iieiiei1eWrkers - Leicester Research Archive - University of Leicester

The drama companies submit one-page summaries of potential scripts for the
agency's approval at regular intervals. Only those selected are developed into
production. Distribution is done by the agency itself and the advertising spots
are edited into each episode so as to match particular advertisers with their
target audience.
For the film industry, radio dramas are part of the promotional campaign for a
new release. Film scripts are given to the drama company to be developed into
a 22 or 44 episode production. The time of broadcasting is also stipulated to
coincide with the cinema release in Bangkok. But contracts with film interests
are harzadous. If the film is a commercial flop, the drama company may not
get paid at all since most deals are done on credit.
Of these three financial sources, the first provides the greatest autonomy as
regards story selection and development. The other two are patrons who specify
exactly the kinds of cultural products they require. They are also more
expensive to make. In the case of advertising supported products. the
companies need to secure the copyright of works by well-known novelists, which
can cost between 5,000-10.000 hht (approximately £l25-250) for each production.
In the case of the fIlm industry, about 25% of the drama commissioned
consists of action-adventure serials, which require more technical skill and
production time. For the sponsored productions. the companies can sometimes
produce works by their own script writers thereby avoiding copyright fees.
Although the content of radio drama covers four major genres romance.
action-adventure, comedy and mystery, romance dominates and accounts for about
75% of the production. Action-adventure and comedy are almost exclusively
commissioned by the film industry, while a small number of gothic and
mysterious stories are now produced for the evening slot in order to compete
with television drama.
In line with these economic constraints, the drama companies organise their
production process around notiolls of cultural craftsmanship. The 'creativiiv'
involved in story writing is largely devolved to the novelists who supply the raw
materials. The script writers' main responsibility is to turn these stories into
radio scripts. Their own works are considered as fillers although they are
hardly distinguishable from the mainstream romance produced by 'ouiside'
writers. There is no extra payment for these 'original' works. Script writers
are paid on a piece work basis in the same way as minor actors or extras.
Not surprisingly, they are relatively mobile and frequently take up jobs in othei
drama companies or other niedia sectors, such as film and television.
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