Codes

LO1

Words

Relevance:

Words in the radio drama must be easily heard and appropriately understood so the audience is not miss- led.

An example of this would be any radio drama from BBC Radio 4 . A bad example of this would be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0K4ApWl4g in this video you cannot hear the speech very well.

Age:

To show if a radio production is set in a particular time frame, you would use music to tell the audience what time year and place the story is set in.

Technical:

Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the sounds that are produced to come across as diegetic/ non diegetic sound. These people are called Foley artists.

Language:

How the words are spoken can determine what kind of character is talking. This could be through pitch, loudness, quietness, accent etc.

An example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf6omuz1MrMIn this video/ radio drama, you can clearly identify the language used differs in range throughout this sequence. At 1:50 his voice changes dramatically and as an audience we can tell what is going on and can picture it in our head.

Voices:

Accent: The accent a character has can make the audience picture the character in their head as well as gathering a quick insight of their background, where there from what they do.

Tone:

The tone of a characters voice can portray their personality and what kind of person they are like. For example, loud, quiet, shy, outgoing. Examples

Angry African man - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kAbwVdbIpYCrowd sound effects - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOvdpNcW55k

Pitch: The pitch of a character can establish who the character may be and what age they are. For example, a young school student would have a higher pitch voice whereas a grown business man may have an extremely deeper voice.

Examples - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWpiWMmAm4Y

Speech:

Speech is important within a radio drama as it has to be precisely clear for the audience to hear and understand. It must also be consistent and professional not too fast or to slow making it boring and complex for the audience to comprehend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2PHch4IPPQ

Music:

Music in a radio drama is tremendously important as it can be persuasive and a mood setter for the audience. Music makes the audience feel some sort of emotion without even realizing it. Music should be appropriate for the genre of radio drama. Music is an effective and persuasive technique used in almost everything within media it can create tension and cause

Examples - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIuotFZnBtk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2hgqYCVodQ

Ambience:

This sets the emotional spirit of the play. It determines whether your listeners believe in the world that you have created. Worlds are not created by dramatic dialogue alone. There is attitude and atmosphere. This is determined by detail and relevant detail. It could be in a sound effect. It could be in the writing. It could be in the music. It could be in everything. But the result is that the fifth dimension of radio writing - the imagination of the listener - is stimulated to become a picture palace of the mind.

Sounds:

Use of different sounds allows the audience to be as creative and imaginative as possible.The use of sounds create an emotion that the audience can usually relate to, this keeps them intrigued to listen further. An example – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFcge5gaXKg

Silence:

Silence allows space and movement in radio dramas. Silence is needed so the audience are confused by all the sounds and dialogue from the characters. Silence can build up tension in a radio drama, this is usually seen in horror films or action films that contain frenetic chases or extended fights.

Silence in a radio drama also indicates that at any point a new character could be introduced.

Conventions

Aural signposting:

Signposting is a method of allowing the audience to gain an understanding of the location of the scene as it opens. This can be done through sound effects (SFX) or even a description from the narrator. This technique is used to get the audience involved as much as possible and create an image in their head of the story being told.

Cliff-hanger endings:

A cliff hanger ending is when the sequence end without a full explanation of what is about to happens next. Films usually do this to leave the audience thinking and questioning what will happen next. The purpose of a cliff hanger is to keep the audience interested and entertained. Cliff hangers cause tension.

Because this technique is used in almost ever successful film , TV advert, radio drama, cliff hangers are becoming expected and the audience are starting to predict what will happen.

An example Cliff-hanger the movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlzrilK2Bco

Flashback: A flashback is most commonly used in films but can also be heard in radio dramas. In radio dramas a flashback can be heard by use of sound effects to create an affect when the speech doesn’t feel like real life.

Examples of flashbacks in <--films

Use of fades:The use of fades in radio dramas can be used effectively in many different ways, for example:

. Indicate the end and beginning of any sequence

. Used as a transition in between scenes

. Switches between characters Fades are always used when opening a scene in radio dramas.

Characterisation:

Characterisation involves the creation and development within a character in the production.This includes good imagery of the character as the audience can in vision what they look like and what type of person they are. Characterisation falls into the following; Pitch, speed, rhythm, words used, and how much they say relates to importance of character.

Chronological development:This usually consists of the development of a character emotionally and physically through a consecutive sequence of time.Non chronological development is a continued lapse of time. The sequence of the narrative may jump between periods of time to add another element of suspense to the drama.

Narration:- First person, this is when the story is told from and ‘I’ perspective. The narrator will speak from their position as if they are talking to the audience. A film example will be, Angus things and perfect snogging. - Second person, the narrator will speak in ‘we’ terms. Out of the three this is not a very popular technique. - Third person, a third person figure is not a character in the story but an ‘all seeing’ observer. Third person is very popular and is used a lot in films documentaries and radio dramas.

Appropriateness to target audience:

This means the types of listeners that you are trying to reach: not just the listeners you already have, but also the listeners you should have, if only they can discover your station and realize what great programming it has.Target audiences are usually described in demographic terms - the type of information collected by a Census: age group, sex, education, occupation, and so on.As most variation in radio listening is related to the age of the audience, target audiences are most often expressed in terms of age groups.

 Dramatic reconstruction:Dramatic reconstruction enables you to see the people providing the dialogue and so see what is being said by whom, more clearly without the need for a lot of additional description

An example at 31:28 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs0K4ApWl4g

War of the worlds

Radio drama styles:

Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story: “It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension.

Creation mood or location:

In radio dramas mood is created through sound effects of real life sound for example, rain drops or train noises.

An example - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRG5bQkZlo