Q1:Inwhatwaysdoesyourmediaproductuse,developorchallengeformsandconventionsofreal

mediaproducts?

Tohelpfindtheconventionscommonlyusedinradiodramas,Ideconstructedthreeradioplaystofind
whatiscommonamongthem.ThethreeIchoosewereMirandasJokeShop,firstplayedonBBC
Radio2duringAugustandSeptember2008andwasdirectedbyDawnEllis,DoctorWhosEnergyfrom
theDalek,directedbyNicholasBriggsandbeingfirstlybeingplayedinApril2012andNeilGaimans
Neverwhere,directedbyHeatherLarmour,DirkMaggsandfirstlyplayedonBBCRadio4inMarch
2013.IchoosetheseradiodramasastheyweredifferentenoughfromeachotherthatIcouldseetheir
commonthreadswhilealsohavingsomerelationtoeachotherthroughsettingorgenre.Furthermore,to
helpeasilyidentifytheconventions,Idecidedtobreakthemdownintothemicroelementsofspeech,
soundeffects,musicandediting.Whilesomeconventionarefromtheformatofaradiodrama,Ihave
alsolookedatsomeconventionsseeninthefantasygenreIchoseformyproducts.

Speech:

Fromlookingattheradiodramas,speechandwhatitsignifiesisextremelyimportant.Oneofthe
conventionswastheuseofaccents.InNeverwhere,aJamesMcAvoyscharacterhasascottishaccent
althoughheislivinginLondon.Thisconventionwasimportantforbothofthoseradiodramasasit
allowedthedramatotelltheaudienceswhetheracharacterwasfromaparticularsocialclassorregion
inBritain.TheradiodramasIlookedatdidthistocreateasenseofisolationforacharactershowing
howtheyaredifferentandhowtheypossiblydonotfitinwiththeirsurrounds.Formyself,andtheradio
drama,Idecidedtochallengetheconventionofaccentsbynotusingit.Inmyradiodrama,the
magiciansaresupposedtobelivingamonghumanstherefore,theymustblendin.Asaresult,by
creatinganisolationbetweenhumanandmagiciansseemedunusualandunbefittingofwhatIwas
tryingtocreate.Moreover,theideaofhavingmagiciansbeingsoclosetohumansandthemnot
knowingaboutthemagiciansreinforcedtheideaofhowclosetheyareandhighlighttheideaofhow
thereisanotherworldwhichhumanswouldnotknowabout.
Secondly,inspeech,animportantconventioncomesfromwhatthecharactersaresaying.Inradio
dramas,theaudiencecanonlyseewhatisgoingonwhichmeansanythingyouwishforthecharacters
toconvey,whetheritisdirectorindirect,mustbedonethroughtheirdialogue.InMirandasJokeShop,
Mirandagetsmistakenforamanwhensheiscalledsir.Throughthissmallpieceofdialogue,the
audiencearetoldaboutMirandasappearancebeingmasculine,helpingthemtoimaginewhatshelooks
like.Herreactiontohiscommentalsoallowtheaudiencetomakeajudgementonthetypeofperson
sheis.Inmyradiodrama,Ihavetriedtodevelopthisconventionbyaddinglargeamountsofinformation
intosmallamountsofdialogue.Thisissotheaudiencescouldgetenjoymentfromlisteningtothedrama
severaltimes.Forexample,Taurustalksabouthowshehadavoodoowitchgirlfriend,tellingthe
internalandexternalaudiencesheisalesbian.ThisalongwithmatchingflowerstoLauraseyes
indirectlyshowshowTaurushasfeelingsforLaura,despiteitbeingtheirfirstmeeting.Ihaveusedthis
conventionasthedialoguefurthersthestory,tellstheaudiencewhatishappeningandisentertaining
keepsthetargetaudienceengagedinthestoryIwastryingtotell.Thiswouldkeeptheradiodrama
interestingtothosewhowouldberegularlistenersandnewones.

Soundeffects:

Aconventioncommonlyusedinradiodramasisusingsoundeffectsasindexicalsignifiers.This
conventionresultsinusingstereotypesofacertainareaandplayingintopeoplesconnotationsofthat
area.ThisisseeninMirandasJokeshopwhenabellisusedtotelltheaudienceanewcharacterhas
enteredorlefttheshopandinEnergyfromtheDalekwhenthunderisusedtoconnoterain.Through
theuseofdiegeticsoundeffects,theradiodramasetstheisallowedtosetthescenewithouthavingto
explainitbecauseoftheaudiencealreadyassociatingasoundwithit.Inmyradiodrama,Iusedsound
effectofcarsdrivingbytosuggestanurbansettingfortheradiodrama.Aswell,toshowatransitionof
settings,Idecidedtorecordthesoundofasqueakingdoorclosingtosuggestthatthescenewasnow
takingplaceindoorsandinanareawhichwasntlookedafter.Iusedthisconventionnotonlybecauseit
waseasytouseandmimic,resultingintheaudiencetounderstandthesettingofthescene,butitalso
allowedmetostartthestoryofmyradiodramawithouthavingtodescribethescenetomyaudience.
Thisallowedmetocreateastorydrivenplotwhichwouldengagetheaudienceandkeepthemlistening
toTheMagiciansCircle.

