Unit 42 Radio

Drama Lo1

CODES
With radio drama, as with all other forms of media, there are certain aspects
that piece together to form the final piece , the codes and conventions.
The codes of the piece are the elements that have to be included. The
conventions of a piece are what we as a listener expect to hear.
Words & Voices Due to the lack of visual in radio, there is no other way for
the attention of the audience to be maintained. Radio has to evoke a
response from the listener so there is a heavy reliance on the words, and the
voice speaking those words, to communicate to the listener.

Words
Due to the fact that there isn't any visuals in a radio drama there isn't
another way for the producers to keep the attention of the listener. Words are
very important as it has to evoke emotions and interest to the viewer.
It is very important part of radio drama as if you sound like your just reading
it off a script it wont sound professional and people will just picture you in a
studio. Each character must have a different voice o the listener will be able
to know who is talking.

Voices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjq-SdNm5KE
This is a radio drama about Sherlock Holmes. The talking starts within 4
seconds and you can tell that the person speaking sounds stressed and
surprised.
It is important for voices to be clear and slightly over exaggerated due to
there being no visuals to make their emotion clear.

Speech
Speech is important as it lets the listeners can hear and tell what tone the
actors are using giving the listeners a sense of what mood they are in.
It is powerful because if the actor is speaking loudly and in a stressed tone
the listeners will then know that the actor is angry or frustrated. This sets
the mood in the radio drama giving you a sense of what situation they are in.
With speech you can tell where the character is from by hearing their accent.

Music & Ambience

This is used to set the scene, because radio dramas havent got any visual
you need to hear signs as to where the scene is. For example at a beach you
can here the waves clashing about and the sound of seagulls. This is
extremely useful when making a radio drama as it can give great affect and it
can also show where the scene is set.
The sound will have to be professional and correct otherwise is wont make
the radio drama true and it wont sound good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E80fp1OnCu8
This music would be used in a Horror movie to create a scary atmosphere to
make the audience tense knowing that something is about to happen.

Sounds and Silence

Silence is very effective in radio dramas because it can cause dramatic
effect. It can also change the scenes as constant dialogue cant get boring
and the listener might loose interest. Silence can create suspense and it can
let the listeners know when the scene has finishes and the next one starts. If
silence is used to much it can get boring and the viewer will lose interest.

CONVENTIONS
Aural Signposting
This is setting the location of the scene using sound like accents and noises
in the background. If someone was driving fast you would her the revving of
the engine and the change of gears and you could have the radio playing in
the background. You could also use the sound of rain hitting the roof of the
car and the splashing of puddles. Also for the sounds of accents you could
use someone from Manchester and you would know that scene is set up
north somewhere in Manchester.

Cliff-Hanger Endings
This is the way you end the drama, if you leave the ending open and interesting people
will want to listen to the next episode. It is a very good technique as if it ends really
well and interesting the listener will make sure that they listen to the next episode or
series to make sure they find out what happens which will increase the listeners.
For example soap radio drama often uses these like the archers did when a character
fell off the roof they didnt let you know what happened all you could hear was noise
and a thump and they didnt explain what happened which made the listener want to
tune in to find out what happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZCaSyid4m0
This scene in the Italian job is a perfect example of a cliff hanger ending as the
audience never find out whether they managed to get the gold rom the end of the bus
hanging on the cliff.

Flashback
Flashbacks are used in radio dramas to tell the audience what happened in
the previous episode ( to catch up). The flashbacks are usually shown at the
beginning of each episode. Flash backs are also used when a character is
thinning about a previous situation that has happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4LEn1cGdTs
This scene in the Godfather part 2 is an example of a flashback. Michael is
thinking back to when he was younger having dinner with his family waiting
for his farther to come home and he tells his brother sonny that he's going to
join the army and leave college. At the end of the scene it goes back to
Michael sitting down in his garden.

Use of Silence & Fades

This is normally used to show the end of a scene or change in location. It can
also be used to show time difference, its a tool to keep the listener as
engrossed as possible.
A good example would be in the production there has been a scene and it
was going to involve the same people that were in the first scene a use of
silence will explain to the viewer that time has passed and its later in the day.

