Radio as a modern media has been described in many ways by its practitioners in an attempt to describe it. They do this not only to extol its benefits as an advertising medium in the commercial sector, but also to attract good audio work from its writers and producers for the benefit of the radio listener.
The Theatre of the Mind
Perhaps the most overused phrase currently employed by the radio industry but a good marker for the possibilities of the medium is that “radio is the theatre of the mind.” It demonstrates the power of the spoken word, and the ability of audio alone to create powerful and vivid pictures in the mind of the listener.
It’s a good starting point for any investigation into the creative possibilities of an audio only method of communication. The Radio Advertising Bureau in the UK, have also coined the phrase, ”you can close your eyes, but you can’t close your ears.” Listening is a difficult experience not to do. In this theatre there are only a few props available:
- voice
- sound effects
- music
- background atmospheres
- silence
Silence is often overlooked by many producers and proponents of radio but yet it is one of the most powerful weapons available to the radio writer and producer.
Writing a Creatively Powerful Radio Script
Starting the process of making good audio starts with writing a good script. Orson Welles’ 1938 production of "War of the Worlds" by the Mercury Theatre Company is often quoted as an example of the power of the media. Reports from the time suggest it caused panic in at least some of the population in the United States at the time. So why was it so powerful? It started with a good script and the following elements:
- an original and inventive story by HG Wells
- a thoughtful and considered adaptation by a skilled writer
- a simple format of using radio reporting "actualite" to progress the story
- good voice acting
- expert and skilled production
- using radio’s strengths to create strong emotions in the listener’s mind
- a broadcast at the right time (just as hostilities seemed imminent) to create maximum impact
- the presence of one of radio’s best known and most talented stars, Orson Wells
It’s also worth remembering that at the time of broadcast, radio was the mass medium most accessible by the general population and television had yet to achieve the impact in households in the US it enjoys today. Some suggest it’s unlikely because of these circumstances that any such radio broadcast will ever achieve the creative impact that "War of the Worlds" had in the late 1930s.
Creative Strengths of Radio
Great radio programmes like "War of the Worlds" and many others in the catalogue of good radio over the years, on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond can still offer today’s writers and producers pointers to the creative possibilities of their medium.
A good radio program needs the following:
- a good script – imaginative and well written
- a script written as audio
- a cast with the right voices
- a sympathetic sound engineer with good ears
- sound effects that build the story
- a production that uses the power and emotion of music
- the use of silence
The story of radio historically is relatively short. The audio scholar starting any exploration of how to use the medium to its full potential, creatively, could do a lot worse than spending some time in the radio vaults listening to radio dramas from years gone by, when radio theatres like Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre, were not just in the listener’s mind, but were actual living breathing and often real live events.
Dan McCurdy - Dan McCurdy is a freelance writer producer creative and lecturer. Dan is one of the UK's most experienced radio writers and producers. ...
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