Why do soap operas have different look than other TV shows and movies?
It is mainly the speed at which it has to be filmed. A half hour daily soap requires about 100 to 120 minutes of screen time a week compared to about 40 to 45 minutes for a one hour drama. This leads to compromises, in particular with the lighting. The lights are placed high in the studio so they are not required to be adjusted too much for individual scenes, with a result that the overall effect is very flat. I do not watch American soaps except for Passions, which would also save time and money by devoting about half of its air time to repeats of previous material in the form of recaps and dream sequences. I have worked as an extra on Home and Away and they do take a bit more effort to get the lighting right, so the result is less ‘soapy’ than the Americans. Nevertheless, they will film a scene in about half the time it takes a drama. The fastest I have ever seen a scene shot was on a Chinese soap filming in Sydney. By the way, Australian soaps do shoot exteriors on location and just
