Name: Deanne Sequeira Candidate Number: 5989 Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic College

1. Name: Deanne Sequeira Candidate Number: 5989 Center Name: St. Paul’s Catholic College Center Number: 64770 Unit G324: Advanced Production Portfolio OCR A2 MEDIA STUDIES INDEPENDENT TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

2. Eastenders Trailer of Peggy and Archie’s Wedding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrtQCCT8kpk Verbal Codes Sound Effects: Twinkling sounds of a music box has been used to create a creepy, dystopian atmosphere to the wedding as this occasion is usually a joyous one filled with happiness; however, the sounds imply something dark and strange is happening. Mechanical robotic sounds suggest changes are occurring in Peggy’s life and as the trailer develops the audience can see the difference and the eerie sounds creates tension between the character as the trailer comes to a climax. Voiceover: The verbal code ‘He has Peggy under control, but for how much longer’ this is shown through a serious tone in a females voice. This adds a sense of obscurity and suspense which makes the audience aware that Archie is controlling Peggy and makes the viewers question whether she will be able to break free from his spell. Therefore, Archie is represented as the antagonist due to his controlling nature over one of the most authoritative women in Walford. This will make the audience dislike him which is what the producers of the BBC want. Non-Verbal Codes Lighting: Low key lighting has been used, which implies to the audience that there is a lot of negativity surrounding the place they are in as well as the situation they are in. This is an example of dramatic irony as they are about to be married. This ‘disequilibrium’ (Todorov) demonstrates that this wedding is like no other due to the colours and sounds used to emphasize the over controlling masculine character in the trailer. Costume: Peggy - White wedding dress, make up and hair done up. The colour white connotes purity and innocence as Peggy seems to be completely in love with the man who is changing her right before her eyes. Archie- Black suit and tie. Black helps ‘signify’ (De Saussure) his dark, evil and dangerous personality as he is controlling Peggy so much that she does not even wear the wedding dress she wanted, and her hair is fully straight at the end of the clip. Facial Expressions: Peggy first appears happy and smiling while putting her perfume on, which connotes she truly loves him. Also it shows that she is trying to impress her husband to be in any way possible maybe because she knows the type of man he is and what he’s going to do to her. To add to this, it could be that she is wearing a lot of make up and perfume to signify that she is trying to cover up her emotional and nervous feelings of marrying the man she thought she knew. Nonetheless, the audience see her facial expressions change dramatically once a piece of her clothing is removed to a shocked expression. This suggests he has turned Peggy into his own doll which he can personally manipulate and control.

3. Technical Codes The technical code of a Wide angle shot establishes the setting of the preparation for a wedding, but ironic that the background is black and while the centre is lit up by high key lighting which is white. This connotes that there is a ‘disequilibrium’ (Todorov). The technical code of an Over the shoulder shot of Peggy looking in the mirror and behind her Archie appears standing at the end of an aisle which appears to be lit by panels of light, however they are flickering. This exemplifies that something is wrong and the wedding should not be happening. The technical code of a Close up shot on a slight high angle portrays Archie as evil, spiteful and wicked. The Birds eye view and High Angle shot of Peggy walking down the aisle holding flowersconnotes she is vulnerable and can easily be taken advantage of. Also, this shows she is inferior to Archie due to this positioning of the camera. The tracking shot denotes the robotic arms as they remove aspects of Peggy’s dress and later the removal of her tiara into a headband displays that he is stripping her of her authority and desires she had with him before they got married which highlights his manipulation of Peggy. An Extreme close up shotof Archie’s eyes suggest he is dangerous and vindictive which entails he is not a pure and decent man. His eyes convey his feelings towards Peggy. The technical code of a Two in-shot of Archie putting a necklace on Peggy’s neck while standing behind her shows how her face appears like a doll as she is as still as a statue and cannot physically move. It amplifies the fact that he does not want her to speak her mind, or choose what she wants to do which emphasizes the control he has over her. This shot demonstrates how he has turned her into his own doll which he can personally influence. Finally, the technical code of an Extreme close of shot of Peggy’s eye as her pupil grows smaller may suggest that Peggy realizes that he is controlling her and that she needs to do something about it or that Archie is watching every move she makes.

