Advanced ProductionPlanning and Analysis – Radio Drama

Maria GarciaCandidate Number 3064

I completed at least 4 full drafts of the script for the excerpt of the radio drama I would be producing.

The main alterations and changes of the script that I made were:Adding in more sound effects to enhance the setting.Changing words for cannabis like “weed” to “gangja” encoding a

definite cultural context. Connotations of ganja – drug users, perhaps poorer people using drugs.

Encoding Daniel’s deception through dialogue – e.g. “This go be a good deal yuh know star”

Queuing in background music and sound effects which made it a lot easier to separate the text into manageable units or scenes.

The signs used to communicate a setting (ocean sounds) (night time birds) and meaning.

Ideologies of being at a party in the Caribbean “I’ll have a sapphire martini” ideologies of bliss when it’s not.

Drafting and Redrafting

I have conducted some research regarding the Medium, which is a Radio Drama.

I then uploaded the relevant information to my blog. I looked at:

The History of radio drama and trendsI researched radio drama in the present dayI also looked at suggested ways in which to produce

a radio drama which was extremely helpful, clear and concise. http://www.savoyhill.co.uk/technique/

I researched radio drama in other countries too e.g. Japan and India as my radio drama is based abroad and may well be broadcasted in other countries.

Research -Medium

I researched and uploaded to my blog interesting information about the relevant themes involving my radio drama.

This included: drugs and drug trafficking. Interracial relationships and more specifically black man and white woman relationships

This also included researching legal consequences to handling drugs. I researches the different types of names for the drug Cannabis. This helped me to find the appropriate term ‘Ganja’ that people in Jamaica use.

The research helped me to understand in more depth the themes in which i’ve chosen to include.

Research - Theme

http://www.caribbean-radio.com/Listened to Soca 919FM to see what kind of

music I would like to play in the party scene.Nationwide radio Jamaica – for the specific

accents and dialects. (News stations)

Other Caribbean Radio Stations

“BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2008/feb/04/yourelisteningtobbcradiom

Jane Garvey says Blog home You're listening to BBC Radio Middle Class,

sorry, Radio 4"I think there is a massive middle class bent to every

programme on Radio 4”

Radio 4 Audience - On blog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Radio_4#History

‘Footsteps’ will have a very clear and specific setting. A Jamaican setting will appeal and attract an audience who

have Jamaican Heritage. They may have a opposed reading? They may support the Jamaican character ‘Daniel’ because they may share values and beliefs with him.

On a wider scale – People from the Caribbean islands. A Caribbean focused play is quite rare so people from the Caribbean – mainly older people 30 + will take a keen interest.

Anyone with interests in other cultures travellers. People with an interest to the main themes of the drama i.e. Interracial relationships, drug trafficking etc.

And lastly – Radio 4 Listeners (regulars) often described as ‘Middle Class’

Potential Audience

Many of the radio drama’s I have listened to, have been short stories. The stories have a clear plot, beginning middle and ending (and often problem and resolution)

The radio drama’s usually last from about 30-45 minutes .Conventionally, the radio dramas have voice actors, and

occasionally a narrator who narrates the story and helps the audience understand what is going on because it is not always clear without the visual aids.

Sound effects are used to create ambience and atmosphere and can add or take away realism from the play. I.e. Could have telephone ringing noise for a phone call or sound have computer generated sounds for e.g. Aliens, also natural sounds are incorporated into some drama’s i.e. The weather – which can set the mood (pathetic fallacy) 0r the ocean etc.

Conventions of Radio Drama

Music can also be used to open and close the radio drama. This is usually faded in and out at the start and finish as an indicator to beginning and end.

Music can also be used throughout the play as background noise. (perhaps in a party scene as a sound effect)

The two protagonists in my radio drama are Janice and Daniel. Janice is a 40 year old British woman who has flown over to Jamaica in order to escape from the drudgery of her normal life.

She has been deliberately represented in a certain way so that the audience can choose for themselves a preferred reading or an opposed reading.

