1.1 - Understand The Purposes Of Research In The Media Industries Radio Unit 1.1 Market Research: When you are creating a product, opening a restaurant, selling a new brand of mobile phone, you must assess the market that you are about to enter
Market research is obviously a very important part of anything to do with radio because not only can you see what standard your radio station should be in order to compete also you can gain basic knowledge about the industry and how it works. If you do your market research you can also gain insight into audience awareness and what the audience like in terms of interest and appeal. By conducting market research you can also find out about product reach, which means how far the product appeals in terms of its audience and how far it’s appeal spreads across it. Audience profiling is essentially what the audience are interested in and their attitudes towards things. Consumer behavior is what people buy, when they buy it and their attitude towards it. In radio I suppose it would be what people listen to, when they listen to it and their attitude towards it. Competitor analysis is the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses that potential competitors have. You could gain a lot from competitor analysis because you could also find out what your target audience’s interests and opinions are. Advertising placement is an important thing to consider in radio because if you broadcast an advert about children’s toys at 10 ‘o clock at night it isn’t going to get the desired effect however if you broadcasted it sometime in the morning or after school ends there will be more children listening therefore the advert is significant. Advertising effects is really what it says; the effect that advertising has on people. I suppose you would have to consider after broadcasting an advert if it got the desired effect.
Production Research: There are many things to be considered in production research such as; content, resources, personnel, locations, costs e.t.c. The content of any sort of media is extremely important because not only does it have to entice your audience it also needs to be suitable for the target audience to view.
My Radio Station: You are setting up a new radio station in the area but you need to do some research. I think you can guess what you need to do. Use the headings to structure your research but think inventively about how you present it. You must also research how you plan to set up the project.
My show is probably going to consist of mainly music; the dialogue will be talk of all sorts including discussion about music, current affairs and a whole range of topics. I will obviously play the types of music that I enjoy and even though this covers a wide variety of genres I will be playing music to please my target audience. My show will also contain features to fit with the typical conventions such as interviews, jingles and stings. To help me run the station, in terms of staff I will need: Students, presenters, producers, a station manager, technicians, advertising team and marketing team. The skills they will need to have will be: Communication skills, technical/editing skills and time management skills. The equipment that I will require is as follows: a computer, 2 mixing desks, a set of microphones, a sound proofed radio studio, some voice recorders for recording content, specific radio software, editing machines (computers outside the studio), a compressor, a receiver, an aerial, connecting leads for everything. We can broadcast from within the school. The cost of the equipment altogether would come somewhere in the region of £4,000 - £6,000. For the two weeks streaming costs to PRS for Music would be somewhere in the region of £60 - £70. To acquire a restricted service license for the two weeks we would firstly need to pay the £400 application fee then another £35 for each day on air so altogether it would come to around £750.
I think my plans are realistic given that I receive the necessary support from the appropriate people. If I was asked to scale down my project I would maybe cut the air time to one week instead of two and/or maybe have a smaller more dedicated group of people to aid the shows success. I will aim to broadcast for lunch time, I think this would be a very chilled out part of the day where employees would take a break eat some food and maybe switch on and listen to the radio and seen as a lot of my music is chilled out this would be a good mood to create. I would aim to make podcasts and post them on a blog for people to listen to at their own leisure. My audience will access my show by either tuning into it when it’s on or downloading and listening to one of the podcasts I aim to produce. My competitors for the lunch time show will be competing by suiting their music to the lunch hour and featuring conversation along with games and other such features to fit the time of day which I want to research and into and compete in my own style.
Task 1: You must visit your local council library or university library and find out 3 facts about the population of Pudsey The population of Leeds is around 750,000 There are more females (369,570) than males (345,834) living in Leeds Pudsey has a population of 32,391 Name of Book: Britain in Old Photographs: Pudsey Name of Author: Pudsey Civic Society Page Numbers: 25, 48 and 49 Year Printed: 1995
Task 2:You must present your information in the following way; Author: Lawrence G./Year and Page (2007 p. 125) Author: Pudsey Civic Society / 1995 p. 25, 48, 49
Task 3: You must carry out research to find out the following
• BBC Radio 2 is the UK’s most listened to radio station. • In the UK, the average person spends about 24.36 hours a week listening to the radio. • The 4 regions that Galaxy Radio cover are; East Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. • A restricted service license (RSL) is something granted to radio stations broadcasting within the local community. This license can be granted by Ofcom. • To get an RSL you must first pay an application fee of £400. I calculated that for one month the license fee would be about £980. • The PRS for Music is a collecting society for UK songwriters, composers and music publishers. The MCPS are an organisation who pays royalties to composers, songwriters and music publishers when the music they have created is sold. PPL licenses sound recordings and music videos for use in broadcast, public performance and new media. • A PRS for Music license costs from £66 a year. • 50w Stereo Transmitter, Digital Processor, Antenna & Cable = £395 • The transmitter cost plus the license cost would be approximately; £1,840
Task 4: You must carry out your own research, to find out...
For this task I am required to find out some information about the listening characteristics in relation to radio of the students in my school. To aid me in doing so I made a questionnaire so that I can collect some qualitative research. Here is my questionnaire:
Radio Questionnaire
1. How much time per week do you spend listening to radio? Less Than An Hour___ 2-3hours___ 4-6hours___ More Than 7hours___
2. What is your favourite radio station? Galaxy___ Radio 1 ___ Radio Aire___ Radio 2___ Other__________
3. How do you listen to the radio? Original Radio___ Car Radio___ Digital TV___ Internet___ Other_____
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To collect some research in terms of this questionnaire I am not going to go about it in the classical way of handing them out, collecting them back in and making a graph, I'm going to take a more media influenced approach. I'm going to get a voice recorder and ask a number of people the questions and record their answers, then feature the sound clip in my PowerPoint presentation. Here's the sound clip;
Task 5: You must undertake research to find out...
