Unit 41 - Radio Drama

RADIO DRAMA

In 1940, Radio Drama was at its peak. During the Golden Age of Radio people would sit and listen to the tiny box that is so overlooked in modern society. For 70 years people have been tuning in to listen to Radio Dramas which started in 1927 when the radio networks started to adapt stories to be used on radio, eventually they began writing scripts to be used specifically on radio.

During the 1930’s comedic drama became a very important part of radio, bringing fun and excitement to people’s homes, the show ‘Amos 'n' Andy’ was one of the most popular shows, even when TV took over as the main medium in the home, ‘Amos 'n' Andy’ continued. It was also during the 30’s when advertisers took an interest in radio advertising, they buying up air time and sponsoring shows. This lead to the development of new types of shows such as; dramatized news programs, advice/interview programs and daytime "soap opera" serialized dramas.

Radio played a great part in the Second World War. It gave the public an escape from the war, radio offered a different world. A world of humor, drama and thriller, these sorts of programs became a lot more popular during the war as they provided the greatest escape from the war.

In the early years of television production costs were a lot more controlled as not many homes had a TV and sponsors were hard to find, so shows that had been a success on radio had their themes converted into TV, many highly acclaimed radio shows had TV adaptations straight away, such as the previously mentions Amis ‘n’ Andy and Gunsmoke (A western Drama).[1]

Today, Radio Dramas are still played on the more intellectual radio stations such as Radio 3 4 and 7. Now, as in the golden age of Radio, these Dramas can be “ranging from the experimental to the classics”[2] with shows such as The Archers, an everyday story of country folk, Seeing is Believing, Boxer and Doberman, a police/comedy drama, radio adaptations of stories such as Georg Orwell’s Classic Animal Farm and sci-fi dramas such as Paradise Lost in Cyberspace and Ghost Galaxies[3] it is quite obvious that Radio is still a great medium and I believe it is underrated in today’s culture of reality TV and the internet and it is a great achievement that it has survived till today.

1. http://www.balancepublishing.com/golden.htm

2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/radio.shtml

3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio7/programmes/genres/drama

The Radio Drama that sent America into disarray.

War of the Worlds

In today’s day and age, we take for granted how quickly and how easily we can access information. We can watch thousands of TV Channels; browse the internet and access an unlimited amount of information on millions of subjects all without moving more than a few feet. We also live in an age where, through no fault of our own, we are forced to take into consideration that what we are reading or hearing might not be the whole truth. In an age when propaganda is strong and hidden, we have to take everything with a ‘pinch of salt’. Also, due to the advancing effects that film & TV use, nothing is out of the ordinary, and we have seen it all before. But back when the TV was still in nappies, and the radio controlled the household, it was a very different situation.

The 1930’s was a time of depression and political un-easiness, the radio had been at the for front of home entertainment for 10 years but was still a revolutionary, exciting and experimental medium. Now the public were connected to the government and could have information streamed into their homes, and it was in this time that the public would realize how much control and influence the mass media could have.

George Orson Welles, an American actor, director, writer and producer, founded (With his friend John Houseman) the Mercury Theater which produced high quality plays. With their success in the theater, they moved onto radio in 1938, forming the radio series; ‘The Mercury Theatre on the Air’ and on Halloween the same year their 17^th Episode, a radio adaptation of H.G Wells’ War of the Worlds’,[1] sent America into wide spread panic

Why? Well, they were many reasons and contributing factors but essentially, the radio adaption was designed to take the form of a musical show, interrupted by frequent news bulletins about the Martian invasion of Earth. This broke the conventions of the current dramas on radio at the time, which had mostly straight forward narratives. Also, due to the fact that the rival station to CBS, NBC, was broadcasting its popular ‘Charlie McCarthy Show’ which had a singer introduced about 10 minutes into the show, causing listener to turn stations whilst waiting for the star to return. They were greeted with the soft melodies of ‘Ramon Raquello and his orchestra’ [2] which were interrupted by a news bulletin about the Martian Invasion of Earth.

This caused wide spread confusion as they missed the introduction by Wells. A drama with a narrative such as this had never been attempted in the US, and due to the political atmosphere at the time, listeners took the mock news bulletins as truth and panic ensued. People rallied to defend the small town of Grover’s Mill (which has been the alleged landing site), barricaded their homes, left town and cowered in fear around their radios as H.G Wells’ story of a furious battle between Martians and the military became real for thousands of people.

