audio pro forma

1. Audio
Jack Roberts

2. Story - Stick man
The oldest documented ghost story I’ve found for York dates back to the late
18th century. Author of The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Laurence
Sterne, lived for some years at 33 Stonegate, with the first two volumes of his
famous novel being published from number 35: now haunted. The house next
door to his had been occupied by an aged gentleman who nightly feared he
would be robbed by intruders as he lay in his bed. To frighten them off, as the
York Minster bells struck midnight, he banged his walking stick against the
wall next to his bed repeatedly, thinking to frighten off any would-be thieves.
After his death, the knocking was still reputedly heard. At number 35, the
adjoining bedroom to Sterne’s is now known as the Seance Room, and was a
bedroom.

3. Existing Products Research
• LORE
– In this audio show it is presented as a documentary and is narrated by
one person for the entirety of the episode. The narrator in this show is
softly spoken which makes it an easy listen. The narrator also speaks at
a good pace and is not too fast and everything is also well pronounced
so you can understand everything making it easier to visualise
everything being described. In the show there is also background
music which is playing quietly while the narrator is speaking. The
music in the background is a softly played piano and this background
music is played through the entire episode helping to set the tone of
the show/episode by creating a creepy vibe and unsettling feeling.

4. Existing Products Research
• Doctor Who
– In this audio show the story is an anti-realist story so the show is
having to create an image of this imaginary world in the mind of the
listener by only using audio. To do this they have sound effects of
things being moved so we can image things such as chains and there
are also sound effects of smoke. They have also added a bit of echo
onto the voice of each character to give a sense of a large open area to
the listener which will help to create this image in the listeners head.
In the background of this audio show there is also some music to help
set the scene and to create a mysterious and creepy atmosphere.

5. Existing Products Research
• Haunted House Soundscape
– For this soundscape they have used stereotypical horror sounds to
create the idea of a haunted house. They use stereotypical noises like
the sound of a storm and a squeaking gate. These things help to create
a clear image in the listeners head off of past experiences. Though for
majority of the soundscape nobody says anything it is still clear that
there is a person in the scene with the sound effects of footsteps and
heavy breathing.

6. Bibliography
1. Mahnke, A. (2017). LORE - Episode 74: All Fall Down. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3RGz7Q_qlI. Last accessed 6th
Nov 2018.
2. Fitton, M. (2018). Doctor Who - The Seventh Doctor is Scary AF. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA50biqUB-8. Last accessed 6th
Nov 2018.
3. Katie Whelan. (2017). Haunted House soundscape. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JVm2IZ3ChU. Last accessed 6th
Nov 2018.

7. Planning

8. Idea Generation/Initial Reaction
When I was given this assignment my initial reaction was it would be difficult
to create an image in the listeners head of what is happening so I decided to
challenge myself by recording all the noises for the show myself and not
getting them from websites or anything. I think that this will make it easier for
the listener to get a clear image of what is happening
• Horror
• Narration
• Floor boards creaking, squeaking doors/gates opening, screams, crying,
objects flying through the air and smashing, foot steps (walking/running),
weather (wind/rain/thunder and lighting), heart beating, church bell,
banging on wall of the old man, creepy background music (creepy kids
lullabies/piano), the uses of silence could help to build suspense.

9. ProposalWorking Title:
Stickman
Audience:
My radio play will be aimed at a middle aged gender neutral audience who are mainly middle class with a few
lower middle class people listening to the show. The listener of my radio show would most likely be a
Belonger as I imagine my radio so being on a local radio station instead of a national radio station. My show
would appeal to this audience because it is based off of a local ghost story so it would be more interesting to
the people living in that area than people outside of this area. The show would appeal to this age range
because of the history in it and because it is on a more local radio station. I would see the gender of the
audience being neutral as there is nothing really to stereotype it to a male or a female audience.
Project Concept (approx. 200 words)
My project would be a short ghost story in a series of ghost stories to be put on the local radio as a weekly
episode leading up to a longer Halloween special. All the ghost stories in the series would be real ghost
stories taken from in York as the series would be on York's radio stations. Because the ghost stories are based
off of stories in York so I will have to do research on York in the past and the stories I am basing the show off
of. This would be the first in the series so it would set the tone for all the episodes so it would have to hook
the listener and make them want to come back. For my research I used a website called yorkmix.com as it
has lots of ghost stories from the York area.

