The parts of a radio script can be divided into the literary script and the production script. He radio script or Radio script Is the written discourse that provides all the details about what is going to be done and said during the program according to the duration time.
It is the working guide through which the director, conductor, musician and operator harmonize their functions and properly broadcast a radio program.
He radio script Reports on the subject to be discussed, sequence of comments, pauses, changes in the tone of the voice, drivers and reporters involved, music and sound effects to use, etc.
Who writes the radio script is the librettist or scriptwriter but needs coordination with the rest of the work team to integrate the contributions of the musicalizers, operators, drivers and the director in the precise moment and form.
Radio scripts are saved and organized by broadcasting dates (APCOB, 2017, page 13).
Main parts of the radio script
The radio script takes care of both the verbal language and the musical language of the program. A copy of the script is distributed to each person working on the program, including the station's audio operator (APCOB, 2017, page 13).
The physical aspect of the radio script is characterized by two columns on the same page written in a clear, large font with no blanks and no errors to avoid mistakes of some member of the team during the transmission to the air. The first column is the technical script and the second is the literary script or text.
The parts of the radio script can be divided into literary script and technical script.
Literary script
It is the written speech that will be read aloud by the speakers and details the dialogues between these as the questions to be asked, the bases of the comments of the interlocutors, the changes of section, the time to go to and return from commercials , etc.
The literary script is then formed through the following elements:
Parliaments
It is the dialogue pronounced by the speakers or narrators, for the better understanding of the history or the subject in question. It starts from the greeting of the announcers until the farewell of the program.
At the moment of constructing the parliament or libretto, it must be done in function of 3 elements that give cohesion to the text:
The theme
It is the clear and simple idea of the story that is going to be developed in script form. The simpler the subject and the more original the way it is addressed, the more interesting it becomes for the listener.
Logically the subject must be presented in an organized way for the listener's easy understanding. The basic elements of any narrative text apply perfectly here: beginning, development of the subject and closure.
If it is a dramatic or journalistic radio program, events can be counted synchronously, from the end to the beginning or from the middle by exchanging actions of the beginning and the end.
Space
It is the time that will be necessary for the theme to be developed and can be captured in the form of sounds by the listeners (University of Chile, Institute of Communication and Image, 2017, page 2)
Characters
If it is a radio entertainment program or journalistic, the characters will be the speakers themselves.
If it is the story of a story, then it talks about the radio actors that will give life to the characters.
Ratings
They are the indications written in parentheses so that the announcers execute them at the appointed time but they are not spoken aloud.
Such indications can be change in the tone of the voice, modulation of the words, notice of the beginning of the commercial strip, silences, etc.
Technical Script or Production Code
This section is especially aimed at musicalizers and operators. Here are all the instructions on the sound and the musical atmosphere that will have the radial transmission.
The musicalizers choose the appropriate music for the program according to their type (entertainment, informative, dramatic, etc.) and to their audience.
The operator is in charge of the management and control of equipment such as the sound console, computer with special audio programs and others.
The technical script consists of:
Sound effects
They are the sounds that stimulate memory and"decorate"the stage (Atorresí, 2005, p. 49) of any radio genre.
Examples of these sound adjustments can be a classic romantic song if you talk about love, sound horns and shouts of joy if a participant has just won a prize or sounding a squeal of brakes if you are talking about a traffic accident.
These sounds tend to be short and pretend to draw the listener's attention and / or interfere in what is being told.
Silence
They are pauses to rest the listener's ear (APCOB, 2017, page 18), to mark transitions of space between places and characters, to build psychological states, to incite reflection on a newly treated point or to mark rhythms of interaction between the members of a discussion.
Music
They are the melodies emitted during the program that suggest a certain type of emotional climate, create a sound environment and place the listener in the scene of the facts.
Within the music there are certain unique pieces of each program that give a touch of originality to the program and helps the listener to associate musical accompaniments with that particular program after several repetitions. These types of parts are:
Heading or attunement
It helps identify a specific program. It sounds at the beginning of the program and at the discretion of the directors, at the end of the transmission and to exit the advertising strip.
Burst or curtain
Musical accompaniment that sounds to separate thematic blocks or sections of the program. It marks the time that should last and ideally should have no voice.
Musical background
It is the melody that plays in the background while the speakers speak. The volume is low and preferably it has no voice so that the two things do not hinder the understanding of what the program drivers say.
Capsule
Brief sub-item of the main agenda item.
Knock
Very short music (2 or 3 chords) that acts as a sign of dramatization or emphasis of an action.
References
- APCOB. (18 of 7 of 2017). Radio training manual. Retrieved from WordPress: toolteca.files.wordpress.com.
- Atorresí, A. (2005). The radio genres. Anthology. Buenos Aires: Colihue.
- López Vigil, J. I. (18 of 7 of 2017). Urgent manual for passionate radioslistas. Obtained from Radioteca: radioteca.net.
- University of Chile. Institute of Communication and Image. (18 of 7 of 2017). Radio programs: scripts and creativity. Retrieved from Class V: clasev.net.
- Our Voices. Communication Center. (18 of 7 of 2017). Guide to radio production. Language, genres and tools. Obtained from Our Voices: voesnuestras.org.