Characterisation
Characterisation is used to distinguish who the different characters are.
Specific accents are used to tell where people are from and slang for
stereotypical characters. This makes it easier for the listener to understand
each characters traits and means if they tune in mid-drama, they should still
be able to follow it. This is important as the majority of radio is listened to
whilst travelling something that may start/end mid show.

Chronological Development
Chronological Development is when a radio drama goes chronological order,
from the start, middle and end. A good example would be the film Forrest
Gump, the film starts off as him as kid and we watch him grow up to be a
man in his journey through life.

Direct Speech & Narration

As your not able to visually see the production a narrator is good at
explaining what's happening and giving us a good idea. They can quickly
provide information which would otherwise slow down the production. It is
very useful for providing information to the listener and can be done nice and
quick and it can also clear up confusion and make it easier for the viewer to
understand the story. It can make the story nervous and not very smooth.

Titles & Credits

This can be used to show the end of the programmed as you wouldn't just
want it to go to silence and you'd also want to credit the cast who worked
hard on the production.
It is simply a list of the cast and the key people involved in the production.

STYLES
Appropriateness to Target
Audience
This is key to making your radio drama as if you can detect your target
audience you can then make your drama in that style. For example if your
target audience was a younger generation you'd use language that would
make sense to them maybe even some slang. Where as if you were aiming
for an older generation you wouldnt use slang and you would use words that
appeal to them and they can understand.

Dramatic Reconstruction
This is creating scenes with sound for example making a scene more
dramatic through sound or narrative or many other different types of
narrative for example having an angry or distressed voice over a calm and
quiet one as it will have more effect.

Radio Drama Styles

Traditional- This normally a strong storyline which will have a narrator and many characters. There is
normally a problem or dilemma on which the story is based around.
An example of this would be the TV show scrubs as there is always a problem or dilemma in each
episode that is always resolved at the end with narration throughout the episode
Adaption- This where a script writer will take an idea from another performance and adapt it to suit
the audience. The Harry Potters books is a good example because they were originally books that
where turned into films.
Kitchen sink- A radio drama that is based on a family in there home an example of this would be
the TV show Modern Family because the whole show is based on their family inside their home and
each character is included in every episode.
Soap- Similar to kitchen sink but it will normally involve danger and exciting plans. An example for
this would be the radio drama The Archers there is a continuous story line and there is always
something going on.
Post-Modern- Unlike traditional dramas this one doesnt answer the questions it gets the audience to
answer them there self. A post-modern drama example would be the Mighty Boosh because it has
different story line but each one makes no sense

Creation of Mood or Location

The creation of the mood or location can be done in many different ways
mainly using music.
For example it can enhance the effect of the situations as you can create
tension and scare. If something bad was going to happen it would set the
mood by playing quick scary music maybe on a piano.
By using multiple layered sound effects you are able to create different
scenarios in order to set each scene wherever you want it to be.

STRUCTURES
Duration
The typical duration for a soap is 10-15 minutes, The Archers has a running
time of 12 minutes. The running time of a horror or thriller will vary from half
an hour to an hour. North of Riga is a 41 minute radio drama which is a good
example of this. Soaps normally aren't that long so that they can drag the
story out and make more episodes. The thriller and horror dramas aren't no
longer than an hour as the listener would get bored.

Narrative Structure
Narrative structure is the storyline. There is linear and non- linear, linear is
where it has a start a middle and an end and goes in chronological order.
Non- linear is where they have flashbacks and it doesnt go in chronological
order so the radio drama could start in the middle and then back to the start
and works it way to the end.

Development of Plot
Development of plot is the way in which the story develops, in a soap the
story would develop over a long period of time but with a one part drama the
story would develop within the hour. The reason why the soap is like this is
because the episodes are short and they can stretch them out to keep the
listener interested. With stand alone as the episodes are longer they can put
it all into one and they dont normally have sequels