This blog has been created in order for me to post blogs in regards to my A2 coursework, otherwise known as an advanced production which requires me and my group to create a Soap Opera trailer, TV listings magazine and a Webiste for our soap opera. In addition we must update the blog through all three stages of production including pre production, production and post production. Also we will include the evaluations of our advanced production on the blog where we review our Soap Opera trailer, determining whether or not the trailer fits into the conventions of the genre and if it appeals to its target audience.
My first post for the A2 advanced production blog is based on me independently finding the definiton of a soap opera in order to understand the genre. TV drama is a broad genre. At its simplest, it is fictionalised action in narrative form. Genre means ‘kind’ or ‘type’, TV dramas are categorised by the things they have in common such as conventions. Conventions of a genre are the ingredients which all genres share. To create something specific to a genre you must follow conventions in order for the audience to recognise it. Many genres break down into sub genres; sub genres are even more specific than genres. Similarly hybrids are the result of two or more genres catalysed. Broadcasters, producers and audiences play a huge role in TV drama, whether it is the way they label them or how they are perceived by an audience. TV dramas have the following ingredients:
· Characters
· Narrative – both its overall structure and how it is constructed
· Sets & setting – locations against which the story unfolds
· Camera work – particular camera work is often
· Dialogue – sound and music
· Icons – these tend to be associated with sub-genres
A soap opera sometimes referred to as “soap” for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name soap opera initially came from original dramatic serials broadcasted on the radio that heavily featured soap manufacturers such as Colgate-Palmolive and others as sponsors and producers. These original soap operas were broadcast in weekday daytime slots where the majority of housewives could listen in, thus being targeted and consumed to a predominantly female audience.
The term soap opera has been applied to any romantic serial, but it is also used to describe the more naturalistic, unglamorous, gritty UK primetime drama serials such as Eastenders. A typical convention that defines soap opera is the open ended nature of the narrative, meaning the storylines can continue throughout several episodes.
Albert Moran states "that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. Each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode".
Soap opera stories run parallel meaning that they have multiple storylines which run concurrently and intersect leading in more storylines, thus potentially affecting other storylines or completely running independent of each other. Soap operas rarely bring all storylines to a conclusion at one time, typically once one ends there are several other storylines that branch off. The most common ways to end a storyline within a soap opera is through the death of a character and the typical way of ending an episode is with a dramatic cliffhanger.
To conclude, i have educated myself in the soap opera genre which will benefit me later on in the A2 advanced production.
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