Title sequence examples: 'Eastenders' and 'Hollyoaks'

The opening sequence to a soap is very important, it needs to memorable and be semantically linked to the soap, the tune has to reflect the soaps environment for example.The soap 'Eastenders' has had the same theme for almost 25 years, the images only updating with higher resolution technology. The public enjoy the theme tunes and like the 'familiarity' they bring when the audience begins to watch,there was outrage when Eastenders tried to change its theme for example. The Eastenders theme begins with its drums which are so familiar it allows people to notice the soap has started, linking to Althusser's theory of interpellation,signaling it has begun. The tune/phrases of music are very simplistic and memorable,the tune is often repeated through the opening also, the camera spins round until its straight,the title shows then the music fades.The title itself is somewhat serif and has traditional font/title aspects which perhaps makes it more 'neutral' and shows it can accepts a range of audiences,young and old alike.

unlike Eastender's short 40 second theme, the soap Hollyoaks has over a minute opening. Channel 4's soap is aimed at a younger audience of young adults and teens, making it a direct contrast from Eastender's opening. The soap begins with a 'last time' section to remind the audience, or inform new members what has previously happened in the soap. The title sequence has a theme tune which suits the 'pop/rock' genre better and introduces each character through the opening. The soap opening is a lot more colourful as backgrounds change to represent every main cast member. The title's font also appears more modern again attracting a younger audience. When the show begins the music remains Non-digetic with a current and popular song. The cinematography is also different to the average soap, it relies on movement and actions more then dialogue,this reflects Barthe's action and enigma codes. Relying so heavily on action codes is also unusual in soap drama as they are more often dialogue driven and use more enigma codes.

Both soaps are aimed at different audiences it would seem,this is easily portrayed in both title sequences and theme tunes.