Hollyoaks is commonly known as the soap opera that differs from other via its younger, more glamorous cast and this is highlighting in this trailer especially.
The trailer opens with a non-diegetic soundtrack that immediately makes a sharp noise to attract the audience, matching the soundtrack is the image of a young woman. The midshot pans to the left in and zoom in during the two seconds the shot appears, this intensifies the action along with the contrapuntal soundtrack. The background of the shot is in focus and a large painting is visible behind the young woman, the set up of the background connotes wealth to the audience, this is matched with the woman’s extravagant costume. She wears a strapless white dress which along with her wavy blonde hair connotes innocence and purity to the audience, giving her an ‘angelic-like’ look. However, this is juxtaposed by heavy make-up, her dark eyes and red lips remain in context with the theme of wealth and high-class created but make her appear manipulative and sneaky instead. The action then cuts to a hand which dragging its fingers along the wall, the hand is represented as the young woman’s due to her position in the previous shot and the red nail varnish. The red nail varnish immediately matches her heavy make-up, as the colour red has darker connotations such as anger and danger, this is complimented by the dark lighting of the shot; shadows also have dark connotations and this gives the trailer a more sinister tone. The shot is edited so that where the girl has dragged her fingers along the wall, long lines are left – edited to look like fire. This scenario has connotations of hell which is enhanced by the use of fire. Parallel to this is another sound layered over the soundtrack; this is also non-diegetic and is used to create a sense of fear. This combined with the contrapuntal music, connotations and juxtaposition of the young woman costume and lighting connotes to the audience that the trailer will deal with an event that is either evil or dangerous.
The action then cuts to another shot, as it does so dialogue within the contrapuntal soundtrack begins, the dialogue is indistinctive which further develops the tension and curiosity about the trailer. This shot uses an out of focus foreground (see image one) which alludes to the shape of a lady’s hand drinking a wine glass; the hand appears to be dressed in a black lace glove and the wine glass its holding also appears to be of a dark colour. The set-up of the shot once again connotes wealth and the dark colours connote sinister happenings and events. The lady’s arm could easily be seen as an indexical reference for a widow, which links with the fire/hell shot shown before – representing that death could be a theme within this storyline. Also parallel to the fire in the previous scene and indexical reference of a widow in the foreground, is the background of the shot that shows a bouquet of flowers on fire. It is clear that the fire is an editing technique as instead of a small fire and smoke the fire is something similar to a fire that could be seen for a huge blaze, or a fireball. The bouquet appears artistically set-out which again emphasise the wealthy, glamorous theme running throughout the trailer. The bouquet features a range of greenery, red flowers and a single white rose, the red connotes love parallel to the flowers but also danger linking to the trailer as a whole. By featuring the single white rose a sinister tone is once again highlighted, this puts the audience on edge as they try to piece together the separate shots, trying to make them link and figure out the story.
The next shot introduces another character, this time a young male stands centre of the mid-shot shouting (see image two). The action has been slowed down, exaggerating the anger on the man’s face – coming out of his mouth is fire. Once again this connotes danger, highlighting that a theme surrounding a fire is going to bring trauma to the soap. However, this also has connotations that his words are sharp and angry, representing his as a malicious, rude character. He is dressed in a smart black suit, which connotes power and wealth complimenting the editing technique of him speaking fire. In the foreground of the shot is a woman dressed in red, the foreground is heavily out of focus but by allowing the audience the knowledge he is speaking like this to a woman their curiosity is triggered as they wonder what she has done and how ‘evil’ the male character really is. The shot then cuts meaning the man is in the foreground out of focus. Once again the use of the colour red is heavily significant, as the woman is dressed in a red dress connoting love, passion and danger. It is also a strong red colour, connoting power which is matched by her action of hitting a glass – this allows the audience the knowledge that she will fight back and there could be a power struggle within this storyline. The next shot is shows the glass hitting the wall, like the previous two shots this one is also slowed down via editing to emphasis the emotions of the characters to the audience. As the glass hits the wall it turns into fire – the audience’s interest would be at a high now as they seek an explanation as to why the advert has such as central theme of fire and anger.
The finishing shot of the trailer shows more characters, hinting that these are all involved within the storyline (see image three). It shows the setting for all scenarios featured within the shot as set in a restaurant, hinting that one of the main forums will also come to harm during the storyline. The shot has been heavily edited to feature fire around the outsides and in the centre of the shot – this highlights that the storyline will feature a blaze once and for all to the audience; as the fire is edited in so near to the characters the connotation of danger is once again emphasised to the audience. The main colours within the shot are red, white and black - classic colours which together connote wealth and, in this shot combine together to connote a threat. Each colours separate connotations juxtapose each other such as innocence, evil and love showing that this is going to be a storyline that will trigger many emotions from both characters and audience. Over this shot, along with the soundtrack is a non-diegetic voiceover, “ a week that will change Hollyoaks forever”. This once again creates interest, suspense and tension for the audience, by highlighting it’s a serious and controversial storyline that will span out for a week and that the repercussions of it will be around “forever”.
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