Radio Drama Theory Lesson Plan
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See STUDYING INDIVIDUAL RADIO PLAYS
These sessions can last more than one class session, as there is a lot here. But the listing of theory topics is helpful, I hope.
There will be regular updating on this page.
LESSON 1 Analysing the radio play (1)
| 1. How to analyse the radio play - INTRODUCTION SUMMARY (1) - broadcasting & techniques - broadcasting play slots in BBC radio drama. The approach through FORMALISM. |
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2. LISTENING EXERCISES 'Ten Questions for a Listener' by Darren Copland at http://interact.uoregon.edu/Medialit/WFAE/library/articles/copeland_listener.pdf See notes on Darren Copeland's Ten Questions for a Listener
HOW TO LISTEN - Listening - how people listen HOW TO LISTEN - IN THE REAL-LIFE ENVIRONMENT HOW TO LISTEN - Sound - sound effects - sound events - physics of sound |
| 3. Rick Altmann, Sound Theory . Sound Practice (Routledge 1992) pp 15-34 'The Material Heterogeneity of Recorded Sound' |
| 4. Radio Drama Techniques - on this site |
| 5. Radio as institution - DISCUSSION ISSUE: B.B.C. Editorial Guidelines |
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Radio Plays and experimental pieces to listen to: See STUDYING INDIVIDUAL RADIO PLAYS for notes on these plays TOPICS: What is radio drama? What is radio
theory and radio drama theory? What is analysis of these?
After LESSON 1 So what? Now what? A SHORT EXERCISE AFTER LESSON 1 |
LESSON 2 Analysing the radio play (2)
| 1. How to analyse the radio play - INTRODUCTION (2) - RECEPTION THEORY |
| 2. LISTENING IN THE LIFEWORLD - and how does this translate into radio drama realism? Illustrate from plays listened to this week. See RADIO DRAMA TECHNIQUES OF REALISM - a series of conventions which change through time on radio drama realism |
| Theory reading: Andrew Crisell, Understanding Radio, Routledge, 1994 - and see Chapter 7 for radio drama, Shingler, Martin and Wieringa, Cindy, On Air. Methods and Meanings of Radio (London: Arnold, 1998) chapter 2 Words, speech and voices |
| Listening - as opposed to just hearing - conscious listening; specific sensations; impressions; contemplative listening; memories; types of sounds; effects; dialogue; atmospheres; acoustics; perspective; silences; rhythm; music and underscoring music; layers-levels-soundscapes of the Lifeworld - see GARY FERRINGTON articles below. |
| Continue work in this - Rick Altmann, Sound Theory . Sound Practice (Routledge 1992) pp 15-34 'The Material Heterogeneity of Recorded Sound' |
| Radio as institution ISSUE: political economy approach - read (1) Barnard, Stephen, 2000, Studying Radio, London: Arnold - 'Institutions and systems' |
| Ditto (2) Hendy, David, Radio in the Global Age (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000) - Chapter 1 'Industry' (COURSE SITE - Library - Theory and Training) |
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Gary Ferrington, 'Keep Your Ear-Lids Open' Journal of Visual Literacy (1994) http://interact.uoregon.edu/Medialit/wfae/library/articles/ferrington_earlids.pdf Gary Ferrington, 'Audio Design: Creating Multi-Sensory Images For The Mind', Journal of Visual Literary (1993) http://interact.uoregon.edu/Medialit/wfae/library/articles/ferrington_design.pdf Gary Ferrington, 'Take A Listening Walk and Learn To Listen', http://interact.uoregon.edu/Medialit/wfae/library/articles/ferrington_listening_walk.pdf See also articles World Forum for Acoustic Ecology Online Reader, http://interact.uoregon.edu/Medialit/wfae/library/articles/ PRODUCTION Radio drama production work: Script 'Ouija
Board' Creative scripting and production
exercises - hook, signposting, montage Start researching music genres you do not know enough about. See Music Radio Plays and experimental pieces to listen
to: See STUDYING INDIVIDUAL
RADIO PLAYS for notes on these plays PRODUCTION TRAINING: Start on Adobe Audition (Cool Edit Pro)