The aftermath had Welles’ making a formal apology and the CBS networking reportedly stating that they wouldn’t use "we interrupt this program" for dramatic purpose ever again [3].

But was this reaction intended? The result of the broadcast showed how the world would react to a real invasion, could this be the reason why many alleged UFO sighting/crashes, such as the Roswell Incident in 1947, have supposedly been covered up by the government? To go even deeper, some theorists suggest whilst mass panic about a Martian invasion gripped the public and the media, a window was open for the US government to retrieve a real crashed UFO, the mock broadcast making it easy to cover up and anyone calming to have seen the real thing could be cast away, told that they are shook up from the broadcast, called paranoid and ignored. This would have given the American’s a brilliant opportunity, and at no better time considering that the world was again at the brink of war. Could alien technology have helped Einstein in realizing his theory’s, leading to the development of the Atom Bomb? And any other significant scientific discoveries since[4] to leap frog the world as a super power, leading to their undisputed power today.

Whatever your take on the story, one thing is for sure; The War of the Worlds radio broadcast shed light on how un-ready we are as a species to be able to deal with inter galactic communication but more importantly how much power the mass media could have on the public.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Theatre

2. http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/war_worlds_orson_welles_mercury.htm

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_%28radio%29#Aftermath

4. http://lotgk.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/war-of-the-worlds-conspiracy/

Task 1 (P1, M1, D1)

Analyzing Radio Drama

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Outcasts Episode 1

The introduction voice is slightly high pitched and loud, this connotes the importance of the introduction, also as this is a radio drama based upon the star wars universe, which has a scrolling intro that sets the scene of the film, a voice over is needed to represent the importance and calibre of this introduction. The voice is smooth and keeps a constant rhythm, again this is because the introduction so is important to this story, the voice needs to be easy to understand and pleasing to listen to as they are the ones setting the scene for the whole drama. When the main villain is introduced his voice is slow, rough and sly. His voice connotes that he is evil, that he seems to be plotting and carefully thinking about what he is saying, signifying his intelligence. Juxtaposed against this is the voice of a simple foot solider, who stutters and has a quieter, more subtle voice. His voice signifies that he is ‘below’ the main antagonist and seen as a lesser person. More over, the hero is set up as a binary opposite to t

he villain. This highlights each of the characters personalities. The hero is a female, with a soft, flowing voice. She is juxtaposed against the villain.

Already, in the first few minutes of the drama I can see Props theory coming through, the villain and hero (along with her pet/sidekick) have already been set up, sticking to the conventions of a generic narrative. An atmosphere is created using a music bed taken from the films. By using the music that has been used in the films, an atmosphere is already created in the audiences mind, one that takes the feelings from the films and recreates them for the radio drama. For example, when the hero is introduced music used in the film (also when the hero is present) kicks in, coupled with simplistic sound effects such as farm animals and the blowing of wind creates the mise en scene of a good, loving and peaceful character, one that mirrors that of the films. I believe that to enjoy this Radio Drama the audience must have an understanding and interest in the Star Wars films as most of the imagery used relies greatly on that already set up by the films. Being an amateur production, the technical quality could be better. When different characters start to speak, the microphones coming into action can be here by a small pop. However, apart from this, the recording and editing create the atmosphere that the star wars films have been brining to homes for years.

Doctor Who: A Cause for Carolling

Voice plays a huge role in this Radio Drama from the start. One of the main villains of the doctor who series, The Daleks, are introduced straight away. Their high pitched, electronic voice is iconic to the series and the voice signifies the cold, evil, calicle attitude of the Daleks by using high pitched short, and usually evil, responses. Also using an electronic voice signifies that they are robotic. When the doctor is introduced, he uses an very standard English dialect which links to the TV series being a highly acclaimed British show. The Doctor uses a language register that shows that the drama is aimed at people who are interested in the doctor who show, as he uses words and phrases associated with the show, ones which a first time listener would not understand. Without an understanding of the Doctor Who show, a listener would feel lost as the iconic sound effects (such as the Tardiss’ signature woo woo) help move the narrative on.

