Radio 4 Delivery Specs

The BBC has delivery requirements for audio to Radio 4, they can be seen in the photo below.

Snapshot taken from Recording & Delivery Requirements for BBC Radio Networks – 2008 (BBC(1) 2008) 

Music reporting form is available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/production/delivery/paperwork.shtml

PasB (Programme as Broadcast) is a script which completely matches the audio.

Compliance form (and guidelines) are available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/radio/compliance-and-policy/

Details of presentation details and written trails can be found here: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/site/radio3_delivery_guidelines.pdf (BBC 2013). NOTE: these are delivery guidelines for Radio 3, due to access restrictions I was unable to get the Radio 4 version of this document, though I'd imagine the guidelines for publication and paperwork documents are similar.

"Presentation details, Compliance forms and Written trails are an essential part of programme
delivery and must be delivered at the same time as the transmission copy" (BBC 2008, p.2) - it is essential we deliver at least these items from the publicity and paperwork list.

The Programme Information Guide (PIG) (BBC(2) 2013) can provide us with information necessary for completion of paperwork.

Also it appears that the BBC radio resources page (http://www.bbcradioresources.com/programme/) that I used to obtain tech specs in a previous post has been taken down or is under maintenance so below is a snapshot of sound guidelines taken from 'Technical standards for delivery of television programmes to BBC Worldwide' (BBC(3) 2011, p.12-13) The audio standards seem to be the same here as they were for radio and until I can get back onto the radio resources (or similar) page they can act as a guide.

Snapshot taken from Technical standards for delivery of television programmes to BBC Worldwide (BBC(3) 2011, p.12-13) 

References
British Broadcasting Corporation. 2008. Delivering programmes to Radio 3. [online]. Available from: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/site/radio3_delivery_guidelines.pdf [Accessed 30 April 2010].

British Broadcasting Corporation(1). 2008. Recording & Delivery Requirements for BBC Radio Networks – 2008. [online]. Available from: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/site/bbc_recording_delivery_requirements_radionetworks.pdf [Accessed 30 April 2013]

British Broadcasting Corporation(2). 2013 Programme Information Guide. [online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/radio/production-and-delivery/programme-information-guide/ [Accessed 30 April 2013]

British Broadcasting Corporation(3). 2011. Technical standards for delivery of television programmes to BBC Worldwide. [online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/dq/pdf/tv/tv_delivery_of_programmes_to_worldwide_v1.0-2011.pdf [Accessed 30 April 2013].

Studio Session 29/04/13

Today we had our first recording session with Angela and Ian. We were intending on recording a full cast, however our extras were unable to attend. We set out with the initial plan of using the rehearse record method; breaking the script into scenes and rehearsing them a number of times until we were happy with the performance. We expected to get around half of the play recorded today.

Unfortunately from arrival we had some issues which set us back; the studio i/o had been changed and we could not get any sound coming from the system. Eventually we figured out the problem, however at this point I felt quite under pressure and I felt this had an impact on my directing performance.

Thankfully our performers were very good; they already had a good grasp of their roles and after a couple of rehearsal read through's we decided to record.

During recording I read the additional parts in an attempt to aid the natural flow of the performance. The performances were great; Angela and Ian made very few mistakes and I was extremely pleased with their rendition of the characters.
During recording we had some more technical issues; the Mac froze on us during recording on two occasions causing us to lose some takes.
In all we ran through the script about 5 times and by the end of it we had 3 full complete recordings of Archie and Chrissie's parts which we were confident we would be able to build the play with.

The whole recording phase was over in under 4 hours, Ian and Angela have offered to join us during the remaining sessions if there is anything we feel needs to be rerecorded.

The remainder of the session was spent cutting up the various tracks into segments (scenes, character lines, etc.)

I was very happy with the outcome of today's recording session, I felt the dialogue we captured was of extremely good quality; the parts were well acted, plosives and other issues such as sibilance were minimal. The actors worked well together in portraying their roles and I was very surprised how quickly we managed to get the parts recorded; another similar project I was involved in previously took a lot longer to get through and there was not even half the amount of dialogue to record.

In regards to my directorial performance, I was not so pleased; I had let the pressure of technical difficulties get to me, causing me to forget to use my previous recording plans-

• I was intending on recording performers in the positions characters would be in (eg. seated), instead they were recorded standing throughout. 
• The performers were positioned arms length from their microphones throughout (Neumann U87), while this is ideal for the majority of the production, I wanted to record Archie's thoughts at the beginning and the end of the play from a closer position. 

I accept it is my fault these procedures were not followed but I think it would be wrong to ask Ian to come in again due to this alone; he traveled a long way for no payment and the quality of the performance/recordings were great.

Recording Archie and Chrissie 29/04/2013

Recording

Microphones Used:-

1. Neumann U87 x 2
2. AKG C414 x 1 (Used For Guide Track)

The Recording Started at approximately 11.30 Am and was finished by 1.30 Pm. 

The Radio Drama was read through by both actors several times before the recording took place allowing them to get into character. The Drama was Recorded multiple times however several takes were deleted due to the Mac desktop crashing halfway through the recording process. This was a major problem as it deleted several good lines of dialogue which could have been used in the final mix. Out of 5 takes 3 were successfully recorded . 

