Radio Far Side of the Moore Rehearsal Development

When first given the 'Far Side of the Moore' script I was eager to read through it and understand the character I was playing and the story behind the 'Sky at Night'. What first stood out to me when reading the script was Patrick Moore's relationship with a lady named Lorna. After reading through the script he says how he only knew her for about ten months yet from analysing the play he was in love with her.

Max Stafford Clark

The first mention of Lorna is on page 14, when Patrick is talking about a woman he likes called Eileen, he says how Eileen reminds him of Lorna, "Reminds me a little of Lorna" He then goes on to ask his friend Arthur Clarke if "Eileen would make a good wife?" This intrigued me to find out more about the relationship between Patrick and Lorna as Patrick mentions her in a good light and compares her to a woman he is thinking about marrying. As I got further into the script I learnt more about this key relationship with Lorna. We see a scene where Patrick first meets Lorna. Patrick describes her as his "first love". Through the scene there is obvious chemistry between Patrick and Lorna. With wit and flirty comments coming from both parties. In order to et this across through the audio, I think I will use the technique of Actioning by Max Stafford Clark. I use this method a lot as I feel it helps me portray emotionally what Patrick would be feeling. The method created by Max Stafford Clark looks at finding the intention behind the line and delivering it to its right setting. Before I would deliver the line I'd look at the relationship between the character I was saying the line to and my character and also what is being said. Patricks first line to Lorna is "No, Patrick, actually" while answering Lorna's question. This I perceive is quite flirty and witty and is in some ways trying to subtly be playful and seductive. For this I would do the action of allure, so I would say the words 'I Allure You' before delivering the line in order to get the alluring emotion.

After finding out more about Patricks relationship with Lorna I wanted to look into his life and what made him an astronomer as well as other relationships.

Patsy Rodenburg

A character we see a lot in this radio play is Getrude Moore, who is the mother to Patrick. Patrick has a good relationship with his mother and many of the scenes in this drama are with Patrick and his mother talking openly about Patricks life. Patrick also believes he and his mother are close "We're very close - Mother and I." For the scenes where I am with my mother I will take this into consideration and think about a more relaxed tone and presence. An acting theory that I find interesting talks about the presence of an actor and character. Patsy Rodenburg talks about the second circle and how there are three circles, she says how in the first circle is an actor who isn't present and is quite laid back and may seemed relaxed, the energy falls back into the person. The Second Circle is a more present energy with the person being present but not over pressuring. The third circle is often too over energised and these are the sort of people who Patsy describes as 'taking the oxygen out of the room'. I feel for this scene I will be in second circle as an actor so my voice doesn't fail, but as a character I will be in first circle, and give a more relaxed tone to my voice yet still connecting with the audience. Patrick has a strong connection with his mother which I believe means that his relationship wasn't great with his father and so he gravitated towards his mother more.

After reading through the script more in the following weeks I started to look into his relationship with his father and what sort of man Patrick Moore's father was and the impact he had on Patrick. I believe that his father was quite a stern man and would stick up for what he believed in. I got this impression after looking at the text as when talking about something he hates and how he would combat it he mentions how his father would. Meaning his father would stick up for his beliefs.

The Story of the Solar System

I was also keen to look at what made Patrick Moore and astronomer, he says in the script that from a young age he was handed a book at the age of 6 by his mother called 'The Story of the Solar System' by G.F Chambers, however he goes on to say how he was looking at the other children play and wanted to know their names yet looked up and learnt the names of the stars instead, this seems to give off the impression that Patrick Moore had quite a lonely childhood as he never interacted with other children, this may have been due to his father being stern and not letting him play with other kids. However in some ways this was a blessing as it showed him astronomy. Throughout the radio play I will imagine Patrick Moore's childhood in order to understand the experience he had before the time that this is set and to understand more about his relationship with his Father, Mother and the stars.


I am looking forward to doing the final version of this wonderful script and getting it recorded so I can make a good evaluation on areas of my voice that are weak.

Radio Blog - Far Side Of The Moore (Ensemble)

Research and Analysis 

For our Radio Assignment we shall being doing a radio play called Far Side Of The Moore. Which is about Patrick Moore's life, I am playing the part of Patrick Moore so I have a lot of work to do.


In order to portray Sir Patrick Moore to the best of my ability I will need explore the different demands relating to acting in an audio performance. I have listened to different audio pieces in order to understand the depth and skill needed for an audio performance.

Patrick Moore's Final Episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t0exJznEZg

Luckily, the character I am playing is a major TV personality, so I have loads of places I can do research and video and audio clips in order to get Patrick Moores voice. In this clip Patrick Moore voice is very articulate in his earlier life. As he got older his voice was still articulate but more difficult to understand.


