Unit 42 Radio Drama Essay

In unit 42: Radio drama for the assignment that has been allocated in
LO1, I have been ask to compare and criticize 2 different forms of radio
dramas one being traditional and another being postmodern. This essay will
be covering the codes and conventions, styles and structure of each one and
how the two different forms are similar and very different to one another. This
will include identifying certain words, speeches; narrative structures and
dramatic structure, which overall will conclude how these two genres differ. A
Postmodern Radio drama is the more update version that are soon within
shows that come under the genres of like soaps, sci-fi where they portray
shows under categories like Pastiche, spectacle, Faux TV, mystery and antihero. An example of this is Chronicle of Death Foretold by Gabriel Mrque
this is due to it showing the basic conventions of a good story, it gives up the
more updated feel of us being able to make up our own minds about the story
as well as having the evidence placed before us. Whereas Traditional within
the radio drama area is based around the traditional things that have always
been done like the typical settings and story lines that occur by however each
time are presented in different ways. The traditional part is about it the typical
components that would happen within radio dramas that have been going on
for years and years established as part of something that had always
existed. So for example this could be the way that the order of the drama is
layout creating the typical mood to typical storylines etc.
For my First example its called Day of the Dead this is seen as a
typical postmodern radio drama due to the way certain words are said, the
speech between characters and the settings that creates a certain
atmosphere which is the main components madding up the postmodern
genre. The clip begins with the narrator immediately talk about how is feeling;
his thoughts towards what has happening in the past and how its now lead
him to the present time. He sounds scared and quotes a lot of words relating
to the devil and hell, which immediately links to the title Day of the dead. This
would be ones like. Whereas my second example, which is a form of
traditional, called The Archers name relates to the surname of a family who
are the main characters within the radio drama itself. Compared to the other
radio drama I feel that the Day of the Dead has a more relatable meaning to
the story itself, this makes it a lot more engaging with it audience set an
immediate mood thats linked to it. Whereas The Archers has a similar
meaning that it may not be as engaging and eye catching to audiences
looking for radio dramas to listen too .The immediate sound of the train
running on the track in Day of the dead, instantly lets you know the begin
location of where the drama starts. Which in this case it is the setting of being

on a railway train that leading into the city due to Fred describing where the
location is which is New Orlands.
Through out the clip of The Archers the conversation that occur between
the two characters Jill and Ruth Archer are able to set you in the country
where the radio drama is taking place, this is due to their accents and the way
certain word are pronounced or said so for example the words later and
better played at 0.51 and 1.20, this makes us immediately set the scene
based on the accents and pronunciation of words. In Day of the Dead the
narrator that talk first is definitely American, he sounds very southern as if
having been from Texas or Alabama. He said Dollar which immediately
associates with the country America. Where as The Archers example their
use of speech is pronounced different due to have a English country accent
0.25 seconds in to the episode one of the ladies say Later in a different way
to say someone who lived in the royal parts of London. They way that each of
the Radio dramas use they are using the accents to immediately set the sort
of area in which its taking place, so you can picture it in your mind exactly
what its like and the stereotypical things associated with them. Having the
country accent makes you picture the typical environment that they would be
in, this case its being in the country. So there would be a lot of fields with
small local villages dotted around and a lot of farmland surrounding the areas.
The ambience that is taken from both the traditional and postmodern
are both portrayed in a different way of creating the scene though background
noises and sound effects. At the beginning of The Archers there isnt any
form of background noise to really set the scene of where this drama is taking
place. Ambience is a key component within radio drama as they are the
necessary noises need to make the audience think about the create scene
and mood that they are trying to portray. Whereas the Day of the Dead sets
the scene of it all from the very beginning it immediately builds up the setting
creating the instant mood from 40 seconds in you heard the immediate
background noise of train moving fast on the train track making the high
pitched tune of the steam then the continuous guitar tune repeats to play from
the narrators introductions. This sets the scene immediately for this particular
radio drama therefore bring the ambience in from the start. Having the guitar
continuously playing the same song creates a form of tension, which is vital to
create the mood through an audio form. From both examples you can tell that
Day of the dead shows a lot ambience that The Archers this means even
though it was a one stand radio drama it was very popular due to the way it
was able to create visual effects through the use of the audio cues.
Between the two dramas themselves each one has a completely different
target audience so there has to contain certain appropriate components when
it comes to the planning and development of the radio drama. With the
postmodern example of Day of the Dead when this radio drama would have

