(Q4) LESSON 2.1

• Families of the 1930s and 1940s would gather around the radio and listen to their favorite programs such as Little Orphan Annie, Amos and Andy, The Guiding Light, and The Shadow. 
• By the 1940s, Radio Drama was a leading international popular entertainment.
• Radio drama - commonly known as radio play, is a dramatized, purely audio performance that is usually broadcast on radio. With no visual component, this performance relies on dialogue, music and sound effects so as to help the listener visualize the story and characters.
• The terms "audio drama" or "audio theater" are sometimes used synonymously with "radio drama"
• Audio drama or audio theater is not intended specifically for broadcast on radio. 
• Codes and conventions - are forms of media that help to make a final piece.
• Codes - are the elements that have to be included in the production
• Conventions - are elements that listeners expect to hear.
• Script - without this, radio drama cannot be produced. This contains all the information that you need for your production, for example; important cues for dialogue, music and sound effects.
• Music - at the background of the radio drama creates atmosphere and heightens emotion
• Music - keeps the story moving by giving it color and holds the attention of the listener.
• Music Functions:

  • Grammatical: it joins different spaces and identifies different contents and sections of the programs.
  • Descriptive: when the music is part of the narration.
  • As content: in musical programs.
• Silence Functions:

  • Expressive: to represent emotional states.
  • Interactive: when doing interviews, the interviewer does not speak to stimulate the thinking time.
  • Narrative: to represent a gap in time.
• Silence - is a very useful resource to put emphasis and atmosphere to the radio message. Silence can provide a message with tension, emotion and very deep feelings.
• Sound effects - are the recordings that you can hear at the background of the radio play. They add realism to the production and give a clear idea what is going on in the story.
• Noises and effects provoke the listener to imagine, thus they are very important in a radio message. 
• Speech - This shows various personalities of the characters from the story, and makes the audience want to spend more time listening to it.
• Voice - is a crucial element in radio. It can provoke different reactions on the listener depending on its characteristics.
• Sound Landscape - Radio listeners create in their minds with the help of these sound elements. A radio piece makes your listeners imagine.