Recording My Radio Advert

This week I have been recording my radio advert. As there is no visual element in the Radio advert I feel the more bold, out spoken, friendly and persuasive the voice is the more appealing it is to my target.
 First we did a run through which we worked on our voices. We did a few vocal exercises to ensure our voices sounded exciting, friendly and down to earth so it appealed to the audience immediately. As the script follows the 3 stages, problem, answer and solution, I wanted the emotion in their voice to correspond well with the script, so for example in my script when my actor says "Blimey, all that for 30p" I would have her add some form of intonation to the word "blimey" to ensure that it makes it more believable and persuasive to the audience.

After our vocal exercises we went to record. We used a microphone, adobe audition and a computer. We recorded our lines one at a time. After recording, we listened to it over to figure out whether or not it was effective. We noticed that there was some hissing noise in the background which was due to the recording room we were in. This took away from the persuasive element of the radio, as it wasn't clear for the audience to hear thus meaning they would miss out on valuable information, such as where to purchase it from, how much it is, how often

Deciding second ancilary

Before deciding what my second ancillary task would be, I decided to do a questionnaire, asking my 40 people who fall into my target audience about which media technology they had  easier access to and which one they used the most. This formed the basis of me deciding which ancillary task would effectively advertise my newspaper to my audience thus persuading to purchase and read it. The results are as follows.

From the results of this questionnaire, I decided to make a radio advert because, I noticed that most people used the radio more than the Internet mainly because they found it more entertaining and had an easier access to it. From my questionnaire I found out that 33 people had access to the Internet however not all of them had access to it at home and only 18 of them used the Internet every day. This made me think as to whether or not it was logical to do a web page because not many of my target audience were not Internet experts and only 1 of them found it easier to use the Internet.  I felt making a web page will not advertise my newspaper successfully because my target audience are not too fond of it. From the results of my questionnaire I decided to do Radio advert because all 40 people that took part in this questionnaire had access to the radio and said they would listen to their local radio station. I feel advertising my newspaper via a radio commercial is ideal because I would be able to reach out to the majority of my target audience who all have access to the radio and listen to it in the morning the same time my advert will be aired.  I am really happy I did this questionnaire because it enabled me to know which media technology is more accessible to my target audience thus making me aware of which form of advertising is suitable in persuading my audience to purchase the newspaper. Although Croydon does not have a local radio station, I will be airing this advertisement on a local radio station because my target audience covers a range of different identities  from their race to their gender and their  age, which means it would be difficult to reach to all of them if I decide to publish the advert on a national radio station because not all of them will listen to that particular radio station , so by asking them whether or not they would listen to their local radio station enabled me to know what station to air my advert., I’ve decided to air my advert on a local radio station because 34 people that took part in the questionnaire said they would listen to their local radio station.

JINGLE BELL

This week I have been researching on the type of song I would like to use as my jingle. As my commercial will be played in the morning because that is the peak time that people listen to the radio, I will be using an upbeat song. I decided to do so because; I want an energetic  song that will grab the audience attention when they are either at work or on their way to work and  make them less stressed out about whatever they are doing.  The song I will like to use is “Pass Out by Tinie Tempah”. I will only be using the instrumental version of this song because I would like the dialogue spoken by my actors to standout and I feel using the normal version of the  song that has the lyrics in it will take away from this, and will lower the effect the jingle has on the listener. I like this song because the beat goes well with the emotion my actors will be feeling. It begins quite slow this is effective because my actor will deliver their lines in a confused style. The beat in the song gets louder towards the middle this will be effective in showing how happy my actor is towards the end of the commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OstoipTfreM

Final Script

Since when did you become a book worm Rianne ? What are you reading there?

Times Croydon! It’s the new local newspaper everyone’s been talking about?

Really? What does it feature?

Everything, exclusive local news, entertainment, weather and even free theatre ticket for a lucky reader every week and it’s only 30p if you miss the free edition.

Blimey!  All that for 30p? Where can I buy it from if I miss my free copy?

At any newsagent in Croydon

Oh great! I must get going! I don’t want to miss out on this weeks edition do I?

Croydon Times giving you all your local news at your fingertips. Visit your local newsagents and grab your copy now.

This is the key I created using Microsoft word to explained to the producer and the actors who will be reading my radio transcripts explaining to them what the abbreviations on the script means.


Above is my final script. Below is the annotated version of my script in which I have incorporated all the different codes and conventions present on generic radio scripts.  I put this spider diagram together using Microsoft PowerPoint

I feel my Radio script is really effective as it follows normal conventions of other Radio Scripts as it has all instructions that the producer would need to accurately put the advert together without myself being present. However, I gave the information in my header as a sentence instead of the usual bullet point form. I did this because I felt I had followed too many codes of generic conventions and changed the typeface of my Radio Script to make it more unique to distinguish my newspaper from others.

My New commercial transcript

Last week I wrote the first draft of my commercial script. I then asked a few people including my teacher what they thought of it. The feedback I received were very useful as it gave me an insight as to what my audience really want an advert to have and the things that will persuade them to listen to them.

