Radio Drama - directing, acting, technical, learning & teaching, researching, styles, genres

Step by step instruction from Alan Beck.

Learn about radio drama on this site along with my book - Beck, Alan, Radio Acting, London: A & C Black (1997) ISBN 0-7136-4631-4

This is a complete curriculum of scripts, techniques, advice, sound files - effects and atmoses (with no copyright and so free to use), detailed script commentaries, etc. -

STARTING

STUDENT

RESEARCH

TEACHER

THEORY

INDEX

LESSON PLAN

RADIO SOAPS

'WRAP PACK' SOAP

BBC EDITORIAL GUIDELINES

COPYRIGHT

AUDITIONS

ANALYSING RADIO DRAMA

DIRECTING THE ACTOR

FREE SOUND FILES

Latest web site - Radio Soap (serial drama) - HOW TO - advice by Alan Beck - production, scripting, post-production, marketing, web site, 'logging' .....

You are welcome to use this material with no copyright restriction. Radio drama benefits! IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS, PLEASE EMAIL TO : radio@savoyhill.co.uk

Academic material on this site is © Alan Beck. See more of Alan Beck's work at http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/WFAE/readings/beck/

ON THIS SITE

First QUESTIONS - 'HOW DO I'

Opening issues	Setting the scene	Structuring the plot
Production issues in detail	Styles of production, directing and post-production	Theoretical issues & writing-up your project
Experimental pieces and being adventurous	ADVICE ON HOW TO USE THIS SITE	To Index 'A' to 'Z' for this site - use to navigate

Opening issues 

Here are some opening statements - creative - about training as a radio drama director

Here is how you start - at the beginning of each radio scene. Top of the scene

microphone positions

Types of plays for you to work with

You will find advice on EXPERIMENTAL radio drama pieces - being as creative as you can.

Picture of a radio drama studio, with wooden stairs and curtain.

This site is 'Radio Drama Techniques - Training as a radio drama director'.

Setting the scene

Silences and the overall design	silences	hook
signposting	Description	Atmos bed
establish presence	scene boundaries	scene boundaries - more
Perspective	sound centre and   Point of listening = POL	To index 'A' To 'Z'

Structuring the plot

Narrative	protagonist-dominated	Narrator
closure (ending)	use a 'mystery'	Realism
		To index 'A' To 'Z'

Production issues in detail - THREE PHASES OF PRODUCTION

address	naming	record 'umms' from all the characters to store
scene structure	dialogue is more than words	SOUND BOX - production sound effects archive
Getting PRESENCE into the scene - the sense of a character being 'in'
atmos and soundscapes	double frame - triple frame	clustering
underscoring music - fighting the dialogue	Noise	'moving camera' technique
Music	montage	'Will you turn that music down!' 18-second rule
drop-ins	sound pictures	memorability
number the scenes carefully with a system	voice in the mind = interiorizing	time-space rule or jump cut

Styles of production, directing and post-production

Standard production	Genre (academic) and types of plays	Storyboard - different types and how to make it work for you
chaining sentences - (characters or character and narrator)	doubling sentences - overlapping (narrator and protagonist)	economy rule
THREE PHASES OF PRODUCTION		To Index 'A' to 'Z' for this site - use to navigate

Acting

OBJECTIVE - What the character is trying to achieve

DIRECTING THE ACTOR

subtext

Auditions

Short introduction to Auditions	AUDITIONS 2	AUDITIONS 3

Training scripts

Level One: Your first script: 'The Ark' production and script for seven actors and seven production team

Level Two: Your second Script: 'The Ouija Board'

Level Three: Acting : objective-choice-action

Acting : some key terms for the actor and director

Level Four: Creative scripting and production exercises - hook and signposting, & montage, & music

Level Five: How to produce a TRAIL - What is signposting? & Some advice about radio drama directing as a student

Level Six

Directing the Monologue	Questions for the Director and Actor	Monologue Scripts

Level Seven : Script: 'We Go With'

Level Eight

Scripts: Dragon

Colourlands

The Egg-stremists

Warm Up Act

SOAP PROJECT (RADIO SERIAL DRAMA)

Soap Project - INTRODUCTION

 

Theoretical issues & writing-up your project

Begin with Analysing radio drama

writing up your student project work (critique)	realism	symbol system
language based =  logocentric	What is radio theory for?	Theory - what is it?
Voice	Radio Drama Reading List	FORMALISM
Political economy approach	Text

SO AFTER ALL THAT - WILL I GET A JOB AS A RADIO DRAMA DIRECTOR? ACTOR?

Picture of a radio drama studio - with screens - looking towards window of cubicle (director's room)

This site is 'Radio Drama Techniques - Training as a radio drama director'.

Experimental pieces and being adventurous

EXPERIMENTAL radio drama pieces	Prologue - especially for an experimental piece
	quarter-layering (experimental piece technique)
	To Index 'A' to 'Z' for this site - use to navigate

Links

BBC's 'writersroom' at http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

includes: Writers' Guidelines, How to lay out a radio script

Read examples of BBC television and radio scripts at http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/script_archive.shtml

This site is 'Radio Drama - directing, acting, technical, learning & teaching, researching, styles, genres'.

This is part of a complete curriculum of scripts, techniques (acting & directing & post-production & genre styles), advice, sound files - effects and atmoses (with no copyright and so free to use), detailed script commentaries, etc. You are welcome to use these sites with no copyright restriction.

The url of this site, 'Radio Drama Techniques', is: www.savoyhill.co.uk/technique

To Alan Beck's Radio Hub at http://www.savoyhill.co.uk

To Alan Beck's HOME PAGE at www.savoyhill.co.uk/alan

See more of Alan Beck's work at http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/WFAE/readings/beck/

IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS, PLEASE EMAIL TO : radio@savoyhill.co.uk

ADVICE ON HOW TO USE THIS SITE

This site is in development, for teaching and research. It was started first for BBC project 'Voices' - workshop conducted by Alan Beck for BBC local radio producers 28-4-2003 with Matthew Linfoot, Senior Lecturer, Westminster University, London.

Use this cluster of sites for learning about radio drama production. If you are a student, and you need also to write reflectively about your practical work (a critique), you will find ACADEMIC advice too (theory terms and explanations, and guidance). Additions will be made to this site regularly.

NAVIGATING THE SITE

To index - This will give you an A to Z of all the content of this site.

Note: If the text is too small for you to read, go to VIEW on the top toolbar, then TEXT SIZE, and choose MEDIUM, LARGE or LARGER.

Navigate this site using the back arrow on the top left of the screen.

Use the FAVOURITES on the top toolbar, and create a FOLDER for this site 'Radio Drama Techniques', and FAVOURITE the WELCOME PAGE, and also various other pages in the site. So you can go to FAVOURITES, then the folder 'Radio Drama Techniques', and click on whatever you need. So nagivation around the site becomes quicker.

Copy and paste it into WORD in the following way - ON THE WEB PAGE - Select what you want to copy Or (if all - from the Top Toolbar) EDIT and then SELECT ALL - OPEN WORD - Edit - Paste Special - Unformatted Text

Use QUESTIONS - 'HOW DO I' - to navigate this site.

Disclaimer

Any opinions expressed in this site are the personal opinions of the owner of the site. IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS, PLEASE EMAIL TO : radio@savoyhill.co.uk