Poster Ideas

My first plan for our Cherry Gardens soap opera poster includes all the verbal information needed for a viewer to know where and when the soap is on so they can to watch it. Visual information conveyed includes some of the characters they will be introduced to if they were to watch the soap. The main character in the poster is Marris Morris laying in the foreground, depicted as he is in our trailer, this would therefore link the two media products together. Displaying the name of our soap is the street sign that we also see in the trailer, i thought this was a clever way to show the name, as it also reaffirms the point that it is set in an ordinary street. It shows the audience some houses that will feature in the soap if they were to watch it, therefore familiarising them with the soap surroundings.
The poster will include the natural colours the pictures were originally taken in, backing up our aim for verisimilitude. The weather in the poster will be bright and sunny which contrasts with the image of the man in pain. By not using pathetic fallacy, we hope to intrigue our audience, it also backs up our tag line for the soap "Things are not as sweet as it seems in Cherry Gardens".
Attention will be gained in this poster by the image of the man on the pavement, once the poster has your attention, the many other characters in the background will start to become apparent. The audience can then start to piece what they see together, and they could interpret it in many way, such as a who done it scenario.

My second idea for a promotional poster is very different to my first, it's more to the point and more revealing in terms of the soap story line. Once again, as with the first idea, verbally it displays all the information needed to know where and when to find it, so you can watch it. On this poster i have added a verbal slogan 'Behind you'. This slogan backs up the visual side of the poster, gives something for the audience to consider and adds drama to the poster.
The visual side of the poster, has less details then the last, but i believe it has more impact. Whereas the last poster was one big picture with a lot in the background, this one does not has a background, it would be plain black, as black is usually linked with negative connotations. By doing this, the three characters and dog within the poster will stand out even more against the darkness. The characters will be quite big on the page, as its the emotions on the characters faces which is key to the audience understanding the story line which is conveyed by the poster. In terms of colours, the pictures will be the normal colours they were taken in, to suggest verisimilitude. The slogan will be in red as this will look really striking against the black background, red also had connotations linked to violence.
Attention is gained in this poster by the slogan and the concerned look on the character in the foregrounds face. From this poster, audience members could try and guess what the story line would be, as there is a lot that is revealed but not too much that it makes you not want to watch the soap.    

Poster Analysis

Colour code key:

Red – In what way is the information conveyed?

Orange – Colours used and why

Green – Intended audience of the poster

Purple – what is promised in the poster?

Blue – How does the poster gain attention?

Yellow – Symbols in the poster 

This is a poster is advertising the British soap opera Hollyoaks.
Information on this poster is mainly conveyed visually, although what is shown through pictures, would not make sense at all without the words on the poster. Therefore, this poster requires both visual and verbal to get their point across. 
They have followed conventions of soap opera posters by having the name of the soap, when and what time it is on, and the channel clearly displayed, so no questions are left unanswered when it comes to the key facts. 
This poster also has a large verbal caption attached to it, this states a point, and what the poster is mainly centred around 'Rub some Hollyoaks on it'. This sentence is the subject of the poster, and the pictures back this up. 
This leads onto what is promised by the poster, and this poster promises a great deal. It essentially tells the audience that if they were to watch Hollyoaks they could potentially look like the people on the right, as opposed to those on the left hand side of the poster. The poster displays the same picture but in two different scenarios, and although it is quite obvious that by watching the soap your life won't won't turn around that drastically, it is a good and comical twist on the normal soap opera advertisements. 
The poster does promise things that are probably never going to happen, but it does get their selling point across in an effective way, that as a soap opera, it promises more than any others. It makes the soap stand out amongst others, and makes us think it is a modern and stylish soap. It also hints at the fact that Hollyoaks is not as strict when it comes to verisimilitude as other soaps, whereas if another soap such as Eastenders were to make a poster like this one, it would seem very strange, once again showing how unique and up to date Hollyoaks is.
This poster is not advertising a specific episode of the soap, it is advertising the soap opera as a whole, meaning this poster is aimed at those who probably wouldn't already watch the soap. 
I think this poster would achieve its aim of gaining higher audience numbers for the show, as the tag line and pictures make the soap seem very appealing. It could even make people want to watch the soap to see if it would benefit their lives. 
The target age range for the poster, would be the target audience of the soap itself, late teens and young adults. From the picture on the right, I think this poster would be effective at gaining that age range, as it shows a setting of a modern bar, and the characters in the picture are young and glamorous, it seems fresh and up market. This is the sort of life people of the target age range would probably like to aspire to, relating back to the uses and gratification audience theory.
Colours play a big part in the effectivness of this poster, colours display the clear difference between the left and right half. On the left side, old, musty colours are used, this includes many shades of brown and a non attractive deep red colour. In contrast, the right side of the poster uses bright and vibrant colours, to give the audience the opposite effect to what the left side gave them. They have used colours such as blue and silver, and the attractive female in the foreground is wearing a provocative red dress, this would encourage male viewers. The bright red colour used has connotations linked to love and romance, hinting what the story lines in the soap could be about.
I think attention is gained in this poster by the tagline, you then realise that both halves of the poster are depicting the same sequence in different ways, I then found myself comparing the halves, and the poster had my full attention.
I think the symbol and message that is given to the audience is that by watching Hollyoaks, you can enhance your life.
Overall i think this exciting, detailed poster would draw people into taking a look at it, and would make many people want to watch the soap itself, as the poster promises more than just a soap opera.


