BLACKOUT

Treatment

A Radio Drama
By Sam Ellis
Synopsis
This story tells the events that occur after Britain is hit with a severe cyber-attack, which has
cut all electricity supply around the country. Water, petrol and other main supplies are
running low, and the whole country is forced into chaos. It follows the journey of a group of
friends who become embroiled at the centre of the destruction, changing their friendship
group forever.

Detail on format
My drama will be a single drama, but
has the potential to be a series, as I
will leave the ending open with a
cliff-hanger at the end of it. This may
mean that people will be more
interested in what will happen next,
which could lead to more episodes being created if it becomes popular. My storyline has the
potential to become a series, as the story does not have a closed ending and the actual
storyline has many other stories that can arise from this. Examples of this could be showing
other stories that have arisen in the blackout, the events after the cyber-attack and if it ever
gets resolved. Therefore, it could allow the actual single drama to become a hugely
successful radio drama, as the storyline can constantly grow from the start and the audience
will most likely be captivated by the content in it.
This will fit in with my chosen format, as the storyline has a cliff-hanger at the end of it,
which can allow the radio drama to become a series of events that happens. However, the
fact is has a cliff hanger also means it could just be a one off single drama, as the audience
could have their own opinion and idea about what had happened it the end, which could
make it more interesting and successful for the audience.

Detailed Outline
The main genre of my radio drama will be realism, as the drama is meant to relate to the
audience, as it is an easily relatable thing that could happen, due to the advance in
technology recently and the increase of terror attacks. The radio drama will relate to this
genre, as I will ensure that I make the storyline and the content in it, as realistic and
believable as possible to ensure realistic aspects for the audience. In addition, the fact that
at the minute there arent really many radio dramas that are similar to mine makes my an
unique idea for the audience, as it wont be predictable to them. However, there are a few
dramas that are reasonably similar to mine, as they include the aspect of technology taking
over, but not many of them are set in Britain, which make mine a clearly different idea that
has not really been done before.
Narrative Structure
The main narrative of the radio drama will be following a linear style, which will unfold the
plots and storyline much easier for the audience to understand. This will also allow the
audience to progressively know what is going on, which can allow them to understand the
audience a lot better.

Beginning
The beginning intends to start off with a narrative of the introduction of the events that
have happened. It will be then main character going over events that have happened in the
past, with the story going back to what he is talking about. The story will start off with the
group of friends in the car heading to the airport. The story will start to unfold as they are
talking more and the use of music.

Middle
The middle of the story will show when the electricity cuts out and the traffic lights stop
working. This will lead to the fatal car crash occurring. The story will cut back to the
narration but in the present day where he tells the outline of what has happened due to the
cyber-attack.

The story will progress to show the difficulties with no electricity and the likelihood of the
survival of the friend in hospital.

End
The end of the story will show the major struggle in the country with no electricity. The
hospital is running out of electricity and the
backup generators have stopped working. The
ending will leave the story on cliff-hanger, as
to if the friend survives or not.

Appropriateness to audience
I intend to make my story appropriate for the
audience, by making sure I aim it specifically
at my target audience and focus the story
around this. As, I am aiming more towards 16
 25 year olds I will try to make the story interesting, but also easy to understand at the
same time, by using a linear narrative and characters that will be relatable to that target
audience.

Airing Date
I intend to officially air my radio drama in the evening rather than during the day, as I
believe more people suited to my target audience will most likely listen to it then, as they
would have finished college or work. I wont be airing in during the day, as I want it to be
most popular for my specific target audience,
by showing it at the right times for them. I
believe that airing my radio dram on BBC4
would be most beneficial, as they already have
a lot of radio dramas on their aimed at teens
to young adults, so my radio drama would fit
in well.

Character Profile
Name: Jack
Age: 19
Profession: House Estate Agent
Relation to other: Friend
Background: He is going to be the main character in the production; he will often narrate at
certain points. He is the oldest person out of his friends and is often referred to as the most
responsible person out of the group

Name: Henry
Age: 18
Profession: Studying at college
Relation to other: Friend
Background: Is the youngest out of the group of friends, he is often the one that gets picked
on the most. He is the character that will be in a comma
Name: Aaron
Age: 18
Profession: Catering
Relation to other: Friend
Background: Is the funnier person out of the group of friends, will be seen as the relatable
character in the story
Name: Andrew
Age: 28
Profession: Newsreader
Relation to other: Friend: Person on the news
Background: The tone in his voice will emphasise the severity of the situation that is
occurring at the minute.

Target Audience
I am going to have a specific target audience that I will be aiming my radio drama at, to get
the best response from it. I intend to aim my radio drama at people aged 16 25 who are
most likely going to prefer the content that is in my radio drama. Also, the demographic will
be mainly aimed at the social-economic group B and C mainly, as my story will be fairly easy
to understand, but also interesting at the same time. I am aiming at this social group, as I
believe they are going to most likely understand what is going and more likely to like the
style of content.
The main expectations that the audience can expect is severity throughout the actual radio
drama. I am going to ensure that my story is convincing and realistic as possible it relates to
the audience and makes them think that it actually could happen to them. Im also going to
ensure my characters are very relatable for the audience by using actors of the similar target
audience age. The audience can expect then to feel a stronger connection with the
characters in the production, which
would help in developing the story
and making it successful.
Budget
I intend to use many materials in my production, to ensure that it is as effective as possible.
The cost and budget of my radio drama is vital in making sure the right actors, sound and
location is used to get the best result in the end product.

Actors - https://www.peopleperhour.com/freelance/freelance+actors
Actors around 30.00 an hour

4 x actors (Around 3 hours each)

= 360.00 all together

Studio - http://studiohire.com/
I will need a studio with sound proofing to make sure I get the best sound quality from my
actors, and dont have to rerecord my audio again due to wind noise etc.

Cost of Studio - 270.00 a day

By ensuring I hire a day in the studio I can sort my
background sound, and rerecord any audio that may
not sound good when I listen to it back. This will
ensure I get the highest quality from my final product

Sounds - http://www.prosoundeffects.com/
https://www.sound-ideas.com/Product/154/BBC-Sound-Effects-Library-Original-CDs-1-60
I will be using archive material, as well as material that I will be buying. I intend to use
libraries and online music effect websites to ensure I get the right sound. The costs involving
this would be the CD of audio and the extra cost for individual sound.
CD - 15.00 for one

Around 2 CDs depending on sound

0.89 for individual small sound effects

Around 50.00 all together

Final Budget - 700.00

Im aiming to have my final budget to be around 700.00, which I believe will ensure I get
the best final product.
Actors
Alec Berryman:
Age 19
Profession - Student
Playing - Jack
He will be played by Alec who has a distinguished voice, where he can do different accents if
needed which may be a vital part in my script

Joshua Way:
Age 18
Profession Student
Playing Henry
He will be playing Henry as hes actual personality fits the character I am trying to establish
in my story a lot, so when it comes to recording the audio it should be very easy to do

Max Woolfenden:
Age 19
Profession Student
Playing Aaron
Max will be playing Aaron, as he has a very distinguished voice that can easily separate the
other characters in my production. This is vital in ensuring the audience understand who is
speaking, so they can follow the story easily.

Sam Ellis:
Age 18
Profession Student
Playing News Reporter
I believe I have the capability to be news reporter in my production, as I have had previous
experience at doing it before which will hopefully help it seem more realistic for the
audience.