Economic Reasons - Audio Visual

Coronation Street logo 1960

In Coronation Street in the 1960s the show was on a smaller budget. It was filmed in Granada Studios which was a small studio in Central Manchester. The sets were also smaller. The economic constraints can be seen by the wobbly tracking shots, dull lighting which is used ans also the simple editing techniques which were used.

In Coronation Street in 2013 however, there is a whole street which is built at the new Trafford Wharf set in Salford, Manchester. The budget is also much better and there are some stunts such as the fire which happened at the Rovers Return pub. There are also crane shots which are used in the opening which shows how much money has been spent because the equipment is very expensive. 

In daytime serials stunts and complex physical action are largely missing. They take place off screen but are referred to on screen. During extensive post production work and multiple tasks while possible are not feasible due to fight taping, schedules and low budgets. Contemporary soaps sometimes employ a number of standard conventions and many researchers have attempted to list some of the typical characteristics

The reason that they have cutbacks is because they are hit by the recession. Only 16 actors are in each episode now with speaking parts. The BBC have introduced a secret quota so that they can keep a tight grip on their costs. They had to make the cuts so that they could balance the books.

In 2010 the BBC spent £102.5 on soaps including Eastenders, Casualty, Doctors and Holby City which is a 20% drop in the last eight years.

The BBC spent almost £700,000 on its anniversary half-hour live episode of Eastenders in 2011, a new report has revealed. Corporation bosses earmarked an extra half a million pounds - over and above normal costs - to fund the 25th anniversary programme. The figures were revealed in a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) into the way the BBC manages the costs of continuing drama, which also shows Eastenders will spend nearly £7 million on cast this year. It found the cost of six key dramas, including Casualty and Eastenders, has reduced by a fifth in real terms over the past eight years. However with audiences declining, the NAO study also found the cost per viewer for the six programmes had actually risen by almost 9% in real terms over the same period.

The Corrie cast will be getting a pay cut. The Sun reported just before Christmas saying that the cast will be getting a pay cut. Also the soaps omnibus programme will be switched from ITV1 to ITV2. Also the cast will be getting a repeat fee which is 37.5% of their episode pay for the appearances in the omnibus. But if the show is moving to the digital channel the actors will be forced to share a small fee.