Patrick Moore Documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52fRJU7BAsc

This video shows an excerpt from Patrick Moores documentary. There would be points where you would not be able to see Patrick Moore and it would just be audio at these points he was a lot more articulate than when on video. This was a great technique by Sir Patrick Moore as he knew he had to get his point across just through words.

O2 Priority Advert (Narration):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBo1uDM5IUE

I thought I would look at an advert for a popular company like O2. O2 would hire someone with great vocal skills in order to sell their product and get their message across. The tone in which the narration is done is easy to listen to, he also talks at a pace which is perfect as its not too slow that it becomes boring but its not too fast that its difficult to to understand. At the start of this advert we hear some piano playing, the mood of the song I would say would be motivating with meaning. The advert is also in black and white which shows us the intention of the advert which is free cinema tickets, as it is well known that films started out in black and white. This theme also gives the feeling of suspense as the audience may relate the black and white theme to some of Hitchcock's movies who was the father of suspense in films, like psycho and the wrong man along with many others. In the trailer we also hear Gary Oldmans voice a number of times, his distinctive voice can be recognized by any film lover and it helps to sell the membership with free cinema tickets because they hear Gary Oldman promoting him. I think this advert is very effective as they capture their target audience with big names promoting the product like Gary Oldman. I think also the piano playing and the one liners from Oldman capture the hearts of the audience and motivate them to buy this product as they feel captivated. I think the quality of the narrative is good, the dialogue isn't too long but it gets to the point. One line that I think is quite poignant is 'You just need to be you. You're our priority'. This is a clear message which says how O2 put the customer first, this is what the target audience want to hear as they don't want to feel like they are getting ripped off by a major company. The part where it says 'You just need to be you' instils in the viewers mind that O2 are supporting who they are, in this diverse generation. 

Halo Reach (Video Game):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfkstC0jTQ4

At the 1:43 mark you can hear one of the soldier talking, there is a special effect on the voice to show a bit of an echo, this gives the effect that the voice is been given through a transmission and sets the scene. The voice actor however throughout this still retains a husky soldier like voice in order to give the stereotypical 'tough guy' voice. In this cut scene of this game the first thing the audience hears is the music, this entices the audience to watch the video as it grasps them from the start. The mysterious orchestrated music gives off the impression that something big is about to happen. I find this to be very effective as it captivates the audience and gives a great first impression, it also sets the mood for the rest of the gameplay trailer and foreshadows what is about to come. As said before the sound effects in this feature are quite appropriate, the scene for the game is a futuristic war zone feel and so computer and transmission type sound effects are important. At one point you can hear a helicopter go past in the background, this gives the audience the impression of a war zone or an intense situation. I think this is a great way to strike fear into the audience as the helicopter getting louder and louder is building to a climax. This is a wonderful use of sound effect. I feel overall this Halo Reach gameplay scene is very effective as it sets the scene for the mission to follow, it also gives us a clear view of the characters intentions as they want to move forward into the war zone as we hear one commanding soldier say 'We are a team that lone wolf stuff stays behind' and another less important soldier reply with 'got it sir' this shows the status between the two characters and the characters objective as well as giving us the impression that the conversation is being had over radio transmission with the constant fuzzy sound effects. I think the script is a good fit for the theme and setting the game is set in. 



While looking through different types of types of audio recordings, I noticed mostly how different voices are needed for different things, a narration is much different to a game audio recording. yet both need good articulation and other good vocal strengths.

Microphone Technique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaMOcb3A7kM


I was eager to learn about Microphone technique in order to achieve a high level audio standard. I first learned about a pop shield which I recognized from when I rehearsed with a Microphone before.

Pop Shields

A pop shield is a shield that stops plosives from reaching the microphone, plosives are constants such as P, K, T, B, D and G, which are harsh sounding constants as the air flow is interrupted. Without the pop shield, the plosives would be loud on the speaker and would interrupt the flow of the piece and sound at a different level to the other words and sounds. At around the 2 minute mark the man talks about how far one needs to be away from the microphone. He says about how in intimate settings you would be closer to the microphone and speak in a quieter tone as if you were speaking in someone's ear. I feel like I can use this technique in the Far Side of The Moore script as there are parts which are more intimate so Henry King can't hear. As I am nearer to the microphone, its more sensitive and will pick up most sounds, so I will have to keep my breath quiet and articulation at a high level. There is one part where I go from a loud voice as I want to be heard into a hushed version. In order for me to get this I will first need to stand quite far away from the microphone and be loud so I can be loud without being too difficult to hear if too near to the microphone, after that I go to another intimate moment talking about Henry King without him wanting to hear so I will get nearer to the microphone and imagine its the person I'm talking to's ear.