• There’s a few obvious reasons why Terry Wogan’s breakfast show is the most popular in the country; 1. Terry Wogan appeals to a number of different audiences 2. His show broadcasts at breakfast, the time of day when the most people are listening to the radio 3. Terry Wogan has been knighted therefore people may feel like they’re listening to more than just a radio show, they might even feel privileged 4. His show is on BBC Radio 2 which is a nationwide broadcasting radio station
• According to numerous sources here is some information about being a radio program producer 1. They are responsible for the content of the program 2. Generate and research ideas for programs 3. Developing content and writing material for scripts 4. I would imagine it to be a very responsibility and organisation driven job
• Seen as I’ve been a radio presenter myself I can explain what it’s like 1. It’s a place in the studio that requires the upmost responsibility and ability to think on your feet 2. It can be quite nerving but I think one of the qualities you must have is to ignore that feeling and not let it get in the way of presenting 3. Organisation skills are the key to success because if you organise yourself for example; making a playlist. It frees you up to concentrate on things like your script
• The future could hold a number of things for radio. It’s demise being one of them, although people have been saying this since the invention of the television and to this day radio has more listeners than TV has viewers. I personally think this is due to all the ways you can listen to radio these days and I for one can only see more ways to tune-in in the future.
Task 9: You will also perform a short presentation, which will be filmed and added to your blog. In your presentation, you should include any relevant research which should be summarised and linked to your proposal. Your proposal Should cover the type of radio station you will be launching and why?
39.1 - Be Able To Identify Opportunities For Producing Speech-Based Packages For Radio
Task 1: Have a listen to the speech packages above and match each one with a genre, from the list below. You should also comment on the audience reach; Local, Regional, National, International. (P1, M1, D1)
a) BBC Radio Wales, BBC All Things Considered. This podcast was very political and discussed matters to do with religion and immigration. The podcast itself would fall under the genre of News & Current Affairs. I think that the material being discussed would be listened to regionally though they are discussing national issues. I suspect this would be aimed at current affair conscious middle aged to in-retirement Christians.
b) BBC Radio 1, Best Of Chris Moyles. This podcast is a general radio channel including chat about all topics from just the presenters discussing escapades of their own to going over current affairs happening in celebrity lives and issues that would be on the news. Again I think that the genre of this podcast would be News & Current Affairs. The target audience I think would be almost anyone of any age, but I think it would entice people of a more working-class background because it just has everything that would be the general fabric of a working-class life.
c) BBC Five Live, Football reports. This podcast described what is going at the moment in all aspects of the football industry. I think that the issues being discussed would be of interest to anyone who followed football and lived in the U.K. so the podcast has national appeal. I think this podcast would be aimed at anyone who supports a team in Britain or follows football in any way.
Task 2:Have a look at the topics below and decide which genre, each issue would belong to and what the reach and target audience might be. (P1, M1, D1)
1) The Olympics – 2012 This issue would fall into the genre of sport and it would reach over a vast audience since it is and international event and people all over the world are interested in all sorts of different sports that are featured in the Olympics. The target audience would be anyone who is interested in the Olympics and sport in general, people of all ages, genders, nationalities & backgrounds.
2) Alcohol Price Rise – Risen For Safety This issue would fall under the; Consumer, Lifestyle & Current Affairs genres. I think it would have a very large audience in the U.K. as a lot of people consume a lot of alcohol. The target audience would be anyone who consumes alcohol really, people above the age of 18 obviously but that is the only specification about the target audience, all ages over 18, both genders, all classes & nationalities.
3) Asda – Where Do They Stand In The Supermarket League Tables?
This topic would fall under the genres of; Consumer, Business & News & Current Affairs. The target audience would be anyone who shops at Asda or is interested as to where they lay in the supermarket league tables. This would effect people all over the UK so therefore it would attract a large audience.
4) West Leeds Council Owned Gyms Comparisons To National Gym Chains – This topic would fall under the genre of Lifestyle. The reach of this topic would go as far as anyone who attends their local gym or any gym for that matter. The target audience would be people who attend a gym or are interested in gyms.
5) Smoking Ban Have The Pubs & Clubs Suffered? What Else Has The Ban Affected? – This issue would fall a few genres; Lifestyle and News & Current Affairs. The audience reach would obviously go as far as anyone who smokes and I would imagine that the target audience would be just that.
6) Leeds UTD History, Administration, What’s Been Happening Lately – This topic would fall under the genre of sport and would reach anyone who supports Leeds UTD or even lives in Leeds for that matter. The target audience would be anyone who supports Leeds UTD.
Task 3: Decide on a topic for your speech package, you can choose one of the titles above if you wish. (P1, M1, D1)
The name I have chosen for my speech package is; ‘Meanings in Song Lyrics in Different Genres’. The topic of my speech package is quite self explanatory considering the name of it. The target audience for my speech package is going to be people of any age who have a true appreciation for the meanings in music in all genres. I think my speech package will appeal to people who have a wide taste in music and appreciate most genres.
Task 4: Choose an example of a professional speech package in your chosen genre and write a detailed analysis. (P1, M1, D1)
The speech package I chose to analyze is from the BBC selection on BBC 1 Xtra. The topic of discussion in the speech package is soul & reggae music. The presenter who opens the speech package has a normal toned voice and there is a music bed underneath his speech but the music bed is at just the right volume so you can hear his voice clearly. The texture of the speech package is very smooth and flows superbly combining the presenter’s voice with the music bed perfectly. The overall rhythm of the speech package.
I would imagine that the people who made the speech package were using omnidirectional microphones to clearly pick up their speech. There is obviously a large cultural code in this speech package seen as the topic of discussion is soul and reggae music. The presenters seem to be of some sort of African ethnicity, the guest star is also of an African ethnicity. The accent of everyone on the program also blends with the general theme as well. Of course this speech package is aimed at a particular target audience too, people who enjoy soul & reggae music, especially the older music. There aren’t really jingles in the speech package but there are numerous stings when switching presenter or before and after tracks are played. The atmosphere that is created with the presenters’ voices is one of the African sorts because it combines with the music that it being explored so well. Each voice in the speech package does have its own space and people are not spoken over except for when there is a musical discussion taking place in which both people have free run of their microphones so obviously there was going to be some points in which both presenters were talking.
Task 5: Have a listen to the news speech package which is broadcast via this link and below and answer the following questions. (P1, M1, D1)
The speech package in question contains individual interviews with 2 people. These people are; Hiba Dawood and Terri Cleminson. Terri Cleminson is a reporter for a community radio station named KMUD in California who files a report for the speech package. Hiba Dawood is also a reporter, she is currently reporting on the Iraq war from an Iraqi’s point of view. Since the radio station is called Free Speech Radio it is nice to see something different such as an Iraqi’s point of view on the war instead of an army official or a government official. I for one find this interview very interesting as it’s very rare to hear anything broadcasted from the other side of the story because the mainstream media is very efficient in covering this up and brushing it to one side when they’re told to.
