Radio Play Production

Pre-Production Work

Before the production started. I had to do two things.

First of all I had to think about what comes into mind when 'audio' is mentioned and what sound could be heard by me in the room.

Audio:

• Microphone - Used to record the audio (speech, instruments & other sounds etc.)
• Music - Vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.
• Sound Effects - Any sound, other than music or speech, artificially reproduced to create an effect in a dramatic presentation, as the sound of a storm or a creaking door.
• Narration - A spoken/written script of connected events such as a story or life event.
• Instruments - An object or device used to produce musical sounds.
• Vocals - Usually referred as part of a piece of music that is sung.
  Radio - The activity or industry of broadcasting sound programmes to the public as well as a station or channel.

Sounds around me:

This was later followed by some research on radio plays in general and to find an example of radio drama, have a listen to it and then label what sounds can be heard in them.

What does it consists of?

A radio play consists of preferably drama being scripted and recorded via audio in a studio. It is then broadcasted on mainly radio, but it can also be accessible on other forms of audio media which includes CD, tapes or maybe even downloadable formats.

What can be heard?

Example

• Speech - Actors reading out a written/rehearsed script.
• Music/Instruments - Either pre recorded or played live for the actual recording.
• Footsteps - Shoes used to be tapped on either gravel or a floor board etc.
• Environment - Either pre recorded sounds of the outside or recorded live in the studio along with the dialogue.
• Doors opening/closing - A door being opened and closed which was probably recorded live in the studio.
• Crowd - Pre recorded sound of people at a bar, club or other environment.

Coming up with ideas

This was the stage where I had to come up with ideas for the radio play. This consisted of what then setting, scenario and what sounds could be used for the production.

Setting

Kitchen in a Detached House

Scenario

Two students settling at one’s home during lunch a college day. They discuss a film production project they’ve been doing. The two talk about what could be done for the rest of it.

Sound

Recording

• Zoom H4n digital recorder
• Shotgun mic
• Headphones

Sound (Prerecorded/recorded/sampled)

• Doors - Panel doors being opened and close.
• Cupboards - Doors closing & opening.
• Drinks - Bottles of drinks being opened and close as a sound representative.
• Glasses - sound of drinks being poured and drunk.
• Wooden floor - Footsteps, (wooden legged) chairs.
• Bag(s) being opened - Use of a Zipper or Velcro.
• Notebook - Pages being turned.
• Paper bags/wrapping - Use of a sound of scrunching & rustling would come into this.

Script Writing

The script being written out in a 'radio play' format in Celtx:

Sound effects

Some of the props used to create some of the sound effects for the play were either unavailable or difficult to get hold of due to the lack of time every had on their hands, additional sound effects would be grabbed from sites like YouTube or other websites that provided free to use audio.

The method I used was to find a video containing the sound effect, download it and then record it as an audio file on the 'djay' iPhone app. The recording were later saved into a Google Drive folder.

The recording labelled 'Nothing At All' was neither used or related to the play as it was something I have had in my recordings months before.

The Recording & Editing

On March 18th 2015, this was the day of the recording, the characters for the play were played by Ella Perkins and Nico Mussel. Joe Baldwin also helped out with the background sound effects that we were able to perform for the play whilst it was being recorded.

A week later, the recording was added onto Logic Pro along with the additional sound effects being added on. This was also where transitions, volume adjustments and other forms of adjustment to audio sound come in.

The Final Play

Peer Assessment

"It is well done but I think something more exciting could happen as it is a bit dull to listen too and could've used more extra sounds."

"Well made and put together but can be abit slow."

"Pros:

The sound effects are good

It feels like a proper environment

Cons:

A bit boring to listen too

Some sound effects are too loud"

"The acting could be a bit happier because it seems like they are mumbling a bit but the play is long and the sound effects fit the play well."

"The acting seemed quite dull and not to full potential."

"I didn’t fully know what the setting of the story was. It sounded like a meeting of some sort. Characters sounded slightly flat, not much effort put into them and a couple of the sound effects sounded a little rushed."

"Was okay, found myself feeling a bit bored halfway through and it went on for too long. Sound effects did not really fit in very well and sounded distorted compared to the original recording."

Evaluation

What went well?

• The sound effects required were easy to find.
• All audio was put together easily.
• Methods to help the final play sound smoother were available and came out good.

What didn’t go well?

• The actors sounded completely bored which made the play a bit boring for some people to listen to.
• Some of the dialogue wasn’t executed how I wanted no matter how many times I explained to the actors.
• I did criticise and give advice, but it was not accepted.
• Some of the dialogue was getting either quieter or louder at times. Possibly due to the play being recorded on a single microphone.
• Background noises from other rooms could be heard.

What would I do next time?

• Have a better microphone setup (use two or maybe more mics) to help the dialogue sound better.
• Find actors who know how to sell out a personality and emotion.
• Record the play in a room that keeps the noise out.