Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real

media products?
To help find the conventions commonly used in radio dramas, I deconstructed three radio plays to
find what is common among them. The three I choose were Mirandas Joke Shop, first played on
BBC Radio 2 during August and September 2008 and was directed by Dawn Ellis, Doctor Whos
Energy from the Dalek, directed by Nicholas Briggs and being firstly being played in April 2012 and
Neil Gaimans Neverwhere, directed by Heather Larmour, Dirk Maggs and firstly played on BBC
Radio 4 in March 2013. I choose these radio dramas as they were different enough from each other
that I could see their common threads while also having some relation to each other through setting or
genre. Furthermore, to help easily identify the conventions, I decided to break them down into the
micro elements of speech, sound effects, music and editing. While some convention are from the
format of a radio drama, I have also looked at some conventions seen in the fantasy genre I chose for
my products.
Speech:
From looking at the radio dramas, speech and what it signifies is extremely important. One of the
conventions was the use of accents. In Neverwhere, a James McAvoys character has a scottish
accent although he is living in London. This convention was important for both of those radio dramas
as it allowed the drama to tell the audiences whether a character was from a particular social class or
region in Britain. The radio dramas I looked at did this to create a sense of isolation for a character
showing how they are different and how they possibly do not fit in with their surrounds. For myself,
and the radio drama, I decided to challenge the convention of accents by not using it. In my radio
drama, the magicians are supposed to be living among humans therefore, they must blend in. As a
result, by creating an isolation between human and magicians seemed unusual and unbefitting of
what I was trying to create. Moreover, the idea of having magicians being so close to humans and
them not knowing about the magicians reinforced the idea of how close they are and highlight the idea
of how there is another world which humans would not know about.
Secondly, in speech, an important convention comes from what the characters are saying. In radio
dramas, the audience can only see what is going on which means anything you wish for the
characters to convey, whether it is direct or indirect, must be done through their dialogue. In
Mirandas Joke Shop, Miranda gets mistaken for a man when she is called sir. Through this small
piece of dialogue, the audience are told about Mirandas appearance being masculine, helping them
to imagine what she looks like. Her reaction to his comment also allow the audience to make a
judgement on the type of person she is. In my radio drama, I have tried to develop this convention by
adding large amounts of information into small amounts of dialogue. This is so the audiences could
get enjoyment from listening to the drama several times. For example, Taurus talks about how she
had a voodoo witch girlfriend, telling the internal and external audience she is a lesbian. This along
with matching flowers to Lauras eyes indirectly shows how Taurus has feelings for Laura, despite it
being their first meeting. I have used this convention as the dialogue furthers the story, tells the
audience what is happening and is entertaining keeps the target audience engaged in the story I was
trying to tell. This would keep the radio drama interesting to those who would be regular listeners and
new ones.
Sound effects:
A convention commonly used in radio dramas is using sound effects as indexical signifiers. This
convention results in using stereotypes of a certain area and playing into peoples connotations of that
area. This is seen in Mirandas Joke shop when a bell is used to tell the audience a new character
has entered or left the shop and in Energy from the Dalek when thunder is used to connote rain.
Through the use of diegetic sound effects, the radio drama sets the is allowed to set the scene without
having to explain it because of the audience already associating a sound with it. In my radio drama, I
used sound effect of cars driving by to suggest an urban setting for the radio drama. As well, to show
a transition of settings, I decided to record the sound of a squeaking door closing to suggest that the
scene was now taking place indoors and in an area which wasnt looked after. I used this convention
not only because it was easy to use and mimic, resulting in the audience to understand the setting of
the scene, but it also allowed me to start the story of my radio drama without having to describe the
scene to my audience. This allowed me to create a story driven plot which would engage the
audience and keep them listening to The Magicians Circle.