This is a poster shown in Britain for the Australian soap opera, Neighbours.
This poster is different to the others I have researched into, as it is not advertising specific episodes or even trying to gain more views for the soap as a whole. This poster is used for informing purposes, telling the current audience that the soap will now be shown on a different channel.
Once again information is conveyed via text and pictures, although all the important and necessary information is displayed verbally. 
The indicating slogan used states 'Same Ramsay St - New Home'. This is very short and to the point and I think it would be quite effective at telling audiences that a big change is coming. I think it also will make the point that although it will be shown on a different channel, it will still be the same soap. 
As with any soap opera poster, it displays the soap name and channel, in this case, if people didn't realise what the caption was implying, they would now be able to understand when they link it to the fact there is a different channel to what they usually see on posters and adverts. 
The visual side of the poster displays many well-known characters, all of which are looking very happy, once again hinting at the fact that the soap will stay the same and comforting the audience by showing that the change is a good thing. It also gives the audience plenty to look at as the poster is quite busy, yet very interesting as there are many fine details that would draw an audience into watching the soap.
This poster uses many colours, but none that are too bright or overwhelming; they are all quite calm, everyday colours. Most of the characters are wearing colourful clothing connoting happiness, telling the audience that the characters are upbeat and there is a sense of equilibrium within the street. 
I think something that stands out in the poster, is the blue sky which portrays the sunny, hot weather, and as it is an Australian soap, the weather there is something that attracts many people to the country. This is also pathetic fallacy as it reflects the mood in the picture. This blue sky, greenery, flowers and parrots, could almost make people want to watch the soap to experience a piece of paradise for when it’s on.
I believe a big symbol in this poster is the kangaroo. This indicates to the audience right away that the soap is not set in the UK, whereas kangaroos are commonly linked with Australia. By having this animal in the poster, it clearing determines to the audience where the setting of the soap is.
I would say the intended audience for this poster would be frequent viewers of the soap, as they are the people that would be concerned about this change.
I think the main thing that is promised by this poster, is the fact that the soap will not be any different to how it has always been. I think it is almost trying to reassure the audience that the new channel will not affect characters and storylines. Many of the character have with them a prop that is directly linked with their character, showing the audience that they are still the same, this also gives the poster added detail and makes it more intriguing to look at.
Attention is gained in this poster by the amount of characters involved and the high key colours used. 
I think initially the audience would be drawn in by the fact that nothing dramatic is being depicted. 
Many soap opera posters tend to be advertising big storylines, so they seem to be much more dramatic. In contract, in this scene everyone is happy and has a smile; it is a nice and different twist to the usual soap opera poster.
Overall I think this poster is very effective at getting its key point across, all the information needed is displayed clearly and can be easily understood. I believe this poster is exciting and fun; it may have even drawn new viewers to watch the soap on the new channel as well as the old ones.

