Television Soap- Billboard poster mock ups

Example Television Storyboard

Remember your storyboard should start with your MYTV screen ident, and end with a scheduling ident.
You should complete 8-16 shots.

Storyboard for TV coursework use

Cross Media Analysis Example: Soap Opera-

Compare the impact and effectiveness of two promotional methods used by the docu-soap The Only Way is Essex.

The campaign is promoting the new ‘living soap’ The Only Way is Essex, a 10 week programme that will be using real life characters rather than actors in its exaggerated narratives.

The audience being targeted appears to be older teens and young adults, due to its portrayal of younger adult characters and its scheduling at 10pm after the watershed- which suggests its unsuitability for a younger teenage audience.

The two media platforms that have been utilised in this campaign are a teaser trailer and a billboard poster which introduce the viewer to some of the characters in the new show. The characters are represented as living a ‘glamorous’ lifestyle by the use of the pink limousine in the establishing shot of the teaser trailer and the silver sparkly nameplate used in the billboard poster. In addition the soaps representation of being a ‘fake’ is supported by the ‘mock tudor’ mansion in the establishing shot and the orange fake tan, hair and nail extensions supported by many of the characters. This representation is a stereotypical view of the inhabitants of ‘Essex’, but also supports the shows production values in that the situations are faked yet the characters are real. This celebrity lifestyle and unusual production suggests great entertainment value for a range of audiences keen to find out what else the programme has to offer, and how it will all work out.

Character archetypes, a key genre characteristic of soap opera are portrayed in both products. In the trailer the first character of ‘Porchia’ is introduced- she is clearly ‘The Blonde Bimbo’, her blonde hair a dominant in the shot, along with the heavy eye makeup, and the girly expression. This representation is further supported by the use of the curvy, girly typography of her name- which in turn connotes a fast, beautiful car- made to be looked at and ‘ridden’. These subtle sexual representations as women as sexual objects is continued throughout the trailer. This would clearly appeal to and entertain a male target audience.

Similarly the billboard poster supports common gender stereotypes, the women showing a lot of flesh, one twirling her long blonde hair in a seductive manner, and the men in strong poses with serious expressions, representing masculinity, strength and power.

In soap operas realism would be constructed in a variety of ways in order to make the audience believe what they see on the screen. These are constructed by the use of diegetic sound- clearly the music is playing in the glamorous urban bar that is the setting for the trailer. However the trailer breaks many of these genre codes, utilising extreme close ups to expose representations and canted angles to indicate the movement and party atmosphere. High angles are also used which gives the feeling of a ‘Reality TV show. This promotes that this programme is so much more than a soap opera, highlights the fact that this are real people, should have more plausible plotlines that the audience can identify with and also promotes that the audience will have an element of interaction with and control over the characters lives.

Further genre clues are provided in the introduction to many characters, all of which are represented independently. This number of characters, 5 in the billboard poster, and 8 in the trailer indicates that there will be multi stranded narratives, but that all characters frequent the same settings and this adds a sense of community. In this case the community is ‘Essex’- shown numerous times: on the trailers screen ident in the nameplate, as large sparkly letters in the poster as well as during the trailer on the pants of a girl- adding further sexual stereotypes of Essex women as objects to look at.

The symbolism of glamour, fashion such as the accessories shown in the mise en scene are in the colours of silver and gold signifying expense, and a focus on looks represents that young Essex men and women believe image is more important than substance. This view is also supported by the dialogue used in the trailer, where one character declares that they live “LA lifestyles”, however the audience are appealed by the realism portrayed by the additional comment that the weather in Essex “is a little bit muggy”. This juxtaposition of how Essex is represented encourages the viewer to escape into and be entertained by how they live these glamorous, expensive lifestyles in dismal Essex.

In order to tune in the viewer is given scheduling information on the screen ident at the end of the trailer. In addition further cross media promotion is offered in the form of the webpage, so that the viewer can discover more information and ultimately be further persuaded to watch the show. On the billboard scheduling information is not provided but the broadcaster logo of ITV 2 is shown, as it was on the trailer so that the viewer knows where to look for the scheduling information. The final shot of the trailer is the familiar green ITV 2 screen with the tagline ‘You know you want to’ which similarly appears on the billboard. The use of second person directly addresses the viewer, and commands that they will tune in.