(Folder - DIALOGUE SCENES; Folder FXs - choose from various effects in folders; Atmos - see Atmos folders.) Fixed sound centre. |
After Lesson 2
A SHORT EXERCISE AFTER GARY FERRINGTON
Invariants in radio ? - 'hierarchy of sound ' & the 'economy rule' & sonic continuity in broadcast
| What is radio drama? (3) genres - choose two types and select groups of sound effects for |
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Theory reading: Beck, Alan, 2002, The
Death of Radio? An essay in radio-philosophy for the digital
age, electronic book published by Sound Journal - Monograph -
Section 6 Section 6 No 1 hierarchy of sound (6.11) - No 2 the 'economy rule' (6.13) - No 3 sonic continuity in broadcast (6.17) |
| Listening versus the other senses - McGurk effect (illusion) - hearing AND seeing talk |
| Radio as institution ISSUE: Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) - See Barnard, Stephen, 2000, Studying Radio, London: Arnold - see 'Public Service Radio'. Start on Political economy approach |
Script 'Colourlands'
Creative directing - top of scene,
naming, address
- 'mise en scène'
Radio Plays and experimental pieces to listen
to:
Vayu Naidu, 'When', 21-2-2002, Afternoon Play
'Hotel Europa', 7-10-2000 and (repeated) 13-4-2001, B.B.C. R4,
Friday Play 1 hour
Experimental -
Joby Talbot's 'The Watchers', 21-4-2002, Between the Ears - Radio
3
See STUDYING INDIVIDUAL RADIO PLAYS for notes on these plays
PRODUCTION TRAINING:
Create a short scene: mixing some sampled dialogue + background
atmos + some effects. (Folder - DIALOGUE SCENES; Folder FXs -
choose from various effects in folders; Atmos - see Atmos folders.)
FUN - SURREAL COMEDY SCENE - MAD DIALOGUE AND EFFECTS AND BACKGROUND
MUSIC
Use the 'zzzPeople' Folder in AUDIOSPARX - 'underscoring music'
- 'underground music' etc.
LESSON 4 Genres - related to sound effects
| For sound brigade versus the work lobby - see Beck, Alan, 2000, Playing By Ear: new ways of teaching and researching radio drama, Studies in Theatre Production, 2001 1.1 following |
| What is radio drama? (4) genres (cont.) - choose two types and select groups of sound effects |
| See further RADIO DRAMA TECHNIQUES OF REALISM - a series of conventions which change through time on radio drama realism and apply to experimental piece - 'Homecoming', 9-3-2002, 45 minutes, producer Antony Pitts, Between the Ears - Radio 3 |
Script 'The Egg-stremists' & 'Warm-Up Act'
Creative directing - soundscape, double frame and triple frame
Radio Plays and experimental pieces to listen
to:
Gregory Whitehead, 'The Marilyn Room', 11-10-2002, Friday Play
1', pr Gregory Whitehead
David and Caroline Stafford, 'The Men Are From ….', 18-7-2002,
afternoon play, pr. Marc Jobst (repeat)
Experimental -
'Homecoming', 9-3-2002, 45 minutes, producer Antony Pitts, Between
the Ears - Radio 3
See STUDYING INDIVIDUAL
RADIO PLAYS for notes on these plays
| Specificities of radio - Theory reading: Beck, Alan, 2002, The Death of Radio? An essay in radio-philosophy for the digital age, electronic book published by Sound Journal - Monograph - Section 6 - Section 6 No 4 the verbocentric (6.23) |
| Gary Ferrington, 'Audio Design: Creating Multi-Sensory Images For The Mind', Journal of Visual Literary (1993) http://interact.uoregon.edu/Medialit/wfae/library/articles/ferrington_design.pdf |
| Radio as institution ISSUE: media management systems. See Political economy approach |
Radio Plays and experimental pieces to listen
to:
On location and further techniques
Gill Adams, 'Heart', 25-4-2002, Friday play 1', pr Kate Rowland
(repeat)
Gill Adams, 'Heart-attack', 2-5-2003, Friday play 1', pr Melanie
Harris (repeat)
Experimental -
'The Peggy Carstairs Report', The Wooster Group, 1-12-2002 (repeat),
30", Between the Ears - Radio 3, Festival Productions (Brighton)
See STUDYING INDIVIDUAL RADIO PLAYS for notes on these plays
LESSON 6 'Blind or invisible?' - Radio drama - a sight to behold?
