Research into similar products -'Home and Away' Poster

The layout of these posters are similar, in the female poster, the primal octal area has the title of the soap doing this allows the audience to know clearly what the poster is for. Where as the male poster has one of the characters in the primal octal area having this as the first thing that the audience see make them interested as what else will be shown in the poster. For both posters when the rote of the eye goes through the middle it takes the audience thought each of the characters, doing this allows the audience to see each of the characters. Then going along the bottom the audience see the rest of the character. Placing the character in this way allows the audience to see all of the character when looking at the posters. This is the same with the principle of thirds, having the characters framed in the posters using this technique and allows the audience to see all the character, being that they fill the whole poster. The way in which the poster is laid is order, this is the same of both and it is easy for the audience to see the character. However the ways in which these posters are laid out dose not give the audience much information about what is being adverted. The way in which the layout highlights the characters is conventional but because the poster does not put over a storyline or highlights what the soap is about is very unconventional. When creating my poster I think that I will try and make it clear to my target audience what the soap is about and the up coming story line. 

There is little writing on the poster; this is unconventional being that the writing used gives little information about the soap and what the poster purpose is. The writing used is the title and ‘AUSTRALIA’ under the title. This gives information on where the soap is. The font used of this is spaced out and smaller then the title, it’s similar to the typical of font used in maps, which fit in with the location of the soap. The title of the soap match the font used of the actually title, using this allows the audience to know what the poster is for. Both of the posters use the same font but have the titles placed in different sides because of the positioning of the characters.    

The colours used in both of these posters are the same, doing this creates a parallel between the, allowing the audience to know that that they are adverting the same. The colours used connotes the locations, using the bright blue allows the audience to see that the soap is upbeat. Using the blue signifiers the sky this can be seen with in both poster having a sun but on different sides, this is then reflected by the shads of blue. Using this connotes the way in which the soap is bright and cheerful. The colour use of the writing fit in with the image of the soap that they are trying to put over, using the white writing makes it stand out from the blue.

The female characters costume reflects their character. Having the right end character in pink connotes the way in which she is a topical feminine character. This can be seen with the character on the other side, who is also wearing a low cut top, which she white with a feminine pattern on it. Highlighting the way in which she is also a typical feminine character. Where as the character in the middle has a darker top, using this colour signifiers the audience that she is more of a ‘tom boy’. The way in which colour is used in these posters is conventional being that it gives the audience information about the soap and the characters. Showing the informants that choosing the right colour is important, in the way in the audience sees and relates to the character, what is being shown and their view on the soap.     

The shot for the characters of both posters is the same, using the mid shot of each of the characters allows the audience to gain an understanding of who the characters are, using this shot is conventional and allows the audience to have an understanding of who the characters are.

The male poster uses a low angle, doing this makes the male characters look down on the audience. I feel using this effect is off putting the audience and makes them feel less important to the characters. I would have used an eye level shot, like in the female poster being that having the characters looking at the audience, makes them feel more involved and are able to relate to them. The way in which the characters are positioned allows the audience to have an idea about the character and their relationship. With the female poster the characters are standing close together, doing this connotes that they are close and friendly. Where as the male poster the characters are standing apart, signifiers the audience the way in which they do not have a close relationship, highlight more by having the character standing at the back showing the way in which he is not part of the group. Having the prop of the surfboard reflects the locations, being that it is a typical characteristic of people that live in Australia.

The female and male characters are represented in a stereotypical way. With the male poster the characters have no tops on; doing this makes the poster appeal to a female audience. This is the same with the female poster, making the characters sexual appeals to the male audience. Using this technique is conventional to most soaps and this can be with ‘Hollyoaks’ in which they use the same representation for their characters to appeal to the audience. When researching into my target audience I would to find out if these representations of characters appeal to the audience. The shot used to show the characters in very conventional and allows the audience to gain an audience understanding of the character. However these posters do not fit in with conventions being that it gives little information as to what the soap is about and any up coming storylines. This I feel is important to appeal to the audience and getting new audience members. When doing audience research I will show a group different poster to see which style appeals to them more.