been scripted it would have needed to have chosen a certain target audience
so in this case it would be adults aged from fifteen onwards who have a pure
interest in the genre of horror. You can tell this by the way that the script is
written, that will be their priority through planning the script. For example in
the introduction by Fred Greenhalgh he says Flames came across my fingers
and I jumped through the devil that night instead of Emily this type of speech
immediately creates that tension of scary and mystery to the radio drama, and
its all be created before the actual present story has begun. Due to the fact
that the radio drama does contain any form of violence this is what makes it
targeted more at the young adults and those who are entertained by the
horror genre. Whereas the The Archers the traditional example has a
completely different outlook the appropriateness of the audience compared to
the last this example, we can tell this by the present language used
throughout this radio drama. For example the woman who are having a
conversation towards the end of drama actually beginning to talk about the
suffragettes and the WI for woman, this immediately lets us know that the
radio drama is targeted at older woman from forty upwards as the woman
sound a lot older and sophisticated with their use of words like interesting
piece of news the way the older woman says in make us immediately know
that she is more older and not using slang with the younger generation today.
The ambiences of both of these radio dramas are a way of being able to
identify the setting through the uses of background noise. Its seen as a
component that is the key for producing a radio drama, it sets the scene
throughout. In the Radio drama Day of the Dead from the beginning after
Fred Greenhalgh has finished his introduction, the radio drama immediately
sets the scene with the background noise of the train speeding along the train
tracks as you can hear mumbling people as the train is moving, meaning that
it is clearly crowded. Throughout the drama as Fred goes into the city of new
Orlands you can hear the sounds of cars and taxi driving along the streets,
taxi men shouting and cars horns going, this immediately creates that city
feeling for the audience when listening. Whereas The Archers dont have a
lot of background noises that go on throughout the radio drama, but at the
beginning when the woman are talking about the WI and Jennifer reuniting
with an old friend there are background noises of footsteps coming into the
room as an older lady comes in between times to drop off items and engages
in conversations.
The music that is played at the beginning of The Archers is very upbeat and
enthusiastic from the very beginning (0.00-0.18), which immediately engages
the audience as it creates a funny and happy mood of emotion. Whereas the
Day of the Dead is completely different as it has a form of deeper
background music from the beginning as the introduction is going in, this also

