Codes and conventions of a radio drama

Sound effects

Sound effects are used to help create theatre of the mind, it allows the audience to create the
pictures in their mind on what is happening. Sound effects are also used to create action within a
scene, such as doors opening and closing and lighters being clicked. They help create the context of a
narrative as a character won’t say out loud what they are doing but audiences will be able to
understand what is going on through the use of sound effects. Sound effects also contextualise the
time period for example a car engine as we can hear if it is a modern car or and older car/carriage.
Therefore, this helps audiences understand the established time period the drama is set in.

Voice Over

A voice over is a monologue piece of dialogue which breaks the fourth wall as it addresses the
audience. The reason it is used is to let characters express their thoughts which helps audiences
understand more about the character and their motivation. It is also used to give the audience
information such as backstories of other characters and description of characters or places. Voice
overs are also used to guide the narrative, giving audiences a clearer image of a character, setting or
what had gone on in a scene.

Atmospheric sound

Atmospheric sound can establish location and can introduce the setting of the location. It can also be
done to create a certain emotion, for example; pathetic fallacy which is a technique used to convey
the mood/tone of a scene through weather.

Editing

Fade out and fade ins are used mainly to transition between two different scenes as this lets the
audience understand as it is an audible cue that for example a location has changed, time has passed
or the time of day has changed. Music bridges are an alternative to fade out and fade ins as it is used
as a transitional device between scenes, this is where music is played which usually conveys the tone
and mood of a previous scene. Layered sound helps to create a vivid picture for the theatre of the
mind, this is done to immerse the listener in the drama. Layered sound is done when there are more
then one sound in a scene for example when DCI Craven is in a vehicle and we can hear the car
engine as well as her dialogue.

Narrative

There is always a clear beginning middle and end and the aim of a radio drama’s narrative is to
remain clear and simple. Conventionally it will involve only one story-line as they don’t want to
confuse audiences
Characters

There is only a small number of characters as production teams wouldn’t want to confuse audiences.
The tone and dialect of the voices creates difference, this is done so that the audience can easily
distinguish who is talking.

Dialogue

The dialogue is used to drive the narrative and keeps the story flowing. Dialogue can also provide
backstory which is important for audiences to understand more about characters

Music

The music played in Radio Drama’s is to create the tone, mood and overall atmosphere in the scene,
but it can also be used to establish the time period of when the radio drama is set.

Credits

The convention of the credits is that at the start audiences can hear the Title, who it is written by
and sometimes the name of a famous or well-established actor. At the end of the Radio drama
audiences will usually hear “you have been listening to..” title, writer, who it was produced and
directed by and then the cast which is the name of the character in the drama followed by the name
of the Actor playing as them.