Jack's Radio Drama Production Log A2 MEDIA

During my research into radio drama, I listened to various examples of celebrated radio drama. There was one that really stuck out for me, and that made the biggest impression on me, it was called ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’. It followed basic conventions of radio dramas, with sound effects and theme music being used. It was their narrative structure however that broke free of the linear narrative pattern that most radio dramas follow. Of course, radio dramas follow linear narratives for a good reason. They are limited to one form of communication, and because the visual isn’t present, it can often be harder for people to understand what is going on.
            ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ followed a non-linear narrative as the characters went through different universes and different periods of time. Its concept may sound like it would be a difficult listen, making it less enjoyable. But the way it was done, made it so much more interesting as a radio drama. Listeners really have to immerse themselves in the listening process to follow what is going on. Through its complicated structure and science fiction elements, it expects more from the listener. But I found that this wasn’t a bad move, and even though it is complicated, it’s more entertaining because of it. The main story had a combination of realism; this was found mostly in the main character who is just a normal man, and fantasy science fiction which shaped the drama. Another concept was thrown in with the radio drama that went against the basic linear narrative structure even more. At certain points in the story, it would cut away from the main action and a section from the fictional book, that the drama shares its title with, would be read. The exerts would relate to the current situation of the characters. The book, the television series and the recent film are all very popular too. This just shows what the combination of a good story and cross-media convergence can achieve. The fact that the radio drama did so well up against the versions in more popular formats shows that it was a cut above the rest.
            The drama had a direct influence on me when I was writing my own radio drama. I wanted something that people could relate to, but at the same time, I wanted it to have a fantasy twist. This was something that ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ pulled off so well. “Hitchhiker’s…” used sound effects to communicate what was going on, this made me focus more on what sound effects I would use and when I would use them . It showed me the importance of sound effects in radio drama. What I didn’t want to do however, was write a radio drama that was just the same as “Hitchhiker’s…”. I felt as though I could appeal to a target audience of my own age group. At first I thought that this would prove hard because modern teenagers utilize the internet and more modern technology to get entertainment rather than the radio. I decided that the best way to reach my audience was to write something that they could relate to. Because of web 2.0 among other things, modern audiences want to feel a part of media more than ever before. So to reach their level, I chose to write about teenagers doing things that teenagers do today. I also put in references to modern media practices such as social networking, and modern cultural practices such as raves. This way my target audience can relate to, and feel like they know my drama. It’s this knowingness that makes people feel more in tune with films and television programmes.
            I did stick to a linear narrative however, I felt that I could make it entertaining enough without having to mix up the narrative structure. In terms of the basic story, I took a lot of inspiration from modern television dramas such as ‘Skins’ and ‘Hollyoaks’. These are both very popular amongst my target audience, mainly because the themes dealt with in them, relate directly to their audience. ‘Skins’ focuses heavily on drugs, binge drinking and raves. This is where I took the inspiration to include a gathering of teenagers, similar to a rave. ‘Hollyoaks’ deals with personal relationships and identity, which is what teen dramas focus on because it’s what effects teenagers the most. The teenage period in people’s lives is widely recognised as the time when a lot of confusion is felt towards one’s identity and relationships with other people. These themes are reflected in my drama. Blumler and Katz’s audience theory was something that I looked at, to help me get a grasp on why my target audience use media. I found that personal relationships and personal identity were the needs that my target audience could get from my drama. At the same time as writing something that my target audience could relate to, I wanted to challenge them. Another popular genre amongst young people is horror. The horror genre has even found its way into mainstream television and film through the popularity of “Twilight” and “True Blood”. They exist in a hybrid genre of their own which mixes classic romance and drama conventions with basic fantasy horror.
            To keep up with the post-modern times, I wrote in a horror element that worked with the main narrative. My narrative structure followed Todorov’s ‘5 Steps Of Narrative. This is simply because that’s how most narratives work, and it’s the easiest way to communicate a story to an audience. I wanted my drama to be challenging in the way that it had: references to modern culture and media, a story that had multiple themes and a story that began as one thing, changed, then returned to the thing that it began as. This is referring to the way that it starts off as a drama with teenagers going to a big event, with slight horror themes being referenced. In the middle of the drama, things go more sinister and it switches to a more of a horror story. Then at the end of the drama, what it all is comes into question.
            I have developed the classic social drama of radio dramas such as ‘The Archers’ to coincide with a younger, more modern audience. My drama focuses around a small group of people and their relationships with one another. I have used radio drama conventions through my use of sound effects to communicate character’s actions and surroundings. I have used Todorov’s narrative theories to structure my story. I have also used Blumler and Katz’s ‘Uses And Gratifications Model’ when thinking about how I can relate to and entertain my target audience. And I have challenged forms and conventions of real media products in a similar way to how ‘Twilight’ and ‘True Blood’ have.
            When it came to making the advert for my drama, I stuck to the layout norms in regards to form and content. From looking at other radio programme adverts, the layouts were all very similar. The basic layout was text at the top, picture in the middle, text at the bottom. The most important text goes at the top (the title) and the other information tends to go at the bottom (the date and time of broadcast). I wanted to make a simple, bold advert that made a statement about what the drama was, without giving too much away. The poster sells the drama as more of a horror than a drama. This is because I wanted people to have this perception of it before they heard it. This makes the twist in the story even more un-expected. I used a lot of red to connote danger, passion and horror. The whole colour scheme was stark which made the red stand out a lot more. I wanted the red to stand out, and I didn’t want the advert being too busy or overloaded with colour. I went for the simple layout to make it more memorable.
