Introduction to Speech (in particular Dialog)

Dialog is the chief tool of the dramatist.  It nonetheless has some special problems.

The vanishing character

For characters to stay alive in the mind of the audience they must speak.  Remarks to or about a character may help, but only speech brings the character to life.  This is why long speeches are often broken up with interjections.

The vanishing character utilised for dramatic purpose

In a story with a mute character the absence of voice can create a disconcerting vacuum – something particularly frightening in the case of the silent burglar or kidnapper who never speaks.

The vanishing character utilised for comedy

In comedy, where the world need not be realistic at all, the sudden intrusion of a voice that the audience was previously unaware of can add extra punch to a gag.

Summary on the vanishing character

Except in the case of special effects, comic or frightening, characters in an audio play must usually be kept alive in the listeners imagination through frequent speech.

The number of characters

It is important that the characters in a scene be distinguishable.  As such, it is usual for the voices to be differentiated in casting into one of five (or six and even seven, on occasion) identifiable types;

Bass                       – Heavy/Elderly male

Contralto             – Elderly female

Baritone              – Leading man

Mezzo-soprano – Leading woman

Tenor                    – Juvenile

Soprano               – Ingenue

Trebble                – Child

While such general patterns are helpful (and scenes are generally restricted to four or five contrasting characters at a time) it is not helpful to apply completely hard and fast rules on the subject (for example you can distinguish two otherwise similar voices quite easily with the addition of a foreign accent, or a speech quirk).  Sometimes it is important for two baritone voices to interact.  The intonation and expressive range of the actors can easily carry this… but it is still helpful to avoid putting two of the same type of voices into a group scene.  Sometimes, equally, it is of little importance whether the voices can be quickly distinguished (such as in an anonymous crowd scene).

Because of the importance of distinguishing voices in audio, the cast tends to be smaller than in other dramatic works.

Dialog positions

Dialog is normally assumed to occur at the microphone.  Terms like AT A DISTANCE, APPROACHING, DEPARTING, FADE IN, FADE OUT etc. tend to indicate those occasions when the character moves away from the microphone.  One special instruction relates to SCREAMS, SHOUTS, or CALLS OUT.  In this case the speaker raises their chin to the ceiling and shouts the lines.

Script length

Dialog is delivered on average at 150 words per minute.  A line will average about three seconds or twenty lines per minute.

In a fifteen-minute program, comprising of thirteen minutes of actual dialog, you can expect to write approximately two thousand words.

It is far easier to cut an overlong passage than it is to pad an over-short one.

When faced with cutting dialog from a scene, ask yourself…

(1)    Does the cut version cover the essential facts?

(2)    Which rhythm do you prefer?

(3)    Does the cutting sharpen the focus and clarify the main point of the scene?

(4)    Is the cut too severe?  Does it render the scene empty of character?

Choice of words

Avoid using difficult-to-pronounce, unfamiliar, or esoteric terms.  It is easy for the listener to get lost (and the listener’s pleasure ends the moment they are lost).  It can also be very difficult for the actor to manage complicated words.  An audio script needs to be easy to read and the words must roll off the tongue, particularly where being performed live.

Choice of names

Names which are difficult to picture or easily confused with other words (consider “you” and “Hugh” in a sentence) or the use of multiple names for the same character (nicknames for example being used in the same play as the character’s right name) should be avoided.  The risk of confusion is too great, especially considering that characters in an audio drama address each other by name more than characters in any other entertainment form (book, stage, or screen).

Dialog directions

Keep directions to the actor to a minimum.  Only use a direction where the line is to be read in a manner different than would otherwise normally be expected.  Keep the directions short so they can be instantly absorbed and acted upon by the actor delivering the line.  When a direction is called for identify it with bracketed capitals eg. (ANGRILY).

Dialog punctuation

Audio dramas often punctuate according to the pacing of the delivery rather than grammatical function or construction.  Three dots or the term (BEAT) are often inserted to indicated a pause or momentary hesitation in the dialog.

An experiment in Radio Dialog

During a movie or television program close your eyes for some time.  At the point you become lost consider which of the following causes is to blame: Didn’t know who was talking… Didn’t know whom he or she was talking to… Didn’t know where they were… Didn’t know quite what they were doing… Too many people all mixed up.

This game should develop an alertness for the various pitfalls of radio dialog: unidentified characters, characters who have “died”, too many characters, unidentified sounds, scenes, actions.

After ascertaining the reason for the confusion, open your eyes until oriented again and repeat the process.

If you’d like to see some examples of dialog in the scripts we publish be sure to visit http://www.weirdworldstudios.com/products.html. We have some free samples you can download.
See you next time.
– Philip Craig Robotham

The post Learning from Erik Barnau – Part 6 appeared first on Host Your Own Old Time Radio Drama.

Hi folks,

I’m taking another look this week at the advice offered by Erik Barnouw in his Handbook of Radio Writing (1947). This time the attention is focused on how audio scripts are formatted. Enjoy…

Here are some more of my notes, thoughts, and “learnin” from reading Erik Barnouw’s Handbook of Radio Writing.

Three tools and volume

The radio script is a trio for three singers: (1) sound effects, (2) music, (3) speech, in which for a few minutes one of the singers does his stuff alone, then suddenly hands the spotlight to one of the others, and once in a while two or three of them burst out together.  When they do, only one must dominate.

Volume is radio’s spotlight and is used to highlight where the listener’s attention should be.

Formatting the three parts of a radio script

This is the basic format I use for my scripts. Mr Barnouw brackets musical cues and indents and brackets sounds without underlining them. I prefer the conventions below because (for me at least) I think it is easier to avoid mistakenly reading out a sound cue during a performance.