A convention used for the genre of fantasy, in a radio drama, is using sound effects which arent
usually associated with something. In my radio drama, I needed a sound for the monsters Taurus and
Laura fight. Originally, I followed this convention by using the hiss of a fizzy drinks bottle being slowly
opened. I did this as I thought the sound of the carbon dioxide being released would sound weird and
unrecognisable so people would connect the monsters with being different. However, the sound was
too different resulting in the audience not understanding what was going on. So to make the sound
more stereotypical, so the audience member could understand what was going on, I changed the
sound effect to an alligators roar as I thought it would be more appropriate. This occasion is not the
only time I have struggled with sound effects as a major problem I had came from using sound effects
to create the atmosphere for the bar.
Music:
Music is radio dramas can either be used as a big or small part in the overall production. This is
because music is usually used to either add to the setting or mood of the scene. In Neverwhere,
tense and fast music is used when Door is being chased. The music in this scene adds to the
atmosphere and plays into the uncertainty of Doors future. In my radio drama, I have used this
convention as relaxing diegetic music is used in the background at the beginning of the bar scene.
Originally, to create the atmosphere of the bar, I had used sound effects of slot machines; however, I
found it didnt work resulting me changing it to music. The music I used should help relax the
audience and create the bar setting around the characters. Contrastingly, in the same scene, the
music cuts out as the electricity stops. The omission of music from that moment onwards tells the
audience that something is going to happen. As a result, it helps tonally shift the scene into the fight
sequence where Taurus and Laura battle the monsters. My use of music, which both uses and
challenges the convention both are used to help create the setting and mood. I did this as it indicates
to the audience the atmosphere of what is going on. As a result, the audience can feel empathetic
towards the characters as they can relate to the characters in my radio drama whether they feel relax
or tense.
Another convention of music is using it in the titles. This convention is used in many of the titles in a
radio drama resulting in my using of the convention. The music choice for this is important as it set the
audience up for the radio drama. This resulted in me using whimsical and mysterious style music to
tell the audience what The Magicians Circle will be like.
Editing:
To keep the steady pace of the story, all the radio dramas I looked at used quick cuts in scene
transitions. This results in a concise story being presented to the audience. While I used quick cuts in
my radio drama to make sure no unwanted sound bled into my drama, when cutting into a new scene,
I made my cuts more relaxed. This made sure that the editing pace matched the tension of the story.
If I did used a quick cut when I presented little or no tension, the audience could feel confusion.
An editing convention which I did however use was sound levelling. In Energy from the Daleks,
sound levelling is used to distinguish whose speech is more important and how a character is moving.
In my radio drama, to give a sense of movement in the scene, I had Lauras footsteps fade in and out.
I used this convention in my radio drama as an introduction, for the audience, to Laura. By having her
literally walk into the scene, it signified to the audience that she is an important character to the story.

Ancillary tasks:
With my ancillary tasks, I chose to create a double page spread and a newspaper advert for my
radio drama. To find to the conventions surrounding a double page spread, I firstly decided where it
would be printed. This helped my research into the conventions as the articles have different
conventions based upon where they are printed. The double page spreads that I used to deconstruct
were taken from The Radio Times and used either a behind the scenes article, which I used one
focused on Doctor who, or an interview style article, which I used one focused on David Tennant and
a New Tricks. For my newspaper advert, I looked at the posters of Terry Pratchetts Good Omens,
Torchwoods The Dead Line and a radio adaptation of Star Wars.

Double page spread:

In the double page spread, many of the conventions came for the layout and structure of a double
page spread rather than the content. For example, all the double page spreads I looked at included
art based on the topic of the article. In the Doctor who article, images of the Tardis, a recognisable
icon of the series, was shown. I followed this convention by using the iconography of Taurus as the
image is also used in my newspaper advert. The art used gives a visual representation of my radio
drama, which is essentially being advertised, but it is also used to be eye catching. As the audience
read through the magazine, Taurus, on the right side of the spread, will be the first thing the audience
sees when they turn the page. Through the pictures taken, the audience will be able to identify the
genre of the radio drama helping them to decide whether or not they wish to read it.
Another convention shown in double page spreads is the inclusion of when the programme they are
advertising is playing. This usually is usually shown as a subtitle, under the main heading. I decided to
follow this convention as the double page spread is an advertisement for my radio drama. By having
the information to tell the audience when and where they can listen to it, the audience of aware of the
shows presence and can decide whether or not they wish to tune in.
A convention seen in all the double page spreads I decided to follow was the folio that sits at the
bottom of the page. The folio is used to display the page numbers and the publication date of the
magazine. I have used these conventions as the page numbers help the audience navigate through
the magazine and tell the audience whether the information told is up to date.
In advertisement, the use of colour is important. In the article about David Tennant, he wears a
striking red and black jumper against a white background to make him stand out to the reader. In my
spread, I have used the idea of contrasting colours. Through the black background of the spread, I
have made the art in my spread vibrant with colours as Taurus has a warm red flame, which would
draw the audiences eyes to, while Laura wears a pink top to help define her against the background. I
believe the use of colour is important as if the audience casually skim through the magazine, the
colours used will draw the audience into the article. As a result, they would then wish to continue
reading the article.

Newspaper

advert:

In my newspaper advert, the main convention came from including the relevant information needed
to tell the audience where and when they can listen to the radio drama. I decided in my advert to
develop this convention by also including information the address for the bbc radio four website. By
adding the website, the advert indirectly tells the audience where they can go if they want more
information.
Another convention seen throughout the adverts I deconstructed was the use of font. In Terry
Pratchetts Good Omens, the font of the title is written to look like stone. This could have been used
`to suggest a medieval or fantasy setting. In my radio drama, I used a white writing and an elegant
font in the title and information on the advert to connote that the Magicians Circle is an old group that
has been around for a long time. By using the convention of font, the audience would recognise the
brand of the radio drama. This would further the image of the radio drama and making it more
appealing to an audience if people are talking about it.
Similar to the double page spread, the advert uses colour to catch the attention of the audience. By
using a similar image of Taurus holding a flame, the audience will be drawn to the contrasting colours
of the advert. This would help it in a newspaper as many advertisements use bright colours to capture
peoples attention. As a result, when compared with other adverts, mine will stand out because of it
being so different from other ones.
Overall, my media product has used, developed and challenged forms and conventions in real media
products to create a new radio drama with a double page spread and newspaper advert to promote it.