Initial notes on soap opera posters

Whereas these days most soaps tend to use TV trailers and adverts to advertise big episodes to their target audience, some choose to advertise using other forms of media, such as a poster. These soap opera posters can be seen on billboards, at bus stops, on trains and even in newspapers.

As part of my coursework, my production team will have to create our own poster to advertise our soap 'Cherry Gardens'. To enhance my knowledge of soap opera posters, and therefore help me when i come to make my own, i will analysis some existing posters of this kind.  

Here are some of the points i will be looking for when analysing existing media products, i will relate these points to the Hollyoaks poster below:

Is information conveyed in a verbal or visual way?

This is asking whether the poster is made from just words or just pictures or both. I believe that most soap opera posters would use both to make their poster as effective as possible. The one above is an example of a poster that has information displayed via words and pictures. They have used a picture to grab attention, and words to display key facts, such as when and what channel it is on. This poster has also has a caption that would make an audience think what could possibly happen in the soap, once again drawing the audience into watching the show.
What are the colours used and why?
As with soap opera magazines, colour is very important when trying to grab your audiences attention. Although lots of colours don't always mean a successful poster, it is the use of the colours that counts. As in the poster above, they have only used black, white and orange, yet i think it is very effective. The use of the black background, makes the white and orange stand out on the poster much more than if the background were to be a different colour. The use of very little colour, also allows the audience to take in what each colour connotes, and to build an opinion about what the advertised episode would be like. The use of black in this poster connotes evil and mystery and orange is used to represent fire and energy.
What are the symbols in the poster?
Soap opera posters are designed to make you think about what is on them, and hopefully make you want to watch the soap, so lots of posters have clear and sometimes hidden symbols within them. With the poster above, i think it is clever that the characters are displayed as figures in fire, as it poses many questions to the viewers and could symbolise many things. Just from looking at this poster you could try to guess the storyline of the episodes.
Who is the intended audience?
Soap opera posters, like trailers, are either designed to draw new viewers into the show or to be a reminder to current viewers to watch a big, up coming episode. The intended audience for this poster would be current viewers, telling them not to miss 'The week that will change Hollyoaks forever'. It would also be for fans of the characters shown in the posters, as they will obviously be involved within the episodes.
What is promised from the poster?
If nothing is promised by the poster, it simply won't have the desired effect, and it won't draw the audience in. For the poster above, a week of very dramatic, explosive episodes is what seems to be promised by Channel 4.
How is attention gained by the poster?
If you want your poster to make audiences tune into your soap, it will have to gain their attention first. This can be done many ways on a poster, such as dramatic words in large fonts with lots of punctuation, or pictures of characters involved with something or someone you would not expect them to be with. With the poster above, attention is gained with the large picture of 5 characters depicted in a way they have never been seen before, grabbing the audience eye and making them wonder why they are like this.

Ideas on own soap opera

As a production team, we have been tasked to create a soap opera trailer, magazine cover and poster. This is the process we have been through to make these products.
The mind map below is our first initial ideas on our soap opera:

Here are some initial name ideas for our soap, in the end we decided our soap opera would be called Cherry Gardens, as it is short, easy to remember and is an actual place in Chelmsford, which is our chosen setting.

From making these mind maps and going through the process of creating our pitch, our idea grew, and we now have a clear plan as to what we would like our soap opera media products to look like.

We have decided to spend time and create characters that would appear in our soap opera. We have put a lot of thought into the characters personalities, relationships and their lives. Here are some key facts about a few of our characters:

 

 

We then made decisions about our trailer, and as owner of the village pub, we thought the character of Marris would be the centre of our trailer.
To make our trailer we had to have a rough plan for a first episode of our soap. We decided that this first episode would have the 2 village youths, Kirk and Dan. They would be trying to get served in the pub, Marris rejects them and therefore angers them. They have an argument which results in Marris insulting Kirks much loved dog, Mick.
Kirk then punches Marris and the two boys run away with the dog.
Beryl goes to Marris's aid, and he finally admits that he needs help with his everyday problems, which will later be revealed in a full episode.