            The adverts for T.V series ‘Skins’ were very minimalist but they had an impact at the same as showing everyone what it was about. This was what I was going for with my advert. I also took inspiration from viral advertising in the way that they don’t give very much away but this still sell the product through the buzz and the speculation. This is why I included the tagline: “What possessed him to do it?” on the advert. It relates directly to the title of the drama and it also asks audiences a question that they don’t know the answer to. This rhetorical question makes them want to tune in and find out what he did, why he did it, who he is and generally what it’s all about. Using the one image of just one person also helps to heighten the mystery. Facebook is an element of the drama, and both Facebook and the Internet are two of the most popular cultural sites for teenagers (my target audience). And so, I decided to use graphics that relate to the Internet and computer screen graphics. I made the portrait pixelated. I then placed it in a square box to resemble a 'profile picture' from a social networking site. Then I added a mouse arrow, as if it's clicking on the picture. This invites audiences to tune in, like the cursor is and find out more. As for the white background, this was a risky move. But I wanted to keep it the same background colour as Facebook for authenticity. Although computer graphics have moved forward a lot and aren't as pixelated as they used to be. I wanted to give the poster a more retro feel, because this is popular with teenagers in modern fashion. Another convention I used was the quotes from the press. Most adverts for any form of media, use press quotes. Including opinion leaders’ thoughts is a good move for selling products. I made up a quote from a The Guardian review because they are one of the more highly regarded newspapers. Our target audience may not read that paper, but because of its status, its opinions are trusted by many. I also included the logo of the radio station we decided to broadcast it on. The logo helps sell the product in the way that audiences may already recognise it. And so I have used common conventions of advert layout and content to make my advert easy to understand and read, but at the same time I have attempted to challenge the forms and conventions of radio drama adverts. I have done so by taking a different approach and instead of giving a lot of information away; I have retained it and have asked questions instead of answering them.
            I wanted my feature to essentially run alongside my advert in promoting my drama. I read a lot of magazines in my spare time and I have found that most features have a focus on a person, or group of people. Through this, whatever the person is involved in gets promoted. It’s often similar to a celebrity endorsement. I decided to focus my feature on a cast member from my drama. I made up both the questions and answers in a fictional interview with them. I promoted my drama through giving readers the actor's behind the scenes stories and what she thought about the drama. I set my feature to be released before the broadcast of the drama. So my feature can act as a momentum build up for the first airing. I tried to make the questions range from being about the actor to the drama. Through this style of writing, audiences become interested in the drama because they feel like they have an inside view of it. This relates back to the point I made earlier about audiences wanting to be involved in media more than ever. Also, media products are often consumed due to the popularity of the celebrities or actors involved in them. For instance people would watch something new that David Tennant is in because he is already popular for starring in Doctor Who. So by promoting the actor or the star of my drama at the same time as promoting the drama itself, more buzz is generated.
            In terms of layout, I based it on the layout of Radio Times magazine features. This is because The Radio Times was where the feature would be published. It may not be the ideal place to reach my target audience, but it would reach a more mature audience that might still be enticed to tune in, despite it not being aimed directly at their tastes. Like The Guardian newspaper, The Radio Times has a respected reputation. I tried to make my feature as visual as possible. But at the same time, the feature had to be interesting enough for people to read and not just skim over the pictures. Because The Radio Times has various features in each issue, if mine was to be published, it would have to stand out and make people want to read it. I used some eye catching conventions that most features use. First of all, I made each first letter of each paragraph bigger than the rest of the text, and I made them the colour red. This is to invite people to start reading. The rest of the text is black with a white background; this was to keep in with the house style of The Radio Times. I also used another form that a lot of features encompass. This is using an interesting quote from the feature and blowing it up larger than the rest of the text. It is then strategically placed in amongst the main feature. This gives audiences a quick taster of what’s going to be in the feature and makes them want to read it.
            I attempted to mix it up a little bit however by including a transparent image of my feature star behind the columns of text. It created an eye catching visual effect that kept in with the theme of my drama. She looks like a ghost, faintly visible behind the text. This also helps draw attention to the feature. In terms of the title of the article, I tried to make it work with the image by having the portrait under the word "under" and having the word "spell" stand out by making it a different colour to the rest of the text and spacing the letters out. This is the word that connotes the super natural themes in the drama. I decided on my main image because it's an action shot. The composition places the subject directly in the middle, the background isn't too distracting and the fact that she is laughing makes the feature seem like a fun read. I have used the conventions of Radio Times features to replicate their style to suite my feature. I have also used basic conventions of any magazine feature with my choice of content and images. I have tried to make it appeal to my target audience by giving a lot of focus to visuals. I have tried to challenge forms and conventions of features by being a bit more creative with my placement of images and text. I think if I was to do it again though, I would try and create more of an original layout design.
            The plan for my advert and my feature was to have the advert released early on, months before the first broadcast of my drama to create a buzz. Then the feature would be a follow up, shedding more light on the drama, just before its release. Then the drama itself would be broadcast, hopefully generating a buzz and a demand for the rest of the series. The three pieces would overall combine to address the target audience by the advert telling them that the drama is going to be broadcast, getting them interested in it and creating speculation over what it is about. The feature would then let them know more about the drama, and the exclusive thoughts of one of the cast members, generating more excitement pre-release and making audiences feel as though they know it better. So after weeks of knowing little, they are finally let in on what it’s all about, this will then make them want to hear it. The drama itself is the main product, and hopefully it brings in an audience. Once the drama is heard, more publicity will follow, priming audiences for the next episode. Reviews of it in magazines and on blogs will appear, and a lot of free publicity would come its way.

