How to Create a Radio Drama

Codes
The codes of a radio drama are used to tell the story. Narration, dialogue, music and ambience sound are all used to tell the story.

For example if you wanted to demonstrate to your audience that a certain character within the drama is upset you could use the following codes;
Words: have the narrator to say that Person X is crying their eyes out or something along those lines. Dialogue: Person X *sniff**sniff* Music: A sad music transition or a jingle to slow everything down. Voices: The tone of the characters voice can let the audience know they are upset by downing the tone and stuttering their speech.

Conventions

Signposting
Signposting is the technique for establishing the location at the beginning of a scene. This is done by effects, spot or FX, and sometimes backed by description. Examples of signposting: Dog barking Mowing the lawn Old-fashioned shop door bell Knock on door Walking in outside acoustic Inside car acoustic, with traffic

Cliffhanger
In a cliffhanger, the character climbs a mountain of obstacles, but before they can triumph over the final conflict, the story simple ends. Right at the height of the conflict. This would be like if Suzanne Collins had ended THE HUNGER GAMES at the moment Katniss and Peeta popped the red berries into their mouths. They were selected as tributes, struggled through interviews, tracker jackers, mutts, and more, but we never learn if they survive the games.

Flashbacks
A flashback is a scene from the past that conveys relevant information needed for the reader to understand the character and/or scene better. This technique is often used to communicate information that cant really be relayed through other means due to constraints imposed by the story itself. Most of the time those constraints have to do with the length of the story but other times telling the whole backstory is not good option. Flashbacks are best used sparingly and as a way to enhance the story and/or pass along useful information. Flashbacks can also be used to remind the reader of information previously told but which they may have forgotten in the course of listening to the drama .

Use of Fades Fades in the sound are used when moving scenes or location. Radio dramas also would use a fade when a character is leaving the fictional space. Characterisation

Characterisation is the detailed production of your characters. Thinking how they would speak, walk and act around others.
Chronological Development Chronological Development is the order of the story being told. For it to be chronological it has to be in order with no flashbacks etc. Some radio dramas may start the drama before the present also known as the past. This would be still seen as chronological is its in order.

Narration

Radio is a "blind" medium, the narrator can function as the audience's "seeing-eye dog setting the scene, conveying the action, and providing exposition.
Direct Speech Direct or quoted speech is a sentence (or several sentences) that reports speech or thought in its original form, as phrased by the original speaker. Titles & Credits Instead of the title or credits of the production written in context it is played to the audience.

Styles
Appropriateness to target audience The target audience has to be evaluated before the drama is made. The author will stick to his genre and the content has to be made suitable for children or not, if not then made clear. Dramatic reconstruction re creating an event which has happened previously and making the scene like how it would be, as close to the actual moment as possible.

Creation of mood or location depending on the type of room that you are recording in. You can create a different feel to it, if you want to resemble a cave then you would have a room with reverberation creating an echo.

Structures
Duration The length of the production. Listen in hours, minutes & seconds. Narrative structure Framework of the story telling the audience who, what, when and why. Development of plot This is how the story is revealed to the audience, not revealing to outcome to soon or the interior motives of other characters before they are supposed to.