Natalia Biana is a correspondent for the radio station who files a report about a national park that is burning down. The interviews are presented in a way that makes them sound like they’re live but they could have been easily recorded and played back. There are some lower quality, shorter interviews with 2 individuals that are obviously recorded and played back. The first interview sounds like it was recorded in a room or maybe a low-budget studio whereas the second one sounds very much like it’s recorded in a proper radio studio. The lower quality interviews are recorded via-phone.
Task 6: Think about your chosen topic and identify the interview materials you will require to produce your speech package. (P1, M1, D1)
In my speech package I will interview an adult of sorts, probably a teacher. I will do this because adults, stereotypically, have a wider knowledge of music than most children and teenagers. I will also interview some of my friends because I know the and their music tastes so I can vary my responses. I will include vox pops of a humorous nature in my speech package to make it more enjoyable as well as informative and educating. I think that I will be recording most of the material for my speech package in the privacy of a studio but when I am conducting interviews I will record the material in some sort of area close to where I find a member of staff. When I’m interviewing my friends I will try to use a studio or any sort of quiet area for that matter. I don’t think I’ll include things such as a telephone interview in my speech package mainly because seen as it’s my first solo production and I would like to keep it relatively simple. The genre I have chosen is going to be discussion about lyrical meanings so I think the things that are typical of this genre are an interview, a section of my personal views on this topic, samples of the music I will examine and vox pops.
For my interviews I shall interview people that I think have opposing music tastes to gage different reactions and create significant discussions. I don’t think there will be any need for any sort of other contributors and/or correspondents. I’ll be doing quite a few vox pops through out my speech package, most will be to do with what lyrics in people’s music means to them and/or what feelings they get from them. I will be using two different means of recording, one being the radio studio where there’s various high quality microphones to use for recording purposes. The other method is using the hand-held mp3 recorders that are also of a good quality. I have not planned to use a telephone interview, but I suppose I could call Mr. Barnes and ask what meanings and/or feelings he gets from the lyrics in his music. I don’t think the genre that I have chosen has a lot of typical elements involved in it. The content I have planned so far is original and not really typical of any genre. The things that I am going to include that are usual is an; interviews, vox pops, an intro and a music bed.
39.2 - Be Able To Generate Suitable Ideas For Specific Contexts And Target Audiences
Task 7: Create a short report focusing on a variety of radio stations that broadcast speech packages and provide the relevant information for each station. (P2, M2, D2)
BBC Radio 4 There are a fair few radio stations that broadcast podcasts, I am going to analyse three of them and basically highlight some key characteristics of each. BBC Radio 4 is a prime example of a radio station that plays podcasts with well known titles such as; Friday Night Comedy, Best of Today and The Archers. I suspect that the target audience for BBC Radio 4 would be people looking for a more intelligent radio station of a slightly higher brow. BBC Radio 4 still sets out to inform, entertain and educate but in a slightly more intellilectual manner. BBC Radio 4's genres include; Arts, Comedy, Discussions, Documentaries, Drama, History, Money, News, Politics, Reading, Religion and Science. BBC Radio 4 is a national radio station broadcasting all over the United Kingdom. Hence the name the radio station is owned by the BBC and is not commercial. BBC Radio 4 is available on analogue, digital and online radio. The podcasts vary in content and relate to all of the the genres i stated above, additionally they're are downloadable.
Absolute Radio I think the target audience for Absolute Radio is vast seen as it seems to have a mix of mainstream material on display. The target audience in terms of age could be about 16 - 45, I don't think gender is a factor. The genres covered include; Comedy, Discussion, Music, News and Sport, Religion and Business. Absolute Radio is a national station and can be accessed via analogue, digital and through the internet. The speech packages on the website are displayed in different boxes corresponding to their genre.
WSRadio WSRadio is an internet radio station that broadcasts over the internet. From the looks of it the station set out to have a large target audience because they include all manner of content to do with the mainstream, genres include; Talk Radio, Art, Business, Relationships, Politics, Environment, Food & Drink. These genres tend to connote that a slightly more intelligent listner might come to listen to this radio station. The speech packages make up a small part of the website, it is a commercial radio station that allows users to download podcasts.
Task 8: Write a treatment for your speech package; use the template below as a guide to your headings. (P2, M2, D2)
Voice(s): Mr. Burkinshaw (Intro), My Voice throughout, Edward Lawson, Mr. Jackson, Danny Bradley, Louis Cherkaoui, Robert Cosgrove, Amy Parkin, Kayleigh Fletcher.
Music: I will be using two clips of songs in my speech package along with a music bed that will be used under all speech.
To specify:
1st Clip: Nazi White Trash by Leftover Crack
2nd Clip: Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt by We Are Scientists
Music Bed: Tubby’s Dub Song by Augustus Pablo
Sound FX: I will only be using sounds that have been recorded first hand by myself, sounds that come from Garage Band and the music mentioned above.
Silence: I don’t really want any silence in my speech package because it’s viewed as ‘dead air’ and seen as my speech package is all about discussion & debate it would be a bad idea to include it.
Mode Of Address: I would like to think of my speech package as informal, educational & entertaining because of the way I present myself and my work and the content.
Target Audience: The target audience for my speech package is going to be basically anyone who is interested in music and/or specifically the lyrics in music.
Social Positions: I tried to include people from various social positions in my speech package. I would like to think that the social positions of the target audience would differ from listener to listener.
Demographic Self Image: I think that having an identity is extremely important in today’s world especially for my generation right now. To belong to a stereotype seems to be an essential characteristic for any person. In relation to my speech package I think the aim is to break down these barriers and look for some of the reasons behind them I suppose and what people like about living the style of their music.
Gender: I don’t think that gender really effects what people are interested in, in terms of music. Saying this I think that there are interests that are typical of genders e.g. Hair & Make-Up for girls and Cars & Football for boys. The people who create the texts decide what gender (if any) it’s going to be aimed at. Some media may aim their products at certain genders and others might not. As for my speech package it will be aimed equally at both genders.
Age Group: I think that if someone is interested in something and they feel strongly about it age shouldn’t matter. People get into things at all different ages and I think that’s how it will always be. Although having said that a child of 10 years old might not understand the content of my speech package to there wouldn't be much point in aiming it at anyone under the age of 14.
Family: A family audience is an audience that watches/takes part in things as a family and might have a similar taste in things. Things that could appeal to a family audience would be television programs under the genre of; family game shows, Top Of The Pops e.t.c. If such a thing still exists whilst listening to radio it is rare and might only exist on a morning whilst people are getting ready for school/work and whilst a family is in the car. I think that my speech package would be good for a family to listen to because it could create discussion amongst family members.