Emmerdales Pub 'The Woolpack'

From this rough storyline we have created, making the plan for our trailer became an easier job.
After much thought, we decided that the trailer would include Marris on the floor, after being punched, and the trailer would follow his flashbacks taking the audience back to some of his happier times.  

We then developed our ideas further and thought about what style, and what target audience we are aiming at.
By doing this we knew it would help us when we come to make our media product. We thought Cherry Gardens would have a similar audience to that of the BBC soap Eastenders, so we made a large target age range of 16-60. We decided we would like our soap to be watched and enjoyed by most people, therefore people in demographic groupings B to E, although from research it's clear that people who watch soaps are usually in groups D and E, so we would be mainly focusing on them.

Eastenders also has a large target audience age range.

From all these decisions we have made, I feel we are now ready to make the three soap opera media products required.

Magazine Analysis

Key:

Blue - First Third

Orange - Font

White - Appearance and Pictures

Green - Colours

Purple - Words

This is a recent issue of 'All About Soap' magazine.

This magazine is a good example of the use of the first third. In the first third we see the date of issue, issue number, barcode and price. Its important that the price and date are on display so a customer knows how up to date the magazine is and how much it costs. 
From previous research I have noticed from other soap magazines that usually the price is large and bold, whereas on this one it is very small. This would be because this magazine is more expensive than the average soap mag, meaning it is not something to shout about, but the fact they have 2 weeks revealed is, so instead, this is large and bold. 
We can see the '2 weeks revealed!' this is telling us the time period of the soap plots that the magazine reports. This is shown in the first third of the magazine, so it can been seen on display, as this long time period they cover, is more than likely a unique selling point of the magazine. Also in the first third, we can see '40th Anniversary!' hinting to us that they have story lines about the anniversary of a popular soap, so fans of that soap would be interested if they saw this.
Breaking away from conventions, this magazine has its main story tag line "I want your baby" in white. Usually magazines tend to use a bold colour such as red for the main story, but i think the white has been used well, it would make it stand out on a shelf as it's a different and fresh take on the conventional front covers we usually see. Although a bold colour has not been used, i feel the white is as effective, as it is placed on the dark background, white is the opposite and obvious choice to make words stand out.
The bottom third of the page is taken up with the 'Emmerdale explodes!' section, this part really does stand out within the page, with its 'torn' appearance, it hints that within the soap characters are torn themselves. The use of red as a background colour has connotations of blood, death and violence, directing the audience to possible story lines and that there will be no happy endings. They have used white and yellow for the writing, which is very effective upon the red, yellow seems to be highlighting key, dramatic words. 
I have noticed that every word in this section has been written in capital letters, yet again, displaying the importance and significance of the stories.
Following conventions of soap opera magazines, this front cover has almost no clear and unused space, every possible space is taken up with pictures, words and colours.
In the top right there is a story about a wedding displayed, this gives the audience some light relief from the rest of the cover that displays shock and death. This gives the audience something that can relate to more than probably the other stories on the page. 
We can see the circle which says 'First Pics!' once again, probably another unique selling point of the magazine, it gives the audience a reason to buy this magazine over others, as others don't have these exclusive pictures.
I believe this soap magazine cover shows good use of colours, many colours have been used, but you can see they have all been well thought over, and suit what story they are displaying. For instance the use of bright pink for the words 'shock plan' emphasizes the fact that the story is about two strong female characters and a female baby, and girls, babies in particular have always been associated in the media with the colour pink. I also think this page has a nice variety of fonts, there is enough that it keeps the writing interesting, but not too many fonts that the page is confusing and busy. Something else that is good is the fat that all the fonts are easily reading and clear.

This is a recent issue of 'Soaplife' magazine.