The Archers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0742hlc

I thought I would start listening to Radio plays on BBC Radio 4 to try and listen to how vocally they change. I also wanted to look at if I could recognize where they would be, whether that would be outside or in different places. A radio drama that is quite popular and is the one I tuned in was Archers. The play starts off with the characters sitting down eating food at a table. There are parts and different sound effects which give this impression. At one point a piece of cutlery can be heard clashing with a plate. There are also parts where you can hear the character Jim talking with food in his move, in order for him to get this across he has to talk as if he's trying to eat at the same time while also maintaining a good balance of vocal quality to still be heard. Later on I hear the character Jim yawning and breathing quite heavily this gives us the idea that Jim is tired and maybe bothered, this stereotypical yawn shows us that he is tired as he can't show it through his body as its an audio performance. At one point you can hear birds in the background this gives us the idea that the characters are outside they are appropriate as they are farmers and gives us the image that they are working in the day. Later on in the audio performance you can hear footsteps as a character arrives, this shows us the intention of the character as he wants to chat to the other characters. At the start of the episode we hear some orchestral music, this sets the scene and makes sure the audience is ready to listen to the show. It is also quite tuneful and it is a good marketing technique as people will remember the tune and then the show, I think this enhances the programme greatly. I think this programme is very effective as it is appropriate as it shows the life of working class people in a rural area. This is relatable to a working class audience that like to hear the lives of others. The reason this is the most popular non news audio performance is because people are inquisitive to other peoples lifes. I think this radio play would best be aired in the daytime or late afternoon at around 5pm when people middle class people can listen to it while driving home from work. The show is family friendly and wouldn't be shown at a late hour. I like the quality of the script as it lends itself to the surroundings and it gives the audience a better appreciation for where the characters are and what their objective is. There is a part in Archers where Jim will say 'I'm going out now' this shows the audience a clear objective from the character and what he intentions are whilst also giving an underlying tone that he may want to get away from the other characters.  I don't enjoy this radio play too much due to its stereotypical stock character voices, that I feel are too expressionistic , however I do understand the reasoning for this, and I will use this research to further my vocal ability when performing.

But You Did Not Come Back

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07569bk

After listening to The Archers I wanted to listen to another BBC based audio piece. I felt 'But You Did Not Come Back' was an appropriate piece as it contrasts The Archers very well. 'But You Did Not Come Back' was first a book written by Marceline Loridan-Ivens, and in this audio performance it is read by Sara Kestelman. The book is about a memoir of a surviving Holocaust member and her time at Auchwitz. This moving story read by Sara Kestelman is very contrasting to The Archers which is an up beat soap drama. I wanted to understand the different challenges set, as both audio performances have different intentions. I believe the intention of 'But You Did Not Come Back', is to give an insight into the treacherous living conditions in the most famous WWII concentration camp. The tone the reader speaks in is a very humbling tone, she is quite quiet yet she is easy to listen to. The reason she speaks in this humbling tone is to give the feeling of inferiority as how the Jewish people would have felt under the sadistic wrath of the Nazis. She also puts the emphasis on the right words, the narrator picks words which will stick in the mind of the person listening to the audio. Words like separated and exhausted, all negative adjectives in this passage to give the emotion of stress and negativity. The reader also sighs sometimes subtly when saying certain lines as if, she can't bear to think of the horrific times she spent in the camp and even bringing it up make her sigh with misery. It is also read in quite a slow way, which gives a lot of meaning and thought to the meaning. It is as if every thought is said as if it is the last line of the book, it is said with meaning and punctuality which gives the audience a taste into how intense Auchwitz was. What can be seen as even more horrifying is the way in which some lines to the reader are read as second nature and they roll of the tongue as to show that this was every day life and that eventually this became a commodity to a young mind like the girl who's memoirs are being read. I think overall this is a good piece of audio as it is appropriate to what it is trying to what the book would want to have achieved. 

I enjoyed analysing different versions of audio performance and will look forward to playing Patrick Moore and understanding the elements needed in order to sound articulate and believable.

Radio Blog - Solo

For my solo radio work I have decided to do 1 monologue, 1 short childrens story and 1 ADR video game. 