Class: For some people I think that belonging to a certain class does affect their activities in terms of the media and what they might watch and/or listen to. In a tight group of friends in the middle class it might be considered beneath them to go to a pantomime, and they might think they’d be more suited to the Opera regardless of the enjoyment factor. I think that people in middle and upper class are a lot more conforming to their ‘class stereotypes’ than other classes probably because of their misplaced pride. My speech package will not include a class seperation when appealing to its target audience.
Ethnicity: I think that ethnicity has no relevance to what people should and should not be interested in. I see people’s skin colour as something they are born with and that’s the way it is. Other people in society might disagree with this logic and say certain music and television shows are for certain ethnicities. The media can sometimes play on this flaw. As for my own speech package it will be aimed at all ethnicities because it would be prejudice otherwise.
Religion: Unfortunately people have to be conscious of different religions when producing things for the media. Religious people seem to be easily offended by almost anything so therefore people have to be careful about their content and what they say if they’re broadcasting to a heavily religious audience. Personally I can’t stand religion and religious people, I think they’re extremely ignorant and narrow minded about their lives and what’s included in it. These characteristics make somethings in the media harder to produce.In the process of putting my speech package together the issue of religion was pretty much ignored and the content reflects this.
Education: Your education could depend highly on the way you watch television because if a child is more intelligent they might watch more sophisticated TV programs at an earlier age whereas a child with a low IQ might enjoy children’s TV until a higher age. People inside the media might also use this as an element to choose their target audience.
Location (Geographical & Local): Location matters a lot for British TV channels such as ITV because they have different broadcasts for different regions of the country e.g. Tyne Tees, Anglia, Yorkshire e.t.c. Where you live in terms of the world is definitely important to consider if you are going to include things that are culturally relevant to your target audience. Location isn't going to affect my target audience because there's different types of music everywhere.
39.3 - Be Able To Research, Select And Evaluate Appropriate Factual Content
Task 9: Carry out the relevant research and document the techniques you have used. (P3, M3, D3)
Primary Research I planned the content early on in my speech package but then I chose to conduct an interview and conducted a questionnaire to help me choose my content better. These two things acted as primary research and helped me in creating my speech package.
I made 15 questionnaires and handed them out to various people in my class. Here are my results:
From my results I noticed that Rap/Hip-Hop is the most popular music genres in my class having 5 people pick it. Indie and Dance coming in joint second with 4 people picking them then Punk is least popular with 2 listeners. I think this small piece of research illustrates that popular music tends to have less of a meaning to it, lyrically. It could just mean that people like the other three genres more due to the things they represent and/or they make people feel. The second column shows that Music Samples are the most popular feature that people enjoy hearing in speech packages. Interviews came in second then vox pops. With these three options being close together in popularity I can’t draw a distinct conclusion from this column of results. But what I can see is that all three features are popular and that I should definitely include all three. I suppose this is both qualitative and quantitive research because it involves both numbers and opinions.
The research that I have carried out is a form of primary research because I am gathering my research first hand and not looking at previously recorded information that other people have gathered. When I collected the filled-out questionnaires in I typed up my research straight into a table on Microsoft Access to illustrate my results.
Secondary Research For my secondary research I chose to explore the full meaning of lyrics by looking at their definition on Wikipedia. Here is a short extract of what Wikipedia has to say about lyrics;
"Lyrics (in singular form Lyric) are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of expression. The lyricist of traditional musical forms such as Opera is as a librettist."
From this I can just get an insight into the origin of lyrics and when they might have originated. The information also presents me with quite a detailed definition and description of what the word ‘Lyrics’ actually means. This is qualitative research because it involves words and text and not numbers.
From the video below (even though it's short and not the best example) we can see that even if a group of people don't know the meaning behind some lyrics in a song they will still like them if they think they sound good.
Task 10: Complete the appropriate health and safety paperwork. (P3, M3, D3)
Risk Assessment
Unit 39.4 - Be Able To Prepare And Produce Appropriate Speech Packages
Task 11: Produce a voice over script incorporating a que sheet, with timings. (P4, M4, D4)
The theme of my speech is going to be about music because it is a topic that I am heavily interested in. More specifically the speech package is going to be about messages in music and in different genres in relation to song writing and lyrical use. The target audience for my speech package would be anyone who is generally interested in music and/or the lyrics and messages in music. The name for my speech package is going to have is; Lyrical Interpretation.
Script
*Intro Jingle* (28 seconds)
CURTIS: Hello and welcome to the lyric discussion podcast downloaded from PGFM. In this podcast we’ll have interviews and opinions heard from numerous people interested in all different genres of music and about what meanings and feelings they get from their music. (15 seconds)
*Sting* (4 seconds)
*Vox Pops* (11 seconds)
*Sting* (2 seconds)
CURTIS: In my opinion the biggest meanings are in punk music, the lyrics are extremely controversial and address issues in society and people in general. The lyrics are often explicit to emphasize the disregard for censorship. Here is a short sample from a punk song against racism. (16 seconds)
*Music Sample* (13 seconds)
*Sting* (1 second)
CURTIS: Just in case you couldn’t make that out there, they said; “We hope you die sooner.” This is aimed at racist people. Then it’s followed by; “You’re sick, we hate you.” The band’s opinion on racists is made painfully obvious through their aggressive, coarse lyrics. (13 seconds)
*Vox Pops* (15 seconds)
CURTIS: Obviously punk is not the only genre of music where lyrics are important, lyrics are also important in more mainstream genres such as pop and indie. (9 seconds)
*Music Sample* (10 seconds)
*Vox Pops* (8 seconds)
CURTIS: We spoke to some people earlier today who were prepared to offer their opinions on lyrics in their music. (5 seconds)
*Sting* (1 second)
*Interview with Kayleigh* (16 seconds)
*Interview with Mr. Bradley* (52 seconds)
*Interview with Danny* (31 seconds)
*Sting* (2 seconds)
CURTIS: So, I leave you with this thought. Do you listen to your music because you think it sounds good? Or do you listen to your music because you see there is another world and music is the path to it. (12 seconds)
-=END=-
Task 12: Produce a professional sounding speech package using the relevant technology. (P4, M4, D4)
41.1 - Understand Codes And Conventions Of Radio Drama Genres
Introductory Task: Using the information provided in this section write a magazine article for a modern day publication explaining the events that have just been described to you. Consider: Audience reaction, why did some of the audience react in the way they did? Why was radio drama such a powerful medium?