creates a type of mood that the audience should be feeling. In this case it
would be tension and mystery as this is the genre of the radio drama itself.
The Aural Signposting is a similar way of creating the setting of the scene
through the use of audio cues like accents, sound effects, background noises
etc. within the radio drama The Archers the Aural signposting is quite difficult
to identify the whereabouts of the location through background noise, the
main component that seems to stand out is actually the accents. So with this
particular traditional form of radio drama the accent is very strong as if located
at the countryside, portraying typical farmers accents from places like
Worcestershire. Whereas the Day of the dead is a lot more in depth with the
aural signposting convention. An example of this would be at the very
beginning of the radio drama immediately the scene is set. The use of the
background noises, so in this case the trains speeding up on the tracks. As
you can tell the postmodern radio drama has a lot more aural signposting
thats able to create a scene from the very beginning. It goes a lot more in to
depth with this particular convention, this makes it a lot more engaging and
really puts a visual setting into the audiences head when listening.
Within radio dramas one way to capture the audiences attention keeping
them gripped and engaged they would need to use conventions like sounds
and Silence to create the ideal atmosphere for the storyline. Within the
postmodern radio drama Day of the dead they way that they use silence is to
immediately create tension from the very beginning therefore portraying the
radio dramas genre of horror. In a particular scene around 3.50 into the drama
Fred GreeenHalgh says to the messenger How did you know it was a her?
Therefore immediately creating that convention of silence to portray that he is
surprised and confused that this guy he has just met knew about Emily
already. It builds the tension within the certain drama which again links
straight back to the genre of horror. Whereas the traditional radio drama of
The Archers has a less in depth approach with this convention in the radio
drama.
Chronological development also links to the structures of the Radio dramas
themselves. So in this case The Archers shows the typical time in linear
manner we can tell this by the way that the story is portrayed itself. Over the
duration of the drama itself, its split between scenes which you can tell by
listening to the different conversations through the radio drama. All of the
fourteen minutes of the radio drama is all set around the same time
throughout the day it starts off with planning the event of the Suffragettes WI
celebration and then switches between other family situation like Visits from
old friends and adopted someones child ect. Then leads on to later on in the
evening when they are also ready setting up the celebration. However the
approach from the radio drama Day of the dead came across as similar to
The Archers but was able to portray it in a more unique way. You can tell this

by the way that the story is told. It starts from the point of view of Fred himself
giving a small summary of the actual story before actually starting from the
beginning. The way that the chronological development is different is how the
overall production was a lot more gripping and engaged yet straight forward in
the way that the story flowed.
When listening to both of the radio dramas they showed two components,
which are narration and direct speech. With the Day of the dead radio drama
it definitely uses these two components a lot throughout the radio drama itself.
The Narration and Direct speech is used a lot in third person by Fred
Greenhalgh in the radio drama these is due to him talking as if its his mind
speaking his thoughts and feeling to the audience, getting them engaged and
gripped. For example from 0.05- 0.50 at the beginning of the radio this part is
Fred making a lot of connections to the devil and how his lover Emily was lost
and needed to be found. This makes them form some form of connection with
the audience to get them asking question as they want to keep watching it
more and more. However the Radio Drama The Archers doesnt contain this
form of narration which makes it a lot less engaging to the audience aa they
arent able to grip the individuals feeling as quickly leaving a lot of mystery as
to how they are actually feeling or what they are thinking. This makes it a lot
less interesting for someone who wants to be gripped from the very beginning
really emphasising the impact it has on you as a reader.
Narrative structures are very different between Day of the Dead and The
Archers you can tell this by the way that the story is told and the form of order
that it is in. So in this case for the radio drama Day of the dead the narrative
structure thats clearly presented is a form of linear structure this is due to the
way that the story follows throughout from the beginning straight through to
the end. Its uses the order where Fred Greenhalgh is on his way to New
Orleans, then a strange man ends up helping him find Emily his lost lover etc.
This is completely different to the way that its set out in the radio drama The
Archers however is a Fractured structure this is due to the way how the
ordered of the episode is structured its based around the different family
within the location of Ambridge and fictional place within the countryside. This
means that this type of structure, tens to jump back and forth in time, so this
radio drama olds similar feature in the sense of it jumping between scenes of
different situation between the families included within the drama itself.
Duration of the both clips its particularly important when it comes to keeping
the listener engage from the beginning right through till the end. With a horror
genre like the example of day of the dead, the length of it went on for around
an hour long, this meant that through they would need to keep the audience
gripped. Even though this was a one-stand radio drama it got amazing
reviews, due to the way the thrilling horror gripped them from the every
beginning. For example the use of Fred Greenhalgh would you a lot of

