Soap Opera Genre –

Ancillary Product Analysis

(Magazine and posters)

Name: Asuka Young

Candidate Number: 4149

Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School

Center Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – A2

Level

Unit G324: Advanced

Portfolio

The Masthead

The colour of this is red, which is a

conventional colour for a magazine mast

head, because it attracts attention as it

stands out. The drop shadow may

connote that a depth of topics/soaps are

covered in this magazine, which is what

‘survivors’ (Maslow) would expect.

Main Image

This image is a medium shot of a couple with a

baby, and the audience can be familiar with this

shot as it connotes a family. The non-verbal code

of the facial expressions of the three protagonists

represents happiness and fulfilment. However, in

contrast to this, to the back there is a man with an

unhappy facial expression, which may connote

jealousy or some form of negative emotions

towards the couple and the baby. Because his age

seems mid-age, the audience can assume that the

main image has a narrative of a love triangle or

similar.

The main headline

This has a pink background with white text which

connotes love and purity, which is a binary

opposite (Levi Strauss) to the connotations of the

verbal code, which is affairs and negativity.

Moreover, by saying ‘Who will be daddy?’ so using

shortened sentence instead of adding the ‘the

daddy’, it get’s the main message of the narrative

easier to the audiences, adding a rush and panic

to the narrative and urgency to find out who it

could or will in fact be.

Cover line

The verbal code ‘Death or Divorce?’

attracts the readers as they are both

describing stages of hardships and

negativity in life that some readers may be

able to ‘personally identify’ (Katz) with and

the question mark in the end ‘signifies’ (De

Saussure) that somebody have to choose

between the two.

On top of this, the non-verbal code of the

man’s facial expression in the picture

above matches with the connotations

behind the cover line.

Another cover line

The combination of the exclamation mark

and the question mark at the end

suggests panic and chaos, which builds

up the tension and expectations of the

audiences. The word pregnant is in capital

letters, in order to emphasize that

pregnancy in this situation is a big

problem.

Strapline

By saying that it is the British No 1, it gives the connotation that

local, British people should buy this because it is the top magazine

that they can ever buy- which tempts them.

The masthead

It has capital letters to both words to be

clear that this is a soap magazine.

However by not leaving a space between

the words, it may connote that all soap

opera’s are together in this magazine, and

the red colour represents that the

magazine takes this with importance.

Main image

This non-verbal code of the image has

two characters who are counter-

stereotypically represented gender-wise,

because the man is behind the woman,

connoting that the woman is more

important than him. Furthermore, the

camera is overall a medium shot, but it

seems more focused on the woman with

clear outlines etc, than the man.

Cover lines

The language used here lack’s in grammar

but because of this, it succeeds in targeting

those who watches soap, as they

understand the narratives so not many

words are needed to describe it. For example,

Cain knows! Does not refer to any details of

what he actually knows.

Moreover, the exclamation mark at the end of

each short sentences ‘signifies’ that they are

important events in the soap.

A pop-up

The pop-up consists of verbal codes such as ‘biggest

Ever’ which has two extreme- words together.

Because of this, the readers will have an impression

That this issue is a special one, as the font is larger

Than the cover lines too. The ever is in Italics, which

Increases the importance of the information, because

it emphasises the word itself, being different from the

rest of the sentence. The images of balloons around

this pop-up connotes celebration and achievement,

and this visually informs the readers the importance

of the issue.

A promotion

this part of the cover consists of promoting

the magazine. The verbal code ‘Amazing’ connotes

that the pull-out is a unique selling point of this

issue, which attracts the readers’ attention and the

will to buy it.

The image of the woman perhaps is a

representation of a typical reader in terms of

gender and age group, and the facial expression

allows the readers to visually see the scale of

‘amazingness’ for themselves.

20 years is in a different font to the other sentences,

Which makes the number of years significant.

Moreover, as the font is a serif font, it connotes

glory and formality. This makes the 20 years look

As if something great has been achieved.Main HeadlineThe orange connotes passion and commitment, and the readers

will sense the excitement that is in the main headline, and would

be tempted to read into the story to know more about it.

StraplineThe fact that the font for ‘Every’ and other words are different

makes the ‘every’ stand out, and promises to the audience the

level of detail of the magazine’s information and

entertainment.

The main image

The older looking man on the image has a

Facial expression of seriousness, which

may connote anger or negative emotions.

On the other hand, the facial expression of

the man at the front looks as if he is smiling

slightly, with eyes narrow so that it might

connote cleverness and sneakiness.

From the thumbnail image below, the readers

can tell that the older man at the back is the

victim of some sort. This helps for the readers

to know that he is not the murderer.

Moreover, as the background seems dark,

the readers know that this is a negative incident.

