I've just finished a first draft of Containment, a supernatural tale for the Radio 4 Extra Man In Black series. Whilst I love radio, I must admit that, like most people, I tend to think in terms of pictures, so it's been quite a challenge.
It's very much a new medium for me, but one I'm keen to write for again.
As a radio newbie, I won't presume to set out a list of writing 'dos' and 'donts' but I would urge anyone who writes (or wants to write) for film and TV to also consider radio.
A few reasons why:
1/BBC Radio Drama (largely Radio 4 and 4 extra, but also Radio 3) commision more hours of original drama than any other broadcaster. They genuinely want to hear new voices and original stories. If you think R4 Afternoon Plays are always about middle-aged middle-class people slurping tea and eating Duchy Originals in Tuscanny, I'd urge you to listen again.
There have been musicals, biopics, sci fi, comedy- and no doubt a mixture of all of the above. Whilst the audience are obviously a bit older than the BBC3/E4 demographic, they don't want to listen to predictable and mundane stuff any more than you do.
2/ Radio is a lot cheaper to make than TV. This means that they're far more inclined to take a punt on new writers as there's less risk.
3/ Whilst writing for radio has its limitations, they're greatly outweighed by the possibilities.
For example, long monologues (which can often be death on film or TV) can be mesmerising on radio.
We can also hear characters' thoughts in a way that's much more fluid than voice over. Through clever sound design we can take the audience across time and space with ease.
Want to tell a story that takes in feudal Japan, 40s New York and a futuristic space station hurtling towards the sun? Go right ahead.
It's no surprise that Hitchhikers found such a natural home there.
4/It's very early days for me, but from what I can gather it's also a very writer-friendly medium. The development process tends to be just you and a producer rather than a raft of different people. Very often, the producer will actually want you at the recording so you won't feel as much of a spare wheel as you might do on a film or TV set**.
5/ It also seems to be an actor friendly medium (no make-up, waiting for lights to be set up etc). This lack of hassle means that fantastic actors, who could earn a lot more on much higher profile projects, keep returning to radio (have a flick through the Radio Times and see how often the likes of Bill Nighy, David Tennant and Maxine Peake appear in radio dramas).
5/ The commisioning process is much faster than TV and infinitely quicker than film. This is due to smaller production costs and, naturally, fewer hoops to jump through.
6/ As BBC Radio drama are really the only commisoners of Radio Drama (apart from the likes of Big Finish) they don't necessarilly expect whole scripts 'on spec'. Sometimes just a couple of pages on the story and why you want to tell it can be enough. This saves you slaving away at something that's similar to something that they've already done, or are about to do.
7/ It can be a great 'testing ground' for an idea- especially comedy (it'd be easier listing the recent British comedies that haven't started on radio than those that have). I believe that you also retain the right to your project should you wish to try it in another medium. }
One example was a radio play a few years back called the King's Speech...
So, in conclusion, Radio is ace**
CORRECTION: As Janice Okoh points out below, the radio play about the George VI's stammer and his relationship with Lionel Logue wasn't written by David Seidler- but I think the point about radio as a testing ground for stories still stands.
* Even if you've worked for a years in production, people on film sets always assume writers will walk into shot, knock over lights, or start weeping uncontrollably because an actor's shirt has different buttons to the ones you envisaged. In reality no writer will do any of these things as long as there's a catering van or someone nearby to say 'I'm the writer' to.
**Unless of course they hate my script, in which case it's terrible.
6 comments:
Lovely post. I was told by radio people that The kings Speech Radio play and the Film were written by two different writers. Apparently the idea was well known in the public domain.
Right you are- should have checked first. It was by a chap called By Mark Burgess.
I guess you can't copyright history!
But you can rewrite history...
However that wasn't why I was posting.
The only caveat, as I understand it, is that the commissioning process requires you to go through an approved production company, as I have. (Unless you are working directly with Beeb, I guess.)
(Hi Janice)
And today's verification word is goothir "to arrive at a place".
I am writing a Man in Black episode, too, so we'll be in the same series. I know another writer who is doing it as well. Looks like it's going to be an exciting series. Think it's a real challenge to make radio scary... as fear is very much a visual thing.
Steve- very true. I've only read the screenplay of 'The Kings Speech. It's beautifully written, even if they have 'done a Trotsky' and airbrushed Chamberlain out of history.
For the record, my contact was initially with another in-house producer at the BBC with whom I had a near-miss last year (and hopefully a commision this year). The great thing is that you can hear a play, make a note of the producer and just e-mail them (it's always firstname.surname@bbc.co.uk). Far less hoops than film or telly.
Janice-wonderful news. Congratulations. I know what you mean about visuals being so important in horror, but then again it's often the score or a suddent noise that produces jumps and scares (imagine 'Psycho' without that music!)
I agree with you. The producers are so approachable with many happy to work with new writers who have plenty of ideas. I tell loads of writers to contact the producers, which is exactly what I did. It's a really fun experience.
Yes, my pitch got blown out of the water last year. Fingers crossed for us both this year.
Hello Adaddinsane!
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