Soap Sub-Genres; Realism

What is Realism?
A sub-genre is a sub-category of a particular genre. Realism is a sub-genre of soaps. Realism soaps are soaps such as Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale where they are set in England and are supposed to represent everyday situations in life. The lighting is usually natural light or house lit lights to make the environment and the scenes more realistic. Realism soaps also use over the shoulder shots to make you feel like you a present in the scene and make you feel like you are part of the scene. Realism soaps dont normally have any non-digetic sounds in the background as they dont have any soundtracks, the only music you will find a realism soap such as Eastenders would be music from the caf or the background conversation in The Vic where there would normally be laughs and conversation. All the music is digetic to give it another feeling of the situations being real. Realism soaps will also have a strong regional identity for example Eastenders has a strong regional identity of a typical cockney, Emmerdale has a strong regional identity of a typical farming community and Cornation street has a strong identity of a typical Manchester town. Realism soaps paint Britain out be a grim place to live as there are quite dark and quite serious and where the original soaps that have then lead to other soaps.

Soaps originated in the UK and were linked with the BBC. Since 1951 The Archers has been running continuously and is the worlds longest running radio soap.

An early television serial is The Grove Family which ran from 1954 1957 which was broadcasted. Only a handful remain in archives.

Examples of realism
Eastenders Corrination street Emmerdale Soaps Set in UK. Set in normal locations to represent normal day to day life. Relatable storylines and characters, so the audience can relate and build connections with characters. What soaps could fit into this sub- genre: Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale. Problems codes and conventions things we encounter a lot, for example arguments, love triangles, family existing issues. Made to be continuous Using Natural lighting to create a sense of realism. Realism soaps are supposed to be natural and similar to how we live, Lighting therefore making everything non-artificial. This is further enhanced by the Mise en Scene catharsis (emotional) storylines. Sound is almost always diegetic to keep it real, as we dont have background noise in our everyday situations. Camera angles are kept simple, eye level usually, with edits as subtle as possible.

Examples of Realism Soaps

Eastenders 2007 Christmas Episode - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbglbGMYtog Eastenders http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnUmT5XTsr4

Coronation Street 50th Anniversary - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMZkwUgUAHI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcVoNEhhICU

Emmerdale Emmerdale Christmas Special -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNUElyG9HRs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOFoTzGGXCg

Cinematography
Reverse shot so it feels like you are looking in on the conversation.
Close up to show the emotion the characters face

Room is decorated with pictures to give it a more realistic feel, also lighten by house lamps also creates a more realistic feel

Close up shows drama and emotion and the angry face, also a dark background with an over the shoulder shot

Cinematography
Over the shoulder shot, and two shot showing both of the characters involved in that scene
In natural light giving it a realistic feel. Medium close up showing the costume and the facial expression

Face is only half lit because of the lights quite dull as it is an inside scene which is lit by house lights or office lights.
Long shot showing the characters body language to set an atmosphere and give the audience a guess at how the character is feeling

Two shot close up showing the emotion on the characters face Also taken from a side angle which gives the audience a sense of looking in on the characters

Cinematography
Set in a hospital oxygen mask gives it a sense of realism. Close up shot also shows the expression on the characters face

Low angle shot combined with the long shot suggest anger as the characters face is scowling.

Character being dominated by her surroundings suggesting she is out of her comfort zone, however close up shows the expression and anger on her face

Mise en Scene
The use of Mise en Scene in realism uses some of the main conventions of media to create a realistic image that makes the show believable to the audience . Realism soaps often reflects real life daily issues such as poverty , violence death , crime and broken relationships , to add on to the realistic theme , the continuous use of low key lighting is used to keep the realistic image throughout the show. A very common example of a realism soap is Coronation Street.
Coronation street is set in the fictional town of weatherfield in salford which is a middleclass town , which is victim of everyday dramatic situations whether its the breakup of a relationship , the tragedy of a car crash , or the death of a person. Throughout the series all these dark , dramatic themes of realism are brought to live using all the conventions of mise en scene starting of with the colour scheme

Mise en Scene
The use of colour in realism soaps (such as coronation street) are generally very bland and dark to reflect the realistic and dim reality of life in this case , the grim dark life in north England. Outdoor shots are very low key in terms of light as there is always a lack of vibrant colours , the colour from the original shot is almost unedited to keep the natural look to the setting. Aswell as exterior shots , interior settings are also very low key as the only lighting used if from daily household appliances such as lamps tv etc . This creates a more real life environment which the audience can relate to and believe. The colours in the costumes are also very neutral and normal e.g a dangerous character in the show will not be wearing red , or black clothing to reflect the danger , they will most likely be wearing similar clothes as the other characters to make them all equal . Apart from the opening of the show all sounds are comp[letely diegetic , as a non diegetic soundtrack would sure to sabotage the realistic image , there is no soundtrack following us around are daily life .

Mise en Scene
The use of edits in realism are limited compared to other forms of drama such as melodrama , because the show must ensure all edits are at a normal pace which will not over exaggerate the real situation and create a continuous plot . Most of the time the camera seems to be filming in full shots , close ups and reverse camera editing , avoiding from dramatic quick cuts and p.o.vs with almost no transitions will result in the soap being once again , over the top exaggerated . And will more importantly lose the realism and continuity of the soap.