Soap Opera Essay

Soap operas have been the worlds most popular entertainment source for many years. With soap operas focusing on recreating real life problems that can happen to anyone has people around the world hooked on these shows. Most of the soap operas today all have similar layouts when it comes to their neighbourhood. For example the three most popular soap operas are Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale and the layout for each are very similar, they include;

Eastenders;

• A pub- The Queen Victoria
• A Café- Bridge Street Cafe
• A local Shop- Minute Mart

Coronation Steet;

• A pub- The Rover's Return
• A Café- Roy's Rolls
• A local shop- D&S Alahan's

Emmerdale;

• A pub- The Woolpack
• A Café- Cafe Main Street
• A local shop- Farrers Barn

During soap operas, the characters usually belong to specific families. It's the families that they belong to that usually decide how they will act in the neighbourhood and how people react to them. The way the characters will act usually depend on gender as well as the women are perceived as stronger than the male characters. A female characters can be developed in two ways, The matriarch or The bitch. In Coronation Street, the matriarch would be Rita as she is always caring about others instead of herself. This causes others to go to Rita when they need someone and for people to respect her.

In Coronation Street, the bitch would be Tracy Barlow as she is always thinking of a scheme or a derogatory comment towards someone. Lately on the show, she has been sleeping with someone else's boyfriend just because that girlfriend is the friend of the person who got her fiancé rightfully put in prison.

As for the male characters, they are either seen as the Unintelligent or the Socially Awkward. These characters are usually there for the girls to use as they see fit, however on occasion you do get the Bad Guy. In Coronation Street, Kirk is the guy who is seen as unintelligent. He doesn't answer most of the questions on the show but when he does you can be guaranteed that it will be pointless and stupid.

In Coronation Street, Steve McDonald is seen as the socially awkward. In the beginning he would just say inappropriate jokes but lately his depression has caused him to withdraw completely from people so he just becomes awkward when he tries to talk to people.

Soap operas plot lines are open narratives. By the end of the episode not everything is all wrapped up and over with. Usually there is a big plot line that slowly builds up over months of episodes before it is solved and then the next one comes along. In Eastenders the big plot line was 'who killed Lucy?' Lucy was killed on 18th April 2014 but the killer wasn't revealed until 19th February 2015. However, since these big plots take a long time they have minor plots in the program that can end at the end of the episode or a few episodes later. There are other types of narratives in soap operas and they are;

Micro-Narrative: Is the relationship between characters. This could be an altercation between two of the characters.

Meta-Narrative: This is usually issues relating to Race and Drugs.

Macro-Narrative: This is the notion of a mini-society. This can mean the street in Coronation Street.

Trans-Narrative: The sum of all stories seen at once.

Hyper-Narrative: A similar scale of collective stories.

Sit-com Essay

I'm going to be analysing Season 3 episode 1 of The Inbetweeners. My main focus will be on the main four boys and how their characters are represented, how the episode narrative was structured and the technical elements used during the episode.

Character Analysis
Usually in a Sit-Com the characters each take on a scorch of familial role even if the characters are not a family. I believe this is applied in the Inbetweeners.

• Simon has more of a fatherly role in the group. He is the one who is usually coming up with the smart comments for the others to take advice from. Since he seems to be the smartest, he comes up with the reasonable answers to problems instead of pointless suggestions made by the others for a laugh because of this he seems to be respected at least some what more than the others.
• Will has more of a motherly role in the group. Together with Simon he seems to be responsible of the other two members of the group who in comparison are very immature. Will tries to be the voice of reason to try and steer Jay and Neil away from trouble, even though it usually doesn't work, because he cares about them and feels responsible for them.
• Jay has more of a younger brother role in the group. He is always trying to get attention, be it from his friends or the girls around him, as he feels the world revolves around him. He is constantly telling lies about himself to make him sound the most interesting person in the group and so Neil will follow his role. He feels like he is a good role model for Neil but is actually a slightly bad influence.
• Neil is the trusting brother role in the group. He usually spends his time with Jay because he thinks Jay has done all sorts of stuff he wishes he could have done. Since Neil isn't as smart as Simon and Will, he always seems like he doesn't know what's going on. This usually means he turns to Simon for advice or Will to find a solution to the problems.

