Research into similar products- Soap trailer and Audience theory

The video I am analysing is a trailer for ‘EastEnders’ advertising the arrival of two new characters to the soap. It is a short clip showing them in the pub and the reaction of other characters to them. Audience theory is important in production of texts, the way the audience interprets and responds to these texts needs to be considered. Stewart Hall’s theory of encoding and decoding meaning into the text can be applied to this, as the audience discovers the preferred reading and the different ways they respond to this. The Blumer and Katz theory of ‘Uses and gratifications’ can also be applied as the media address the four needs of the audience, showing an active role of the audience.

Stewart Hall's theory says that producers encode the preferred meaning (what they want the audience to think) into texts through technical elements. This encoding is then decoded by the audience. The preferred reading of this trailer is that the two new characters 'Roxy and Ronnie' are coming into the square to shake things up, they want the audience to find them interesting. This is encoded through props and costumes. Roxy and Ronnie are wearing low-cut bright summery costumes, with Roxy even wearing a cowboy hat, which is in contrast to the conventional dull plain, older generation of costumes seen on EastEnders. The soap is set in London and usual shown to be dull weather, which makes the costumes stand out even more to the existing viewer. The props of glasses, cocktails and fire extinguishers with drink encode the idea that they are fun people and like to have a good time. The fast paced music encodes that they are going to shake things up on the square and bring things to life in the same old square that the viewer is used to.
This meaning could be decoded in three ways by the audience. The dominant decoding shows the viewer would accept the texts code and understand the preferred reading- that Roxy and Ronnie are fun characters and that they will bring the square to life. The negotiated response, that they audience partly accepts the meaning, would be that they accept Ronnie and Roxy onto the square but might modify their arrival in a way that suits them. However the oppositional, counter-hegemonic response would reject the preffered reading entirely, and does not share the code.

The Blumer and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory can be applied to the trailer. This says that the media address 4 needs of the audience. One of these needs is diversion, an escape from everyday life and routine. This is something that soaps address directly. The purpose of a soap is something that the viewer can watch to be used as a diversion from what is going on for them personally. The soap introduces new characters, making the audience want to follow them to see what is going to develop on the soap. The trailer uses close ups on other characters faces to show their facial expressions and reactions to the arrival of Ronnie and Roxy. This allows the audience to gain an understanding of what is going on, and maybe hints to possible storyline that may be coming up, something that the audience would want to see. Applying the theory further, the text also uses the idea of personal identity, with the trailer showing a vast array of different characters that would be involved in the soap, the viewer could create a relationship with one of these characters. This is seen through the use of their reactions to what is going on around them, as well as technical elements such as  costume and props.

Using audience theory to analyse this soap trailer worked well. The uses and gratifications theory can clearly be applied in the fact that soaps are an escape from everyday life and the trailer encourages the audience to follow the story lines. The theory of encoding and decoding meaning can clearly be seen, with the preferred meaning being encoded in the trailer through technical elements. It will be important for me to think about audience theory when producing my soap trailer. I will need to think about what is being show and they ways in which the audience will see and respond to them.