This made me feel as though I hadn't done enough research so I began doing more research on how the script is laid out, what the best way to go about it is, the instructions on the script and also more on the copyright and any conditions of the script/advert.
Using an article written by Dan McCurdy on radio commercial Script and various other resources, I learnt quite a lot. Below is the information I acquired from my background reading of writing a commercial Script in note form.

1. These are a few instructions used in Radio transcripts to make it clear as to when components such as music ,dialogue or even when to fade in and out.

                     Dialogue

• Mvo – male voice over;
• Fvo – female voice over;                                                
• Cvo – children’s voices;  

Sound and Jingle    

• Sfx – Sound effects
• Atmos/Nats – atmosphere or natural sound
• Fade In;
• Fade Out;
• Continue Under;   Mix Up;
• In / Start - where the insert has definite start;

2.   The Header > this outlines to the reader what the script is about, the duration of it , the product that the script advertises and who wrote the transcript. It is sometimes written as a list, justified or centred, however similar tot he footer  every company has it's own preferred type-face.

3. The Footer> includes contact details of the company that is being advertised preferably the email address and telephone number of the company, who has ownership over the copyright, a section for the radio station to sign to agree to abide by the rules and regulations.

4. The Script is normally double spaced to make it easier for the voice actor to read it.

5. On the left hand side there's always instructions on how the writer wants the actor to deliver the lines, this includes the type of voice and the style of delivery. This could be whether the actor is suppose to be excited, sarcastic, happy etc.

6. Finally I found out that listeners are drawn to adverts that sound as though two friends are having a conversation about the product. This is due to the whole belief of the word of mouth as it make them feel as though a trustworthy consumer is recommending the product to them. Thus making them more drawn in to listen to the advertisement.

After my research I noticed the importance of these instructions on a transcript. It prevents mistakes from happening and it also means that the writer of the transcript does not have to be there when the recording is taking place because the voice actors will know when to talk, how to talk and when they should be expecting the music/jingle to come in. I also double spaced my transcript because, in my research I noticed that radio scripts are always double spaced to make it easier for the actors to read it .

First Draft of Writing my Radio Script

This week I have been writing up the first draft of my script as shown below. I am quite impress with this as it informs the audience about all the important information needed to enable them to purchase it. Please tell me what you think.

Radio Advertisment Script for Croydon Times

ANNCR (SOD- POSH)

Times Croydon is the new weekly local newspaper for Croydon it is out now for 30p at any newsagent’s store. It has all the current news about what is going on in the area. It is essential for all residents in the community as it includes all current news informs them about upcoming events and also about the changes that will be taking place in the area to make Croydon a better and safer place for all. Don’t punish yourself by not purchasing yours now! Croydon Times, giving you all your local news at your fingertips. Visit your local newsagents and grab your copy now.

 This is my Radio script as you can see. It is very short, yet informative. I inform my audience or listeners, what I am advertising, information on what it features, the price and where they can purchase the product from. I have also annotated the script making it easier for the voice actor to know how to deliver the lines without myself being present.

Research on Writing my Script

 From my analysis of other newspaper adverts, I am aware of a few DO's and DONT's that I  personally will not be incorporating into my own advert due to the un useful effects I feel it has on the listeners. For example, I will not make the jingle in the background over take the dialogue being said, as the dialogue gives the listeners important information and bearing in mind that it is a radio advert meaning the audience will not be able to re-read what has been said, it is important the jingle doesn't dominate the information been given out. This week I have been researching on how to effectively write a radio advert and the components needed to make an informative, entertaining and persuading newspaper advert. Using the Internet as a source to help conduct my research I began by visiting different sites such as ehow to find out all the necessary codes needed to make a successful newspaper script. These are a few websites I visited.
http://www.ehow.co.uk/video_4983712_write-radio-script.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_4909714_write-script-radio-ad.html

 http://www.ehow.com/how_4909714_write-script-radio-ad.html

Below are a few of the key information I made in note form

• Remember you are writing for listeners not viewers (so it must be concise and coherent)
• There must be a Dilemma/ plot  (so in this case not knowing about the newspaper)  followed by the pain (Wanting to know what it features) and the the solution (Where it can be purchased)
• Write the script based on your narrative ( so I will have a dialogue between two friends)
• The audience have nothing to look at so it must be engaging from the beginning. ( I will consider using colloquial words to add a conversational, unplanned and friendly feel/ attitude to the advert to make the audience feel more involved thus making them attentive.)
• Have characters act out what is going on. (I would definitely consider doing this to help make the characters emotions more authentic)
• Consider having sound, to illustrate the story. ( I will have a jingle which will help my listeners associate the jingle with my newspaper each time they hear it.)
• Ensure my actors/ characters voices are very distinctive and different to help create meaning within the listeners.
• One advise I will definitely be taking on board is to commence my advert with a question this has a strong effect on the audience and engages them.
• It shouldn't be too long (30 seconds) to help keep the audience entertained and not bored
• Short sentences to help the readers understand what is being said easily

With the information above I think I am ready to begin writing my script.