Title Sequences - Coronation Street

The title sequence for Coronation Street hasn't changed much since the soaps very first episode as the short graphical sequence contains shots of terraced streets which represent the programmes setting of Weatherfield; this is played along the soaps theme music which is composed by Eric Spear. 

From 1999 to 2010, the episodes writer and director were credited in the title sequence, although in 2010 the title sequence carries no credits and ended with the Coronation Street logo instead.

With very few changes since its debut in 1960, the sequence has pretty much followed the same formula although have changed very slight variations to incorporate recent trends. 

The very first title sequence was in black and white as the titles provided viewers with a glimpse of the programme in 1960 when it first started. The establishing shot consisted of rows of terraced houses, taken from dock buildings on Ordsall Road in Salford with St.Clements Church in the distance, after which the view changed to tilting downwards shot of Archie Street which again was in Salford on which the architecture of fictional Coronation Street was based.
This sequence was used until episode 336 (2nd March 1964), after this, there was a three month period where there was no title and the programme title was shown exclusively over the opening scene or location.

As said the before, with hardly changes, with the programmes move to high definition, a new title sequence was made which made its debut on the Internet first on the 27th May 2010. Within the programme it was first used on episode 7351 (31st May 2010). This particular sequence incorporated shots of Manchester City Centre, including the Castlefield basin, before dissolving into shots of Coronation Street itself. As a new producer of Coronation Street; Phil Colinson moved the Coronation Street logo was moved back to the very end of the sequence with the writer and director credit was displayed over the opening shots of the actions shown in the episode.

End Credits:
The end credit sequence is also a crucial part as a list of all actors and key production teams who worked on the episode were listed. Actors are usually listed in order of appearance. If two or more episodes were broad casted on one day (Mondays and Fridays) then only on the final episode contained the end credits which showed overall cast credits rather than individual episodic credits.
Until mid 2010, Coronation Street's ending credits had changed very little as it usually consisted of an image of the street itself, terraced rooftops or cobblestones, or a black screen which was common in the mid 70's. Since 2000, most ITV programme end credits have been standardised. The programmes credits currently use images from the title sequence, with cast credits displayed at the base against a black backdrop.

Analysis of Coronation Street Trailer - Siege Week

A trailer is a form of advertisement which is exhibited either on TV or in the cinema's. They are used as a form of marketing in order to get audience's watching that particular film or soap. Soaps frequently use this form of marketing as they have big story lines very often in which they need to promote in order to keep their audience watching. These extracts are usually drawn from the most exciting, dramatic and noteworthy parts of the soap but in a abbreviated form. Trailers can last from about 30 seconds up to about 2 minutes as short snippets of the episode are shown as they cannot give too much away. 

Most trailers have a 3 act structure:

Act 1: The beginning; the basis of the story is shown.

Act 2: The middle; The story is shown further in more detail and usually ends with a dramatic climax.

Act 3: The end; usually features a piece of music which is very powerful. This last act consists of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments of the piece.

Voice over narration is also used to outline the basis of the story and provide explanation when necessary and since the trailer is a highly condensed format, voice over is a tool which is used to enhance the audience's understanding of the plot.

Music is another key element as it helps set the tone and mood of the trailer.

'Siege Week' (Coronation Street):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CKb92mdL8

The trailer starts off with two policeman's coming into the factory to tell Carla something about her ex husband Tony; then goes to Claire revealing that he has escaped from prison creating an atmosphere for the audience as they know something that Carla doesn't. The news slowly get around to the whole community where they are all talking about it and are worrying at the fact that he may come back to Coronation Street. As the news it getting round, there are quick short edits of a man with his back turned, not revealing himself and slowly the camera is panning up to reveal who he is. He then turns around and it is revealed that it is actually Tony Gorden and is back in town to kill Carla and Haley as he traps them in their own factory. The trailer itself is very fast paste which creates a sense of urgency and intrigues the audience more and makes them want to know even more as well. The use of soundtrack adds to the tension as again it is very upbeat and fats paste but in a more casual tone where as the situation at hand is urgent and serious.