Aconventionusedforthegenreoffantasy,inaradiodrama,isusingsoundeffectswhicharent
usuallyassociatedwithsomething.Inmyradiodrama,IneededasoundforthemonstersTaurusand
Laurafight.Originally,Ifollowedthisconventionbyusingthehissofafizzydrinksbottlebeingslowly
opened.IdidthisasIthoughtthesoundofthecarbondioxidebeingreleasedwouldsoundweirdand
unrecognisablesopeoplewouldconnectthemonsterswithbeingdifferent.However,thesoundwastoo
differentresultingintheaudiencenotunderstandingwhatwasgoingon.Sotomakethesoundmore
stereotypical,sotheaudiencemembercouldunderstandwhatwasgoingon,Ichangedthesoundeffect
toanalligatorsroarasIthoughtitwouldbemoreappropriate.ThisoccasionisnottheonlytimeIhave
struggledwithsoundeffectsasamajorproblemIhadcamefromusingsoundeffectstocreatethe
atmosphereforthebar.

Music:

Musicisradiodramascaneitherbeusedasabigorsmallpartintheoverallproduction.Thisis
becausemusicisusuallyusedtoeitheraddtothesettingormoodofthescene.InNeverwhere,tense
andfastmusicisusedwhenDoorisbeingchased.Themusicinthissceneaddstotheatmosphereand
playsintotheuncertaintyofDoorsfuture.Inmyradiodrama,Ihaveusedthisconventionasrelaxing
diegeticmusicisusedinthebackgroundatthebeginningofthebarscene.Originally,tocreatethe
atmosphereofthebar,Ihadusedsoundeffectsofslotmachineshowever,Ifounditdidntwork
resultingmechangingittomusic.ThemusicIusedshouldhelprelaxtheaudienceandcreatethebar
settingaroundthecharacters.Contrastingly,inthesamescene,themusiccutsoutastheelectricity
stops.Theomissionofmusicfromthatmomentonwardstellstheaudiencethatsomethingisgoingto
happen.Asaresult,ithelpstonallyshiftthesceneintothefightsequencewhereTaurusandLaura
battlethemonsters.Myuseofmusic,whichbothusesandchallengestheconventionbothareusedto
helpcreatethesettingandmood.Ididthisasitindicatestotheaudiencetheatmosphereofwhatis
goingon.Asaresult,theaudiencecanfeelempathetictowardsthecharactersastheycanrelatetothe
charactersinmyradiodramawhethertheyfeelrelaxortense.
Anotherconventionofmusicisusingitinthetitles.Thisconventionisusedinmanyofthetitlesina
radiodramaresultinginmyusingoftheconvention.Themusicchoiceforthisisimportantasitsetthe
audienceupfortheradiodrama.Thisresultedinmeusingwhimsicalandmysteriousstylemusictotell
theaudiencewhatTheMagiciansCirclewillbelike.

Editing:

Tokeepthesteadypaceofthestory,alltheradiodramasIlookedatusedquickcutsinscene
transitions.Thisresultsinaconcisestorybeingpresentedtotheaudience.WhileIusedquickcutsinmy
radiodramatomakesurenounwantedsoundbledintomydrama,whencuttingintoanewscene,I
mademycutsmorerelaxed.Thismadesurethattheeditingpacematchedthetensionofthestory.IfI
didusedaquickcutwhenIpresentedlittleornotension,theaudiencecouldfeelconfusion.
AneditingconventionwhichIdidhoweverusewassoundlevelling.InEnergyfromtheDaleks,sound
levellingisusedtodistinguishwhosespeechismoreimportantandhowacharacterismoving.Inmy
radiodrama,togiveasenseofmovementinthescene,IhadLaurasfootstepsfadeinandout.Iused
thisconventioninmyradiodramaasanintroduction,fortheaudience,toLaura.Byhavingherliterally
walkintothescene,itsignifiedtotheaudiencethatsheisanimportantcharactertothestory.