narrative context meaning that he would be speaking through his mind and
then converting back to the present tense of the scenery and the atmosphere
created between the characters. Whereas The Archers portray a different
approach this clip is around 14 minutes long due to it being series of episode.
But with this particular example of traditional two of the scene within this
particular episode the beginning scene is between to elder woman called Jill
and Ruth they are laughing a gossiping as they are preparing food for the
upcoming event, it then switches between Jennifer and David who are having
a discussion about the him wanting to adopt the young boy Henery as if he
was his own son. This is all spilt between different families, so it has similar
features that do link to this narrative structure where the patterns of events
are split through different sceneries and situations.
Development of plot is one of the most vital components of a radio drama, this
is due to you not actually being able to visually see what is happening. The
key is to make sure the listeners can understand the plot of the story from the
beginning and not get confused or bored due to lack of understanding. In this
case The Archers traditional radio drama approaches the development of the
plot in an untypical way due to the way it switches scenes, yet somehow all of
the situations meet up at the end for one celebration. This begins to confuse
the audience a bit at the every between when the situation switches between
scene but eventually adds up to the big event (Climax) where all becomes
linked making it a lot more clearer. Whereas Day of the Dead comes across
a lot more mysterious yet straight forward when it comes to the development
of the plot. It creates a sense of tension throughout making it a lot more
gripping therefore meaning that the way that the plot was development meant
that it was a complete success for getting listeners gripped and engaged
throughout the whole entire clip.
Within radio dramas its very important to be able to create a certain mood or
location through the use of sound effects, dialogue etc. With the Traditional
radio drama The Archers the moods that are created throughout are able to
portray how the atmosphere can change throughout different situations. For
example 3.00-3.14 Jenny and Ruth Archer are having a gossip conversation
about how jenny is expected a visitor names Heister. But Ruth says How
interesting in a really surprised yet worried way as if she is hiding the fact she
knows heister or there was some form of history involving him. This
immediately creates a tense atmosphere in this particular scene. However
Day of the Dead brings a different approach to the way that the storyline is
meant to create certain moods for this type of drama. In this case it would
definitely have to be the mood or fear, tension and excitement, we can tell this
due to the fact its based around a horror genre therefore creating them typical
moods to make it clear what genre its trying to portray. For example 3.50
3.55 Fred says to the messenger how did you know it was a her which due to

the occurring situation the messenger already knew about Emily but it raises
question like how did he know or what does he know. This immediately
creates a tense atmosphere which then links perfectly with the genre that its
portraying.
Titles and Credits on the radio dramas are used to bookend the story and end
knowing who has appreciated in the drama itself. So in this case the
traditional Radio drama The Archers is introduce through a theme song as its
title but doesnt really say anything about the ending credits, there is no
indication as to who is playing what role in the episode, you can find that out
on the website where the episodes are played. Whereas the other radio
drama Day of the Dead approaches the convention differently this is due to
the title sequence speaking from the narrators itself he is very seriously and
speaking formally to introduce the name of the title and the writer of the
production. Whereas the end credits is able to tell us who participated in the
radio drama.
Have Flashbacks and the use of fades is a way of signifying an ending or
changing of a scene. Or even sometimes will be used as a form of dramatic
effect. Its a way of keeping the listener as captivated by what they hear
throughout the entire radio drama. However both of these dramas didnt
contain any form of flashbacks, this was due to none of them needing to be
within the storyline. Not having a flashback means that its going in a
chronological order which makes it a lot more straight forward and easy to
follow as a viewer.
Cliff-hangers are one of the main components that are included within both
radio dramas. The cliff-hangers are there to create a more tense and exciting
ending for the audience. It leaves them with a lot of unanswered questions
and wanted to watch the next episode. In the radio drama Day of the Dead is
a one stand drama so that means only a small cliff-hanger is necessary
because there wont be one that continues after it. The cliff-hanger that is
used will still leave unanswered questions to the audience making it still very
gripping but just left unknown. Whereas the radio drama The Archers has a
massive cliff hanger at the end due to it being a series, in this case it needs to
cause a dramatic effect that leaves the audience wanting more. So the ending
to this particular episode the tension builds up towards the end as Jenny and
Tom are talking about her little boy Henrey, there is a use of silence before he
brings up anted to adopt Henrey as his own child. Its left on the note of an
undecided decision.