Production Log: Lesson 1

Started production for our radio drama today. Began by mindmapping ideas for the story:

Production Log: Lesson 2: Script

Today, we began writing the script, created characters, and set storyline: Post-apocalyptic world after a World War Three; Nuclear War.

Here is the script:

UNDER THE MUSHROOM CLOUD SCRIPT

                                                                                              

Set in central London with characters: Ryan, Nick, Daniel and Jen

SCENE 1

RYAN:                                   Have you got that radio working yet?

NICK:                                     I’m trying! Bloody political war, breaking my equipment!

(RADIO TUNING IN, EMITTING STATIC)

NEWS BROADCASTER:     (D) …The nuclear fallout has swept across the world leaving devastation in its wake. We have reports that America has been all but destroyed...

NICK:                                     I’ve got it!

RYAN:                                   Shh! There might be something important!

NEWS BROADCASTER:     (D) …Listeners are reminded to stay in groups for safety reasons. Do not go anywhere near irradiated zones. These areas are usually highlighted with signs surrounding the area...

NICK:                                                 Ahh, it’s the same as all ways.

NEWS BROADCASTER:     ...We are happy to report that several fallout shelters have opened up all around Britain. What follows is a complete list of all shelters that have opened: Norfolk, Torquay…

NICK:                                     Ahh! They’re too far.

NEWS BROADCASTER:     …Suffolk…

NICK:                                     Come on! (STATE OF PANIC) Please, please, please!

NEWS BROADCASTER:     …Brentwood: Essex…

NICK:                                     YES! Ryan, did you hear that? We’re gonna’ be ok, we’re  

                                                gonna’ be ok...

RYAN:                                    I heard it. Come on, leave it, we can’t afford to take it with us.

                                                 …Jen, Daniel! Where are you guys?

JEN:                                        What’s all the commotion? …What are we doing?

NICK:                                    I’ll tell you what it is, Ms Jennifer! Bloody Salvation! Hah!  

                                               We are leaving this hell is what we’re doing!

DANIEL:                               We’ll be safe?

JEN:                                       You’re kidding?

NICK:                                     I am most certainly not. Ask Ryan if you don’t believe me.

JEN:                                        Is it true Ryan? Well, I mean, where are we going? What are  

                                               we going to do?

RYAN:                                   Don’t worry I’ve got it all worked out.

JEN:                                  But…it’s way too dangerous out there! There’s irradiated areas, and who knows what else!

RYAN:                                   Just calm down, it’s going to be fine, like I said, I have a plan.

                                               

SCENE 2

JEN:                                       Oh my god! I can’t believe it! Everything’s been destroyed!

DANIEL:                               I remember a park was once there.

RYAN:                                  Come on, we need to keep moving.

JEN:                                       How far do we have to go?

RYAN:                                  We need to get out of the city, I’d say at least 2 hours of

                                               walking. Come on, let’s get moving.

JEN:                                       2 hours?! Is there no transportation?

RYAN:                                  No! Look around Jen, everything’s blown to hell

DANIEL:                              I’m not too keen on walking.

RYAN:                                 Well we need to get out of here now!

NICK:                                   Yeah so get bloody movin’!

Ambience

NICK:                                   Watch that gap Jen.

JEN:                                      How long are we gonna’ keep going like this?

RYAN:                                 Stop. Did you hear that?

NICK:                                   What is it Ryan?

Falling debris between them

RYAN:                                 That building is going to collapse! We need to go, move!

Footsteps, running and heavy breathing

NICK:                                      Where’s Jen?!

RYAN:                                     She’s fallen! She’s over there!

NICK:                                       C’mon let’s get her.

Footsteps, running, sound of dragging body.

Building collapses.

NICK:                                        (Heavy Breathing) Why didn’t you help us Daniel?!

DANIEL:                                   Oh, I, um…

RYAN:                                       We’re supposed to be a team!

SCENE 3

RYAN:                                       (D) JEN! CAN YOU HEAR US? JEN! JEN!