10. Script
FADE IN:
INT. MIDNIGHT – 33 STONEGATE
LAURENCE and ELIZA are asleep on there bed room when the bells strike midnight and there is a sudden banging on the bedroom wall that
wakes them both.
LAURENCE
I have had enough of this Eliza! This gentleman next door needs a good talking to I tell you! Every night for the past two months he has been
banging on this wall. I am struggling to finish my novel as I keep falling asleep at my desk!
LAURENCE takes his coat from the hanger as the banging comes to an abrupt end.
ELIZA
The gentleman has stop now Laurence just get back into bed and we can speak to him in the morning.
LAURENCE sighs, puts his coat back on the hanger and returns to his bed.
CUT TO:
INT. EARLY MORNING – 33 STONEGATE
LAURENCE and ELIZA are awoken by the sound of commotion outside the aged gentleman's has hold and heavy rain fall.
LAURENCE
If it is the gentleman next door who has woken me again there will be serious consequences. I will call the authorities if I must.
ELIZA
No need dear they are already here.
LAURENCE
What do you mean they are already here?
ELIZA
It seems the gentleman next door has passed away in his sleep.
CUT TO:
INT. EVENING – 33 STANEGATE
LAURENCE and ELIZA are going to bed. Outside there is a storm brewing and you can hear the rain beating against the glass and the wind
whooshing past the window.

11. Script
ELIZA
I cannot believe the gentleman next door past away.
LAURENCE
I know dear but thank God he has died that horrendous banging will finally be gone.
ELIZA
How dare you use the lords name when saying such a thing. That gentleman has just died and your first thought is that you can have a good
nights sleep! The Lord will punish you Laurence for this.
CUT TO:
INT. MIDNIGHT – 33 STONEGATE
The bells strike at midnight as usual but there is a bit of a pause before the banging on the wall begins as if it has stopped and it is gone. Then the
banging suddenly starts. LAURENCE and ELIZA are woken by the banging. The rain and wind calm down but it is still there.
LAURENCE
I have had enough I am going to have word with him right now!
ELIZA
Laurence.
LAURENCE
No I have had enough you cannot stop me.
ELIZA takes a deep breath followed by LAURENCE taking a deep breath as he realises. Followed by a scream.
FADE OUT:

12. Sound Effects
Sound Effect Needed How I Will Create the Sound
Banging on wall I will hit a wall.
Rain Record a garden hose or get it online.
Wind I will record the wind or get it online.
Man shouting Record some shouting from a distance.
Getting out/into bed I will wave a duvet in the air.
Putting on/taking off coat I will rustle a coat.
People talking out on street Record talking from a distance.
Rain hitting window Use a garden hose being sprayed at a
window.
Walking By walking on the spot.

13. Resource List
Resource Owned/Cost What sound effect will it be
used for?
Garden hose Owned Rain
Coat Owned Getting In/getting out of bed
Wooden stick Owned Banging on wall
Coat Owned Coat on/off

14. Production

15. Daily Reflection Day 1
On the first day of production I was writing the script for my audio play and I
was also finding background music online along with other sound effects I
could not create myself such as birds tweeting and a storm. I then recorded a
few of the sound effects that I needed to make myself. For example the
banging on the wall and the sound of the people getting in and out of bed. I
feel like I could have got more variations of the sounds like the banging on the
wall at different speeds so I had more of a chose when it came to editing. I
also had to record a few random lines to layer up to make it sound like people
talking outside the house I wish I had got more lines recorded to layer up as
you can slightly hear some of the lines just being repeated and it would have
been better if they were all different so it seems more realistic. While I was
writing my script I did some research on Laurence Sterne and his family so I
could include more characters into the play.

16. Daily Reflection Day 2
On the second day of production I recorded the lines for my play this took a
bit of time as we had to get multiple takes to get the right feel for the play
and pacing of each scene. I think this went well and I got a good number of
takes and I wasn’t restricted by not having enough takes. Once I had gotten all
the takes I needed and to the quality I wanted I started editing my audio play.
First I added the background music I wanted to use and put all the scenes
over the top without the sound effects. I then sorted the lines and got them
to the pacing I wanted before adding the sound effects to it all I feel this
worked best for me as I got all the basics sorted and wasn’t having to work
with everything at once and getting myself confused. Once I had gotten my
play fully edited I had time to rerecord some sound effects that were not
working well in my audio and did not work well along side the other audio.