War Of The Worlds Magazine Article ‘War Of The Worlds’ radio drama by Orson Welles, evil hoax? Or an example of how the media can control people? The infamous radio broadcast graced the air on the 30th of October 1938 intended to be an entertaining adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel ‘War Of The Worlds’. The program started out with an introduction from the novel then a weather report and smoothly ran into an ordinary music show playing classical music that was actually the CBS orchestra with the direction of Bernard Herrmann. The music was frequently interrupted my news reports, the first few were about strange explosions being sighted on the surface of the planet Mars. The interrupting news reports slowly got more and more alarming until eventually there were reports of flying saucers spewing poison gas all over the country.
The effect this broadcast had on the people of the USA was staggering. Over a million citizens believed the news reports to be real. People fled from their homes for fear of losing their families and their lives. People ran through streets with towels covering their mouths because they were afraid of inhaling the poison gas. Others took a more offensive approach and wielded firearms. In the space of one hour Orson Welles had caused social disarray across America with a simple fictional radio broadcast. This example really does scream the question; how powerful is the media?
Of course we must remind ourselves that this incident occurred over 70 years ago and people today might be a little less naïve before jumping to the conclusions that the public did then. But isn’t the media more powerful today than it was back then? The grip that the media has over the ever-distracted public only seems to grow stronger by the day in our rat race fueled society. The newspapers at the time took to this event with intentions to give radio a bad name seen as it was a new form of media and could damage their industry. Back then newspapers were not held to the standards in which they are today so they could be “expansive” on how many people were affected by the broadcast. We must remember that nothing like this had been aired on radio before consequently people were accustomed to accepting all newsflashes as being reliable. It must be said that the broadcast sounds somewhat graphic in parts with screams, explosions and ‘heat ray’ sounds. The monument in the picture is the only one in the USA dedicated to an event that never actually happened. It’s a depiction of the Martians landing and is situated at Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, the location where the ‘Martians landed’.
There is an excellent part at the end of the drama where a ham radio operator can he heard saying; “2X2L calling CQ … Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there anyone on the air? Isn’t there… anyone?” I imagine that at the time this part of the broadcast would be reasonably frightening. It is sometimes stated that the attack on Pearl Harbor was received in skepticism by the American public as a result of Orson Welles’ broadcast. So my friends, I leave you with this thought, what if you heard and/or saw something along the same lines? Would you believe it without question? Or confront it with question?
Task 1: Using some of the websites listed below, choose 3 radio dramas of different genres and write an analysis of each using the notes above and in the picture below.
The Archers Voice Pitch; There were numerous voices in The Archers so I can’t establish a universal pitch for all the voices. The pitch of the men’s voices was the average pitch for a male voice, ‘Pussy Cat’s’ voice was of average pitch for a woman’s voice too. Volume; The volume of the people’s voices is average because they’re just talking in a civilized manor, but at one point two men are shouting and the volume levels of the voices are raised to a certain extent, but apart from that there are no real volume changes and it’s not particularly loud. Texture; The texture of the men’s voices are reasonably smooth, you could say that the voice Ed was slightly rougher than the other man’s because he had a sort of ‘farmer’ accent. The texture of ‘Pussy Cat’s’ voice was definitely smooth because the majority of the time she was trying to calm Ed down, but even when she wasn’t trying to calm him down her voice was still smooth, this could be partially due to the fact that she’s a woman and they tend to have smoother voices. Rhythm; I think that The Archers has a reasonably consistent rhythm apart from the part where Ed’s and Brian’s voices were raised. The words seem to flow smoothly and constantly. Tone; The tone of Ed’s voice throughout The Archers seems worried, stressed and anxious. Whereas ‘Pussy Cat’s’ tone is calming, soothing and somewhat reassuring. Brian’s tone is apologetic ands sensitive about Ed’s situation.
Cultural Codes Accent; Ed has a slight ‘farmer’ style accent whereas Brian and ‘Pussy Cat’ both have a Standard English accent. Target Audience; I think that the primary target audience could be middle-class, educated middle aged to elderly people. The secondary target audience could be working & middle-class people of a variable education. Genre; The genre of The Archers is a Radio Drama soap opera.
Alan Partridge ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ Target Audience; I expect a lot of people would find this program funny, but I don’t think it would be aimed at younger people. The primary target audience could be people aged from 16 – 40 and possibly working class. The secondary target audience could be people aged from 40 upwards maybe there could be a small middle-class audience. Genre; It’s a chat show spoof comedy, featuring witty humor. Alan Partridge comes across as big headed, inconsiderate and slightly sexist but this all adds to the comedy element and we as an audience know that in real life he most probably isn’t like this at all but to act like it is funny. He makes fun of people in the program, which is completely juxtaposed to how a chat show is usually conducted creating humor. He involves political jokes about things such as communism and he links it to known stars, again creating ‘underhanded’ comedy. Alan Partridge often reminds everyone that it’s ‘his’ show and he takes the roll of the lead very well and is often rude to people who he feels are stealing his limelight creating a comical sort of jealousy. The show follows most of the conventions of an actual chat show but adds witty humor and the humor that a spoof brings to things. Voice; Alan Partridge’s voice is very funny as he tries to come across as slightly middle-class and the pitch of his voice rises and falls very frequently creating a funny sounding voice. Hearing a middle-class sounding man make fun of people and be impolite towards people is not something often heard therefore it’s funny. There is a man on the show who sounds very upper-class and speaks in a perfect standard English dialect and sort of adopts the same attitude of Alan partridge but has less of a lead roll. The extended signification of Alan Partridge’s voice is that he’s middle-class, but this contrasts with his personality as he is rude, impolite and sometimes comes across as uneducated. In one of his shows there is the sound of him hitting a child, which is obviously acted out because if this was real it would be the end of any actor’s career but it’s funny because this would never be tolerated on the radio or the TV.
‘The Now Show’ Genre; The Now Show is a comedy show on BBC 4; it features parodies of various celebrities and other TV and radio programs along with a Bob Dylan ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ parody at the end. The format is set out sort of like a sketch show, but with people talking in between the sketches. The program also contains original humorous material concerning politics, celebrities and general affairs. The comedy featured contains content that I think the slightly more educated listener would appreciate. The show is performed in front of a live studio audience therefore there’s frequent laughter. I think that the humor is very witty and the pace of the show is reasonably quick but not so quick that you can’t keep up with the jokes just quick enough so that people don’t get bored. Target Audience; I think the primary target audience would be reasonably educated 16 – 40 year olds and the secondary target audience would be anyone from 18 upwards. The mix and variety of comedy sets out to cover a lot of different topics in a humorous fashion in order to please everyone’s sense of humor. Voice; The voices of the people presenting the show are well-spoken and standard English. When the people are doing a sketch and/or parody they often do impressions of celebrities or overly silly voices to heighten the comedy element. I think that the extended signifier of the people’s voices is that them themselves are reasonably educated so if we compare this to the target audience that I referenced earlier this is a form of personal identity as suggested by the uses and gratifications theory.