Ancillarytasks:

Withmyancillarytasks,Ichosetocreateadoublepagespreadandanewspaperadvertformyradio
drama.Tofindtotheconventionssurroundingadoublepagespread,Ifirstlydecidedwhereitwouldbe
printed.Thishelpedmyresearchintotheconventionsasthearticleshavedifferentconventionsbased
uponwheretheyareprinted.ThedoublepagespreadsthatIusedtodeconstructweretakenfromThe
RadioTimesandusedeitherabehindthescenesarticle,whichIusedonefocusedonDoctorwho,or
aninterviewstylearticle,whichIusedonefocusedonDavidTennantandaNewTricks.Formy
newspaperadvert,IlookedatthepostersofTerryPratchettsGoodOmens,TorchwoodsTheDead
LineandaradioadaptationofStarWars.


Doublepagespread:

Inthedoublepagespread,manyoftheconventionscameforthelayoutandstructureofadouble
pagespreadratherthanthecontent.Forexample,allthedoublepagespreadsIlookedatincludedart
basedonthetopicofthearticle.IntheDoctorwhoarticle,imagesoftheTardis,arecognisableiconof
theseries,wasshown.IfollowedthisconventionbyusingtheiconographyofTaurusastheimageis
alsousedinmynewspaperadvert.Theartusedgivesavisualrepresentationofmyradiodrama,which
isessentiallybeingadvertised,butitisalsousedtobeeyecatching.Astheaudiencereadthroughthe
magazine,Taurus,ontherightsideofthespread,willbethefirstthingtheaudienceseeswhenthey
turnthepage.Throughthepicturestaken,theaudiencewillbeabletoidentifythegenreoftheradio
dramahelpingthemtodecidewhetherornottheywishtoreadit.
Anotherconventionshownindoublepagespreadsistheinclusionofwhentheprogrammetheyare
advertisingisplaying.Thisusuallyisusuallyshownasasubtitle,underthemainheading.Idecidedto
followthisconventionasthedoublepagespreadisanadvertisementformyradiodrama.Byhavingthe
informationtotelltheaudiencewhenandwheretheycanlistentoit,theaudienceofawareofthe
showspresenceandcandecidewhetherornottheywishtotunein.
AconventionseeninallthedoublepagespreadsIdecidedtofollowwasthefoliothatsitsatthe
bottomofthepage.Thefolioisusedtodisplaythepagenumbersandthepublicationdateofthe
magazine.Ihaveusedtheseconventionsasthepagenumbershelptheaudiencenavigatethroughthe
magazineandtelltheaudiencewhethertheinformationtoldisuptodate.
Inadvertisement,theuseofcolourisimportant.InthearticleaboutDavidTennant,hewearsastriking
redandblackjumperagainstawhitebackgroundtomakehimstandouttothereader.Inmyspread,I
haveusedtheideaofcontrastingcolours.Throughtheblackbackgroundofthespread,Ihavemadethe
artinmyspreadvibrantwithcoloursasTaurushasawarmredflame,whichwoulddrawtheaudiences
eyesto,whileLaurawearsapinktoptohelpdefineheragainstthebackground.Ibelievetheuseof
colourisimportantasiftheaudiencecasuallyskimthroughthemagazine,thecoloursusedwilldrawthe
audienceintothearticle.Asaresult,theywouldthenwishtocontinuereadingthearticle.

Newspaperadvert:

Inmynewspaperadvert,themainconventioncamefromincludingtherelevantinformationneededto
telltheaudiencewhereandwhentheycanlistentotheradiodrama.Idecidedinmyadverttodevelop
thisconventionbyalsoincludinginformationtheaddressforthebbcradiofourwebsite.Byaddingthe
website,theadvertindirectlytellstheaudiencewheretheycangoiftheywantmoreinformation.
AnotherconventionseenthroughouttheadvertsIdeconstructedwastheuseoffont.InTerry
PratchettsGoodOmens,thefontofthetitleiswrittentolooklikestone.Thiscouldhavebeenused`to
suggestamedievalorfantasysetting.Inmyradiodrama,Iusedawhitewritingandanelegantfontin
thetitleandinformationontheadverttoconnotethattheMagiciansCircleisanoldgroupthathas
beenaroundforalongtime.Byusingtheconventionoffont,theaudiencewouldrecognisethebrandof
theradiodrama.Thiswouldfurthertheimageoftheradiodramaandmakingitmoreappealingtoan
audienceifpeoplearetalkingaboutit.
Similartothedoublepagespread,theadvertusescolourtocatchtheattentionoftheaudience.By
usingasimilarimageofTaurusholdingaflame,theaudiencewillbedrawntothecontrastingcoloursof
theadvert.Thiswouldhelpitinanewspaperasmanyadvertisementsusebrightcolourstocapture
peoplesattention.Asaresult,whencomparedwithotheradverts,minewillstandoutbecauseofit
beingsodifferentfromotherones.

Overall,mymediaproducthasused,developedandchallengedformsandconventionsinrealmedia
productstocreateanewradiodramawithadoublepagespreadandnewspaperadverttopromoteit.