What strikes me first about this magazine front cover, is that it doesn't seem to be as busy and as full as other magazines of this kind. Most soap opera magazines tend to follow the convention of very little white space left, whereas this mag seems to have a bit. Although I think the only reason for this, is that the pictures are quite small, as this cover in fact has more stories displayed than the magazine above. It is good to compare with with the magazine above as they both seem to be covering very similar stories, but they have been portrayed in completely different ways on each magazine front.
In contrast to 'all about soaps' this magazine displays its own tag line 'Britain's no.1 soap fortnightly'. Having a tag line is a good technique to draw customers into buying your magazine. This one in particular could be the deciding factor for someone when choosing between this magazine and another, as of course your audience only want to read the best.
They have also decided not to place the price of the magazine in the first third, this would probably be because this is more expensive than the average soap mag, so it would not be something they want taking up a lot of the cover space. Once again, like the other mag, it has displayed the date the magazine covers in the first third, informing the audience of the time period of soap news they could read about. Also in the first third is the '2 weeks revealed!'showing that it is competing directly against the magazine above, by have the same unique selling point.
I think by having the magazine titles as it is, across the whole width, it divides the page, and it almost adds to the empty look. On the other hand, I do think it is an effective title as it would stand out amongst others. The red colour used, and easy to read bold, clear font makes the title prominent. The title stands out even more by the black shadow each letter has been given, this almost gives a 3D effect, and brings the titles out from the page.
Like the other magazine, this also has a large section dedicated to Emmerdale at 40, although I believe this one is more subtle and less revealing, it is down to the audience to decide weather this is a good thing or not. The use of blue as a back colour, I think is quite effective as it doesn't have many connotations linked to it. Audiences can make their own opinion on what the stories will be like, instead of having themes directly conveyed to them via the use of red, like the other magazine. The use of the colours pink and white, and having the writing in lower case letters, makes this section, almost seem as if a it's a juxtaposition when you read what the words actually say, as they seem to be all about down beat stories.
Something that I like about this magazine is the fact that for the main story they have chosen, before have the big statement 'taboo love & baby', they have named the two characters involved in the story. I think this works as if a fan of those characters were to see their names on the front of a magazine, they would probably be more inclined to buy it.
Something I notice about this magazine is the extensive use of punctuation, usually a question mark directly followed by an exclamation mark. This makes the cover exciting and keeps the audience on their toes by posing questions that they would have to read to know the answer.
As with the other magazine, all the pictures shown, give the audience hints of the characters current situations, but they are not too revealing, allowing the audience to create their own judgement upon the stories. Most of the pictures are close up shots of the characters faces, that way we can see the emotion they are going through, once again giving the audience a taster of what there is to read inside.

Overall I think these soap opera magazines are very similar at a quick glance, but become quite different when you start to analyse them. I think they both would be very effective at attracting an audience of dedicated soap fans, those people who want a lot of information on soaps, rather than just facts.

By analysing these magazines I have learnt what looks good and what doesn't on a front cover. It has allowed me to see the differences between each magazine, and what would make someone choose one over another. This will help me greatly when I come to create my own magazine front cover as I now understand more clearly the conventions and the effects of them.

Initial notes on soap opera magazines

By being familiar with the conventions of soap opera magazine front covers, i will be much more informed when i come to create my own, as i will know what to place onto it to make it realistic to existing media products.
Below are some points i will be considering when analysing existing magazine covers:


Font
The main font that is used for most of this cover, is bold, clear to read, and simple yet very effective. Soap opera magazines tend to only use one or two basic fonts on their cover. By using simple, clear fonts, it means words don't tend to have any obvious connotations. I think this is good as if they were to use lots of different fonts on the cover to match different stories, it would start to get confusing and look unprofessional. This means it is also left to the readers own interpretation as to what they think about the soap news.
Font sizes differ on magazine covers, but match the size of the picture they are annotating. I think the size of the soap magazine title and the annotation to the main picture, is appropriate as it stands out within the cover, yet it doesn't over shadow anything else.