The promotional products are effective in introducing the new programme, and if successful will draw an audience to the commercial channel, which in turn would enable further programmes to be made as the broadcaster will be able to sell advertising space around the programme. Despite the glamorous lifestyle represented in these products the production budget was probably quite low. The programme has clearly been funded by sponsorship, shown throughout the trailer as Cymlex cold sore relief and the use of real people as actors would probably be less expensive than using well known stars.

The unique selling point of the campaign is the idea that this is something new- real people in traditional soap plotlines, with the added appeal of audience interaction like that found in reality TV shows.

Soap Operas

A useful slideshow on soap opera

Soap Operas

View more presentations from nepaliain.

TV: Rebranding UKTV: Dave channel

UKTV had a problem with UKTVG2. A channel for 16-44 men that was hard to pronounce and even harder to remember. Despite great programming it simply wasn’t connecting with viewers. Major surgery was urgently required.

Although brand cut-through was dire, we believed the channel had promise and were determined to make it the best performing brand in its market. But to succeed, we’d have to establish a clear and desirable point of difference.

The secret lay in the programmes. We knew the audience loved them for their intelligence, irreverence and genuine humour. Hence a eureka moment and the birth of a new positioning and strapline: ‘the home of witty banter.’

Clutching a great proposition we set about devising a name to match. We wanted it to be like one of our mates; Steve, Bob, Andy……why not Dave? Everyone’s got a mate called Dave. It had an accessible feel that people could relate to. And it was completely original. Nobody had named a channel after a bloke before.

Read More...
Your mate Dave | Work | Red Bee Media

A useful website on the use of LIGHTING.

One of the more difficult aspects of TV and film work to grasp is LIGHTING.This handy website shows you where and how lighting techniques can be used.
Take me there....

Plans to extend TV advertising by allowing product placement are causing controversy.

Intertextuality is used in music video and film, so why not on UK television programmes?

Bree arrives home in a new silver Lexus and all the other Desperate Housewives gather round to admire it. James Bond taps into a terror network using a Sony laptop. In Moonlight, Beth Turner takes a picture of the crime scene with her iPhone…

All of the above are examples of product placement, a form of advertising in which the products are incorporated into the drama. Recent James Bond films have featured some outrageous examples, such as a character admiring Bond’s watch, or unnecessary dwelling on the screen of his mobile phone. There’s even an official James Bond beer.

On TV, Desperate Housewives is probably the show with the most over the top placement – considering Susan is supposed to be broke, and Carlos and Gabby bankrupt, the Scavos also in financial difficulties following the collapse of their restaurant, and Mike Delfino struggling – it doesn’t stop all those brand-new cars from turning up in the neighbourhood.

ITV have been putting pressure on the British government to change the rules in the UK. It does seem unfair that imported American shows and films can have it, but home-grown dramas cannot. Now, according to the BBC, the ban is about to be lifted. The Guardian reports it here. This might prove to be the salvation of ITV and Channel 4. Coronation Street drinkers in the Rover’s Return can now drink real branded beers (unless alcohol advertising is banned); Foyle can now use a Motorola phone to call the RAF in Foyle’s War (perhaps not); Lewis can now ride around Oxford on a Trek bicycle. I’m sure they’ll think of something.

While this might introduce a new revenue stream for the broadcasters, it hardly helps the creative side of the advertising industry. We’re heading down the road of simply negotiating a placement in a show, leaving it up to the writers to incorporate it in such a way that the viewers won’t turn off. For the Tarquins and Marcuses in the creative agencies, not much work. No animated Nissans or singing builders dreaming about chips.


“By its nature product placement allows marketing to be integrated into programmes, blurring the distinction between advertising and editorial, and is not always recognisable. Studies show that children are particularly susceptible to embedded brand messages and these operate at a subconscious level.”


What do you think?

Read more...from The Guardian