As with the Star Wars radio drama (and which I think will be a common occurrence in radio dramas based from film or TV) this drama relies greatly on sound effects from the TV series. The iconic sound of the Tardis landing is used to introduce the Drama, followed by the sound of its door opening, then silence. The silence is used to create a sense of mystery and enigma.

Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy: Episode I - Part I

The narrator plays a large part in this famous radio drama. His voice is slow, clear and smooth, also he doesn’t have any notable dialect or accent. This is intentional as he is set up as an extra terrestrial being, and a lack of human dialects makes sense. When the story starts and the characters are introduced the main character, Arthur Dent, is in an heated argument with a contractor over trying to knock down his house.

Their voices keep interrupting each other rather than keeping to their own space, this signifies Arthurs attitude, that he won’t just be pushed over and will stand up for what he believes. The atmosphere of this scene is emphasized by the constant rumble of a bulldozer in the background, adding another layer of actuality and giving it a sense of urgency.

Task 3 (P1, M1, D1)

Short Drama Clips

Task 3 (P1, M1, D1)

Mindmaps

Below are two mindmaps that I brainstormed the ideas for my productions. Rather than just many ideas I focused on several ideas that I knew were strong and would definalty be used in the production.

Click \/

Click \/

Task 4 (P1, M1, D1)

Proposal

Alice in Wonderland

My adaptation of Alice in wonderland takes place in modern day Britain. Alice, a stereotypical chav, and her sister take a walk around a fantastic British forest (next to their estate). Alice comes across some 'magic' mushrooms and travels to wonder land.The drama will follow Alice as she hallucinates, the audience being treated to an unrestrictive narrative as they will hear what is really happening to Alice.

Operation 1138

An orginal story; During a Zombie Apocalypse five different characters find them selves trapped in a small warehouse. Tensions are already at boiling point when things start to take a turn for the worse. This drama will relly on the effective build up off atmosphere and relatable, interesting characters.

Task 5 (P1, M1, D1)

Treatments

Alice in Wonderland

My fairy tale adaptation takes the classic tale of Alice’s adventures in wonderland, and gives it a adult comedy make over. The main idea is that whilst Alice (who in my adaptation is a reckless youth) and her sister are relaxing in the forest, Alice comes across some ‘magic’ mushrooms which transport her to this wonderland. I picked Alice in wonderland to adapt as I think that the story can be moulded around a different narrative and still retain the original meaning of the story, Alice visiting a wonderland and by the end of the story she ‘wakes up’ thinking that is was just a dream. My target audience is going to be teenagers, as it is essential for people listing to my radio drama to; One- Know the story of Alice in wonderland, Two – Understand the effects of hallucinogenic drugs and Three – To have a light hearted opinion on these drugs. Another obvious reason for a more adult audience will be the use of the drug. The genre of my radio drama is Fairy Tale comedy, along the same lines as such films as Shriek.

The comedy will come from the narrative that is running parallel with Alice’s ad

ventures in wonderland, which is what is happening in the real world. Because she is tripping on mushrooms, Alice has no idea of what is going on in the real world, her effects on it and the consequences that she will have to deal with afterward. Whilst describing Alice’s hallucinations, the scenes will change and describe what is really going on. By using a multi-strand narrative, I am breaking the typical conventions of a fairy tale and adding more depth to the story.

A narrator will move the narrative along. The voice of the narrator will be that of a stereotypical middle class Englishman. Considering the stereotypical view of the English Upper/middle class (Rich, posh, well mannered) I will attempt to break these stereotypes with the use of comedy throughout, and considering the content of my radio show it will be crude comedy. To contrast, a typical ‘Chav’ or working class voice will be used for Alice, this will enforce her character as the stereotypes surrounding theses accents are typically violent, angry youths.

Operation 1138

Operation 1138 is a horror Drama that takes place in the fictional Armageddon of a Zombie Apocalypse. The five main characters have been trapped in a warehouse for a considerable amount of time, so the relationships between them are already tense. A radio broadcast that breaths new hope into the survivors which unfortunately splits the group. After this, things take a turn for the worse. Due to the scary nature of the Horror genre the target audience will range from teenagers to adults. Typical to this genre my drama makes use of gruesome effects, a restricted narrative (enhancing the creepy atmosphere) and character relationships, the use of witch give my drama the correct mise en scene.

