LO3: Codes and Conventions of radio dramas

My radio show is a radio drama, this means that each broadcast is an episode and therefore has a plot line or narrative. From looking at "The Archers", which is a radio drama on BBC Radio 4, I know what codes and conventions I need to follow.

An important feature of a radio drama is the theme music, this is something which will make my show recognisable. The piece of music which "The Archers" uses is called "Barwick Green" and is something that most people would be able to recognise as being the theme music for the show. In order to fit with this convention, I will create my own recognisable brand through the use of music and sound effects. As my radio drama is called "The School Pick-up", I think that using a school bell noise would create a really recognisable branding. I think that combining this sound effect with some music will help me to create a piece of theme music which is recognisable so that when people hear the music they will automatically know that it is the music that for "The School Pick-up". I will also use the bell effect throughout the show in order to split up the scenes as this will make it obvious when each scene starts and finishes. It will also further develop my branding.

Dramatisation is prominent within "The Archers" and is also something which will be included within my own radio drama. The school playground is a place where people visit day to day but not much happens. By adding dramatisation to my programme it will make the topic more interesting. This is done by using voice actors and wild sounds in order to create more excitement on a otherwise boring subject. The use of wild sounds within a radio drama are very important as there are no visuals so this is what establishes the scene. This means that within my radio show, I would need to make sure that these sounds were strong to really make the audience picture the scene. 

When doing my research I noticed that "The Archers" had a large cast of voice actors, with all of them having different plots but also fitting into the same storyline and interacting with each other. This is what I wanted to do within my radio drama as I believe that this will keep my audience engaged and fit with the codes and conventions of not only radio dramas but television soap operas as well. 

At the beginning of each episode of "The Archers" a radio presenter announces the show with a short line about what happens within the episode, this is a convention of Radio Dramas as it gives an overview to the episode. I will include this at the beginning of my own radio drama, I feel that this will be especially important when it comes to my show as the episode I am creating is the first episode and by having this line it will encourage people to want to listen.