Idea Development: Original Concepts

One of the first concepts we came up with was to create a radio drama based on a zombie invasion of the UK. However, this idea was soon shot down as we decided it would be to an extent unrealistic, and difficult to record the zombies voices. We felt we would also be copying concepts which have already been put into action.

Another idea was to create a kind of comedic action adventure, if you can imagine such a thing. Yet, this was only breifly discussed, as we had difficulty in agreeing on concepts such as character choices, and motives.

Nonetheless, setting it within the UK was always going to remain, as we are not very good at changing our accents. I next decided that we could change the concept of a zombie invasion into a sort of post-apocalyptic war-stricken world. Perhaps a sort of world war three, in that the face of the earth has been destroyed, along with a huge majority of the population. So much so that only four civilians remain. (Our characters for the drama). This idea seemed most favourable within our group, so we went with it.

Radio Drama Analysis Part 3: The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone is a Sci-fi / fantasy Radio drama, which was very popular in the 1950's and 60's. The original concept was for a televised series, which was later adapted in 2002 to radio. Every episode tended to feature a different, well known American celebrities, such as Stacy Keach, Jane Seymour, and Lou Diamond Phillips. These celebrities do not have much relevance to a modern audience, but back in the 50's and 60's, they were main faces of TV. The episode that I watched was very well crafted. The SFX used truly reflected the moods of the characters and of the atmosphere around them. The accents were representative of the different characters and power divides. For example; the captain was a military man, and thus his lexis reflected that of intelligence and strength. His tone of voice in particular was very low, which was indicitive of his high authority over others aboard the ship. Nowadays, radio drama is quite widespread, and it is quite intriguing to see how a drama such is able to compete with more modern dramas.

Radio Drama Analysis Part 2: Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy

The drama begins with very jolly, upbeat music. Next, we get a narration by a man not yet identified to us. His pitch and tone are very low, and his rhythm is quite slow, suggesting authority. Meanwhile, strange futuristic sound effects are present in the background. The first main character has a very unique voice. His tone and pitch are quite high, and he speaks with a certain distinct rhythm. This piece is much more upbeat and comedic than war of the worlds, suggesting that the genre is comedy. The background noises whilst in the pub, for example, cleverly replicate that of a real-life social situation such as this. When the female character speaks for the first time, she speaks with very formal, received pronunciation. She appears to be very subjective here, referring to the townspeople in a very indirect manner. The sound effects are very futuristic. The spaceships for example, firing down upon earth. These noises have clearly been added for realism. The Vogon aboard the spaceship's voice is quite low, and incorporates further futuristic sound effects. The characters throughout the drama have accents which are more light-hearte, differing from those used in war of the worlds, which were very serious, adding a sense of comedy and happiness to the piece. There were several differences between War of the worlds and this piece. War of the Worlds was supposedly meant be be very realistic drama, showing the end of the world in a dramatic way. Opposed to this, this piece is quite clearly a comedy. The Jolly music which began the piece ends it.

Radio Drama Analysis Part 1: War Of The Worlds

On Sunday, October 30, 1938, millions of radio listeners were shocked when radio news alerts announced the arrival of Martians. Many people ran out of their homes screaming while others packed up their cars and fled. Before the era of T.V., people sat in front of their radios and listened to music, news reports, plays and various other programs for entertainment. In 1938, the most popular radio program was the "Chase and Sanborn Hour" which aired on Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. The star of the show was ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy. Unfortunately for the Mercury group, headed by dramatist Orson Welles, their show, "Mercury Theatre on the Air," aired on another station at the very same time as the popular "Chase and Sanborn Hour." Welles, of course, tried to think of ways to increase his audience, hoping to take away listeners from the "Chase and Sanborn Hour." For the Mercury group's Halloween show that was to air on October 30, 1938, Welles decided to adapt H. G. Wells’ well-known novel, War of the Worlds, to radio. Radio adaptations and plays up to this point had often seemed rudimentary and awkward. Instead of lots of pages as in a book or through visual and auditory presentations as in a play, radio programs could only be heard (not seen) and were limited to a short period of time (often an hour, including commercials). On Sunday, October 30, 1938 at 8 p.m., the broadcast began when an announcer came on the air and said, "The Columbia Broadcasting System and its affiliated stations present Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air in The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells." Hours after the program had ended and listeners had realized that the Martian invasion was not real, the public was outraged that Orson Welles had tried to fool them. Many people sued. Others wondered if Welles had caused the panic on purpose. The power of radio had fooled the listeners. They had become accustomed to believing everything they heard on the radio, without questioning it. Now they had learned - the hard way.

The codes and conventions present throughout the drama, was the use of a formal address towards the listener, which in some respects commands a sense of authority over the listener. Another convention was the typical sound effects, such as the cannon firing, and the capsule sliding open, which all added to the atmosphere. The accent of a majority of the characters was central American, with the dialect being stereotypical of early 1930's America. Overall the codes and conventions used are done to entice the listener. For all they knew, these series of events were believed to be really happening.