Formatting of radio plays

Verbal Means in Radio Plays

A central component is the dialog of the characters.

In addition, many radio plays employ a narrator to describe actions that take place outside of the audible scenes or are difficult to convey through sounds alone.

Nonverbal auditory means in radio plays

In addition to speech, various sound and tone elements contribute to the atmosphere and narrative:

• Sound – General sounds from the sound archive, such as door creaking, telephone ringing, or car traffic.
• Music – Existing or specially composed music to accompany and emotionally support the scenes.
• Ambient – Background noises that form the acoustic backdrop of a scene, e.g. E.g., muffled conversations and the clatter of dishes in a café.
• SFX (Sound Effects) – Specially created sounds, often produced by a foley artist, when they must fit the scene exactly or are too specific for an archive.
• Mix – The mix of the soundtracks, including the volume ratios between dialog, music, and sounds.

Formatting Conventions for Radio Plays

The following conventions have been established for the written format of a radio play:

• Speaking characters are terminated with a colon.
• Character text begins on the same line, indented to the right.
• Dialog is often numbered to divide them into cues or takes for production.
• Sound elements begin left-aligned with the corresponding type of sound in capital letters:
  • SOUND:
  • MUSIC:
  • AMB:
  • SFX:
  • MIX:
• On the same line, indented to the right, follows a more detailed description of the sound or music.
• By default, sound elements are underlined to clearly distinguish them from dialog.