P3: Develop ideas for sound elements for an identified media purpose
Below is a mind map I created to generate ideas for my brief.
Below is the brief that I have chosen to follow.
The brief requires me to have an actor read out Chapter 5 of Frankenstein, and I need to incorporate sound effects and ambient sound into the piece. After reading through the chapter, I worked out that I need three actors to play each character. One to play the narrator and Doctor Frankenstein (since it is in first person), one to play Henry Clerval, and one to play the poet. I plan to ask my Grandpa to be the narrator because I think he has a good clear voice for radio, his accent can be understood well, and he reads a lot of books so he would know how to pronounced any complicated words used.
I also found out that Frankenstein was written in the eras of Classical music (1730–1820) and Romantic music (1780–1910), so I want to include music from these eras to set the scene and tell the audience what time period this takes place in. Notable composers from this era include: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Liszt.
Below is a gantt chart for the production process of this unit.
Below is my assets table for the equipment I will need.
P4: Generate planning materials for the intended production of sound elements
M1: Identify resolutions to the legal and ethical issues for production
Since I am creating a project for radio, issues like Ofcom regulations, watershed, and data protection need to be addressed. In terms of Ofcom regulations, they control all radio content, so I must make sure there is no reason for listeners to complain and get the programme taken off air. Therefore, I must consider any themes or language that might cause offence within Frankenstein. One issue could be horror elements, since this will be scheduled during the day, so children might be listening and get scared if I make some scenes too frightening. So I will make sure to be careful with the music and sound effects I use to ensure they are appropriate for the time of day the programme will be on air.
This brings me on to the next point, as BBC Radio has no watershed, so no swearing or inappropriate language is allowed at any time. However, if there is a warning at the beginning of the programme, and it is shown late at night, more risky content is allowed on air. This won't be an issue for me though as the chapter I have been given from Frankenstein doesn't have any content inappropriate for children.
I need to also consider data protection, because in the digital age, private information can be gained more easily by hacking electronic devices. Therefore, I will make sure that all documents are password protected and telephone numbers are censored from my planning documents since my blog can be accessed by anyone. I will also gain written permission from all actors to use their voice in my production to prove they agreed to be in the programme.
An ethical issue I must consider is representation, since the BBC's remit states that they aim to be multi-cultural and accepting of everyone. Therefore, I have made sure that the actors I use all have different accents: Yorkshire, East Anglian and the Queen's English to have diversity and show that the BBC advocates for equal representation. It is difficult to show diversity on radio as there are no visuals, but accents can often be used to show different nationalities, and since my programme will be shown all over the country, it is important that I made sure everyone feels well represented.
The last major issue I need to consider is copyright, since the music and a few of the sound effects I will not be creating myself. Any music I use (over 30 seconds long), I must either pay for, or find royalty-free. If a clip is under 30 seconds, I don't need to pay to use it, so I will bear that in mind while searching for music. However, I think most of the music/sounds I use will be royalty-free, where I only need to state the source I got it from. Companies like PRS act as a middle man between creators and users - they pay royalties to the artist when their work is performed, broadcast, streamed, downloaded, reproduced, played in public or used in film and TV. Any shops that play music in them must have a PRS licence, so the money they pay is given to the different artists whose music they use. The school has its own PRS licence, so I will also look into what music I can use under this licence and if any of it would be appropriate to use in my programme.