NICK:                                         You coward Daniel!

DANIEL:                                    I already said I’m sorry, I didn’t know the building was 

                                                    gonna’ collapse…

NICK:                                         She could have died!

DANIEL:                                    But she didn’t, did she?

NICK:                                         You’re towing a fine line. I’d be careful what you do.

JEN:                                            Euurgh, what’s going on? Why are you shouting?

NICK:                                         This coward just left you underneath the building as it was 

                                                    collapsing.

DANIEL:                                    ...It’s…It’s not like that…

NICK:                                         Oh! So how is it Daniel? Because to me, you just left her to

                                                    die!

DANIEL:                                    I’m sorry…

JEN:                                            Where are we anyway?

RYAN:                                       It’s an old library; we thought we could rest here for a while.

NICK:                                        That’ll be a challenge. This is falling apart.

JEN:                                           Have we got any water?

RYAN:                                      Yeah sure. (RUSTLING OF BACKPACK)

JEN:                                           Thanks (GULPING OF WATER)

NICK:                                        Let’s just try and get some rest.

DANIEL:                                  Err, sure.

SCENE 4

NICK:                                       Jen, are you sure you’re ok to carry on? We’re nearly in

                                                  Brentwood.

JEN:                                          (BREATHLESS) …Just a few more steps.

RYAN:                                     I see it!         

(SOUND OF RUNNING)

NICK:                                       C’mon let’s get inside. Quick Jen, Hurry up Ryan.

(DOOR SLAMS BEHIND THEM, ONCE ALL INSIDE)

RYAN:                                     So this is our salvation eh? No food, no water, nothing!

DANIEL:                                 No, the shelter’s underground! See that hatch there? We need

                                                 to go down there… But I’m not so good with heights, you 

                                                 guys go first. I’ll be right behind you.

RYAN:                                    C’mon then, we need to go down here. Watch out, it’s pretty 

                                                dark…

(SOUNDS OF CHARACTERS DESCENDING LADDER)

(DANIEL REMAINS)

                                                 …You coming Daniel?

DANIEL:                                 Not today, Ryan!

RYAN:                                    What?!

JEN:                                         (SHOUTING) Ryan! We’re at the bottom, but theres nothing 

                                                 here! It’s a trap!

RYAN:                                    NO! DANIEL, WAIT!

(SOUND OF HATCH BEING LOCKED FROM OUTSIDE, TRAPPING THEM IN THE SHELTER)

SCENE 5

Sound of mobile phone beginning to record and Daniel Filming himself.

DANIEL:                                They don’t understand, this is hell. No, this is worse than hell.

                                                Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide when things get rough. We’re

                                                all just better off dead. I just don’t know who I am anymore. 

                                                They were naïve. They thought everything would be fine, yet

                                                most of the world is DEAD! This isn’t a movie, it’s real life!

                                                We may as well just give-in now. After all, it’s only a matter of

                                                time before we get poisoned by radiation anyway... Do you like

                                                my gun? Found it in that drawer over there. Hah, shall we listen 

                                                to the news? I think we should...

(DANIEL TUNES A TRANSISTOR RADIO IN)

NEWS BROADCASTER:     (D) ‘…With the face of the earth in ruins, only wastelands

                                                remain. Be vigilant, be alert, and most importantly, be safe…’

(SFX OF RADIO DYING)

DANIEL:                               (*SIGH*) …Goodbye.

(SFX OF GUN BEING COCKED, WITH A SINGLE GUNSHOT, FOLLOWED BY SILENCE)

END

Script: First Draft (Annotated)

Here is the first script draft for 'Under the Mushroom Cloud', with annotations.
(Scene 3 is missing here, as it was not annotated)

Location Details

Our radio drama 'Under The Mushroom Cloud is based in the UK, and as such, since the main objective of our radio drama is to get to a nuclear fallout shelter near to London, we had to partake in research, as to whether or not there are any actual shelters within the radius of the city.

