Evaluation-LO1
Did I understand the brief?
I understood the brief, we were given guidelines on making our very own Radio Drama for the BBC, it had to be for the age range of 16-25 and could be as creative as we wanted it to be and it couldn't be longer than five minutes. Yet, I didn't understand fully what a Radio Drama was and what they entailed. I had to get clarification that a radio drama is basically a film or TV show just without the visuals. After, that I understood my task for the unit and what I would be doing. |
Was I able to analyse the use of sound effects, ambient sound and ambient music?
I analysed the different sound effects and noises created in different radio dramas, the key was finding the effect of these Foley sounds and analysing what they added to the drama in terms of the audiences understanding and enjoyment. To begin with I had to clear up what ambient sound and music was as to begin with I was confused with the term 'Ambient', yet after clarification I was able to analyse why the sounds were used. We looked at specific radio dramas for example ‘Torchwood’ and looked at the ‘background’ noises created for example, a life support machine beeping, this helped in building realism and made the radio drama more enjoyable to watch due to it being more clear what was happening within the scene. |
Did I explain the use of codes and conventions in radio drama?
We did a task which was analysing the codes and conventions of a radio drama using 'Torchwood' as the example. I managed to analyse in detail how codes such as voice and words were used to illustrate a message to the audience. Due to the audience being only able to hear the audible side to the drama how things were said and the things that were said really were used to create an impact. Through this task I really understood the importance of the codes within dramas, they are the unspoken messages. I also was able to understand the conventions within a typical radio drama for example, aural signposting and cliff hanger endings, these are used to show to the audience that something is about to take place or keep the audience intrigued for the next episode. An aural signpost could be a phone ringing which could be used to indicate a conversation was about to happen |
Could I use software effectively to produce a podcast?
We learnt how to produce a podcast/ radio drama through the software Abode Audition, to begin with I didn't understand the concept of the software. I couldn't grasp how to use it for example, when cutting bits of audio and how to fade music in and out. Yet, after watching some tutorials on how to use the software I got the hand of it. I realised it wasn’t that different or more complicated then Adobe Premiere Pro, which is what I am used to using when editing, the cut symbol and the fade symbol were the same on audition the only difference was they were found in different places. I think the best way for me to understand the software and its uses was by playing around with and producing a podcast of some kind. In the end I managed to create a soundscape from a snippet of a Jurassic Park scene. |
Was my research effective?
Overall, I thought my research was very effective due to going into a lot of detail and covering many aspects. In a group we worked on primary researched, we had two task one being in creating a survey to get people to answer questions on radio dramas and what would persuade them to watch them. From this research we got many graphs and tables in which we could analyse in order to get an idea of what people had to say on radio dramas. The second part to primary research was doing 'Vox Pops' which is the voice of the people, this is when we interview people face on so it wasn't anonymous, this worked effective due to you could re word questions in which people didn't want to answer to get them to answer, which when doing a survey this person could just skip the question. Yet, it did mean the person you were interviewing were more likely to lie about their answer due to doing a survey its anonymous and nobody will judge you on your answers because they don't know its you. Overall, we got five Vox Pop interview which all went very successfully. The second part of my research was secondary research, this is when I looked up articles and demographics on the target audience of radio dramas and how many people tune into them. I got a very wide range of sources illustrating demographics from all different radio station such as Radio 4 and iPlayer, we also researched into podcasts. Overall, I got a lot of information and research, which made it very effective findings. |
How will this understanding help me improve my final product?
Due to the research I gained an understanding on radio dramas and what youth think about it. From my findings I can defer for our target audience radio dramas don't appeal to them due to them being 'boring' or made for an older audience. This information will help me when creating my own radio drama I understand that to gain an attention from younger people and to encourage them to watch the show I need to make it exciting and make it relatable for that age range. I will do this by adding in younger characters so youth can relate to the show I will also make my show targeted around the genre and style they like. Overall, my understanding of the target audience and what will make the watch radio drama will help when making my own final product. |
How could have improved my research?
I could have improved my research for secondary by rather doing it all online and looking at websites with demographics on I could of gone to the library and found some books on radio dramas and their target audience. This way I would have had more of a rounded research which is more reliable than doing it from one source. Books are generally more reliable then the internet as well so from looking up stuff in books I would know for sure that all the information was true and facts. With my primary research to improve with the vox pops we could have found more than five people to interview, this would have given us a broader set of data. Adding to this we could have asked people within the age range (16-25) outside of college this would make the results more reliable and give a better example of what everyone thinks rather than people in the college. This would have further improved our results. With the vox pops improvement I would have done it if we had more time to get the research finished. |
Evaluation-LO2
Could I have improved my pre-production planning?