Colours
The colours on this front cover make it striking and would be what makes it stand on when on sale against other magazines, using strikings colours, in particular red and yellow is a common convention of soap opera magazine covers. The colours tend to be very bright and bold, and there is hardly any white left on the page. The boldest colour on this cover is the red used for the title of the magazine, this colour is not used for any other writing on the page, showing to us the importance of the title, many magazines use the colour red for their titles. Lots of colours have been used for the writing on the cover, but i notice they have highlighted key words by having them a different colour to the words around them. This is a good idea as it allows the audience to see the key point of each picture without reading the whole annotation.

Pictures 
The pictures are all of popular soap characters. The smaller pictures seem to reveal a bit about that characters currant story line, mainly by their facial expressions, they seem to be screen shots from the soaps themselves. In contrast the main story which takes up most the page with its picture, doesn't tend to reveal as much, meaning from a distance you are interested as to what is happening with those characters. This picture seems to be one taken specifically for the magazine.

Words
For soap opera magazines, the annotations for each picture have to be short and to the point as it is only meant to be a taster of whats inside, but on the other hand they also have to make someone want to buy that magazine; therefore they use words that are exciting, dramatic and would make you want to read the full story inside. Something else that is very common on magazine covers, is the over use of punctuation, such as exclamation marks and question marks. The use of exclamation marks, can add the excitement factor needed to make you want to buy the magazine. By adding question marks, you are directly asking your audience a question, and they know to find out the answer they should read the magazine, so these can be very effective.

The First Third
In many cases, in smaller shops, while on display, magazines are layered on each other, only revealing the first third of each magazine. This means there has to be a substantial amount of information displayed on this area. It tends to be the busiest part of the front cover. You can see what magazine it is, as you can see part of the title, and you can usually see the price, bar code, issue number and date. You can also see part of the picture of the main story in the issue, giving the audience a taster of what's inside.

Soap opera trailer timmings

For the soaps Coronation Street and Eastenders I have seen many trailers advertising them shown after the time of 6pm. I would think the reason behind this, it the fact that most people would be home from work, many of which, would be watching TV to relax. In effect, soap trailers are aimed at everybody, as they want whoever to be viewing the channel to stop for a moment and see the trailer.

On BBC1 for instance, Eastenders trailers can be seen after the 10pm news, the reason for this would be the fact that the 10 o'clock news has very large viewing figures, meaning they would almost be forced into seeing the trailer directly after, catching many peoples attention. By putting it at this time, there would be a wide variety of people seeing the trailer, and people who watch the news can potentially be from any demographic group, from A to E. Therefore the soap trailer is being aim at a wider audience than the soap itself.
Eastenders trailers have also been seen after the show Doctor Who, yet again this popular show gains a very large audience, meaning many would see the trailer afterwards. Doctor Who is also an example of a TV drama, soap operas are a variation on TV dramas, the fact that the trailer has been shown after this show, could be suggesting to the audience that they may also enjoy watching the soap. Those who watch Doctor Who would most probably be from the same demographic groupings as whose who enjoy soap operas, therefore they are aiming directly at their desired audience.

The channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, had a trailer that was shown quite late after a spin off programme of the show Inbetweeners. Hollyoaks is different to other soaps in the respect that it has a very specific target audience of teens and young adults. This target audience is what is has in common with the comedy show, Inbetweeners, meaning putting the trailer after this programme would hopefully attract the desired audience of young people and students, demographic grouping E.
I have also witnessed a trailer for the ITV soap Emmerdale, this was shown at 9:30pm in an ad break between the shows X Factor and Downton Abbey. The X Factors is one of the most popular family shows on TV, the X Factors dousen't have a specific target age range, although i would think it is aimed at those in domographic groups C-E. In contrast the period drama, Downton Abbey, i would say is aimed at a more sophisticated audience, of those over 20 and in demographic groupings B, C and even maybe A. By placing a soap opera trailer and the end of one show and before the start of another, means it is quite likely you could have two audience types tuned into the channel, meaning a broad range of people will see the trailer.