Final script

Final Script

What has been improved:

-The scene now has the location, date and time of day next to it

-The Script also says at the top that it is for Helen How the trailer

I got inspiration for this script from the Being Human script despite Being Human not being a soap opera it was still useful to see a script that is used professionally and how it is laid out.

I made this script more detailed because a trailer has very short scenes which need to be in detail on the script so the actors understand the message which they need to convey.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/downloads/scripts/being_human_s1e1.pdf

2nd draft script

final script

What has changed:

-This now has a professional script layout which I created on Microsoft Word
-It has each scene detailed in italics with the location and detail on what is happening
-It also includes how the line needs to be said
-The names are bold making it clear who says what
-It also has the production name on it

First draft script

Our script isn't making use of any narrative throughout the main part of the trailer, the only speaking will be a voiceover at the end. This is a basic draft of our initial script.

Extra diegetic "clicking" of high heels
(tracking, extreme close up)
Extra diegetic of wheels on a suitcase
(wide shot)

Extra diegetic "whistle"

Extra diegetic of stamping of childrens feet

Extra diegetic "slap" from Stephanie

Extra diegetic intake of breath

V.O
"Do the Halls create hell in Helen Howe? 8PM on Alan!"

Initial Plot Narrative For Trailer

We have decided to create our trailer in the style of many trailers used by the soap opera, Hollyoaks. This is because Hollyoaks is aimed at a younger adult audience and this is the audience that we aim to attract. The trailers used by Hollyoaks often tell the storyline in a quirky manner which intrigues the audience to watch the episode as they want to know the storyline.

For example, for the storyline where Nancy, Ravvi and Kris were in a love triangle, the trailer advertising this trailer was in the form of a magazine cover. The cover has an emblem with the word "exclusive" and this intrigues the audience into knowing the new scandal happening in the soap. The use of a magazine cover is used to appeal to a younger audience who are the most popular buyers of gossip magazines.

We would like our trailer to have a Hollyoaks-esque feel to it where it hints at the storyline without telling the audience what is going to happen, whilst still intriguing the audience to watch our soap opera.

Initial trailer ideas

Media Initial Ideas

How we named our Soap

We sat down as a group and discussed names of soaps so we could then give our soap a name.

We listed current soap names and the reasoning behind their names. For example;

Eastenders- is called Eastenders because it is set in the East end of London and the short name tells the audience where the soap is set immediately in its name, also it is short and memorable. As the soap is called Eastenders it would attract people who live in East London already capturing a large audience.

Coronation Street- is called Coronation Street because that is also where it is set, However, it is more specific as the soap is named after the Street where the soap is set. This name would not relate to a specific group of people living on a street. However, by calling it a street name the audience can relate to the name as many people live on streets just like Coronation Street, which would give them a chance to identify with the soap which Denis McQuail states in his Uses and Gratifications theory is very important for audience members.

Emmerdale- is called Emmerdale because the village is called Emmerdale. The soap was originally called Emmerdale Farm until 1989, the reasons for the change in name was due to the soaps storyline being based around the farm however, then moved on to more storylines in the village of Beckindale. This then made the change of name more appropriate and relevant. The village name also changed in 1994 to Emmerdale, so now the soap is named after its village.

Hollyoaks- is named Hollyoaks because it is based in the suburb of Chester called Hollyoaks and also the College is called Hollyoaks Community College. This name was based around the college due to the majority of the cast being 15-30 years of age. Therefore, capturing their audience.

After sharing this research we then thought about possible names for our soap, we thought of street names such as:

Secret Street
- this would be relevant to storylines but it made the soap sound like a mystery or sci-fi which would put our target audience off watching.

Mulberry Street
- this was too sweet sounding, for example it sounds like a street in the country side due to Mulberrys being grown.

Hylands Street
-this was just picked at random and we didn't like it as it has no meaning behind and we had decided we wanted a name that stuck out and was relevant.

We also thought of areas that we knew around local villages;

Brickbarns- this is a road name in Gt Leighs in Essex, we did not like this as Barns could give the audience an impression of barn-like houses which would create an old fashioned image in their head, which is not what we want and not our aim.

St Andrews Road- this is a road in Boreham in Essex, this could be relevant if we had a character in our soap called Andrew, However we did not like that it said St.

Helen Howe- this is a road in Gt Leighs in Essex, we liked the name Helen and had that as a name for our main character in our soap so it is relevant there. Also the name Helen almost has the word Hell in it which I thought would sound good in a slogan about creating Hell in Helen Howe.

We chose the name Helen Howe because of the link to the character name and 'Hell'. Also, because it sounds unique and quirky which is what we want our soap to aim for so it stands out and attracts a large audience.





reference:
http://www.solarnavigator.net/films_movies_actors/television/emmerdale.htm

The reasons behind the first two episodes

The first episode follows the typical soap trailer editing being an episodic narrative where all the different characters story lines start to interlink together. This type of episode is good for a first episode as it gently introduces the characters and their personalities, this would not confuse the viewer but intrigue them, as they would wonder what problems each character will cause. This sticks to the hypodermic needle approach as viewers can watch passively and gain their own opinions on characters. However, the episode includes an interesting cliff hanger at the end with both Danielle and Richard's story lines, this would therefore make the viewers want to watch the next episode.