I believe I could have improved the entire process of pre-production planning as this would have helped me to be more organised when putting together and recording the drama initially. For example, to begin with I should have filled out the entire production schedule mapping out on what days I was going to do specific things, for example record, by setting goals for my self it enabled nothing to be rushed and everything to be done with ease. I would have needed to organise what day I was recording, the day I was re- recording and the step by step editing process I was going to undertake for it to be a success. Because I didn't have a solid plan set on how to manage my time I wasted a lot of time I could of been spending editing on doing task which were irrelevant. This caused me to actually have to rush through editing my radio drama and overall lowered the quality as I didn't have the time to make it as good as possible. Another thing I would improve is the auditions for my actors, instead auditioning just enough people for there to be a role for everyone I would audition more actors then needed. This way it gives me the decision to pick properly with a wider range of people who I want in my drama, this ensures me to get the ideal cast in my radio drama and everyone sounds how I want them to sound. Overall, this will make the drama become better and will up its quality. This is because when actually recording my drama I realised too late that some actors weren't fitted for specific roles and had to re-record using different actors. This took a lot of time which I could of spent editing the drama together. Overall, I need to be more organised. |
Was my script effective?
I found my script very helpful in terms of being organised when recording. This is down to I could clearly follow it scene by scene when recording which allowed me to work efficiently under a small-time frame, half an hour, which meant I got everything done effectively. It also helped during the editing process as I could follow where I was putting in specific Foley sounds or when the soundtrack plays. This meant the editing process ran smoothly without many major confusions of the placement of footage. However, I think to f made the script worked most effective I should of handed the script out to my actors earlier rather then on the day because it took some people longer to understand their lines, this maximised the amount of mistakes made. |
Were my actors appropriate for their parts?
When auditioning my actors I made them act out different roles in order to see their acting style, if they could act and what roles they suited. I did this in order to cast my parts correctly and therefore get the most out of the actors I had chosen. Thus, making my radio drama more successful and better to listen to. For example, when casting the role of Sergeant Nickelson I wanted someone who spoke clearly and had a very authoritative voice, this is why I got everyone to try for this role as I could see who the best at playing the role was and assign it to them. For this case Jordan got the role of Sergeant Nickelson due to him having loud projection and speaking clearly and loudly when saying his lines. This is exactly what I wanted from his character and therefore I was happy I went through the casting process. Another time with casting the role of Emily Barnett, the fiancé left home waiting for her future to be husband to return from war, I wanted someone who spoke softly and sweetly. I cast this role to Grace however because she rushed her lines through sometimes during the audition I had to give her guidance on how to play the part and get the most out of it. I told her to slow down her lines and speak with lots of emotion, this allowed her to play the part correctly and therefore she played the role appropriately. On another occasion I casted Sam as the role of Steven St Clair. During the recording of Sam’s scene he sounded as if he was reading the lines instead of saying them naturally and fluently, this was making the drama seem not very realistic. Alongside this Sam’s voice wasn’t mature enough for the role in terms of sounding like a grown man. To sort this problem I re-casted Sam’s character to Paris, this was because Paris’ voice had a deeper sound and was more appropriate for the role of a soldier in the war due to this making the radio drama more realistic to listeners. Overall, I thought by picking appropriate actors for my character helped to improve the quality of my radio drama immensely. |
Were rehearsals effective?
The rehearsal process was very effective, overall it helped in getting the actors prepared and ready for the recording of the drama, they understood the characters they were playing which is key in getting an effective performance from them. Also, doing rehearsals prior it allowed us to be prepared so when we went to record the whole of the script we worked efficiently in the narrow time slot we had. The rehearsal process entailed sitting down with all the actors in the radio drama and doing a cast read through. I would listen to how each other actor spoke their lines and tell them if they said the line well or give them feedback on how to improve the line. This worked very effective as I got to direct my cast effectively and get the lines/script said the exact way I wanted it to be heard on screen. For example, with Grace David who was reading the lines of Emily Barnett the fiancé of John Alinson she spoke very quickly which made her performance loose elements of roar emotion which would work so well within the drama. I told Grace to slow down her lines to twice speed she was saying the lines at, this meant a lot more emotion was in Grace’s line. Because of this improvement I didn’t have to re- record Grace’s part after receiving feedback for improvements. This overall helped me in saving time on improvements, because I had everything how I wanted it there were minor improvements which meant I could focus most of my energy on editing the radio drama together. |
Were my Foley sounds effective?
My Foley sounds I thought were very effective in my radio drama. I recorded a lot of Foley sounds in order for my radio drama to make sense in terms of what was happening and the audience understanding it, I also recorded a lot so the audience would find the drama more interesting and engaging to listen to. I had to experiment with different ways in creating specific sounds in order for them to sound the best they could possibly do. For example, when recording the sound effect of a football being kicked I had too many attempts in order to get the microphone position correctly to get the most amount of sound possible. This took a while because I was messing around with the angle and position. Overall, this made the Foley sound sound effective and work well within my radio drama. However, one thing I would improve was using less downloaded sounds and try and create Foley sounds for gun shots. I found this really difficult to and wasn’t able to get Foley sounds for his particular sound. If I did this unit again I would research into making particular Foley sounds to make my radio drama sound better overall. |
Did I make good use of music and ambient sound?
