FINDING THE PLOTS AND INVENTING THE STORYLINES
| See Setting up the SOAP BIBLE - the agreed details - storylines, characters, locations, production and postproduction style, etc. |
| Step-by-step, you build the SOAP BIBLE |
| Get STORYLINING as soon as possible. |
| As a part of the team, do not CLUTCH ONTO any idea for ever, be willing to REDRAFT EVERYTHING. No matter how much you love an idea of yours, you have to be willing to SURRENDER to REDRAFTING. Discussion and progress can be help up. ALWAYS AIM FOR SCRIPTING. ALWAYS GO FOR SCRIPT RESULTS. |
| Choose a SCRIPT EDITOR each day among the team. Any hold-up, the SCRIPT EDITOR takes the decision. If a Teacher is part of this, you can refer up to the Teacher as MANAGING EDITOR. |
| Do not confine yourself to realism and to today, unless you have to. We are too easily inclined to copy some well-known TV serials set in the present. Radio offers more than that. Look at Types of plays - and suggestions for productions |
| PUSH IT TWENTY OR FIFTY OR MORE YEARS AHEAD.For the WESTMINSTER SOAP PROJECT - March-April 2006 , we began with the LOCATION of a holiday park, worked out some storylines, and then discovered we needed to place it in 2012, just into the London Olympics. This gave us more freedom. This soap is not to be judged by whether it matches up to conditions now. ('I don't believe that's true.' That could not happen like that.') But our storylines are more elastic and we can expect more imagination from our listeners. |
| Time-travel - your listeners will love it! |
| You don't have to be 'different' or 'original' - in the negative sense. We enjoy so many stories on TV, DVDs, that we tell each other, reading. YOUR COMBINATION OF WHAT IS OUT THERE IN OUR COMMON CULTURE IS WHAT MATTERS. It is your mixture that is original and entertaining. And combine this with the soap style - what you discover in postproduction, in radio drama techniques. See Alan Beck's other site - Radio Drama - directing, acting, technical, learning & teaching, researching, styles, genres |
SOME RESEARCH - HUNTING FOR THE BEST IDEA - THE 'HIGH CONCEPT'
| Look at your collection of DVDs, at any DVDs. |
| Find adventures in INTERNET GAMING SITES, such as http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Cliffhangers/ |
| Look up summaries of TV series |
| Dallas at http://www.ultimatedallas.com/episodeguide/cliff1.htm |
HOW TO STORYLINE
| Number the episodes and the scenes. |
| Start with Episode 1, scene 1 - that is numbered 1-1. List characters in the scene, the location, and then the main details of the scene. |
EXAMPLE OF STORYLINING - FROM THE FIRST SCRIPT MEETING
LEISURE PARK (working title)
HEROES
Feisty Girl - ROXANNE (other suggested names) Madison
Innocent Girl - ALLISON (other suggested names) Heather Bloom, Felicity,
Penny, Mandy
Streetwise Boy - RICKO (other suggested names) Barry, Jack
Inexperienced Boy - BEN (other suggested names) Geoffrey, Neil, Tim, Billy
The Boss (Male) - JIM TONIC
Additional Characters
Fitness and weights instructor - HANS
Jim Tonic's father-in-law - (name to be decided)
FIRST FOUR EPISODES (first Monday to Thursday) = CLUMP ONE - short title "Purple"
Summary:
(Episode 1) STREETWISE BOY plans to dye the swimming pool with purple dye to force time off for staff. He forces INNOCENT BOY to help with his know-how. He meets newly arrived INNOCENT GIRL, new manager of the Beauty Salon.
(Episode 2) STREETWISE BOY sneaks that evening into the swimming pool with INNOCENT BOY and equipment. They squabble, but put the mix into the pool. Cliffhanger - they hear a noise. FEISTY GIRL has also sneaked into the pool with a RANDOM GUY for some splashy midnight fun. Both couples frighten each other, accuse each other, but confess and cooperate. The dye is cast into the pool!
(Episode 3) INNOCENT BOY is on night duty. He has to maintain computers and security monitors. BOSS (JT) is also sneaking into the pool, with a companion, who we never quite hear speaking, but only grunting. INNOCENT BOY is frightened by alarm going off in pool. Can he deal with it? Only him there. He runs away. BOSS and MYSTERIOUS COMPANION splashing in pool - having fun in the dark.
(Episode 4) NEXT MORNING - troubles and delay at work - INNOCENT BOY fearful and checks out pool with STREETWISE BOY. FEISTY GIRL accusing and trying to organise. All delayed by late arrival of BOSS. He appears covered up - hiding his face. Discovery that he is dyed purple! And then that HANS is purple also!
===============================================================
EPISODE 1
1-1 (Episode 1 scene 1)
Ricko, Roxanne, Ben
INSIDE. NEW BEAUTY SALON. MONDAY MORNING.
Ricko and Roxanne are humping equipment into the newly set-up Beauty Salon
(more concrete detail needed - exactly what equipment, name of Beauty Salon).
Roxanne in charge and urging on Ricko.
Ricko wanted a few days off to go to a stag do, his brother's, in Amsterdam, but can't get time off. He was really looking forward to the delights of Amsterdam and thinks he has been due this after a lot of work in the last weeks.
He is annoyed at BOSS JT (Jim Tonic), has just been told 'no' and then hatches a plan to get revenge and to disrupt the LEISURE PARK and they will not have to work for a few days, but still be paid.
1-2
Short radio ad for LEISURE PARK which gives the listeners more information
about the SET-UP.
1-3
Ricko, Ben
(LOCATION?)
To do this, Ricko needs to get Ben involved as Ben is trusted with the
keys to the building. Ricko learnt in school that if you put athlete's
foot treatment stuff (potassium permangenate) into a swimming pool, it
dyes the water purple for 3 days and anyone that comes in contact with
the water gets dyed purple for that amount of time too.
Ricko persuades or forces Ben to get involved with this scam. Ricko then has a message on his pager or mobile to go to reception.
1-4
Another short radio ad for LEISURE PARK which gives the listeners more
information - this will be ironically added to by 1-5. All is not as advertised
in this place!
1-5
Ricko, Allison
(LOCATION?)
Ricko has met Allison and is in the middle of showing her round. They are
in that section which has just been advertised in 1-4. Ricko gives the
real information - this is a sort of a rip-off and the equipment does not
work well. Ricko is very attracted to Allison, and after all, he is streetwise
boy. Allison, as innocent girl, does not respond, but is very keen to get
to the Beauty Salon and on with her new work. Ricko tries to make the most
of the long way around.
WE NEED A CLIFFHANGER HERE.
Is there a sudden crisis? Some message on the tannoy system? Is this the
first time we hear the voice of the boss, JIM TONIC?
To WELCOME PAGE
Radio Soap (serial drama) - HOW TO MAKE IT
Five-minute episodes - or short episodes
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 how to make a short-form soap - entertaining (above all) and you can include issues (issues that could influence the listeners' behaviour).
Further: production, scripting, web site, marketing, focus group meetings, drop-in script, copyright material logging, trails, soap launch.
LINKS WITH OTHER SITE
Radio Drama - directing, acting, technical, learning & teaching, researching, styles, genres
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. -
Contact: [email protected]
This site's address: http://www.savoyhill.co.uk/soap/index.html