The second episode is very different. We decided as a group that we would have a flash forward episode. However, we found it hard to dedicate a whole episode to a flash forward instead we just had flash forwards in the episode making it a anachronic narrative. We decided to do this because Hollyoaks did a flash forward with the Carmelle and Calvin storyline, they were the first soap to do a flash forward episode and it was a big success. For example it was in newspapers such as The Daily Mail. So we thought as we are aiming at the same audience as Hollyoaks we would do an episode with flash forwards in because it was popular. Also from the target audience questionnaire I did for soap operas I found that most people liked episodes that focus on one storyline so we thought it would capture a large scale audience if we dedicated an episode to the Danielle storyline.

Outline of the first two episodes

Episode 1

The Halls move into their new home. However before they unpack Courtney Hall and Deano Hall are on a mission to make new friends. Courtney Hall meets Danielle who could be a bad influence as she is pregnant at the age of 16 and unsure who the father is. Where as Deano fits in with the Jack the lads.

Richard offers to help Helen, with the heavier boxes. He ends up staying for tea and a chat, whilst his new wife is at the salon unaware of his eager gestures.

Already Deano is told to steal goods from the local shop for his new mischievous friends and willingly does so just to fit in.

Episode ends with Danielle explaining to Courtney she doesn't know who the father of her baby is and Richard giving Helen a massage.

Episode 2

The episode begins with Danielle and Courtney in the cafe discussing the possibilities of who could be the father of her baby.

Then as Danielle tells Courtney the three possible names she stops after every name to think what that person would be like as a father. The first flash forward is with Jack, they are both playing with the baby in the park smiling to each other. Then Danielle reveals the next possibility which is Jason, the flash forward begins and Danielle is seen alone in a dark room with the sound of the baby crying and Danielle dialling a number on her phone repeatedly and not getting through. The flash forward then ends and Danielle looks worried before she reveals the last possibility who is Aaron, the flash forward starts when Aaron refuses to take the baby to the doctors because he looks a mess and doe's not want to be seen in public looking like a state, this then turns into an argument where Danielle storms out of the house with the baby.

When the last flash forward finishes there will be three clips of what each guy is doing whilst Danielle is in the cafe. Jack is cleaning his room then goes out to wash his car, Richard is out shopping with his wife, when she comes out of the changing room he stops staring at the shop assistant and complements Steph on her dress. Finally Aaron is in the mirror doing his hair then gets out about three outfits which he can not decide on which one to wear. The episode ends when Danielle decides that she doesn't want to think about who the father is until she gives birth.

Ideas behind Casting

The people we cast for our soap opera trailer are very important because the soap trailer relies on their credibility. Because of this, we will hold auditions and audition as many people as possible in order to try and find the best people for the job. Because our script has no speaking parts, our audition will consist entirely of their acting ability and how they come across on camera, for example if they are confident and believable.

The type of characters we need are as follows;
Helen Should be an attractive woman in her thirties - forties, quite glamorous and very confident, trailer should be reminiscent of a catwalk

Deano Teenage boy, aged between 16-19, quite 'cool' looking - polo shirts, jeans and Nike trainers, tries hard to be cool and fit in - in audition needs to be flustered when he sees Danielle is pregnant, maybe tripping up a little and staring as he walks past

Courtney Teenage girl, between ages 15-17, clever (straight As in exams) typical girly girl, hair and makeup immaculate - in audition imitiates her mother, tries to get the attention of the men outside the pub - flicks hair?

Richard Man in his early twenties, quite suave, dresses in suits and shirts, top few buttons undone - shows his laid back lifestyle and personality, reckons himself as a 'ladies man' - in audition he stares as Helen walks past and winks, maybe pushing his wife slightly out the way

Stephanie Young woman around twenty years old, bubbly character, quite a quirky fashion sense, 'statement' hair as she is a hairdresser - in audition her face drops as Richard pushes her away and she turns and slaps him, starts shouting at him?

Danielle Teenage girl, aged sixteen, very pretty, blonde hair symbolising innocence, contrasts with her pregnancy - in audition have her smiling over her shoulder to Deano and then turn around, revealing her stomach

Aaron Male aged 19, fairly good looking, a 'lads lad' well dressed, in audition stood outside pub with his friends, as they all look at Helen and Courtney, he's watching JJ longingly

JJ Male around twenty/twenty one, the 'jack-the-lad' character, dresses smart casual, quite cheeky/mischievious, in audition raising pint glass as Helen walks past, cheering

Character Profiles

We have created our character profiles and included pictures of other soap opera characters who are similar to who we would like to cast.

Character Profiles

Target Audience Profile

Our soap opera is aimed predominantly at a mainstream audience as devised by the Young and Rubicam's Four Consumers. We chose this because this makes up 40% of the population who feel they can relate to this style of program. We're aiming this at groups C1 - E because this is made up of students, working class, lower middle class and the unemployed, who are more likely to be at home when shows are aired. Also, they tend to be home at the same time every day, meaning they can keep up with the soap and keep viewings up.