Task 2: Produce 3 x 20 second clips, each clip should emulate the codes and conventions of a specific genre.
Crime
Sci-Fi
Horror
Unit 41.2 - Be Able To Produce Proposals And Treatments For Radio Drama Hansel & Gretel Radio Drama Parody
Task 3:A mind map of your ideas
Task 4: Produce 2 x proposals briefly stating different ways of presenting your drama; including ideas on narrative, sound FX, locations, characters, music beds e.t.c.
Hansel & Gretel Proposal 1 The plot is going to be basically the same as the one in the old fairytale except its going to be set on a council estate. I think this will give the story a somewhat urban twist and I think it will be easier to incorporate comedy this way. For example; the house made out of sweets is going to be a McDonald’s on the outskirts of the estate run by child-flesh hungry employees. Places like McDonald’s will be useful in creating a more real environment, something the listener can relate to their everyday life. It will be a single strain narrative, a typical convention of the children’s fairytale genre. The target audience could be 14 years and up based on the content and the sense of humor.
Instead of being a poor woodcutter Hansel and Gretel’s father is an unemployed alcoholic, the same as their stepmother. When the parents can’t afford to take care of their kids anymore they kick them out on the street. Hansel is a 15 year old typical teenage boy and Gretel, a 13 year old typical teenage girl. The two kids end up at the McDonald’s on the outskirts of their estate which is coincidentally run by employees who enjoy eating children. The rest of the plot is fairly straight forward, following the classic fairytale format. The stereotype of Hansel and Gretel is that they’re “rough” council estate kids who will take anything they can, which is more or less true. This is why they take the free food given to them at McDonald’s by the evil employees. The sound effects featured in my production will be a mix of ones I’ve made myself and ones I’ve downloaded from the internet.
Proposal 2 I was thinking for a second idea that Hansel & Gretel could be set in the future where man has developed a civilization on the moon and in-turn loads of crazy technology. I think this would add a new twist to the story and make it interesting in it's very own way. Again the plot would be pretty much the same but with my own take on it such as the introduction of new technology and new ways of doing every day things. For example instead of the father leading his children out into the woods he's going to pretend to take them for a ride in his flying car and drop them off in the middle of nowhere. From here on the story will pretty much be the same as the original but have slight changes in how they go about doing things because it is set in the future. Instead of it being an old lady's house it will be a holographic house of candy, the holographic house will be being projected by a dirty old cannibal man who, once Hansel & Gretel are hypnotically walking towards the hologram, speeds up to them in his vehicle and kidnaps them. The rest of the story is pretty easy to work out because the place of the old lady is taken by this old man who does the same thing as she does.
Crash Landing Proposal 1 My initial idea for ‘Crash Landing’ was that there’s a plane taking passengers on holiday, but at some point during mid-course the plane suffers a malfunction and crashes on an island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean unknown and unrecorded to man. The inhabitants of the island are mysterious and unknown but soon make their presence known. I think that this idea falls under the adventure genre and the primary target audience would be 14 – 30 year olds of a mixed gender. The secondary target audience could be everybody else, as the adventure genre has a very wide audience. The island is high in vegetation, which will be mentioned, so it’s hard to see where anything is henceforth creating enigma throughout the drama.
The pilots of the plane die in the crash along with a few other people which leaves a group of survivors. A 23 year old male named Seth is one of the stars and he has a son named Michael who is 12. Seth’s girlfriend and Michael's mother died in the crash leaving them both heartbroken. Throughout the adventure Seth becomes great friends with a woman named Jessica who is the same age as him. These three characters are the focus of the group that’s stranded on the island. Later on in the drama Seth and Jessica could have some romantic moments because in a drama there is usually a romantic situation going on somewhere. I think my drama would be suitable for my target audience because I don’t intend for the content to be unsuitable for kids aged 14 but the drama will be advanced enough for adults to enjoy it too.
Proposal 2 My second idea is basically the same except they crash in the middle of the Atlantic ocean where there's no land and their mission is to find land. There is obviously heavy casualties due to drowning but a small group eventually organizes themselves and builds some sort of raft/boat and set off on their journey to find land. On their way they encounter a boat of pirates who attempt to take the survivors prisoner but in a stunning turn of events the group manage to overhaul the pirate ship and sail to safety along the West Coast of Africa.
Task 5:2 treatments based on your proposals using as much relevant media language as possible
Hansel & Gretel Treatment This is an example of a scene in the actual radio drama; SCENE 1: *Window Smash, Dogs Barking, Children Playing, Shouting* Dad: Hansel! Done your paper round? Hansel: Yeh Dad. Dad: Give us yer money then. Someone’s got to pay for your tea and me and yer mum are skint.
*Hansel reluctantly hands some pound coins to his father (Coins Jingling)*
As you can tell from the short exert above the target audience for my version of Hansel & Gretel is a little bit older than the original. The opening scene is going to open with the sound effects stated above which I think will set the atmosphere of a typical council estate. The first lines from Hansel & Gretel’s dad also help us to cast judgment over what sort of parent he is. Hansel & Gretel’s stepmother is also placed under the same stereotype as their dad soon enough. When Hansel & Gretel’s parents kick them out because they haven’t got enough money to look after their children and support their alcohol addiction, the children soon become hungry and go to the closest place they know that makes food, this being McDonald’s. Shortly after their arrival the children explain their situation to a seemingly kind McDonald’s employee who in turn offers them some free food each. The employees let the children live in the McDonald’s so long as they work. They also feed them lots and lots of food and eventually decide that they’re fat enough to be cooked themselves, little do the employees know that the children are well armed. When the employees strike the children fight back with their guns they’ve kept concealed and kill all of the cannibal employees.
