Our radio drama is intended for Siren FM, Lincoln’s community radio station appealing to a target audience of 9-25 year olds. This was perhaps the main reason that our characters changed from four adults at a dinner party to a family of four having dinner together on holiday, for we felt that this was more relatable and easier for the listener to appreciate. Bearing in mind that the listeners would be primarily from Lincoln, we also changed the disaster form earthquake to extreme weather conditions for after carrying out research, an earthquake in Lincoln (or England for that matter) is fairly uncommon and we did not want the drama to become comedic because of its unrealism. Our drama is relevant to the interests of young peoples as it is an ‘action’/disaster based drama. By introducing a child actor too, the storyline is more relatable to the younger listener. Our content fulfils Siren FM’s remit by being ‘creative’, through our use of sound layering and build up to create imagery.

Radio Dramas that we learnt & took inspiration from:

The Gunpowder Plot- BBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D6ulnJq2Pk

The drama opens with a soundscape (sirens, chimes) and then leads into music to fit the time period. Sound is used very creatively and used to distinguish between the different environments, which has influenced our decision to use a range of layered sounds. The style of the drama is very contextual and period, which highlights the importance of sound and our ability to portray a sense of time and place through this. For Dinner with the Brayfords it was important for us to convey the sense of sound in a small place, for the characters are in a caravan. Even the sound of rain would be different on a caravan roof than the roof of a house- we therefore tried to create a kind of ‘tin’ effect.

When the wind blows- BBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0CB7DTc6cE

The characters sound scared which makes the audience want to find out what is happening- evidently the director has carried out their job well. This drama could have worked better if there were more characters, as only two voices being heard may cause the listener to lose interest. This has influenced our decision in keeping the 4 characters in Dinner with the Brayfords, for a range of different voices can be effective to the ear as long as they are distinguishable.

Syria : Bread and Bombs by Tina Pepler- BBC Radio 4 Extra

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04t0fxk

This drama is a Black Comedy about aid workers in Syria; very good use of ambience to get the impression that characters are alone or with a group of people, depending on the setting. This particular drama emphasises the importance of silence between dialogue and scenes; this would be useful in our drama to build tension and awkwardness at the dinner table. Each voice is very distinguishable and so it is easy for the listener to recognise who is talking; this will be important when casting actors, especially in Dinner with the Brayfords which features quite a few characters; the actors will need to have contrasting voices so that the audience can follow the narrative easily.

Whilst we used online sound effects that were free, we also experimented with recording our own. Director & Producer took a Zoom recorder on to campus & experimented with the sounds of rain dripping, wind & leaves rustling. Whilst some of these were not effective & used in our drama, we were lucky enough to be able to record a helicopter as it flew over!