17. Evaluation

18. Research
For my research I listened to different audio shows to get an idea of what I
was having to create. This helped me understand how to create and audio
show and the types of sounds that I needed to get to create a clear image in
the listeners head. I listened to three different audio shows. The first thing I
listened to Lore which was a thirty minuet long documentary. In the episode I
listened to they were talking about the weather and its power to give and
take life. This had a lot of different sound effects for the weather depending
on what the narrator was talking about. These sound effects helped to paint a
picture in my head of what he was describing and this helped me as I knew
what sort of sounds I had to use to create my audio play. I then listened to
Doctor Who audio play which I feel helped me the most as this was most
similar to what I wanted to do. This helped me with the acting side on my
audio project as it helped me see how to say lines and how to put the
emotion through the lines instead of movement and facial expressions like in
acting for a film. Finally I listened to a soundscape for a haunted house which
really help me plan for the background noise in my audio play.

19. Planning
First thing I did for my planning was idea generation so I made some quick
bullet points on what sorts of sounds I was going to need to make my audio
play. This was a good starting point for my planning as it gave me a good place
to start from. I then went on to write my proposal for my audio play. In my
proposal I spoke about the audience and I gave a quick overview of the
concept. I decided the audience for my audio show would be a middle aged
gender neutral audience who are mainly middle class with a few lower middle
class people listening to the show. The concept of my audio play was a short
ghost story from the York area. This was so it could be put on local radios
instead of a national radio station. I then went on to write the script for my
audio play so I knew what was to be said and where and when each scene
was meant to be set so I knew roughly what sounds are was going to have to
use for each scene. Once I had completed my script I went on to make a list of
all the sound effects that were going to be needed for my audio play I feel this
was the best of my planning as it made things much easier when it came to
production because I could just tick things off as I went through the list.

20. Time Management
I feel I managed my time very well when doing this project as I got everything
when doing my planning done in time to start production which then ran very
smoothly. I did not run out of time when doing my actual production and
actually had time at the end to rerecord things that did not work in the final
product. If I had some additional time I feel I could have maybe gotten a few
more sound effects to make it a bit better and would have also gotten more
takes of the lines being read just so I had more options when it came to the
edit on pacing and tone but what I got worked efficiently. Also if I had more
time I would have added more to the story in my audio play or I would have
added another story into it or possibly an intro an outro for the podcast so
the viewer would know what they are listening to which I have assumed the
radio station it would be broadcasted on would introduce it.

21. Technical Qualities
Comparing my audio play to Doctor Who which is a professional audio play I
listened to I feel there were a lot of things similar between then such as the
noises of people or objects moving and the background music to build
tension. Some differences between my project and the professional audio
play would be how they added effects onto the voices f the characters to
create the sense of a big open area where as I just left my voice recordings
without any effects on them.
To create the sound effects for my audio play I recorded then on my phone
with an attachable microphone I then used things like a coat to create the
sound effect for the characters getting in an out of bed this worked well as it
created a clear sound and it was easy to understand what is happening. I also
used wooden tables for the banging on the wall as this made a clearer and
louder banging noise than actually banging on the wall.

22. Aural Qualities
I think the quality of my audio I good as all the audio is clear and it is easy to
understand what is being said by the characters in each scene. I feel I could
have been more creative when making the sound effects for my audio project
as I used things that were very similar to the thing it was meant to be
imitating. To improve my audio I think I could have recorded in a quieter room
as there was a slight buzzing noise in the background of the audio I recorded.
I feel a weakness of my audio is when it comes to the third scene there is a
bit of dead space as there is no back ground noise which I feel I could have
filled with something like the sound of wind or something. I would say a
strength of my audio would be the sound of people talking outside the house
as I think all the different parts layered up nicely to create the effect I was
looking for.

23. Audience Appeal
I feel the idea of this being a local story will make my audio play appeal more
to my target audience than it would to a younger audience. My audio play
doesn’t real have that much action either there is no fighting or chase scenes
which would appeal to a younger audience so this is another thing I believe
that would make it appeal more to my target audience. It is also an easy
lesson after a days work which would be more appealing to a middle aged
audience. The pacing of the radio play is also quite slow so I don’t think a
younger audience would enjoy it. This radio play would be played in the
morning on the way to work which his another reason it would appeal to a
middle aged audience instead of teens or children. The show also might not
be suitable for a younger audience as the stories in the show might scarce
them.