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Theory reading: Beck, Alan, 1999, 'Is radio blind or invisible?
A call for a wider debate on listening-in', World Forum for Acoustic
Ecology (WFAE), electronic publication, http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/WFAE/library/articles/beck_blindness.pdf See sections 1.6 to 1.11 & chase up references in Shingler, Martin and Wieringa, Cindy, On Air. Methods and Meanings of Radio (London: Arnold, 1998) from this article. |
| Radio as institution ISSUE: B.B.C. licence - should it exist? Form into two teams to debate |
MORE ADVANCED THEORY - RECEPTION THEORY, CONSCIOUSNESS THEORY, LISTENING
| Internalist Model of the senses (academic) |
| McGurk effect (illusion) - hearing AND seeing talk |
Radio Plays and experimental pieces to listen
to:
Christopher C. Harris, 'Walk Right By Me', 22-11-2002, pr Douglas
Urbanski
Iain Heggie, 'The Zeitgeist Man', 8-11-2002, Friday Play 1',
pr Gaynor MacFarlane
Experimental -
Tacita Dean, 'Berlin Project', 2-2-2003, Between the Ears - Radio
3
See STUDYING INDIVIDUAL RADIO PLAYS for notes on these plays
Scruton question
Is listening to a CD music track and that on broadcast the same?
Beck, Alan, 2002, The Death of Radio? An Essay in Radio Philosophy for the Digital Age. see 5.8
Radio Plays and experimental pieces to listen to:
Drama-documentaries
Lucy Gough, 'Judith Beheading Holofernes', 22-6-2001, Afternoon
Play 43"
John Graham Davis, 'Huskar - An Awful Visitation', 16-7-2002,
Afternoon Play
Experimental -
'Voices From The Flames', July 2002, Between the Ears - Radio
3
See STUDYING INDIVIDUAL
RADIO PLAYS for notes on these plays
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RESOURCES
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IRDP (Independent Radio Drama Production company) - Radio Drama - THE PRODUCTION PROCESS |
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Charles Potter - THE DIRECTOR'S ROLE IN THE STUDIO PRODUCTION OF RADIO THEATER http://www.natf.org/potterdirector.html |
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Radio Sound Effects - A Theoretical Outline http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/audio_theater/Sound_Effects.html |
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"There was another pitfall good writers tried to avoid,
which George Wells called the 'look-see' system,' a form of allegedly
dramatic conversation in which a character carefully describes
all visual incidents to a companion, or stooge. This treatment
is supposed to make everything clear to the radio audience and
usually does, including a vivid impression that the character
regards his companion as four years old or totally blind. 'Look!'
says the character. 'That car at the curb! A blue sedan with
white sidewalls!'" --The Great American Broadcast, Leonard Maltin, P. 31. |
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Sound Effects - The Art of Noise - Tony Palermo's Sound Effects Closet |
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Filmsound.org |
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Live Sound Effects - how to http://www.radiohour.wrek.org/links/uscolosfx.html |
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Partners in rhyme - royalty-free music http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/ |
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FREE - Sound files and sound effects http://www.webplaces.com/html/sounds.htm |
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Digital Playroom - with tutorials in audio - Jay Rose http://www.dplay.com/ |
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Jay Rose's Tutorials and Audio Data http://www.dplay.com/tutorial/index.html |
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Jay Rose's book - Producing Great Sound for Digital Video http://www.dplay.com/book/pgs2e/index.html |
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Audiotheater.com |
