Textual analysis: British soap operas, key locations, major/recurring storylines.

There are many aspects of the soap opera genre that distinguish it from other genres of television programs. One such important aspect of soap operas particularly soap operas from the United Kingdom is a naturalistic depiction of real life of people from an area where the soap is set. For example Emmerdale (1972 –Present) is a British soap set in west Yorkshire, it shows its naturalistic portrayal of real life in the form of farmers and other vocations that would be associated with the communities in Yorkshire. Foreign soap operas for example the American soap opera “Dark Shadows” (1966 (1966-06-27)–1971) is a soap opera that clearly doesn’t show a naturalistic depiction of real life with its presentation of supernatural characters like werewolves, ghosts etc. This shows that the important aspects of a soap opera can change with both the country and time that the soap is filmed, at present a main aspect of soap operas is the naturalistic depiction of life.

Another aspect that is important to modern day soaps from the United Kingdom is that the soap opera is serial. For example Coronation Street, (1960 (1960-12-09) –Present) over time the show has changed the number of episodes aired in a week from 1969 to 1980 it would be broadcast twice a week. However the modern day broadcast shows the program 5 episodes every week. As the show is serial it adds to the credibility of the soap, as its broadcast more it seems to the audience like they are seeing the day to day activities of the characters on screen and so the audience sees a naturalistic depiction of real life.

One Aspect of the soap opera genre that remains over all soap operas is the inclusion of a central meeting point that the characters can all credibly meet up to drive the story forward. In most British Soap operas for example Eastenders (1985 – present) the central meeting point is the public house, in Eastenders it is the Queen Victoria Public House. In Coronation Street the central meeting point is the Rovers return. In foreign countries for example Australia soaps rarely include a public house, they are more inclined to promote good health by changing public houses to cafes this changing alcohol to coffee. This is seen in Neighbours (1985 – present) the café in Neighbours is called, “Charlie's bar and the coffee shop”. (1960-12-09)

While the main focus of a soap is to depict real life it’s impossible for an audience to fully understand a full cast of fleshed out well rounded characters, one aspect of soap operas that has remained an important thing to introduce characters to the audience is the use of stereotypes and stocktypes within the media text. The Battersby family in Coronation Street for example were presented as a stereotypical working class family; they lived in a council house and often wore dress that would normally be associated with the working class of the British public. A stocktype is a character who is a stereotype based on preconceptions of the area from which they originate. An example of a stocktype can be seen in Emmerdale, the Dingle family are stocktypes of a working class family from west Yorkshire that own a farm, they often wear dress associated with farmers, and they all speak with a heavy Yorkshire accent using words from a Yorkshire dialect.

Arguably the most popular soap opera in Great Britain Coronation Street is set in Weatherfield a fictional town based in the north west of England. It’s the world's longest-running TV soap opera currently in production; it began on 9th December 1960 (1960-12-09) and continues to run into present day. The production company responsible for the show is ITV Studios, as of 14 February 2011 there have been 7,536 episodes of Coronation Street. This is roughly 115 days worth of constant broadcast if all of the episodes were played in sequence. One of the soaps main meeting points for its cast of characters has always been the Rovers Return Inn. A public house is a key convention of British soap operas, most soaps set in Britain have one or more public houses. One of the soaps easily recognisable characters is Ken Barlow (William Roache); this character has been has been involved with Coronation Street and portrayed by the same actor since the soap’s first episode in 1960. Coronation Street had its 50th anniversary episode recently, the celebration was held by broadcasting seven consecutive episodes, along with a special one hour live episode, the episodes were aired from 6–10 December 2010. The episode’s story arc was called “four funerals and a wedding” a play on the film Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). In the episode a gas explosion destroys the, Nick Tilsley and Leanne Battersby's bar - The Joinery -As a result, the viaduct was destroyed, sending a tram careering onto the street, destroying D&S Alahan's Corner Shop and The Kabin. Two characters, Ashley Peacock and Molly Dobbs, and an unnamed taxi driver were killed as a result of the disaster.


Another popular soap opera in Great Britain is Eastenders; it is a long running soap running from 19 February 1985 to present day. Eastenders is set in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End of London. Unlike Coronation Street Eastenders is primarily on BBC one, a rival television channel of ITV. As of the 15th of February there have been 4162 episodes of Eastenders, this is roughly 63 days of constant broadcasting if all episodes were played in sequence. One of the soaps main meeting points for its cast of characters has always been the “Queen Victoria”, like Coronation street a public house is one of the main meeting points for characters, this follows British soap opera conventions. One of the soaps easily recognisable characters is Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) considering the soap has only been running since 1985 it can be argued that Phil is one of the longest serving characters as he joined the soap in 1990. Eastenders is known for its controversial storylines, which have dealt with difficult themes, such as violence, rape, murder and child abuse. The soap has received positive and negative reviews for such storylines, mainly because the themes the storylines deal with are arguably too strong for a television program that airs before the 10pm watershed.

Existing trailer

This trailer is a clear example of a trailer using cinematic conventions to advertise a soap opera and generate more interest for a soap opera from a potential audience.
The trailer uses many camera angles and shot types not normally see in a soap opera but commonly see in films etc.
for example there are many establishing shots, and panning shots, editing is also a key feature of this trailer, the fast pace at which each scene changes indicates to the audience that dont necessarily watch the program that they too should watch it.
To somone who has never seen a soap opera before the trailer here can make them become excited due to the fast paced flow of camera angles and shots, as they arent expecting the generic two shot often found in a soap opera.
Also the music used in this trailer is very sad, it conveys to the audience an added sense of tragedy that the tram crash will cause on coronation street.
In order to make the Bathwood trailer as successful as the coronation street trailer I must include reference to more cinematic editing techniques used by editors in professional trailers.
at the same time I must also endeavour to follow conventions of soap opera in order to still class Bathwood as a soap, so as a group we must make sure that the trailer still has reference to family life within more exciting cinematic shots of the trailer.