Social Realism

Soap Forms

and

Conventions

Multiple Main

Characters so that

the audience has a

character who they

feel they can relate

to.

Multiple storylines

running at the

same time in

each episode

Minimal makeup

and ‘regular’

costumes to

make it seem

more realistic

Variety of camera angles including

P.O.V shots, reverse angle shots and

using the camera as a fourth wall to

make the audience feel as if they

are involved in current story

Different set

types and

locations such as

a living room

and other rooms

generally found

in a house, also

outdoor sets and

public places

such as cafes,

bars, pubs and

shops.

I made notes on the

Hollyoaks trailer and

highlighted the key

words for the

different types of

conventions:

Red for cameraOrange for mise

en scene

Green for musicBlue for editing

HOLLYOAKS PARK AVENUE

Reverse Angle

Extreme Close Up

Establishing shot

with characters at

different distances

High Angle Shot

Close up

Low Angle Shot

MCU 2 Shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFS4zYWxzNA

Music: Clubbed to Death by Rob Dougan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awaz1aNTNL8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wwk25H-Ki4

Hollyoaks Trailer:

Music: Born To Die – Lana Del Ray (Gemini Remix)

Similarities:

•Heavy Beat

•Slow at beginning

then kicks in

•Slight troubling

feel/tone to song

Inside a Home

(e.g. Living room)

Public place (e.g.

Cafe)

Outside (e.g. Park)

HOLLYOAKS PARK AVENUE

One convention of a Social Realism soap is that it

has multiple storylines running in each episode. In

my product ‘Park Avenue’ there is only one

storyline running. Although all of the characters are

involved in the story and have their own roles, it

may seem like there is more than one storyline but

in fact it is all part of the same plot.

Conventions

Use - When creating my Front Cover, I used TV & Satellite Week as an

example to base it on. I used the conventions by: Including a strap, the

date of issue, highlighting the ‘New’ feature, using he same 4 colour colour

scheme, sticking to the rule of thirds, including an extra feature in a

coloured box putting the features at the side and bolding the subtitle,

putting the magazine title in large bold letters and including a website and

price.

Develop – I developed my magazine front cover as I included a

main title, subtitle and text, where as TV & Satellite Week only

include a title and subtitle. Also, as well as bolding the subtitle for

the features, I also added a different colour to them to make them

stand out to the reader.

Challenge – I did not challenge the conventions of TV & Satellite

Week.

Conventions

Use - As I decided to brand my soap as from E4, I followed the

conventions of an E4 poster (Misfits). I used the conventions by using a

background that relates to the theme of the programme, including the

main characters in the shot, using the E4 logo, font (American Typewriter)

and sticky tape

Develop – I developed my billboard as I included a caption in the

billboard but still stuck to the font which E4 uses.

Challenge – I challenged the conventions of the misfits billboard as

I did not include the URL to the E4 website.