4. Hollyoaks Trailer of Niall’sRevenge: Carmel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17qQjGOfGk4 Verbal Codes Dialogue: ‘Once upon a time’ sounds like the beginning of a fairytale story; however, it is very unlikely that it will end this way. Also, this verbal code connotes that there is a equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium to this sequence (Todorov): For example the mother leaving her baby, the mother having more children, then the child comes back but he is now a man who wants revenge and to either kill the mother or her children. ‘Mum you decided not to keep one child’. The audience are not aware why the mother may have given the child up, so many questions would be in their minds here that they would want answered. ‘Well now its time to make that choice again’ connotes that the mother is going to have to choose between her children and those who need them most, which would be a very hard decision. ‘Caregivers’ ( Maslow) would empathize with the mother as she has to ‘choose between’ her ‘babies’ ‘I wanna see my Calvin….I'm gonna wake up and see my Calvin’. This illustrates that Carmel really wants to see her husband or boyfriend due to the emphasis on the verbal code ‘my’. This connotes how much she loves him as she is crying while speaking and her dialogue shows her informal speech as well as her accent, giving the audience an idea of where she lives and was brought up. Voiceover: ‘Its D-day for the McQueen's’. This connotes that this day could be the end for the family as Naill is really aggravated by the fact that his mother did not keep himwhich indicates a multi- stranded narrative through all the members of the McQueen family being involved in this situation from their own perspectives. Sound Effects: Non diegetic Guitar and piano playing as well as eerie sounds of a drum help in building up the tension till the climax. Non-Verbal Codes Setting: The trailer is set in three different rooms; however, they are all painted a similar colour suggesting that they are all in the same building. The rooms are very basic with only single light bulbs and in one room hangs a tilted frame. This may have been used to show a fight had happened hence why the frame has moved or to show that there is a disequilibrium in this sequence as the frame is not how it should be placed. Lighting: Artificial lighting from the light bulbs implying that they are in a closed environment away from the outside world and low key lightening in the room of captivity suggests that they are in unfamiliar surroundings where something terrible may take place, empathizing the disequilibrium.

5. Non-Verbal Codes Continued Costumes: Niall’s trousers and jacket are black which symbolizes danger and evil. It also is a colour used associated with murderers because black is a dark colour and would not be seen easily when the murder take place. Carmel – The pink tracksuit implies she is a stereotypical girl and looks after herself. Facial Expressions: Carmel is crying and very emotional, however her mother is very confused and nervous about the implications her actions might have on the rest of her family, while Niallwants nothing but revenge which is shown through his straight and stern look on his face. Technical Codes A tracking shot from Niall’s waist to his face allow the viewers to wonder who the character could be as they can only hear his voice which builds anticipation. This also gives the audience an idea of the type of person he may be due to his costume and appearance. The technical code of a Mid shot of Carmel speaking while crying connotes how scared she is because her life is on the line and only her mother can decide whether she lives or not. Her emotions show the audience how she truly feels which would make ‘survivors’ (Maslow) want her to make it through this tough ordeal and come out strong. The technical code of a Mid shot of Myra with a little bit of zooming of the mother standing still and to a jump cut then finally to a close up shot of the mothers face. This allows the audience to see how confused and scared she is about choosing which child to keep.

6. Evaluation of Textual Analysis – Compare and Contrast • Eastenders( Peggy and Archie’s Wedding)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrtQCCT8kpk • A strong aspect of this trailer was the use of the non diegetic sounds which empathized Archie’s over controlling manner. • Also, the specific camera shots used to show the portrayals of innocent Peggy and evil Archie • Lastly, the contrast of black and white on the wedding day was used well as it was the complete opposite of how a relation ship and wedding should be. • I would ‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) the camera shots they used which cut from Archie’s expressions to Peggy appearance because it was effective in the way it caught my attention empathized a clear disequilibrium between the characters and the situation they are in. • Hollyoaks ( Niall’s Revenge: Carmel)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17qQjGOfGk4 • A strong aspect of this trailer was the use of dialogue because it told the story but not enough to give the storyline away as they allowed the audience to explore and think about what the McQueen family’s fate was going to be. • Also, the use of a variety of camera shots to portray different emotions was used well, for example the close of shot of Carmel’s face allowed the audience to see her facial expressions which conveyed that she was very scared and emotional at the thought of not being able to see the person she loves. • Finally, the non-diegetic voiceover used was very powerful in the way it seemed as though it was the end for all the McQueen’s. • I would repeat the use of a powerful ending with a voiceover because it keeps the suspense that the audience needs to be able to watch the soap opera after they have seen the trailer; thus, more viewers and higher ratings.