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.