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Introduction to Broadcasting MCM 411

LESSON 15

RADIO DRAMA II

Selection of director

Drama is not supposed to be an ordinary piece of broadcasting. To accomplish this

specialized job, almost all production houses employ producers who are especially educated

in drama production. It is not the director alone, but most part of the technical staff is also

supposed to know the art of producing dramas. This task was very demanding in the age

from 1920-1930, when recording facilities were not common. Like most other programs

dramas were broadcast live, a real test of nerves for the director and the performers. The

situation was entirely different when recording facilities were made available. The drama

production unit is aware of the fact these days that if something goes wrong at the time of

recording, the team would have time to correct it. Generally speaking, the provision to

rehearse to a reasonable length of time, and then be allowed to do many takes and pick the

best one to put in the sequence of drama has played a key role in the success of broadcast

dramas both at the radio and the television. But it is the director of a play on whose shoulders

lie the responsibility of making drama according to the script. It involves complete

understanding of the process including the technical facilities, and the level of performance

of the talents. A good director also tends to produce a play within economic means.

The Playwrights

It is said that radio drama belongs to the writer for it's the description of a scene and dialogue,

which will make a listener understand different things like colors, timing, smile, or the locale.

"What a fascinating place it is!" will make the listener know it is a fascinating place; there is no

other way to explain this. Writing a play for radio is a highly specialized job for it is different

from the dramas one can read in print. The drama writer must be aware of the capabilities of

the performers in saying the lines which must be simple, precise and to the point. Radio

drama writers are always told not to create too many characters in the play because it will be

very difficult for the listeners to remember each character with its specific job. Sometimes

voices of two characters are very similar to each other. This also creates difficulty in

understanding as which character is talking. Drama is part of radio entertainment and should

not all the time be causing seriousness or worry to the people by its over emphasis on

negative side of the story.

Diversity in radio plays

In the beginning dramas were meant for every body but by 1930, classification had started

appearing. Since audience sampling was also carried out, different interests of different

segments of people were studied. This helped in chalking out main categories of plays meant

for adults, farmers, women, forces and children. It is difficult to write a play which generates

equal interest among all its listeners but at the same time the playwright, writing a play for a

particular segment of people, should not make things so specific that the play may look

meaningless to other people. This is possible by using the commonly spoken language, jokes

and events from daily life.

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Introduction to Broadcasting MCM 411

Script

Once the target audience were identified, it became imperative to ask playwrights to develop a

script which addressed the desired group of listeners. This led to specialized writing in

dramas. For instance in Pakistan, Sofi Tabbassum was inclined to write more for children.

Late Ashfaq Ahmed believed writing for middle class families and as did Ibn e Insha. Intezaar

Hussain, A Hameed and Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi were those who wrote on subjects as varied

in nature as historical plays, romantic plays and ones highlighting interactions at the lower

middle class segments in society.

Characters were kept few, five to nine, though it was never a rule. Lines were written straight

and dialogue brief. The script appeared very different from the one, meant for stage or print.

Special Effects

A voice on radio in dramas is never devoid of certain background which is usually set by the

special sound effects. Artists also specialized in giving background effects. At times more an

atmosphere is created by the sound effects rather than the dialogues. War scenes, romantic

mood, family like or domestic atmosphere is possible to be set up by these background

upshots.

Some musical, some by playing table as if a character is rushing in or going away and some

by innovative ways... by pressing papers in hands as if some one is walking on dry leaves.

Voices

A very special area in radio dramas is the voices for characters in the play. Great artists were

born. One that is unforgettable in Pakistani radio culture is Sultan Khosat who could utter

about a dozen different voices with convenience. Special training is imparted to shape up a

radio voice which must suit a character. But one thing is common for all the artists taking part

in a play that their voice must be clear and the distance from the microphone is strictly

according to the direction of the producer. If a character is away for instance the scene is

some people are talking in the drawing room and some one has to speak from the kitchen, he

or she must speak louder but reasonably away from the mike to give the impression to the

radio listeners that the voice has come from the kitchen. Similarly if it is a whisper, the talent

would have to lean more to the mike as he/she says the lines.

Pre and Post production

A lot of attention was given to pre production ... getting a drama written on a given subject

and target listeners, selection of performers in view of characters, background effects, and

recording equipment etc.

After having recorded the play, it was edited, a very tedious post production job. Dubbing was

introduced and some after effects were also brought in to the final product.