Posh

The material I have chosen are parts that I believe shows the versatility in my voice, I feel that I am good at doing a posh upper class accent and so I chose a monologue which would show that to the best of my ability. Posh by Laura Wade is about a group of Oxford boys that are in a club that has been going for years. Alistair, who I am playing is in his first year and has a brother who is a 'legendary' member of the Riot Club. The monologue is a mature piece that talks about society and a pub manager in a inferior fashion as he believes its turning his 'country to fuck'. As this is an audio recording the character needs to be less naturalistic as I only have 1 outlet through the microphone to convey the overall message and what my characters objective is as the audience can't see my body language or facial expressions. I will imitate a very posh upper class English accent, I will do this by picturing a posh dinner with other upper class men who believe they are superior to the common man. I will also be very articulate for the audience to understand what I am saying and as the posh upper class accent is very articulate already. Throughout the monologue Alistair's target is to belittle the bar manager who he believes is rude. He is also giving his view on society and how things should be. I felt that finding his objective would help me get to grips with the character and understand the intention behind the monologue. The actor and the target by Declan Donnellan is a technique I feel best suits what I want to find from this monologue. He says how 'You can never know what you are doing until you first know what you are doing it to'. He goes on to say, 'The target can be real or imaginary, concrete or abstract, but the unbreakable first rule is that at all times and without a single exception there must be a target'. As Declan had pointed out I need to know what or who I am having an affect on. In this scene Alistair who I am playing is rallying up the other men in the room as there are parts where other members in the Riot club talk but I cut it out to make it into a monologue. I feel Alistair is trying to persuade the other men that they are superior. By getting the most out of my voice and performing it to my greatest ability I felt I had to have a better idea of the character and so I wanted to research people that I felt were like Alistair in real life. My first example of a posh snob would be someone like Jordan Belfort from 'Wolf of Wall Street' who constantly see's himself as better than everyone else as soon as he gets the taste of money. He's been quoted saying 'I have been a rich man and I have been a poor man, and I choose rich every fucking time', he then goes on to say how he is a 'winner', this reminds me a lot of the character of Alistair as they are both snobby and look down at who they believe are inferior, the poor. Another character that is also greedy is Patrick Bateman from American Psycho a wall street big shot who turns psychopathic due to greed. He has been quoted saying ' I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust'. I don't think this is an accurate representation of Alistair as he isn't psychopathic, however he is overzealous when it comes to money. 

For my childrens book I first planned to read Five Minutes' Peace by Jill Murphy, after reading through it a couple of times I found it difficult to do 5 different elephant voices and remember the tone and accent for each elephant as there is a mum dad and three baby elephants that are all at different ages. The story however is a great story for audio recordings as there are many different emotional levels that you can play with the mother getting annoyed to the children having fun. I felt this was too difficult of a task for me to do and I felt my voice wouldn't match the elephants voice anyway. I felt my talents would be better showed in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Robert Southey, I think that I will be able to portray Goldilocks voice by doing a high pitch innocent voice that would be given to a stereotypical girl. I felt I portrayed this well and even the parts where  Goldilocks is scared or shocked, by imaging the stereotypical blonde girl in my head screaming after seeing something shocking. I will also be doing three bear voices, for father bear, mother bear and baby bear. For each bear I intend to make them quite characterised and over the top so its more entertaining for the target audience which are children. The father bear I will put on quite a loud powering voice that has a lot of presence this is to give off the idea that he is the biggest bear and this is his territory. The Mother bear I have decided to put on quite a posh sound voice to make her seem innocent and caring which are traits a stereotypical mother would have after raising a child. The baby bear I have based of the character of Gavroche in Les Miserable who is a young cheeky boy who loves to play and I think this cockney type voice is perfect to be funny for the younger audience and to insinuate a small bear character.









My other solo work is ADR or automated dialogue replacement in which dialogue is replaced as why the name is given, for our ADR we did video games, I decided to be in the Fallout 4 Trailer as I believe the part is a strong one and best shows my ability of doing a gritty subtle American accent, I also asked if I could do the 'PEGI 16' start for the trailers, as I have heard the voice many times over my childhood and felt I could replicate it. For the Fallout 4 Trailer, my line was 'Haven't you been paying attention? You don't  find the institute the institute finds you' After doing further research the line is said by Conrad Kellogg, the institute is in Fallout 4 and is an organisation that has certain agents, Conrad Kellogg is an agent that is sent out to find people kill them and kidnap them, however no one is able to find the institute and goes along with the line that people will never find the institute but if they want to find you they will. Much like a Mafia sort of based establishment. For this I really listened to the character and how the voice was being put on, as said before I felt actor gave the character a grittly voice that was quite powerful. Having done further research I know that Conrad Kellogg is a powerful character in this game. After listening to the first audio recording a couple more times I noticed how he puts emphasis on the word 'find' in 'you don't find the institute the institute finds you', this simple bit of emphasis gives off many messages that help me to understand the characters objective, I feel that by emphasising the word 'find' in this line he sounds very patronising and is almost belittling the man asking the question as to wonder why he asked to 'find' it. I think this also makes him sound more powerful and gives off the impression that he feels he is superior to the one asking the question. For my other short part I said 'PEGI 16' which is said at the beginning of Fallout 4 to show that it is a 16 rated and above game. For this short bit I need to be rather articulate as I have to get across the message that children younger than 16 shouldn't be playing this game. I will give y voice quite an authoritative sound by sounding monotone in order to get the message across that the  age rating is serious.






Throughout my solo work I have enjoyed working on different voices in order to get a complex and versatile amount of material together that will be beneficial to me in the future should I want a voice reel.