#code and conventions

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Sitcom Conventions

Sitcoms, such as Anger Management and Black Books, have a number of defining conventions. For a British sitcom series, there are usually six to eight episodes in a series. For an American sitcom series, there are vary between ten and twenty four episodes in a series. But throughout a programmes run, the amount of episodes differs. The story lines in a Sitcom appear to deal with working class values, such as Steptoe and Son, but some Sitcoms have been based around middle class values such as Absolutely Fabulous. The narrative of a sitcom is mostly realist linear because they focus on real life issues and follow the events in chronological order. The episodes are closed endings and the sense of camaraderie is renewed. And the series give the audience closure at the end of it's run however some shows such as Friends end on cliffhangers.

In Sitcoms, there are three main types of characters; the main characters, the supporting characters and the temporary characters. For example in Mrs. Brown Boys, the main characters are Agnes and her offspring, the supporting characters are Betty and Maria and the temporary characters are Bono and Trevor. The relationships  between the main characters fit within a families values even if they aren't a family. For example in Black Books, Bernard and Fran act like husband and wife with Manny being like their own child. The characters in sitcoms can be two dimensional stereotypical people or they can be more complicated and have layers to their personality but they don't change. The audience are able to identify with the characters and will be able to name someone they know who are like them.

Sitcoms are mostly filmed in a studio set-up with several cameras. This is so they can capture a scene from many angles. They are usually performed in front of a live studio audience who laugh with the scenes that are being played in front of them. Other scenes are filmed out of a studio so a canned laughter is added in post production. This is non-diegetic sound because it's not apart of the script. The sound makes the audience feel like they have to laugh at that point as they are hearing laughter.

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Soap Opera Code & Conventions

Soap operas, such as Eastenders and Coronation Street, follow a set of codes and conventions that shows the audience what they're watching. The format of a soap opera is a serial. A serial is a television series that relies on a continuous plot that comes to life over a sequence of episodes. The narrative of a soap opera is realist linear. This is because the story lines have a focus on family life, relationships, drama and conflicts. The story lines appear to recognize the class system and mainly the working class. The narrative is also multi-narrative because there are multiple families that all have their own major narratives and within that narrative are micro-narratives. The episodes can have open and closed endings because of the nature of the soap opera.

The females in soap operas are mainly known as the matriarch or the bitch. The matriarchs are the ones who have the power in a relationship, they're the ones that control the information that is given to the male characters. The males in soap operas are mainly known as the sensitive men or the weak characters, the complete opposite of the majority of the female characters. Examples of a matriarch and weak characters would be Peggy Mitchell and Billy Mitchell. Peggy Mitchell is a strong character who is head of the Mitchell family whereas Billy Mitchell is a weak character who is near the bottom of the hierarchy and gets bullied by the people higher up in the family. There is a large cast of characters that fits together into core families that all live in a community. The story lines all are located in places of social interaction such as pubs and cafes.

Soap operas are mostly filmed in a studio set-up with several cameras. This is so they can capture a scene from many angles in only one take due to their tight schedule. This style helps create less continuity errors because they are only shooting the scene once and not multiple times. The majority of the sounds in an episode of a soap opera is diegetic. This makes it feel very realistic because there isn't any non-diegetic sound played over the top creating an atmosphere. But sometimes there is non-diegetic sound in scenes where it's needed.