The cover lines

They consist of the logo for some soaps, so

that the readers can easily recognise and relate

the storylines to the soap. As there are two-in

shots In each of the cover lines, the readers can

understand the situations the characters are in

easier than having lots of different shot types

going on at the same time. Cover line texts help

too, as Doctor in Love! Has a different mood to:

crash Horror!. It is almost a binary opposite in

two different soaps.

The Masthead

This consists of a bright red background, as it

stands out with the white writing of the mast head.

The red connotes attention and importance, so it is

a good colour choice. Furthermore, the white writing

stands out in front of the red background. The writing:

‘TV’ is larger than What’s on, to let the readers know

clearly that this is a TV related magazine. The slight

drop shadow on the mast head represents the depth

of information that the magazine holds.

Strapline- this advertises another section of the TV, and the purple dark

background does stand out at the top, which is anchored alongside the fireworks

which connotes celebration and happiness.

The main headline

This has a yellow font with orange outline, which

again stands out, but also connotes that this story

is an important one to the narrative, and points to the

readers that it is an urgent matter. By having a

question mark at the end of the verbal code ‘Jack kills

Phil’ helps the audience sense ambiguity and doubt

what it says on the cover, and have temptation to read

inside for more details.

The image for this cover line corresponds with the

verbal code underneath, ‘Cheats’, which is supposed

To be an unhappy event, but the facial expressions

of the couple in the image is happy. This represents a

Change in the narrative / disequilibrium, which is

significant to a soap opera.

This is a Soap opera trailer for East Enders. The main

Image used here connotes that this woman is the key to the

Plot, but the angle of her head and her eyes suggest that she

Is seeing something, and that it is something negative.

moreover, the eyes suggests that she is very focused on what

she is seeing, connoting seriousness in the matter.

The audiences will be tempted to find out what she is

Seeing, and what is wrong with it.

Moreover, the effect that all images

has here is somewhat vintage and

red themed. Red represents death

or trouble, and the vintage feeling

perhaps gives to the audiences the

impression of time passing.

The background image consists of

a satellite view of a town, which is

very iconic as it is the point of call of

East Enders. The curve of the river

tells the audiences, especially to

those who knows this soap opera

well that it is East Enders.

The whole poster also has a black

surrounding, and only shows the

main parts of the main image. This

may connote to the audience, the darkness of the upcoming

context, and that it’s slowly engulfing the story, because of the

fading out effect around the main image. However it also represents secrecy, as the

main image seems to be peeked from a hole, because of the black colours

surrounding it.

This tagline consists of a sentence, and

a word underneath. This composition

separates the world ‘FOREVER’ from the

rest, and makes the word look as if it’s

something very iconic and important. And

because this word is in the lighter white area of

the tone, it stands out even more.

The full stop after Change and

Forever makes the content of

This tagline very serious and

troubling, as if there is nothing

that anyone can do to stop the

change. This way, the audiences

will be curious to know the

fate of Walford, and will convince

them to watch it.

This is a social media promotion,

where it uses an icon that almost

everybody recognises, which is a

Twitter hashtag sign. This reminds

The audiences instantly, the

Availability of information about what

This poster is saying on social media.

The main image for this TV Drama poster connotes serious situations, as the two people’s facial expressions signifies anger,disbelief,

or worries and many other negative emotions. The ridge in the middle divides up the two visible faces, connoting the difficulties that

they are going to face in this Drama. In this poster, the whole image is made up with lots of small parts recognisable of them being

houses, or a town. This further connotes that there are going to be local issues, or makes the audiences think of a war going on

because of the lighting and the colours of the poster. Perhaps unlike the conventional genre of drama, this poster makes the audiences

also think of an action genre, somewhat similar to a film- and this sort of genre attracts audiences of many diversity, as it is a genre

that most people can comprehend, and therefore enjoy.

The logo for the program is an

Important element to put into

A TV drama poster, because

The audiences need to know

Which program it is on. In this

Particular case, the white really

Stands out against the brown

Main image of the poster, and this

Simplicity within colour schemes

Helps the audiences to remember

This particular poster, but also the

Program.

This part of the poster is the point of

Call. The repetition of the use of the

Word: ‘Divided’ provides a strong

Connotation of conflict and trouble

To the audiences, and by saying

Land and loyalty, it perhaps makes

The audiences think of Romeo and

Juliet, and attracts audiences who are

Familiar with it. Moreover, The Promise does sound as if

There is going to be a relationship related narrative in here as well,

And immediately informs the audiences, the multi-stranded

Narratives that are possibly going to be on this drama. Finally,

By stating the date and the time that it’s on, the viewers can have

A look at this drama.

-Perhaps add a link to a webpage /

social media pages for viral marketing and

cross media convergence?

This is a film poster, not a soap poster, because there wasn’t many when

I searched for it- this represents to me, perhaps the lack of soap opera

posters around to promote a new Soap opera. However, film posters may

have overlapping elements with soap opera posters.

