Music signature tune = SIG TUNE - 10 secs. top & bottom of episode

Your listeners will recognise it. It signals that serial they'll come to love!

SIG 'INTRO' - 'SIG OUTRO'

See Music - underscoring, signature tune (for soap or play), emotional, dramatic (on the RADIO DRAMA site)

 This requires careful selection. You have to plan from the beginning.
 ONE OF THE FIRST TASKS IN PRE-PRODUCTION / PRODUCTION.
 Your listeners will form an emotional relationship with the 'sig'. You will get very used to hearing it, in POSTPRODUCTION.
 The sig tune (about 10 seconds) has to be FADED IN and FADED OUT. This is at precisely at the same edit points for each episode. Otherwise, the episodes will sound sloppy.
 SIG 'INTRO' - 'SIG OUTRO': These are the top (beginning) and bottom (ending) of each EPISODE. You will probably have the same music - exactly - for the SIG 'INTRO' and the SIG 'OUTRO'.
 The SIG is your front-of-shop. It's the first the listeners hear of your product.
 The SIG will suit your GENRE and STYLE and ENTERTAINMENT VALUES.

SELECT THE 10 SECONDS APPROX. THEME + COPYRIGHT + ANNOUNCEMENT

 WHAT TO DO: Choose 10 seconds music. (Music only - no sung words (lyrics) to be included.)
  Copyright permission needed to use this music excerpt. The radio station, or internet broadcast has to pay.
  See Copyright - PERFORMING RIGHTS PAYMENTS - YOU HAVE TO 'LOG' ALL COPYRIGHT MATERIAL, AND ESPECIALLY MUSIC - 'needle time'
  WHERE TO FIND THE 10 SECONDS 'SIG' : Intro music for a song, music break in the middle of a song, instrumental music, music styles such as drum and bass.
  The theme (music break) of a well-known song might suit?
  Something tuneful and distinctive. It will be come to be recognised by your listeners. Here is another 'fix' of that radio serial they like!

EDITING - PUTTING THE SIG TO WORK

Scene boundaries - 'hard' into / 'soft' into - silence - music bridge

Scene boundaries - CHART FOR CHOICES

POSTPRODUCTION

 
 
 
 
 

PROBLEM: MUSIC VERSUS MUSIC

 The SIG is the transition from the previous programme, in the flow of broadcasting. The radio presenter will read the script you provide. And then CUE IN the SIG 'INTRO'.
 Crossfade the SIG under the radio presenter's announcement.
 The SIG crossfades into the first scene. AVOID MUSIC-TO-MUSIC CROSSFADE. It rarely works.
 Final scene of the episode which crossfades into the 'outro SIG' - the same rule applies (mostly).AVOID MUSIC-TO-MUSIC CROSSFADE.
 

 

Going out in the last scene of the episode on music which then has to crossfade with the signature tune.

This must be carefully handled and is best avoided.

You will meet this problem if you have underscoring music in this scene.

Best fade the underscoring music out and leave some significant phrase to end the scene. And fade the signature tune in under this last spoken phrase.

The same problem occurs if your first scene begins with music, but this is more easily handled.

As we always use a 'soap radio station' in the plot, the pop standards played on the station or a music ident frequently start the first scene of an episode.

Listen to other soaps and radio plays for guidance.

MUSIC SIG OR NON-MUSIC SIG?

 

 

 

 

 

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

See INDEX 'A' TO 'Z' (RADIO SOAP SITE)

See also 'Radio Drama - directing, acting, technical, learning & teaching, researching, styles, genres'. See INDEX to navigate also.  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.

Academic material on this site is Creative Commons License Alan Beck is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Learn about radio drama on this site along with my book - Beck, Alan, Radio Acting, London: A & C Black ISBN 0-7136-4631-4 Available on Amazon. CLICK HERE.

To the WELCOME PAGE for Alan Beck's sites. See more of Alan Beck's work.

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


 

Read more about: sig and music
Fastest SFTP (SSH) on the planet FREE Go FTP