Analysis of my radio drama

1. Analysis of my radio drama Dannielle Leonard

2. Digital technology used in production • Throughout the production of my radio drama I used various different methods of technology: • I used MS Word to create a story plan for my drama which helped to layout my story line across a clear page. • I also used the internet a lot when uploading my work onto my blog, my blog also provided me with an easy and effective way to communicate with my teacher. I also used my school email address to communicate with my actors and my teacher. • Sony ux 60 recorder, Sony 907 mics were used when actually recording the radio drama, the size of the recorder made it very easy to keep still whilst recording which helped to limit any extraneous noises that would have had to been edited out at a later stage.

3. I used Audacity to edit my radio drama, I also used it to insert sound effects. The main editing was cutting out mistakes made by actors and unwanted sounds in the background such as doors closing. However, the school network did make Audacity more prone to crash which caused a few problems throughout the editing process. Paint shop pro was used to manipulate the image of an eye used in the radio drama advert. I already had experience with Paint shop pro from my AS coursework so it was relatively easy to use. I then used MS Publisher to create an advert and insert my manipulated image into the advert.

4. Conventions of genre • Genre: I followed the typical conventions of a radio drama such as having different actors and sound effects. My play is typical of a drama that would be broadcast on Radio 4’s Afternoon Play slot, it is a drama in the sense that there is a build up to a crisis and clear relationships between the characters. I also ensured that it was easy for the audience to differentiate between all the different characters by using actors with very different pitched voices. • Theme: My play is a Psychological thriller, typical conventions of this type of play would be fear, danger, heartbreak and mental disturbances. My play does indeed connote all of these emotions and feelings to its audience. The topic of Psychics is one that provokes psychological challenges and mixing this feeling with fear and deadly premonitions creates the thrilling effect. • Medium: My play is intended to be broadcast on Radio 4’s Afternoon Play. This is typical of the type of play that it is and therefore I have followed the conventions of what medium to use to broadcast my play.

5. Representations • The voices used in the play represent who my characters are supposed to be and how I intended them to be portrayed. My two main characters, Lilly and Tara, are young students and this is represented by their youthful high pitched voices. Lilly is also represented as lacking money which is represented through the fact that she participates in a University experiment for money. This is shown through the dialogue between the two characters about the experiment. • The setting of the play, Portsmouth, is portrayed through one of Lilly's lines, she asks for a taxi to Portsmouth University. This shows that they are students and they live in Portsmouth. The setting is important as relationships between people can differ depending on how big or small their town is. As Portsmouth is mainly a University town it would be assumed that the relationship between students would be rather close-knit and this helps the audience understand the severity of the situation.

6. The presence of a Doctor within a particular scene of the play provides representation of how important and serious the crisis is. This allows the audience to understand that their is something terribly wrong with the main character and this is represented without any specific words just the presence of a Doctor character. • I also represented the setting through the use of sound effects such as the background noise of a coffee shop to represent that the characters are in Starbucks. I also used the sound effect of a tap dripping to portray the noise of a laboratory. Labs are typically silent but may have background noises such as a dripping tap.

7. Choices and Outcomes • During the first redraft of my radio play I had to cut out mistakes made by the actors. These mistakes ranged from saying the wrong line to hesitating or stuttering in the middle of a line. This was an easy problem to tackle, I simply asked my actors to pause for two seconds before starting the line again if they made a mistake. This enabled me to easily cut out the unwanted line and then have the proper line straight after. • I also had to re-record the last scene as an actor was missing on the first attempt and therefore many lines were missing. I used that opportunity for the actors who were present to practise the scene before the final actor arrived and then the entire scene was recorded.

8. After editing out any mistakes or unwanted noises in the background, such as doors closing or mobile phones ringing, I had to concentrate on the pace of the dialogue in the play. I noticed that the lines were very close together and the dialogue seemed rushed at some points. To tackle this I inserted silences between the lines to ensure that their was enough time for the audience to keep up with what was being said. • The final stage of editing was inserting the sound effects, after I had recorded the background noises and little sound effects that I needed I inserted them into the right spaces within the play and cut out any that went on for too long. This ensured that the sound effects matched the dialogue and intended representation at all times and that there was no confusion as to where the characters were or what was going on.

9. What would I do differently in production? • If I were to produce my radio drama again I would try and provide more time for the actors to practise the play before recording, this would help to limit the amount of mistakes that were made. I would also ensure that everyone’s mobile phones were turned off as one began to ring in the middle of recording. • I would also ensure that I had backup copies of the edited version of the play at one point I lost my edited version and therefore had to edit the entire play again. I would save it in different names and to different places If I were to do it again. • Also, I would try and get very different sounding actors as, although the two main characters do sound different, they could sound slightly more different. However, it is hard to find actors with totally different pitched voices who are all available at the same time on the same day to do a recording session.

10. Audience and the importance of feedback • Through getting feedback on my play from my peers and other students I was made aware of some flaws in my play and I was also made aware of the strong points of my play. • It helped me to see my play from the audiences point of view, a view that does not know the script or the ending of the play. I realised that the sound effects helped the audience understand the play a lot better and made a clear representation of where the scene was set. Through learning this I ensured that there was some sort of sound effect for the Laboratory scene as one flaw that was pointed out during feed back was the fact there was no noise to represent the setting. I therefore inserted the sound effect of a dripping tap to portray the scene better.

11. Also during feedback it was pointed out that my play had a preferred reading and that the audience felt empathy for the main character, Lilly. When writing my script I didn’t purposely represent her as unfortunate although when listening to my play from the audiences view point it is clearly based around how tragic her life becomes and the audience does indeed feel empathy and sympathy for her. • My feed back group also helped me to realise the importance of the silences I inserted between the lines. I asked them to listen to the first version and then the edited version and all agreed that the silences were crucial in understanding what was going on.

12. Technology and the ability to create • Due to the vast availability of cheap equipment it was rather straight forward to produce a piece of media text, my radio play. Not only can I produce PowerPoint's and word documents on the commentary of my work, I can also have a high quality production to go along with it. • The Sony ux 60 recorder enabled me to be able to easily carry around the recorder, due to its very small size, and record whatever I needed for sound effects.

13. My radio drama has the typical conventions of any other radio drama and is very comparable to the real thing as I was able to record everything I needed myself and I also had the right computer software to edit my play. Therefore, I have been able to cut and insert different things in my play and also add sound effects that are very accurate to the time and place in the play. • However, there are moral standards and values that I tried to follow. As it is a media text produced within my sixth form I tried to limit any taboo language and I eventually cut out all taboo language used. I also had to plan my story line carefully in order to ensure that no offence would be taken from any comments or events that happen in the play. Offence could come from racial comments, religious views, sexist remarks or any comments made about mental or physical abnormalities.

14. Institution • My target audience was mainly students as my play is based within a university and the main characters are students. However, when relating this target audience to the typical audience of Radio 4’s Afternoon Play slot it appeared to be unlikely that many students would be listening to it. • The typical audience of the Afternoon Play slot consists of housewives, the elderly and those with access to a radio at work. However, the main age range is 40+ years of age. When taking this into account I decided that in order to appeal to the conventional audience of the afternoon slot I would have to add in dramas that revolved not only around a friendship group but also around an intimate relationship and/or a family.