The reason they all work well together though is because they all share a trait of embarrassing themselves in front of people to try to get the girl. Jay pierces his ear because he thinks it will make him a model to get the girl, when that doesn't work he gets bugger earrings, all leading to a nasty infection. Neil offers to help backstage to try and see some girls naked but instead there are sheets that cover the girls and ends up with one of the male teachers truing to undress him. Will tries to stop the fashion show from happening but instead decides to join in after a pretty girl asks him to thinking it will get her to ask him out but instead she rejects him to his face. Neil does something similar and joins the fashion show but because of him rushing to get his speedos on he walks down the catwalk with his testicle hanging out in front of everyone's parents.

Narrative Structure
Sit-coms are closed narrative story lines meaning by the end of the episode the plot line has finished and the problem all solved. This sit-com has two major plot points between three acts.

The episode starts off with Act 1, that is the characters in their natural environment. This is basically the boys getting a ride to school now that one of them can drive, this also gives us an introduction as to what the show will be about as they mention the fashion show that is being held for charity. This continues on until plot point 1. Plot point 1 is usually when the 'problem' or 'conflict' is introduced, in the case of this episode it is a student called Alastair as he is announced to be returning to the college after being of sick for a year, this is a problem because the main four guys don't like him. Act 2 is all about them trying to deal with the problem or conflict, meaning they join the fashion show that Alastair is running and either try to help out or, in Will's case, try to get people to donate in a different way. This leads on to plot point 2. Plot point 2 is when something big happens towards the end of the program that isn't considered normal everyday action. For this episode, plot point 2 would be when Simon is asked to go down the runway in a speedo and unfortunately his testicle is hanging out of the side of the speedo. Act 3 is when Simon realises what has happened, he faces the consequences of those accidental actions and they go back to their natural environment.

Technical Elements
The technical elements in the episode consists of the basic cinematography and editing techniques. The shots used are shot reverse shots, mid shots and close ups. Shot reverse shots are typically used to show a conversation between two people close enough to the face to see the expression. Mid shots are used for conversation between more than two people to get them all in but still be close enough to get expressions. Close ups are usually used to make sure the audience is focused upon something they need to see, for example Neil's testicle when it hangs out of his speedos. The sound in the episode such as the people speaking, the fashion show music, sound of people walking or knocking on the door, all comes from on screen meaning it is diegetic sound. As for Mise en scene it starts with a cheap old car which shows that they are dependent on their parents and are still to immature to deal with everyday problems on their own. This is furthered by the fact that the sixth form college they go to is a part of a school so they are still surrounded by children.

Synergy

Synergy

Synergy in the media is when two companies or substances join forces and cooperate to produce a media outlet, most commonly a music video, to create a combined effect with results greater than the results of separate attempts.

In the music video above, the two companies working together would be Pepsi and Michael Jackson. Pepsi itself could be seen throughout the video in the forms of signs in the shop window, cans, bottles and cups all with the Pepsi logo on, this gives the viewer the necessary knowledge to know the advert is for Pepsi. The use of Michael Jackson and his brothers would boost the marketing for both Pepsi and Jackson's songs as they are well known since their rise to fame in the Jackson 5 and then Jackson's solo career. The song used in the music video has had it's lyrics changed to suit the purpose of selling Pepsi but the tune is obviously Billie Jean by Michael Jackson so the tune gets stuck in people heads causing people to want to listen to Jackson's songs. Pepsi would have agreed to using Michael Jackson as he was already becoming known as the King of Pop at this time.

The advert was used to try to get a wider range of people drinking Pepsi, specifically the youth, which is shown through the use of the slogan 'New Generation' in the new lyrics to Jackson's song. Even though Michael and his brothers are only seen a few times in the advert and a 12 year old Alfonso Ribeiro is the main was the focus of the video, Ribeiro is dressed up as Michael Jackson with his signature sparkly glove and red jacket, which everyone will recognise as Jackson. The video shows Michael encouraging the kids to drink Pepsi and having a sort of dance-off with the kids to the new lyrics of Billie Jean. 

