Radio Drama: LO1 TASK 3

In this essay, I will be critically comparing and evaluating two different radio
dramas. One of which is a traditional drama and the other is a post-modern.
Traditional radio dramas follow typical structure consisting of more than one
character and strong storylines sometime including a narrator. These linear
storylines are quite basic so they are therefore easy to follow, consisting of a
problem arising that needs to be solved. Unlike traditional, post-modern dramas,
cause the listener to question the content rather than give answers. My chosen
post-modern radio drama is The Blind Mans Confession, which is a
thriller/horror radio drama about a man who murders a police officer and then
held at gunpoint by a criminal. A gunshot sounds and it is up to the viewer to
interoperate who is shot. The story is a flashback on the mans experience. The
traditional radio drama I have chosen to use is The Archers. Based in a fictional
town called Ambridge, it follows the day-to-day life of the family and the issues
that arise between them. The Archers is an radio soap much like EastEnders with
reoccurring characters amongst every episode however obviously lacking the
visual element. I will be analysing the episode in which Brian is helping Debbie
deliver costumes to a dress rehearsal.
Music in radio drama is incredibly important for both genres as it is a great way
to setting a scene and conveying an emotion to the listener. Music plays at the
start of The Archers, which gives the drama a traditional feel. The music sets the
scene of a drama and helps give the audience an idea of what is going on.
Different to The Archers, The Blind Mans Confession is a horror story and that is
obvious from the music. The music is attention grabbing and slowly fades as the
story begins.
Narration is a common technique a director will use to communicate large
amounts of information to an audience in a short amount of time. Narrators
speak directly to the audience and can be conveyed in third or first person. An
example of narration is in the start of A Blind Mans Confession in which the
main character speaks directly to the audience as if he is reading us a story.
Accent and dialect is incredibly important in radio drama as they help distinguish
where someone is from. In The Archers, it is apparent straight away that they are
from the English countryside thanks to their accents. The makes the viewers
rightly assume that the characters live on a farm. The convocations between the
characters is relaxed showing there is no awkwardness between the characters.
The speech from The Blind Mans confession is spoken in a low voice creating a
sense of suspense. The serious tone of his voice starts the drama in a way that is
continued throughout.
The Archers begins with the characters outside which can be distinguished from
the sounds of birds tweeting in the background. This sound is usually associated
with the feeling of being relaxed, something that most people associate the
countryside being. You can hear the mud beneath the characters feet moving
which indicates that the characters are moving. Using sounds like this help a
listening audience member paint a picture of the scene in their own mind and by
using very specific sounds the scene can be set quite easily. The characters
speak with a received pronunciation, suggesting that the characters are from an
upper class background. Compared to The Archers, The Blind Mans Confession
leaves a lot up to interpretation whilst The Archers tells everything straight. This
contrasts heavily.
The majority of information in The Archers is conveyed through dialogue rather
than narration; this is done so that the audience are engaged in whats
happening constantly however making the length of time it takes for a situation
to be completely understood longer. The Archers uses a lot of aural signposting
to make up for the lack of narration. This is done by using sound to create an
image in the listeners mind. A great scene to analyse where aural signposting
takes place is the party scene in The Archers. You can tell it is a party thanks to
the sounds of people talking and glasses being clinked together.
Chronological development is how the story is told. It means a linear structure
having a clear beginning, middle and end. The Archers follows this in every
episode however techniques such as flashbacks are used in A Blind Mans
Confession to demonstrate how horrific the events that happened are.
Very popular amongst soaps on television and radio are cliff-hangers. These are
what happens next? moments that are in place to make the audience want to
continue watching the series after an episode finishes and The Archers does this
at the end of most episodes. In the episode I analysed the show leaves the
audience wondering if Richard and Debbies relationship is going to progress
whilst awaiting Elizabeths reaction to finding out about it. To transition from
scene to scene the director of The Archers uses fades quite frequently. This helps
tell the audience when a scene starts and finishes.
Characterisations or the building of characters is used a lot throughout radio
dramas and other productions altogether. This really helps the audience connect
to the characters presented to them as the audience feels as if they have too
progressed alongside the character as if they have gone on a journey with the
character. A writer may try to build a character through their accent, how they
talk and their mannerisms in radio as sound is the only sense a director can use
to give information. An example of this is in The Blind Mans Confession where
we feel unsympathetic to the character due to his rash and dangerous behaviour.
What this drama does well is it slowly makes you feel for sympathy for the
character as the drama goes on which is a good journey for the audience to go
though.
Credits and Titles are used at the end and start of most productions. The Archers
uses music (theme tune) as its opening title to help the audience know exactly
when the show has started and that they are listening to The Archers. Continuity
announcers can read titles before productions start and/or the credits after.
The target audience of a radio drama is incredibly important knowledge to know
before creating it. The Archers understand their audience which is middle aged
to elderly people. This is why they feature characters of these ages for the
audience to relate to. This helps the listeners connect to the characters.
Dramatic Reconstruction is a technique used by both of the analysed radio
dramas in order to make the audience feel emotion over what they are listening
to. In The Blind Mans Confession the director tries to convey the emotion of fear
to the audience through ambient noises and silence. Sound effects such as the
beating of a heart also convey a feeling of tension and importance.
The Blind Mans Confession starts with the main character driving down some
dark country road through the woods. This is obvious because of the language
used that refers to the woods. Load music and the cars engine can be heard but
not addressed which leads the audience to believe the character is driving very
fast. In the next scene the car crashes. The following music is dark and quiet;
this goes with the tone of the characters voice that sounds incredibly
unenthusiastic and dead. Silence is used to emphasis the intensity of the
situation and helps transition from one scene to the next. Aural signposting is
used throughout to update the story as it unfolds. An example of this is at the
very start where narrator talks about his experience before moving the scene
along. The ending is vague but conclusive as to not leave the ending up to
interpretation.
Characterisation in the drama is quite open. A lot is learnt about the character
when he is forced into giving a reason as to why he should not lose his life. From
his excuses, you learn that he has a family. The story is non-linear and set in the
past, which is different to The Archers as The Archers has a linear narrative.
The story hints at more adult themes such as sexuality with terms such as
virginity used. This helps make the drama seem more real and dark, as it does
not shy away from controversial themes that help create a dark and unhappy
atmosphere.
Finally, the duration of a production affects the content greatly. Short dramas are
ensured to contain interesting action throughout whereas longer drama
narratives tend to have a build-up and a climax before coming to an end. Both
studied radio dramas are about 15 minutes long with contrasting narratives.