Opening Credits
Hollyoaks
The opening shot of the Hollyoaks opening credits is an extreme close up on bright red lips, eating a cherry with a manicured hand (see picture one). This is an indexical reference to sexual relationships, losing your virginity and passion. The colour on the screen has been treated so that the red stands out; the colour red also has connotations of passion, love, seduction and even danger. The opening shot immediately introduces two of the soaps main themes, relationships and sex.
The second shot we see is a close-up of a man holding roses looking directly into the camera, the film then cuts to a mid shot of him sat with a bunch of red roses behind a ‘target circle’ (picture two). The mis-en-scene of the shot, a man dressed smart holding red roses immediately connote the stock character he plays within the soap, a ‘heart throb’. The red rose’s run parallel to the previous shot, connoting love and keeping the theme of relationships obvious to the audience. The target behind the character suggest his character plays games, the chase and the challenge of seducing a girl appeal to him instead of a committed relationship; girls are his target.
As well as black, the colours prominent to the whole of the opening credit sequence are red, white and blue – the colours of the British flag. This immediately connotes to the audience that this is a British soap that focuses on the stereotypical British town. As all of the characters in the sequence are young adults, it also suggests to the audience that this is a soap based around the younger generation.
Shortly after this shot the sequence includes a long shot of a young woman that has been made to parody a magazine cover (see picture three). Again the prominent colours of the shot are red and blue – the woman is poised on a red sofa in the shape of lips with a pen in her mouth, connoting seduction and passion. The magazine cover has mock headline such as ‘What Every Girl Wants’, hinting at secretive and devious storylines – it could also be a parallel to the character; a strong, determined female.
Towards the end of the sequence we again see a shot that could signify a storyline within the soap (see picture four). A mid shot of a young man dressed in a red shirt is stood in front of a background covered with black scribbled writing. Certain words within the background are made much more visible than other such as, “questions” and “understand”; this background could be a portrayal of the mans state of mind, allowing a storyline based around some kind of mental illness connoting his mind is a ‘mess’ - like the background, and nobody “understands”. This would be appropriate as within soaps they often deal with issues of mental illness. The red on his shirt instead of connoting love like the previous shots instead connotes danger and illness. The ‘splatters and dribbles’ of red paint on the background connote blood, suggesting to the audience he could either harm another character or himself.
The opening credits to Hollyoaks create a glamorous and provocative atmosphere for the soap, the opening credits are created in a similar way to other media forms such as a music video. The sequence is matched with an upbeat soundtrack and use’s heavy editing, something not often seen in British soaps; the cuts are sharp and quick, only allowing the audience around a second to view each shot – this could connote the ‘five minutes of fame’ that the younger generation today aspire too. The shot on screen often have two layers of images over each other and the lights and colours on the video have been treated all this creates a modern, sophisticated effect that resembles a music video and gives the sequence a ‘party/night-club’ like feel.
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