that the bottle would not smash, but instead bounce which would look more interesting and dramatic. It took a few takes to get the bottle to move in the right way so that it was in the shot, but eventually we worked out that it should be dropped slowly and deliberately to ensure that it still looked good. The bottle represents social issues that are relevant to teenagers, who are also a part of our audience; because alcohol is often a factor in teenagers lives in one way or another.
6. This frame is of the end title, which is the last frame of the trailer. Because we intend for our soap to be shown on BBC1, we wanted to make this obvious to our audience so that they would know where to watch it. Therefore I decided to use the familiar red background that BBC1 uses in trailers for all of its programs, including its own soap, Eastenders. Sometimes, BBC1 just uses a small logo but I personally thought that the red background was more eye-catching and familiar. After I had found a suitable background, I needed to look at a font that was very similar, if not the same, as the one that the BBC1 uses. After investigation, I found out that in October 2006, BBC1 began using a font from Fontsmith, and it is not avaliable to use unless you purchase it. On finding this out I decided to use Adobe Photoshop to find the closest font I could, and then to layer it over the background. After trying out many different fonts, I found that Gill Sans MT was the closest match. I ensured that the font was white, to match BBC 1's, but I also thought that it was the colour that stood out the most against the red. I made sure that the 'BBC One' was the centre of the title, so that it seemed to be the most important information provided. This was because it is the channel that the soap will be shown on. I made sure that the title of the soap 'Eaton' was slightly larger and at the top, so that it is the first thing that audiences will read. This is so that they are aware of what the soap is called, and therefore what to look for when they want to watch it. Next, I included when the soap starts 'Starts Monday' and then underneath, '7pm'. Here I provided all of the information that an audience would need to know for when the soap begins. By doing this, I am ensuring that they would not miss the start of the soap, and because the trailer airs before the start of the soap, it gives them enough time to plan their evening so that they are able to watch it. At the bottom of the title, I included a website link that is on the BBC's UK website that will link to a page dedicated to the soap. This will give the audience an opportunity to find out more about the soap, and due to technological convergence, they will be able to watch episodes online. The use of a website is a successful way of reaching a wider audience.
7. This frame is from the 'affair' storyline, where a middle-aged woman is having an affair with a middle aged man. To make this clear to our audience, we needed to establish who each of the characters involved in the storyline were, and what role they played. We initially needed to establish the female character, and her husband, whom she is cheating on. To do this we decided to include a shot of the female saying goodbye to her husband so that she was alone in her house and therefore able to invite 'the other man' inside. In this frame, we have the male standing outside the door with the female inside. This makes it clear that the male is leaving and the female is staying at home. We decided to use a midshot, so that we could do an over-the-shoulder shot from the female's perspective, but still have enough detail to make the faces of the characters clear and recognisable. The female goes to embrace her husband and then waves to him, which establishes the relationship between them, and further emphasises that he is about to leave.
8. This frame is also from the 'affairs' storyline, and is a deliberate contrast to frame number 7. This is because although the female character is the same, the male character is 'the other man'. I thought that the audience may have difficulty in telling the difference between the males, and so when the female comes to greet 'the other man' I ensured that he came in through another door. I also used a long to mid shot, so that it was easier to tell that the door was a different one to the one that the husband went out of. The shot that is used is effective because it also allows facial features to still be clear, and this helps the audience to establish that the male is different to her husband. I still wanted to film from the female character's point of view, so we shot from behind her. This allowed us to show the male's face more clearly, because the female character is easier to recognise because she is the only female in this particular storyline.
9. This frame is from the 'poisoning' storyline. We used a mid-shot on the elderly male so that you could still recognise his facial features, but also see his surroundings. Most importantly, it needed to be made clear that he was drinking the poisoned tea his wife had made him. By using a mid-shot, you can clearly see his upper body and the table where the tea was placed. Again, it is obvious that it is the cup that had pills added to it because it is the distinctive one with a yellow flower on it. We wanted to engage our audience's attention and interest, but also leave some curiosity so that they would want to watch the soap when it begins. To do this, we filmed the elderly male raising the mug to his lips and taking a sip, but then cut there. I did this because audiences would know how the storyline begins but not what happens next. To find out, they would have to watch the soap when it starts.
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