Because of the context of the story, most consumers of the radio drama would be in favour of Janice because they would feel sympathetic because she has been so deceived by Daniel.

Representations of Radio Drama

Because of the complex nature of the plot – I chose to use a linear narrative system with several “narremes” following one another.

I didn’t use a non-linear structure e.g. Flashbacks because of the genre (radio drama) and listeners may get lost or confused as to where they were in the story. And the focus of radio drama is to keep listeners listening which is hard to do considering it can only be aurally.

I chose to do two scenes occurring in the same setting and at the same time but with different characters. This was to show their opposing views of Daniel and Janice’s relationship. i.e. Daniel talking to his DJ friend about deceiving her and Janice talking to her friend Shelley about how ‘in love’ she is with Daniel.

This was also used to give the reader an omniscient view of the story which was needed so that they could understand the plot.

Narratives

I uploaded a weekly plan of action for my radio drama unto my blog. WEEK TO DO 1 Research Issues related to topic, list of possible titles – choose and

explain choice. Choose part of the story that I’m going to script.   Similar products.    

2 Upload evidence.   Write Script.     3 Final draft script         4 Prepare         5 Casting         6 Arrangements – Rehearse         7 Book equipment.         8 Record         9 Re record – Edit         10 Edit – Sound Effects         11 Final touches – Edit         12 Audience feedback/Analysis on blog    

My Production Diary

Janice – Shareen MayersDaniel – Keaton Andre FrancisDJ – Maria GarciaShelley – Gabriella GarciaBartender – Maria Garcia

Casting

Organising Booking Time – I organised when and where I was going to use the recording equipment. I informed my actors that we would be recording the whole drama in bulk so gave advanced notice and gave them a copy of the script to read over and get familiar with the story.

I then recorded the drama on 10th April 2010, I recorded all scenes inside my house except the scene by the ocean which was recorded outside.

Organising Cast – I contacted possible voice actors for my radio drama via telephone and in person and queried their availability. I then chose a date that was suitable for all of the people involved and that was 10/4/10

Editing – The editing process involved me becoming familiar with using Audacity the editing programme. I learned how to cut and paste snippets of sound files, I learned how to fade in and out and how to layer my track so that it flowed throughout.

Difficulties faced

I created a webpage and advert using my skills learnt on Microsoft Publisher, this was fairly easy to do, I researched adverts and websites of other radio dramas and found they has a simple layout and didn’t give too much information about the play. I used this as a template to create my own webpage and advert.

The webpage would be featured on BBC Radio 4’s website and the advert would be in a relevant newspaper i.e. The metro, where it could be marketed to a wider audience which would include my target audiences.

Also to appeal to radio 4 listeners the advert would also be published in newspapers such as the Times.

Marketing

Webpage

Advert

I have used Wordpress’ blogging to complete written and analytical work.

It was a lot easier to do things via computer and internet rather than hand written.

Using the blog made communication so much more efficient, allowing me to use the internet to e-mail and upload relevant work to my tutor and be fed-back via the “comment” system on Wordpress.

A lot of time was saved on with research too as I had an area where I could keep all my researched articles together and order them as and when I wanted.

The blog is both accessible at home and school and is easy and straightforward to use.

Another benefit is that it saves a lot of paper where work would have otherwise been printed.

My Blog http://mariagarcia13.wordpress.com

I listened to the play ‘Can’t live without you’ on Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00s7dvw It is a psychological thriller by Kellie Smith. When Greg’s partner

Anna becomes ill and needs constant care Greg becomes intoxicated by her dependency.

About a man’s craving for control in his marriage. This play explores the themes and conventions of marriage and

patriarchy. It both challenges and encourages stereotypical views about male

dominance which a large proportion of women can relate to. It touches upon the delicate issue of illnesses but also focuses on

power and dominancy, control and almost bullying. Greg feeds off his wife’s illness as it allows him to have the power he

desires. It confronts the ideologies of ‘perfect marriages’ which most people

do believe exists.