I think within my radio drama that I used music and ambient sound effectively. I used one soundtrack to play quietly in the background at emotional moment to engage the audience more and allow them to feel lots of emotions. I also added ambient sounds such as gun fire and explosions in the background to give of a tense atmosphere and allow the audience to understand that my drama was set during the war. I believe that the use of ambient sounds and music really made my drama a lot more realistic to listen to. |
Could I have recorded and edited my drama more professionally?
When recording my radio drama ‘The Christmas Truce’ I tried my hardest in maintaining an professional shoot, I wanted to be professional when making the drama because it would make recording more professional and run more smoothly. With the recording side of the drama it was done very professionally, I recorded my drama in a professional sound proof recording studio. I did this in order for my drama to sound the best it could be and be good quality, this is from their not being any background noise and voices being clear. This was down to having large microphones in the studio. I also used professional recording software in order to capture different parts of the drama. One thing that wasn’t so professional about this part was one of the microphones were turned off when recording so some of the footage didn’t sound very good because it was too quiet. Fortunately, when we re-recorded the drama I made sure the microphones were both working so the footage was good quality and would sound good when editing the drama together. During the editing process I used Adobe Audition which is the established editing software for putting together audio clips, therefore this worked very effectively and allowed me to have that freedom to add in effects to my radio drama and make it sound exactly how I wanted it. However, when putting together my drama I could have edited my drama more efficiently by doing it in stages and putting Foley sounds in at the same time as the characters audio. This would have saved me more time overall in putting my radio drama together. |
These are the result a from a survey in which I created, it basically questioning people on how they received my radio drama and what they liked about it. This question is 'what do you like most about my radio drama?' with this question I got a mixed response. 60% of people asked said they liked the music and 16.67% said they liked the actors and another 33.33% said they liked the storyline. Overall, from these results I can defer that the most favoured thing about it was the music, which is good because I spent a lot of time perfecting it. |
What feedback have I received about my drama?
After I had finished the first draft of my radio drama the class and the teacher gave me some feedback in order to improve my drama and make it the best it could possibly be. The feedback in which I received was about the actors and parts in which I needed to re- record with them. For example, I was told that my narrator, Will Collins, voice was too monotone and didn’t sound passionate enough. This is because the narration is re telling a remarkable story from war and the narrator needs to sound passionate and emotional about the topic at hand. To solve this problem I had to re-record all the narrated section within the radio drama. I did this and they sounded so much better and it made the radio drama sound more interesting and engaging for listeners. Another bit of feedback in which I received was about my actor Sam Colledge sounding as if he was reading his lines rather than naturally saying the lines. To solve this problem I re-casted Sam and gave Paris Ferguson the role as well, this is because Paris had a more fluent voice. Overall, this feedback made the drama improve. Also, I have received feedback on the level of ambient sound in the background in comparison to the voice recordings, this was because the voice recordings were too quiet and were over thrown by the ambient. To solve this problem I had to sort out the level of sounds. |
This question was 'How much did you like my radio drama?' the answers for this question remained very positive. For example the highest response was 'lots' with 66.67% of people saying that, after that came ' a bit' which was 33.33% of people. And nobody clicked the options 'not much' 'not much at all'. This tells me that overall my radio drama was an success. |
With the open question 'What do you like most about my drama?' I got mixed views. A lot of people response with the actors, this is good to know as I know my drama sounded good and was acted successfully. Other people responded with Foley sounds and the overall structure of this. This shows to me that overall my drama was an success on how I created it as many people are commenting on different aspects of the drama. |
With the questions 'What do you think could do to improve the drama?' a lot of people responded make it quicker this illustrates to me that there was issues with the pacing of my drama and maybe it was dull in some places which allowed the audience to loose focus. Another thing that came up a lot was about making my drama overall longer, at the moment the time for the drama is 4:50 which is a bit on the short compared to other typical dramas lengths. This may mean that the story doesn't appear as powerful. |
What would I do to improve my work?
To improve my work I would have added in more Foley sounds into my drama. For example, the sound effects of bombs dropping, and guns being shot I would have made them by myself rather than downloading the sound effect from YouTube. I think by experimenting more in creating war sounds would have made my radio drama a lot better and more engaging for the audience listening. Another thing in which I would improve is making sure I am happy with the actors I casted for specific roles, this is due to me halfway through my production having to re-cast one of my characters which I meant to re-record all their parts again. By doing that extra research initially, in terms of researching into war and pre-production planning, I would have saved a lot of time which I could have spent editing my drama. I felt as if I had to rush through the editing process, which is the most important part of putting the drama together, therefore being more organised would allow my drama to be a lot better and improved. |