Crash Landing Treatment I think that the start of my drama will be very important in setting the standard for the rest of the program, so I intend for it to have a great mix of sound effects depicting a plane crash. Creating the audio for a plane crash is going to be hard but I’m going to try my best and hopefully it will make a great impact as the opening. When the people are on the island I intend for characters to be created instantly through conversation and small actions. I also intend for some people to get sick of each other early on, because some people just plain don’t mix, we see this almost everyday in our social lives. This applies to the personal relationships need as suggested by the uses and gratifications theory. I don’t want Seth to take the part as the leader of the group because I think that’s too generic and typical for a drama to follow the story of the leader. However Seth does possess some leadership skills which will become apparent throughout the drama.
The inhabitants of the island are to be a mystical race of strange monsters. No one knows how they got there or what they’re doing there, but they’re very organized and make sure that they’re watching all the survivors. There will be numerous hints within the drama that suggest that the survivors are not alone on the island this will help build suspense and create an enigma. This enigma will encourage the listener to keep on listening in hope of finding out what lurks on the island. There will be a situation in which Seth and his son become separated at the hands of the monsters, this will create ultimate tension and could be one of the most significant parts of the drama. Seth ends up being reunited with his son.
41.3 Be Able To Write A Radio Drama Script In A Specific Genre Task 6: You should produce 2 scripts, one for each of the treatments from the previous task
Operation: 1138 Script The scene begins with the sound of a door opening. Jessica, a small blonde woman in her 20s enters a small room where the rest of the group are waiting. The group consist of:
Roger, a small fat man Charles, a tall middle class man, whose three piece suit had been ripped and damaged
Margret, Charles wife Brian, a typical working class fellow who rises to the occasion Jessica, an intellectual woman who has interests in Brian
[Door Opening] JESSICA: Quick, the radio’s come back on! [Chairs squeaking, feet rushing. The group rush out and gather round the radio in the next room. Radio tuning sounds]
[A Low moaning can be heard throughout] BROADCASTER: Actual statistics are... in-consistent at present but It is clear that we are past the point of no return. The virus had spread throughout every major county in the world, and shows no sign of slowing down. If anyone is hearing this then we have taken sanctuary at Westmount Military base, if you can we urge any survivors to make their way here and join our colony. Over and out. [Radio Static]
JESSICA: Right, it’s obvious to me we need to go there then.
ROGER: The man said ‘if we can’, which we can’t, the city is over run! Why is it only a few of us that understand this! BRIAN: Okay everyone keep their heads, whatever we do we need to stick together. CHARLES: NO! Me and my wife are getting out off this... this horrible pig sty of a refuge, isn’t that right dear? MARGRET: Yes! I am sick and tired of theses god awful people! BRIAN: Well, sorry we don’t all live up to your standards Margret, but if we want to survive this then we have got to put up with each other! CHARLES: Who made you the boss Brian! If I were running the show we would all be out here by now. JESSICA: Where are you going to go? What are you going to do? If we’re leaving we have to leave together! ROGER: Hey guys, has anyone got any food? CHARLES: Shut up Rodger, all you think about is food! It’s hardly the main concern here. Me and my wife are getting out of here whether anyone wants to join us or not!
MARGRET: Hold on Charles, I think that... CHARLES: Don’t question me Margret, I know what’s best! JESSICA: Don’t talk to her like that you sexist pig! BRAIN: CALM DOWN! We aren’t going to get anywhere by arguing
CHARLES: We aren’t going to anywhere by sitting in this god awful factory for the rest of our lives! I’ve got too much money at stake to just die in this squalid hell hole! Come on Margret! [Feet moving away angrily]
MARGRET: Charles I... CHARLES: SHUT UP WOMAN, You stay here with these rotten degenerates. I am protecting my WEALTH! [Door opens and slams shut]
BRIAN: THE MINI! [Group run through to the door, sound of a locked door] BRIAN: It’s locked... [Banging on door] [Garage door opening] [The constant moan of zombies gets slightly louder] GROUP: Shouting at Charles [Car sets off hitting several zombies]
BRIAN: Quick, follow me to the balcony; we can watch him from there. [Extended footsteps, going up stairs] [Heavy steel door swings open, Zombie moans at full force, birds above] MARGRET: My god... [Group stay silent, the moans grow louder] [Car driving round a corner, getting increasingly louder] JESSICA: There he is ROGER: Wha- What’s that smoke coming from the car? BRIAN: I never got the chance to fix it... [Car breaking down] MARGRET: No... NO CHARLES! [Charles screams as the zombies smash the windows and rip him limb from limb] [High Pitched scream from down stairs, feet speeding back up the stairs] [Margret can be heard crying throughout] JESSICA (Panting): They’ve got in! There In! ROGER: What do you mean? They’ve got in? JESSICA: The Zombies! They must have come through the Garage [Margret gasps] ROGER: No! Charles, he let them in and... And he stole our only escape. We’re doomed. BRIAN: Don’t be stupid Roger; they are decomposing bodies for Christ sake. All we have to do it shut the garage door. [A Zombie moans close by, Jessica and Margret both scream] [Brian punches the zombie, sending it flying down the stairs]
BRIAN: and we have got to hurry up, or we’ll be over run. Roger I want you to grab the rifle once we get downstairs. Jessica, you need to watch my back. Margret... [Margret stops crying] BRIAN: Just... keep safe. LET’S GO! [The group hurry down the stairs, the distant zombie moans get quieter, ones inside begin to moan louder]
JESSICA: Brian! Look out! [Zombie moans loudly, Roger shoots the zombie, abrupt end to the moan of the zombie] BRIAN: Good shot Roger, thanks. ROGER: No time for thank you’s, get to the garage! [More running and moaning remains constant] BRIAN: Where’s the key?! JESSICA: It was on the car keys… BRIAN: SON OF A… Roger, get that one so I can get to the door. [Gunshots, Distressed zombie moan] BRIAN: thanks Roger… JESSICA: Where’s Margret? [Margret shuffles into the garage as Brian shuts the garage, she stands next to Roger]
BRIAN: Are you okay Margret? We wondered where you’d gone. MARGRET: The virus has spread too far! You’re all going to die! [Distorted voice, choking and wrenching as she chomps into Roger’s shoulder] ROGER: ARGHHH [Rifle drops to the floor] BRIAN: Come on Jess! We’ve got to get out of here. [Hoards of zombies pour into the garage as the pair run away] JESSICA: They’re through! [Brian picks up the rifle] BRIAN: Get to the storage room! We can barricade ourselves in there! [More running, opening the storage room door, slamming it behind them and propping a chair under the handle] [Zombies pound on the door, walls and all around moans get louder.] BRIAN: Two bullets left.