Crime Essay

Crime shows usually have a slow paced plot line, meaning the questions aren't answered at the end of the episode. The plots usually take up the entire season before the case is solved. Unlike soap operas, there aren't any minor plots and the shows focus solely on solving the case. I will be analysing The Killing season 3 episode 8.

The two main characters the show focuses on are the Detectives Stephen Holder and Sarah Linden. Detective Holder is taken as a laid back type of detective but in this episode the audience sees another side to Holder. Holders friend has been found murdered by a child serial killer, this deeply affects Holder and he shows the audience a very emotional side. These emotions quickly get the better of him when he is shown punching another detective, however, this causes the audience to feel empathetic towards Holder because they know if they were in his position, they would probably have done the same. Felling empathetic towards the characters is what the show is aiming for as it help the audience feel more involved with the show, as if they were the ones going through this therefore adding to the tension and drama. Linden is quite similar to Holder but is more emotionally aware than he is. This is because she has a son and during these cases she constantly relates things back to her son, this helps her when speaking to the families and allows her to invest more emotion into the cases, this allows the audience to see the case from the detectives point of view adding to the feeling that the audience is a part of the show.

Crime shows usually have more plot points and acts than Sit-coms and Soap operas. This makes the narrative structure more complex with a wider range in plot points. The episode starts off with Act 1, this is the mother of a missing child is putting up missing posters before returning home and being beat up by her husband. The detectives then arrive asking about her injuries and deciding that her husband may just be their number one suspect in the child murders. Plot point 1 is where the detectives enter a storage vicinity which is suspected to belong to the killer, upon arriving they find fresh cigarette buds and realise the killer is nearby. Act 2 would be when the detective go after him to try to apprehend him but Linden ends up being attacked, the suspect is then apprehended when Holder gets there and stops him from harming Linden more. Once arrested they come to the decision that this man is there guy. Plot point 2 would be when Linden speaks to a child whose mother has been killed, this child informs them that it is that man who murdered the child's mother. Plot point 3 is when the wife from Act 1 informs the detectives that her husband was away on a camping trip during the time the mother was murdered so it couldn't have been him.

Through out the entire episode, The Killing used low-key lighting to add to the effect that there are dark themes during the show this heightens the tension needed through out. There was obvious usage of different cameras, a fixed camera and a handheld but only one used at a time. When the detectives where talking about Holders drug past the camera used was the fixed camera, this allows the viewer to focus on the emotions passing between them. The fight scene between Linden and the suspect however used a handheld camera, made obvious by the shaking the camera does whilst the person moved. This allows the camera to move with the characters, getting close up of their faces to catch the emotions and build tension in the viewer as it creates the feel that the viewer is stood there watching this fight happen.

My Own Sit-Com Family

I was given the task to choose a sit-com family cast out of any celebrity and explain why.

My cast;

The Mother;

Emma Thompson is Agatha Sylvain.

Agatha is the type of women who always puts others before herself. She took her daughter in after a bad break-up with her fiancé and doesn't wish her to leave again.

The Father;

James Nesbitt is Gregory Sylvain.

Gregory feels he is the 'man' of the house shouldn't be made to do anything around the house. He constantly uses his wife's kind nature to get her to do all the chores and still make sure he has a warm tea on his lap and a beer in his hand.

The Daughter;

Sarah Millican is Bridgette Sylvain.

Bridgette is the cheekiest member of the family. She constantly teases her family, mainly her brother, over everything to hide the fact that she still hurts after her break-up since she doesn't want anyone worrying about her.

The Son;

Jack Black is Dylan Sylvain.

Dylan is the youngest member of the family and because of that he is usually unappreciated. He is jealous of his sister for getting all the attention from their mother and usually finds a friend in his Grandfather.

The Grandfather;

Patrick Stewart is Edmund Sylvain.

Edmund is the outcast of the family. Only Dylan wants him there and Agatha is too kind to send him to a care home. He feels Dylan is exactly like he was at that age so has found a friend and confident in Dylan.