   Research led us to Brentwood, Essex, where we discovered that they were home to the largest fallout shelter in the whole of the United Kingdom. Essex is approximately 53 miles from London, and as such, it would take the survivors around 12 hours to reach the shelter. However, as the main roads would be destroyed/radiated, it would probably take far longer.

Character Development

Our radio drama includes four major characters, with the additional support of the News Broadcaster, who may be seen as 'the dispatcher' in some respects; allowing the story to thicken. This broadcaster speaks over a small, broken transistor radio throughout, though is never met by any of the other characters. I felt this would add a level of anonymity and excitement to the proceedings, whilst demonstrating the now, lack of technology, caused by the nuclear war. I played this character in the radio drama.

Ryan is the powerful, and incredibly brave British, middle class protagonist of the story. He is a natural born leader, and demonstrates courage and determination in achieving greatness. I too played this character in the drama.

Nick is sort of the sub-hero, backing up the protagonist. He is a kind, and caring working class Scottish gentleman, yet does not take kindly to abuse. He stands up for what he believes in, and will never let anybody tell him that he is wrong. This is why he was given a Scottish accent.

Jen is 'the helper' she is a upper-middle class, blonde haired young woman. She helps Ryan and Nick to achieve their goal. She is of a calm disposition, but often faces challenges, which must be overcome with the aid of Ryan and Nick. We attempted to demonstrate this by giving her a soft voice, symbolising her timidity.

Daniel is the middle lower class antagonist of the story. Though at first he appears to be helping the others, he betrays them at the end,  all in the name of, effectively 'world domination'. He longs to be a powerful leader like Ryan, but is quite simply deranged.

Each character is unique,  and each have their own unique dialects, thus reflecting people all around the UK. Every character helps the other characters in a way that can aid the fluidity of the storyline, whilst enabling listeners to get an insight into each one's motifs.

Radio Drama: Development

Our audience will be hooked from the beginning with our compelling storyline and realism. Hopefully, we will be able to entice listeners with our vividness. Our radio drama shall proceed over 5 acts, adapting and to an extent changing Todorov's theory of equilibrium. To begin with, the characters are plunged into the unknown, thus setting up the story. Soon after, they attempt to travel to a nearby nuclear fallout shelter, facing perils along the way. (a sense of a set back), with the resolution being the betrayal of the characters by the strange character. I also utilised Propp's theory of character identities when creating them. I felt that characters we incorporated were:

Ryan - Protagonist (hero)              News Broadcaster - The dispatcher (allows the plot to develop)
Nick - Sub Hero
Jen - The helper
Daniel - The antagonist (villain)

Story Development

Mindmap of the key stages in our radio drama. Here, they are not placed in any particular order.

Radio Drama: Storyline

Our story for the radio drama will revolve around a post-apocalyptic earth, due to a global scale nuclear war. Our story touches in the idea that during the aftermath of destruction, 'survival of the fittest' will have literal meaning. Therefore, we will focus on 4 unique characters, who have survived the war, by taking refuge within the bustling city of London, in the underground train network. They shall all meet underground, and will be inspired to traverse the wastelands in order to reach one of the few fallout shelters which have opened up at key locations througout the UK. For an overarching story, we would be able to portray different characters stories in different episodes, with this one being the first in that series. In a sense, the narrative structure is similar to another famous TV drama series, LOST. Though on radio, we shall be able to utilise this structure to individually show each characters story, in turn.

Theme Planning

The theme of our radio drama is post-apocalyptic adventure. We began our concept with the idea of incorporating zombies into the drama, yet soon believed that this concept was, in a sense copying other well known dramas, and so we decided it should change. We would also have been unable to replicate zombie events, such as movement and SFX. The conventions of our radio drama are: destruction, survival and facing a challenge. Desertion, debris and empathy will be utilised to effectively add emphasis to the proceedings. One of the main messages involved throughout our radio drama will be that of salvation, and of a removal of laws and democracy as we know it today. In a sense it is symbolic of de-evolution from modern culture, creating a world where 'survival of the fittest' has literal meaning.