Hansel & Gretel Script [Window Smash, Dogs Barking, Children Playing, Shouting] [Hansel walks into the house after his paper round] GRETEL: Hi Hansel. DAD: Hansel! Done your paper round? HANSEL: Yeh Dad. DAD: Give us yer money then. Someone’s got to pay for your tea and me and yer mum are skint.
[Hansel reluctantly hands some pound coins to his father (Coins Jingling)] DAD: Cheers son. Oh and yeh we can’t afford for you and your sister to live here anymore. GRETEL: What!? DAD: Yeh, me and your mum just can’t afford to have you anymore. You and Gretel best do one. HANSEL: Pfff. Come on then Gretel. [The kids walk out of the house and slam the door] GRETEL: Well, what now? HANSEL: I dunno do I?! GRETEL: I’m hungry. HANSEL: Me too. GRETEL: McDonalds is the closest place that has food. HANSEL: I 'ant got any money. GRETEL: Me neither. HANSEL: Well we might aswell go somewhere, we’ve got nowhere to go. GRETEL: Yeh c’mon then. [Classic traveling music] [Footsteps, door open] HANSEL: Right then we’re ‘ere. Now what? GRETEL: I dunno, we’ll go sit down. [Footsteps as they walk towards a table and sit down at it, the kids sigh] GRETEL: What we gonna do then? HANSEL: I dunno, but we need to find a place to sleep. [An employee, who is cleaning, whistles nearby] GRETEL: But where? CLEANER: Sorry to bother you two but I couldn’t help but overhear you need somewhere to stay for the night, am I right? BOTH: Yeh CLEANER: Well look no further! So long as you work alongside us you can stay here! Are you hungry kids? HANSEL: Not half. CLEANER: I’ll go sort you out some grub then. GRETEL: We ant got any money. CLEANER: Oh that’s fine lovie. [The cleaner walks off dragging his mop and bucket behind him] HANSEL: Wow! Livin’ in McDonalds! GRETEL: Yeh! This is gonna be well good! [Jingle so signal that time has moved on, busy McDonalds ambience] EMPLOYEE #1: Gretel! 2 Big Macs now! GRETEL: ‘Ere you are. EMPLOYEE #1: Thanks, take one for yourself. GRETEL: Oh thanks a lot! HANSEL: Ah, got a sweet life here sis. GRETEL: I know, a place to sleep and free food, this is better than home. HANSEL: Yeh, them guys who work here are a bit creepy though. GRETEL: Yeh, I know what you mean. HANSEL: Gretel, have you put on weight? GRETEL: Hmmm. Well if I have you have. HANSEL: I think we both have. EMPLOYEE #1: You two! I want to see you both in the back, we’ll be closing in a minute. GRETEL: Alright. [Footsteps as the kids walk towards the back room] HANSEL: I wonder what he wants to see us in here for. GRETEL: Dunno. [All of the employees walk into the back room] EMPLOYEE #1: Now then. We’ve been feeding you for quite some time now haven’t we? EMPLOYEE #2: Yeh looks like they’re fat enough. HANSEL: Fat enough? Fat enough for what? EMPLOYEE #1: Fat enough for the deep fat fryer you little pest! [The Employees lunge for the kids as the kids pull out loaded guns, cock them and fire at the employees, numerous gunshots and screaming, bodies dropping to the floor then silence] GRETEL: They were gonna cook us?! HANSEL: Maybe they were, doesn’t matter anyway. They’re all dead now. GRETEL: You do realize that we just murdered over 10 people. HANSEL: Ermmm yeh. GRETEL: And that doesn’t bother you? HANSEL: Gretel seriously, how many times have we done this before? GRETEL: Oh alright then. HANSEL: Best get home any how. Someone’s gotta look after mum and dad.
GRETEL: True, c’mon then. [Footsteps towards exit, ending music playing]
Task 7:To produce a radio drama using one of the scripts produced in the previous task
Operation: 1138
Task 8: Evaluate your product
Radio Drama Evaluation Our original aim was to produce a short radio drama to entertain as well as fitting into certain conventions. In my opinion we did achieve this aim because I am entertained by what we've made, however we do lack listener feedback that would be good to display in our work. We did play Operation: 1138 to Danny's mum and step-dad one time and they both said it was great and they enjoyed Danny's acting. The primary target audience would be 16 - 40 because of the wide appeal that the horror genre has. We hoped that some of the characters would appeal to the listeners in terms of personal identity as suggested by the uses and gratifications theory. I don't think we ever set out to get messages accross in this piece of work so I can't comment on that, but in terms of messages as signifiers we have alot within the drama that usually come in the form of sound effects. We didn't cut off anyone's voice whilst editing the piece, we recorded all the dialogue in one sitting making it less work for the actors we got and just more efficient in general. We were then able to go away and cut up the audio piece and fit sound effects and the rest of the material in and around it. I think that if you're paying attention and following the storyline there is plently to keep the audience interested, we found that if you don't pay full attention to the storyline and what's being said you won't enjoy the drama as much and probably won't understand what's going on. We used many sound effects that we manually had to download from a reliable website called Sounddogs.com. We featured all manner of sound effects from zombie groans to screeching tyres to garage doors.
I think what's usually typical of the horror/thriller genre is: suspenceful music, Vladimir Prop's theory, character(s) being scared of something/someone, screams, unexplained noises, lack of humor, feelings of; panic, anxiety, bewilderment, fear. I think in another professional product of this sort you would still find the basic conventions of the horror genre, that being that there's something/someone that everyone's scared of/trying to avoid, the Vladimir Prop theory can be applied, feelings of; fear and panic are still created. Professionals have some advantages over us when it comes to making these things; they will have access to better quality sound effects, ability to apply for use of copyrighted music, ability to hire professional actors e.t.c. Our radio drama is very much single strand narrative because all of the events that take place revolve around the original group of people in some way. In the production of the drama I learned where and how to get free sound effects and incorperate them appropriately. I think a strength of our radio drama is the sound effects and how we edited each one to serve it's surpose perfectly. A weakness of our radio drama would be the acting, in places it doesn't sound too convincing and/or realistic. In my opinion I was a good team member because I put my full effort into the production; the script writing, treatments, proposals and editing. If I was to ne part of a similar project in the future I would make sure to plan every aspect in detail especially the script because the coordination of the sound effects is important. I think that the ability to create a setting, a set of characters and a storyline through audio signifiers and a script is a great and vital ability, one that is developed through making products like Operation: 1138.
