How to Write a Radio Serial Drama for Social Development- PDF

110 Chapter Seven: Writing for the Ear
a barefoot person walking on earth generally make no sound at all. When
a character comes into or goes out of the scene, it is much more realistic
to have the actor move towards (FADE IN) or away from the microphone
(FADE OUT) while speaking than to add the sound of footsteps.
EXAMPLE
1. PASCO: (FADE IN) Hey, Nongma...Nongma...Where are you (ON
MICROPHONE) Ah, there you are.
2. NONGMA: Pasco, my friend...What is it What are you so excited about
3. PASCO: (HAPPILY) They’ve arrived. They’re here at last.
4. NONGMA: Who’s here What are you talking about, Pasco
5. PASCO: The street actors...We’ve been hoping they’d come. And now
they’re here Nongma, and they’re about to start their show.
6. NONGMA: Hey, that’s great! (FADING OUT) Let’s go and watch them.
7. PASCO: You bet...(FADING OUT) I’m coming. Wait for me.
2. Use sound beds sparingly. A sound bed provides continuous sound
throughout a scene. In a market scene, for example, the writer might call
for a “Market Background Sound Bed” that would add noises typical of a
market throughout the scene, such as trucks, people shouting, people
buying and selling, and the like. Continuous background sound of this
nature can be troublesome in serials, however, because of the frequent
changes of scene. This can force the writer to call constantly for a “cross
fade” from one sound effect to another or to use music to mark every
break between one scene and the next. Such over-use of music to mark
frequent scene breaks can be very distracting and can cause listeners to
lose track of what is going on. Unless a continuous sound bed is an
essential element of a particular scene, it is better to avoid it. A similar,
but less complicating, effect can be achieved by establishing the sound
briefly at the beginning of the scene and then gradually fading it down
and out under the dialogue.