I have taken screen shots throughout the production of my TV guide feature to show it's progress. At first I was certain that I was going to use the edited image of Teena from my test adverts. It fitted well with the layout, and was still effective as a striking image.

But as the production went on, I decided on using a full image. Because most of the features I looked at had a main image that was of the star in their surroundings. I chose a more appropriate image with my model working with her surroundings. It made the feature more visual. I still wanted to keep my original main image however, and so I incoperated it into the second page of my feature. I did this by editing the image in InDesign.

My first step was Object - Arrange - Send To Back. Next I clicked Object - Effects - Transparency and made the image faded enough so the text could be read. It also created an eye catching visual effect, that kept in with the theme of my drama. She looks like a ghost, faintly visible behind the text.

I included some basic conventions throughout production such as making the first letter of each paragraph large to catch the reader's eye. Another thing I made sure of was having the text in columns. In terms of the title of the article, I tried to make it work with the image by having the portrait under the word "under" and having the word "spell" stand out by making it a different colour to the rest of the text and spacing the letters out. This is the word that connotes the super natural themes in the drama.

With the colour scheme, I stuck to both the colours I used with my adverts and the colour scheme used in all of the Radio Times features I looked at. Black and white is the easiest to read, with black text over a white background. I stuck to this convention of features. But to make the feature specific to my drama, I included dashes of red to make it stand out. Red connotes certain themes included in my drama; passion, danger and horror/blood.

The decided on my main image because it's an action shot. The composition places the subject directly in the middle, the background isn't too distracting and the fact that she is laughing makes the feature seem like a fun read.