This is a quotation from a magazine, as

It is mentioned next to the quote.

The audiences can tell which magazine

It’s from, and the fact that it is located at

The very top tells me that this is near enough

the first thing that the audiences are going to

Read. For this reason, this quotation has

many convincing languages used, such as

‘The best’ and ‘ the century’. They both enlarge

the scale of the positive representation of

this film, and therefore appeal to local

audiences, or perhaps even in America, as

citizens in America tend to like British films.

The background colour is white, which

connotes simplicity but also contrasts greatly

with the black main title of the film, as well as

contrasting with the images used within this

poster. This allows the different characters

presented on here to have their own colours

and get out to the audience, their unique

characteristics.

The images used in this poster are

several, compared to some other #

conventional ones who

only uses one or two. This allows the

audiences to have a feel for many

characters, as the facial expressions

and camera angles / positions are

different in each frame, and since

there are images with scenes and

props (such as a gun) as well, the

audiences are also able to have a

feeling for the possible upcoming

narrative of this film too.

The ruff edges effect in each of the

photo’s not only makes the poster

aesthetically entertaining, but also

connotes the ruff situations and

relationships with people that are

possibly going to be in this film.

The main title of the film is in a simple, black font which contrasts greatly with the background and the soft ambiance of some of the

Images. There is the name of the director, which may be conventional to all film posters, and there is a tagline at the top of the main

title to emphasise a little bit about the narrative of the film. This little hinting of the narrative attracts audiences to make them find out

more about it. Underneath the title, there are some awards presented to show the quality of the film, and how proving much public

appreciation It got.

Student Soap Opera poster for ‘Thorn Lane’ (credit to: Sarah Hutton)

This student has used a main / partially

Main image of the poster, as a cake with

a couple on top, and a man sitting down

underneath. The cake connotes and symbolises

the purity of wedding, but the black vail

around it also connotes the dark side

or the sad, emotional feelings that

the characters are going to experience,

In the soap opera. From this prop and

from the costume that the man is wearing,

(suits) the audiences can assume that the

narrative of this soap opera is about

Wedding.

Synergy with social media is clearly

presented in this poster, by using

appropriate form of information: eg- using

hashtags for Twitter promotion, and

using a link with a Facebook logo. The

only thing is that the twitter logo is quite

far from the hashtag address, which

Seem unbalanced with the Facebook

Link.

The Masthead is of a rigid font, which

connotes the themes of violence,

horror and complication. The red

outline of the fonts could connote

blood and death, especially from the

naming ‘Thorn’ makes the audiences

think of injuries and blood. The text is

white to connote perhaps the

celebration of wedding as another

theme, and the slight white outer glow

perhaps connote that it is a new soap

opera.

This image acts as another partial

main image, and connotes the themes

of death and murder in a simplistic

way. Knife itself may connote cooking

or something else, but because of the

way the hand is holding it, the

audiences immediately gets the idea

of death.

This part mentions crucial

promotion information, which are:

the channel it is on, mentioning

that it is a brand new soap, and

the date & time that the soap is

on. The channel logo especially

stands out, which is the most

important information for

audiences.

Mentioning the magazine masthead that the new soap is mentioned

apon, is a very effective way of getting the audiences to purchase

the magazine to find out more about the soap opera, which means

this helps for more profit to be made.

This tagline is effective to remember

the soap, because of the familiar

wedding phrase: ‘I now pronounce

you..’ is altered to hint the narrative for

This soap opera. ‘For Life’ seems to be

an extreme expression, but this makes

the soap seem very dramatic and

attracts audiences to watch it.

Conclusion from my analysisFrom analysing magazine front covers for soap operas, I found out that the main/essential conventions includes: a

masthead, a main headline with the strapline, a main image, and cover lines. The masthead and the main headline should

stand out in particular, in terms of font size and colour contrasts. The colour of the masthead is conventionally red and /or

white, and I may repeat (Neale) that. For cover lines, I should mentions news from other soap operas aside the new one,

and at the top, I should mention something about the magazine itself- eg: anniversary etc, or about another soap opera.

Also, the date of issue and a bar code is essential. In order to appeal to my target audiences, who are teens and adults, I

would include for the main image, perhaps a range of different aged characters (but not too many).

For the Soap opera poster, I found that simplicity is the key to make the audiences remember the promotion. This includes

short, snappy sentences and one or more image that links together or stands out on it’s own. There is also a logo only of the

channel that the soap is going to be on. This helps to instantly get the message of what the poster is all about, simply and

effectively. The use of colours is extremely important for posters too, because this is what draws the audience’s attention.

Overall from this ancillary products research, I now know what is necessary to include to fulfil conventions of the ancillary

products, but also how to try and appeal it to the target audience.