Analysis of Radio Drama

The audience for this drama would be both male and female of an older age – quite possibly those in marriage. This may also appeal to people suffering from the same ailment as Anna.

The radio drama starts with the song “I have no choice” symbolic to the issues in the drama.

The main voice is a narrator – A man. Gregg, around 35 years old. He is telling his version of the story and it’s a recollection.

We get the sense that we are his brain as if we can hear his thoughts and feel his emotions.

In most cases Greg’s actions would have been condemned from an outsiders’ point of view but in this case where we hear how he felt about the situation we can have a preferred reading of empathising with Gregg. The narrative itself however can also be leant to an opposed reading due to the nature of Gregg’s actions

The narrative structure is split into Gregg’s narrations and the dialogue of the play. It switched back and forth and sometimes they overlap.

The subtheme in this play is “choices” Gregg discusses his choices in ignoring important telephone call from the transplant office that could have helped his wife recover.

“I want to take you back” It goes onto flashbacks though the narration is still there to help up gain a greater understanding of the context.

There are sound effects for example when Gregg is doing DIY e.g. The sound of hammers hammering.

There is background music in the very beginning whilst Gregg is introducing his story, this keeps the reader intrigued and listening.

The play is almost disturbing as it exposes the reality of what a man would do to have power. Another subtheme of the text is Love and obsession, as he is quite evidently in love with Anna, so much so that he wants to keep her locked away all to himself. He says “I wanted to see her baby photos, I wanted to see everything”

The narrative structure of the drama shows the parallels between Daniel and Janice. It is clear they are in two different worlds. The dialogue exemplifies this as Janice says “Daniel is so great” whilst Daniel discusses with his friend about drug dealing “This is going to be a good deal”

There is no narration in the play allowing listeners to focus on what is being said to understand the plot. The drama flicks back and forth between the protagonist and the antagonist and shows both their sides of the story.

This allows both a preferred and an opposed reading to be inferred. The accent and dialects used in the drama are Jamaican and English. This is so it appeals

to all the potential audiences previously stated. Janice is portrayed as a middle to working class English woman in her 40’s. She uses Standard English which is an adjustment I made from making her use Estuary English because of the targeted audience.

Daniel is portrayed as a young Jamaican man and uses a heavy Jamaican accent with all the slang and characteristics of a Jamaican person. This gives the Caribbean listeners something to relate to and something to familiarise with. This may give them a sense of empowerment as they know and recognise the slangs being used. They may have a deeper knowledge of the plot because they can fully understand both sides of the story (especially if they are Caribbean listeners living in London).

In addition, the English listeners may not totally understand the accents and dialects used in the play but it allows them to fully experience the Jamaican typical cultures and dialects.

Analysis of Narrative

Sound effects were used effectively to disseminate the context of the situation to the listener. After the opening music, I used the sound effect of a party crowd laughing and talking to set the atmosphere.

In conjunction, I used music in the background to add to the party atmosphere, because music is something you'd conventionally find at a party.

I faded out the party ambience and faded in a beachside one to show the transition. The beachside sound effects included night time birds which would be found on an island like Jamaica, and the sound of the ocean waves.

This was a supposedly “romantic” setting but because of the dramatic irony, the audience knew that Daniel wasn’t being genuine.

Whilst doing this I used a footsteps sound effect so it was clear to the audience that Janice and Daniel were leaving the party and the scene was changing.

Analysis of Sound Effects

Welcome to JamrockThe start music is upbeat and lively – what one would

expect from a Caribbean party. I used this to start my radio drama and keep listeners captivated.

The transition from Daniel’s first Scene to Janice’s first scene includes a section of the track ‘Welcome to Jamrock’ by Damien Marley (a famous music artist and son of legend Bob Marley). This track was symbolic in the way that Janice didn’t know what she was getting herself into when entering ‘Jamrock’ (Jamaica). A key line in the section is “it inna yuh handbag” which relates to the fact that Daniel is going to be trafficking the drugs using Janice’s Luggage.

Analysis of Music