Entry 10: Final editing
Today we booked out an editing suite and began editing the final piece. Using the archive footage we collected we were able to create a very impressive and convincing battlefield atmosphere to accompany our dialogue. Our actors were very impressive and very little editing of this needed to be carried out. All we needed to do was either shorten or elongate their dramatic pauses. Other than this, our actors were very convincing and we’re glad that we cast them.
Using the archive footage was really helpful. We had collected quite a catalogue of sounds to use and we limited repetition of their use. During editing, we noticed that the dialogue recordings seem to provide the room ambience which almost achieved what we wanted to with the radio studio walls. To give the audience a sense of place, between being outdoors in the trench or indoors in the bunker, we edited the bomb track accordingly. The indoor bomb track was obviously quieter with more bass to simulate sound travelling through the mud walls. When outside, the original track was brought back in.
The hardest scene to edit was probably scene 4 due to its length and the amount of actions that take place. When Thomas teaches Adam to write, the pencil sounds are very different. As Adam has had less practice, his pencil sounds are much slower and dragged out. Thomas as he has been writing for years is obviously much faster. One thing we did find was that one of the actors delivered one of his lines a little strange. To resolve this, we spaced out his lines with audio. This resolved the problem as it sounded like he was interrupted by what was going on around him.
After the final piecing together making sure that each scene flowed smoothly we finally had our finished radio drama. Listening back we as the production team were quite blown away with what we achieved. We’re sure that listeners will be very entertained and that we have represented the First World War with respect and accuracy. Write ups are currently being undertaken ready for uploading.
Entry 9: Recording scenes 1-4
Today we finally completed the recording of dialogue for our radio drama. However, we did encounter a number of problems. The actor who was playing the corporal had not responded so we were down an actor. This was worrying as we had to find a replacement before 3:30 PM as the actors would be arriving. We also were told that the radio drama studio was down meaning we had to book radio studio 2 for less time. This put us in an awkward position as we had the intention of using the temporary walls to help the sound bounce in the same way sound would in a trench. Radio studio 2 did not have these as a resource.
To get around the problem of our missing actor, we decided to give the corporals role to Dom Givalry who we had originally cast as the sergeant. We also asked Clive McCarthy if he was able to step in at short notice. Fortunately for us this was very successful. Dom wasn’t annoyed at the sudden role change and took to it well. Clive was also a natural and had the perfect voice for the sergeant.
Recording in studio 2 went quite well although we were still disappointed we couldn’t use the walls. The actors were very talented and had clearly spent time working out how they would play their roles. The actor playing Thomas was particularly good at modulating his voice to sound timid which made a nice contrast to Adam who played his character to be more confident. This meant that the dialogue between the two characters sounded very natural.
After a while we were told that the radio drama studio had been repaired just in time for when our radio studio 2 booking had finished. We swapped studios and set up to continue. The actors seem rather impressed with the upgrade. We felt that since we had started recording without walls that we should finish with out walls for continuity. Had we been in there from the start, we would have fully utilised them. After recording scene 2, the mixing desk began to play up again. At first we couldn’t hear any audio but levels were being picked up. After trying to unplug the mics and change inputs we had lost all levels. At this point all the technicians had gone home so it was up to us to problem solve. After 10-15 minutes of no resolve we resorted to turning the desk of and on which, quite annoyingly, solved the problem. We then went on to record scene 3.
Just before recording scene 4 we encountered a similar problem. Turning the desk on and off however didn’t work. The problem miraculously solved itself after messing with buttons and sliders and trying different mic inputs. We are unsure how we solved the problem however putting them back in inputs 1 and 2 where they were originally somehow worked.
We finally finished at half 6 in the evening after being very pleased with the results. We cannot even begin to comprehend our luck with Clive and our other issues we ran into. Our actors were superb and were able to convince us even without sound fx. Applying sound fx will be a job for tomorrow as we have booked audio edit suite 2 9-5. It will be a long shift but we are quite confident we will finish in time. We can only hope we won’t run into more setbacks.
Entry 8: Getting Sound FX
After a while from not hearing from Chris Hainstock about the Sound effects system, we went to his office and asked if he had heard anything about the software being repaired. He took us to the large audio recording suite which had the only computer able to run the program. This gave us time to gather our archive sound footage.
The collection that it had was vast. Gunshots, artillery, even the sound of footsteps through a muddy trench. Playing them through the surround sound the studio had was also quite an experience. Going through the script, we were able to collect most of the sounds we were looking for. Hopefully this will make the final piece of a very high quality.
At this point we are almost good to go on recording the rest of our scenes with our actors. The only problem we are faced with is that we still have had no response from the corporal. At this point, our options are to replace the actor with either one of our other actors or, get someone else entirely. Although this is disappointing, we don’t have time to gamble with whether or not this actor will show up. Hopefully we will soon find a solution.
Entry 7: Scene 5
The morning before Dilys arrived, we all made sure we had tasks to do. Anthony called in Greggs to get refreshments while Elliot, Adam and Will set up the studio. We decided to opt for the two mic stands together to optimise sound quality between the characters. As this wasn’t taking place in the trench, we decided to not create the wall effect we intend to use when we record the other scenes.
When Dilys arrived, we got her settled in with a cup of tea and a chat. Talking with her was rather interesting as she told us about some of her previous work. She had an extra role in Les Miserables and had her toes trodden on by Russell Crowe who she assured us was a lovely man. She also has worked on Downton Abbey and, to our surprise, Russell Howard’s Good News. We had her recite the opening credits and cast list while we awaited Madeleine.
Once Madeleine arrived we wanted to dive straight into Scene 5 however the desk had decided otherwise. For some reason, we weren’t getting any sound through the microphones which was strange as they had worked not 5 minutes earlier. We checked whether or not the desk was giving the mics power and that the cables were still working. After ten minutes of no success we called for a technician who told us to turn the board on and off. After doing this the problem was solved.
Dilys didn’t need much direction and had clearly gone over the script before arriving. Considering she was from Bristol, she was able to do a northern accent with ease which was perfect for the character. She had been quite modest about her northern accent before recording so we were very pleasantly surprised at her performance. We were very glad to have found her.
At this point, the rest of the casting is now finished and we have arranged to record next Thursday. So far we have responses from Adam, Thomas, and the sergeant however we are still waiting on the corporal. We hope to hear from him soon so we don’t have to recast. 