The main characters are all drastically different and have disagreeing motives and attitudes. This, as well as the fact that they have been stuck together for a prolonged amount of time, creates ruptures within the group consequently leading to the disruption within the narrative. Due to the range of characters, the audience is bound to find someone to relate too, which brings me onto mention the Uses and Gratification theory which I can apply to my drama. First off, the audience is being entertained as my production is a Horror Drama. Secondly, they are creating personal identity within the characters as the wide range off personalities offers something most people will be able to relate too. Personal Relationships will be created when the audience discuss my production, which they are bound to do because of the atmosphere which is created and the enigma that surrounds all horror productions; why?

The atmosphere that my production is going to be created in several ways; firstly, the sound effects are essential. To drag the audience in the sound effects are frequent and effective, gripping listeners. To stick to horror conventions several gruesome sound effects have been selected, this signifies the terror and violence that has engulfed the characters. A constant zombie moan connotes the relentless hoard and reminds the audience that death is just around the corner. Secondly, a unique music bed builds the tension (through the use of slow, deep, violin/percussion style music) and helps speed up and emphasize action scenes (using several dubstep clips), furthermore I think that the uneasy atmosphere is boosted through the use of dubstep, which is a manic and spacey electronic genre.

Task 6 (P1, M1, D1)

Scripts

SCENE 1

Characters: Alice

Alice’s sister

Rabbit

OUTISIDE AMBIENCE, WIND, BIRDS. BUSHES RUSTLE [THROUGHOUT]

CARS CAN BE HEARD IN THE DISTANCE

CLOSEBY AND VOICES CAN BE HEARD GETTING LOUDER

ALICE: Shut up sis, we are almost there

SISTER: Don’t tell me too shut up Alice!

FOOTSTEPS ON FOREST FLOOR

MORE BUSHES

SISTER: What are we doing here anyway?

ALICE: You’ll see init!

WIND BLOWS AND SOUNDS BECOME CLEARER

ALICE: Yes mayte, here It is!

SISTER: What? It’s just a clearing, and it’s starting to get dark! …. Alice?

SPRAY PAINT CAN BEING SPRAYED

ALICE: Aaaaaaa-llllllll-iiiiiii

SISTER [SHOCKED]: You can’t graffiti a tree!

ALICE: Watch…

SPRAY PAINT CONTINUES

BUSHES RUSTLE

ALICE: LOOK! A Rabbit!

SPRAYING STOPS, CAN IS DROPPED

RUNNING STEPS CAN BE HEARD

SISTER [SHOUTING]: Allliiicceeeee waiiiitttttt……

RUNNING STEPS CAN BE HEARD, ALICE PANTING

ALICE: I’ma grip dat lil rabbit!

TWIG BREAKS ALICE FALLS TOO GROUND

SHUFFLING ALOUND GROUND

ALICE: Ahhhh yeah mate, shrooms!

SOUNDS OF A MUSHROOM BEING PICKED

ALICE MUNCHING ON IT

SOUNDS BECOME DISTORTED AS ALICE

QUITE AMBIENT DUB TRONICA MUSIC BED FADES IN

STARTS TO HULLUCINATE

ALICE: RABBIT!

SPEECH ECHOS, FOOTSTEPS RUN TO THE DISTANCE

SOUND RETURNS TO NORMAL

MUSIC STOPS

SISTER [IN THE DISTANCE]: ALICE! WHERE ARE YOU! [FADES OUT]

DISTORTION RETURNS, MUSIC BED PICKS UP

BUSHES CAN BE HEARD BEING PUSHED AROUND

RABBIT: I’M LATE, I’M LATE THE JOB CENTRE CLOSES IN HALF AN HOUR!

ALICE: OI! RABBIT, HANG ON!

RABBIT: NAH MATE, IM LATE AS IT IS, SOD OFF!

OUTSIDE AMBIENCE STARTS TO FADE AS TRAFFIC BECOMES LOUDER

DISTORTION ENDS AND MUSIC FADES OUT

LOUD CAR HORN, PEOPLE SHOUTING

BYSTANDER: GET OUTA THE ROAD!

CAR SCREECHES AS MUSIC KICKS BACK IN

ALICE: You can’t fit down there silly rabbit [GIGGLES]

FALLING SOUND EFFECT [WOOOOO]

SPLASH

Operation: 1138

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.

Task 7 (M1, P1, D1)

Production