Advanced Production Planning: Radio Drama Maria Garcia Candidate Number 3064

1. Advanced Production Planning: Radio Drama Maria Garcia Candidate Number 3064

2. Drafting and Redrafting 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.

3. Research -Medium 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 trends I researched radio drama in the present day I 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.

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

5. Research - Theme 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.

6. Other Caribbean Radio Stations 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)

7. Potential Audience ‘Footsteps’ will have a very clear and specific setting. A Jamaicansetting 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’ In a multicultural world people now have enough knowledge to decode and negotiate a meaning from something so culturally specific. To give the black community in UK a sense of having a history and a feeling that their story is worth being told, listened to and explored.

8. Conventions of Radio Drama 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.

9. 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)

10. Representations of Radio Drama 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.

11. Narratives 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.

12. My Production Diary I uploaded a weekly plan of action for my radio drama unto my blog. WEEKTO 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    

13. Casting Janice – ShareenMayers Daniel – Keaton Andre Francis DJ – Maria Garcia Shelley – Gabriella Garcia Bartender – Maria Garcia

14. My Blog http://mariagarcia13.wordpress.com 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.