14+yrs
Ease ***
Overview:

As part of this unit, learners begin to understand the key features of performing on the radio and to experience the roles of researcher, technician, actor, writer, producer, director and SFX manager.

Description:

Give learners the opportunity to listen to a professionally produced radio dramatization, we used The Archers http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr/episodes/player because not only is it unlikely to include any controversial material but all episodes contain a generous use of sound effects (SFX) which is a key feature of this unit.

At this point, you will need to decide if you want learners to a) write their own radio play b) use a script provided by you or c) amend or adapt an existing radio script/text from a book. Whatever you decide, it’s a good idea to provide a working example of the genre for them to see the standard format and how dialogue, SFX, stage direction etc should be presented.

Organise learners into groups, it’s usually easier to allot roles (see overview for list of roles). If learners want to experience different roles the exercise can be repeated with individuals exchanging roles.

When they have their script, they will need a list of SFX that they require. This may contain such things as ‘birdsong’, ‘jangling keys’, ‘someone making a cup of tea’. They then need to decide if each one is best sourced from the internet or produced themselves in a ‘studio’ setting.

For those produced in the studio, they can use any audio recording software to create a bank of SFX that they require, we like www.audacity.com as it’s very easy to use. Some are best sourced online e.g. ‘birdsong’ would be difficult to capture in most locations, so for effects such as this we used www.make4fun.com/ which you will need to download but it is free and you don’t need to register. Learners only need to search key words on the homepage e.g. ‘birds’ and then select and download the desired clip.

When they have their SFX clips bank, they are ready to rehearse their radio play. If they are in small groups, it’s fine for older learners to perform multiple roles e.g. to act and be SFX manager. In larger groups, younger learners can concentrate on performing one role well.

When they are ready and they’ve mastered their roles and responsibilities, ask learners to make a first recording. Again, Audacity or similar is fine for this, but you’ll need two computers running recording software, one to record the performance and one to play the SFX. The SFX that learners have earmarked as ‘studio produced’ can either be pre-recorded or performed live by a member of the group – this is a lot of fun!

Ideally, each actor, SFX manager and the live SFX producer will need a microphone, but there’s no reason why they cannot all huddle around one; the quality may not be as good but the product is largely the same.

When they have finished, ask them to listen to their recording and to assess their performance. Producers and directors will need to make general notes for improvement for each group member. When they have shared their self/peer assessments, allow them to make a final recording.

Their final recording can be uploaded to the school website as a podcast and given to learners to upload onto their social media pages.

What do I need?

• Internet access.
• PCs x2 minimum
• 1 microphone minimum
• props for studio produced SFX (learners love sourcing these themselves)
• radio play scripts

Added value:

Performing for radio broadcast is a very different discipline to stage or TV performance. This unit is a very basic introduction to radio play production where learners ‘cut their teeth’ before moving on to more pressurised and demanding forms of performing and producing. By the end, learners will have a tangible product of their learning that they can show to others.

Hints and tips:

If learners are using pre-existing play scripts (i.e. scripts written by others) they may not be allowed to publish their work in the public domain as it will be under copyright protection. This includes adaptations of texts.
Safety:

www.make4fun.com does have a tab ‘erotic clips’ but at the time of writing there were no clips available under this tab. Prior to teaching this unit, check out the website yourself and decide if you are happy to use it.

Ensure you have parental permission to publish the work of learners that are recognisable on the recording i.e. those acting.

make4fun’s privacy policy states:

Our site is not directed to children under the age of 13 and we are committed to complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). On those areas of the sites that ask for age, we do not collect personal information from individuals who identify themselves as under the age of 13, except in limited circumstances where we believe that such collection is permitted under COPPA