1 MUSIC:        [1] OPENING THEME “WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE” – 
                ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
2 SOUND:        [2] (WALLA) BUSY STREET  NOISES, OCCASIONAL CARS – 
                ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
3 JOHN BROWN:   (ASTONISHED) Hey, Mazie.  (BEAT) It’s five o’clock 
                already!
4 SOUND:        [3] SIREN BLOWS (END OF  SHIFT) – LET IT FINISH.
5 MAZIE GRACE:  (EXCITED) Oh John!  The shift’s over. We’ve been paid 
                and we can  go out on the town!
6 JOHN:         (NERVOUS) Now don’t get too  excited.  You heard they 
                still haven’t  caught that killer yet.  The wireless  
                said he’s killed four couples already.
7 MAZIE:        Oh, don’t be such a killjoy.  We’ll be just fine!
8 MUSIC:        [4] (BRIDGE) OMINOUS SCENE  ENDER – LET IT FINISH.
9 WIRELESS  ANNOUNCER: [CUE] (TINNY - AS THROUGH A WIRELESS SPEAKER) 
                Last night another  young couple met a grisly end in 
                the streets of Cartagena (KART-A-HAYN-YA)...

Each of the three parts of the radio script need to be readily distinguishable.

General comments

All lines are numbered.

Put the names of the characters at the side, in capital letters, followed immediately by a colon (no space). The names can flow over into the right hand column if they must.  The first time a character name is used it should appear in full, but it can be abbreviated thereafter eg.

JOHN BROWN:

becomes

JOHN:

Dialog

Dialog is identified by the Character’s name (capitalized).  Place the dialog approximately 12 spaces to the right of the name margin.  The dialog should always be double spaced. Never use quotation marks around the speeches. Any directions for the actor are supplied in round brackets (usually at the beginning) and are capitalised.  Numbers are spelled out and difficult words are followed by a round bracketed phonetic spelling in capitals).  Instructions for the director are supplied in square brackets eg.

[CUE]

Try not to break speeches across more than one page.  If it is necessary, put the following notation at the bottom of the first page;

(CONTINUED OVER)

Then place the following notation at the top of the next page;

(CONTINUED FROM  PREVIOUS)

Sound

Sound is underlined and capitalised and accompanied by a square bracketed identification number eg.

SOUND:          [2]

The sound is described and, if a bed of background sound is required, it is preceded by a round bracketed identifier eg.

(WALLA)

Directions follow the description eg. –

FADE OUT, - LET IT FINISH

 

Music

Music is underlined and capitalised and should be accompanied by a square bracketed number eg.

[1]

to identify which piece of music is required. The type of music is noted in round brackets eg.

(BRIDGE),(STING) or (BUMPER)

Directions follow the identification of the music’s title or description and are separated from this by a dash eg.

- FADE IN,  -  ESTABLISH AND UNDER

The bracketed SFX numbers correspond to a master list provided to the Sound Engineer in order to make the location and creation of sound effects easier.

Directions

For those unfamiliar with the technical terms, directions, and vocabulary used in scripts the following explanations might be helpful…

Term	Definition
(BEAT)	A momentary pause for the count of one or a single beat.
(BRIDGE)	Music played between scenes — the radio equivalent of lowering and raising the curtain on a scene. Often used to indicate music that transitions from the mood of one scene into the background music for then next.
(BUMPER)	Often sysnonymous with BRIDGE but tends to end discretely rather than transitioning into the background music of the next scene.
(CALLS OUT/SCREAMS)	Achieved by raising the head and mouth to shout or scream to the ceiling.
CONTINUE UNTIL	Let the sound or music play until a particular line number is reached.
[CUE]	The actor should wait for the director to indicate it is time to begin delivering the line.
(DISTANT, OFF MIC)	In traditional radio broadcasting this was achieved by having the actor step away from the microphone before delivering the line. At the dinner table this can be achieved by stepping back from the table or by simply lowering the volume of the voice.
(ENTERING/EXITING)	Approaching or moving away from the microphone.
ESTABLISH	Let the sound or music play for a moment before any other sound or dialog is added.
FADE IN	Start the sound or music softly and then gradually increase its volume.
FADE OUT	Gradually lower the volume on the sound or music until it can no longer be heard.
FADE UNDER	Lower the volume of the sound effect or music until the actors’ voices are clearly audible over it.
LET IT FINISH	Play the sound or music until it is complete without fading it.
(STAGE WHISPER)	A loud whisper uttered by the actor, intended to be heard by the audience but supposedly unheard by other characters in the play.
(STING)	Music used to emphasize the emotion of a moment: the “dum-de-dum-dum” that plays when a body is discovered, or the “bada-bing” cymbal crash of a joke being delivered etc.
(TO ROBIN, TO ALL)	Dialog to be directed to one or a number of characters in the scene.
UNDER	Continue a sound effect or music at low volume under the dialog or action taking place.
(WALLA)	Background sound belonging to the environment (for example, the sounds of a busy street).

Organisations that produce and perform scripts often have varying requirements. American scripts (which I personally find easier to read) use formatting similar to what has been discussed here. English scripts (such as those which are used by the BBC) use a different format. Be sure, if you are thinking of submitting your script to an organisation for performance, that you understand the style and formatting requirements of that organisation.

Well, that’s all for this week. This has turned out to be more a discussion of how I format scripts than of Erik Barnouw’s advice this time, but I hope it still proves helpful.

For a better example of the formatting in actual use, grab a copy of one of our scripts or download one of the sample files from http://www.weirdworldstudios.com/products.html .

– Philip Craig Robotham

The post Learning from Erik Barnouw – Part 2 appeared first on Host Your Own Old Time Radio Drama.