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

188 Chapter Thirteen: The Value of Editing
The original version expressed little or no emotion, and the excitement at the
end of the scene came too late to keep the audience involved. The edited
version grabs the audience’s attention earlier, provides a sense of caring that
invites an emotional response from the audience, and suggests that there is
more to the lives of the characters than being mouthpieces for the drama’s
message.
• The first sound effect (FX) of the child screaming was added to tie this
episode to the previous one and to demonstrate that, in reality, life does
not occur in discrete, separate events. One event does not stop just
because another one is occurring. The question of Razia’s engagement
has not gone away just because Chauhdri and Shaista are now discussing
a women’s center. The sound effect also adds some suspense to the scene,
since the audience cannot tell whether it is simply a child being naughty
or a hint that a serious dramatic conflict is about to erupt.
• Razia’s story involves the audience in the scene, even if, at this stage, the
idea of a women’s center is not particularly interesting to them. They are
hooked into the scene to find out how it will end. At the same time, they
are absorbing, even if inadvertently, the beginning of the message on the
value of women’s income generating groups.
• Sound effects are added later in the scene to maintain the suspense and
to give Chauhdri and Shaista the opportunity to repeat, in a perfectly
natural way, the message from the previous episode.
• The new ending is a cliffhanger. When the episode ends, the audience
does not know whether Razia will be all right. They must tune in again
next time to find out what will happen. It is not necessary that every
scene contain such a potentially unhappy ending, but every scene should
contain some spark of real life, some suggestion that there is more to the
lives of the characters than being mouthpieces and recipients of the
message.
Editing to Clarify Scene Emotion
Emotion is vital for audience involvement, but how does the writer add
emotion to a scene that, on the surface, is no more than a conversation
between two characters This is the problem in the following scene from the
Nepali Distance Education Series, Service Brings Reward. The characters
include:
Kamala (abbreviated as KAM), the health worker in Pipaltar village;
Seti, A respected older woman of the village;
Rama, Sister-in-law to Seti, who lives in another part of the country;
and,
Madhukar (abbreviated as MADHU), the post’s health assistant.
Namaste is a Nepali word of greeting used when people meet or when
they part. Nani is a term of affection used by an older woman speaking to a
younger woman.