The reason we havent aimed at groups A and B is because the story lines in our soap will take more of an influence from lower class backgrounds as opposed to higher. Also, we are taking influence from soaps Hollyoaks and Eastenders, both of whom aim at our target groups. Furthermore, the audience categories Home Soldiers, Priority Parents, Struggling Singles and Settled Elders as defined by LifeMatrix are the kind of social groups we are aiming at. For example, our main family, The Hall's, will appeal to the Home Soldiers because of their family values, such as loyalty and hard work. An established character who fits into this category is Peggy Mitchell from Eastenders.

The types of storylines we are exploring - homosexuality, family values, teenage pregnancy and underage drinking - feature regularly in both Hollyoaks and Eastenders. Hollyoaks is aimed predominantly at a younger audience, namely aged 15-30, whereas Eastenders appeals to a wider audience because of the diversity and range of characters.

Many soaps follow the Hyperdermic Needle theory as proposed by meaning that audiences are passive and have no active participation in the program. Most soaps follow this theory, although often they deal with current issues which audiences are interested in, which does involve a certain amount of thinking on the audiences part, linking to the theory of Uses and Gratifications ( Denis McQuail, 1987). We are also going to consider the use of the Male Gaze Theory as proposed by Laura Mulvey, which makes the assumption that the audience is male and so aims predominantly at them.

Comparing our targert audeine questionnaire results

Questionnaire Results


Questionnaire Results

To make sure we had captured the same audience from our research we looked at our results to compare what we had found.

From looking at both sets of graphs we can see that one set of results reveals that females watch soaps more than males however, the other results show they both watch them equally. This is still reliable as the results that do show females watch soaps more is not completely unbalanced showing that males and females both watch soaps, therefore we will have to appeal to both.

On one set of results it is clear that females and males in the 30-50 age bracket are most likely to watch soaps and this is supported by the other results as the most common age bracket where soaps are watched is the 41-50 therefore showing that soaps appeal to this age group. We can therefore decide if we want to target a younger audience or continue with the current audience we found.

Other questions on our questionnaires are different where one questionnaire asks the audience about what storylines they like and the other is about why they watch soaps. Both sets of results are reliable and will help us create our target audience questionnaire but we cannot draw comparisons between them. However, we have found some supportive evidence on the results that defines the age demographic and whether males or females watch soaps.

Initial Ideas

Soap Opera Brief

Our new Soap Opera is based around a residential street in a village in Essex, following the lives of new family in town, The Hall's. Little do they know that by moving in, they'll be drawn right into the center of the local scandals, and with teenagers Deano and Courtney around, these are only going to escalate!

Our initial cast of characters comply with the stereotypical Essex characteristics; the father of sixteen year old Dannielle's baby is still unknown, and the subject of much gossip in the local pub St Annes, whereas cheeky chappy Aaron is hiding a big secret from everyone...

Family is the main focus in everyday life, and inevitably therefore is the root of most issues. Family loyalty is key, with Helen regulaly reminding her brood that "We're all we've got!" Being a single mother, her children are sometimes a little on the wild side, but tend to mean well. Our soap is to be shown three times a week in order to give away just enough but to keep the audience always wanting just that bit more.

With such a wide range of fiesty characters, can peace be kept or will all hell break loose?

Initial Ideas

We sat down as a group yesterday and started discussing the basic ideas we had for our soap operas. This included the overall storylines for the first two episodes and planning how we wanted our trailer to look. We also had to decide what kind of soap opera we wanted to make, be it inspired by things like Eastenders, Coronation Street or Hollyoaks. We decided that, due to our geographical location, that our soap will be based on a street in Essex and we will try to make it appeal to a younger audience. Because of this, we will have to use characters that appeal to our target audience. We are aiming our soap opera at demographical groups C1-E because these are students, working class and the unemployed and therefore will home when we wish our soap to be aired.
The main characters we are thinking of introducing in the trailer are a newly-wed couple, a loud and likable family, a young mum, a homosexual couple and a "jack the lad" character. We're doing this because these characters follow many typical conventions of soap operas and are popular types of characters, so are likely to draw in audiences. However, we will aim to ensure that our soap opera does have something different about it, so it's not just the same as every other soap opera around.

Research on Soap Operas

Each group member has done their own individual research on Soap operas, this is so as a group everyone has knowledge on conventions and the history of soaps.
To see this research click these links to get to each members blogs.

Jo Peplow-Revell research 1 Research done in July
Jo Peplow-Revell research 2 Research done in August
Jo Peplow-Revell research 3 Research done in September

Sophie Tindall research 1 Research done in July
Sophie Tindall research 2 Research done in August
Sophie Tindall research 3 Research done in September

Lucy Clark research 1 Research done in July
Lucy Clark research 2 Research done in August
Lucy Clark research 3 Research done in September

Jade Saunders research 1 Research done in September