The actors stood approximately an arms length away from the microphone in order to capture a more natural  vocal tone and to give a more spacious feel to the recording. We had planned to record Archie's Monologue using a more up close microphone to gain more presence which would help provide an effect which would indicate him thinking to himself, however due to several issues regarding the studio equipment this was overlooked.

 In order to provide such an effect EQ can be utilised in order to give the Vocals more presence.  

Voice Actors.

Ian Watt portrays Archie

Angela Branney Portrays Chrissie

Organising the Radio Drama.

The multiple takes were lined up in a separate session to be arranged. The best lines were separated from each recording and combined into one session for further editing and mixing.  

Studio Booking

Studio has been booked between 9am and 9pm on the following dates:
Monday 29th April
Wednesday 1st May
Thursday 2nd May

Cast has been informed.

The following equipment has been booked:
2x Neumann U87
2x AKG 414

Sound Effects Production

We recorded some sound effects today. Within the university we recorded some footsteps, the sound of Archies newpaper turning, plastic bags being packed (for use in the shop scene) and chair screetches (for use in the restaurant scene). These SFX were just cut and minimally edited to give us greater control during post production.
We also went to Dundee Airport and made a recording from within the terminal. There was a plane taking off just outside. Due to the positioning of the terminal and the runway we never got a recording of a plane flying overhead, though we plan to go down again at some point in the week to do this.
The airport ambience will be layered on top of an ambient recording of a shopping centre, to make it seem larger and busier than it is, while keeping the sounds of the planes.

We also experimented with some synthesis: using Native Instruments Massive to try and create a plane sound, train sound and a checkout beep (for use in the shop). The beep did not turn out too badly but we opted to record a selfscanner in Tesco.

Equipment used for recording today was the Zoom H4N handheld recorder and the Marantz PMD 660 with an AKG C1000S.

The group now has a soundcloud page where all our FX can be heard: https://soundcloud.com/group-2a

Outside Dundee airport waiting on the plane taking off (was too windy to record outside). 

Recording footsteps with the Zoom H4N

.

SFX Asset List

Rough asset list for SFX

SFX	PLAN
SCENE 1
CROWD NOISES, AIRPLANES FLYING OVERHEAD	RECORD SHOPPING CENTRE AMBIENCE AND LAYER WITH AIRPLANE RECORDING OR SYNTHESIZED SOUND
LOUD TRAIN PANS ACROSS THE STEREO IMAGE, BLOWING ITS HORN	RECORD PASSING TRAIN
SCENE 2
TRAIN STATION AMBIENCE, PEOPLE TALKING & WALKING,	RECORD TRAIN STATION AMBIENCE
TRAYS AND CUPS HITTING THE TABLES
CARRIE GETS UP
CARRIE SITS DOWN
CARRIE GETS UP AND LEAVES, CHAIR SCRATCHING THE FLOOR
FOOTSTEPS
SCENE 3
TRAIN STATION SHOP AMBIENCE ETC	SMALL SHOP LAYERED WITH TRAIN STATION AMBIENCE
BAGS GETTING PACKED
CHECKOUT BEEPING	SYNTHESISED OR RECORDED BEEPS
SCENE 4
TRAIN STATION AMBIENCE	RECORD TRAIN STATION AMBIENCE
ARCHIE PACING UP AND DOWN THE PLATFORM
TRAIN HEARD PULLING INTO STATION
SCENE 5
TRAIN (NOT MOVING) AMBIENCE
PEOPLE WALKING ALONG THE CARRIAGE
ARCHIE PULLS OUT HIS WALLET AND TAKES MONEY FROM IT
CONDUCTER CONTINUES DOWN THE CARRIAGE
TRAIN LEAVES STATION (PANNED ACROSS THE STEREO IMAGE)
SCENE 6
TRAIN COMES IN FROM THE LEFT OF THE STEREO IMAGE
ONBOARD TRAIN AMBIENCE
TRAIN STOPS
ARCHIE FLICKING THROUGH HIS PAPER
TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT
TRAIN LEAVES THE STATION AND MOVES TO THE RIGHT OF THE STEREO FIELD
SCENE 7
TRAIN AMBIENCE
REFRESHMENTS TROLLY COMING DOWN THE CARRIAGE
TRAIN WORKER POURS THE TEA
TRAIN WORKER WALKS OFF
SCENE 8
AIRPORT AMBIENCE	RECORD WHITESPACE AMBIENCE AND LAYER WITH AIRPLANE RECORDING OR SYNTHESIZED SOUND
ARCHIE WALKS TO THE BOARDING DESK

Train Journey and Train Ambiance Recording (10/04/2013)

Recording Location: Edinburgh

(Train from Markinch to Edinburgh)

All Recordings were taken using a Zoom H2n Handy Recorder. The internal Stereo XY Microphone configuration was used for all recordings as it offered the best stereo depth and clarity. All sounds were recorded in .Wav utilising a 16 bit (Bit depth)  44.1kHz (Sample rate) format.

Train Carriage Ambiance.

https://soundcloud.com/group-2a/train-carridge-ambience?in=group-2a/sets/train-journey-and-station

Train Station Ambiance 1

https://soundcloud.com/group-2a/train-station-ambience-1?in=group-2a/sets/train-journey-and-station

Train Station Ambiance 2

https://soundcloud.com/group-2a/train-station-ambience-2?in=group-2a/sets/train-journey-and-station

Train Station Ambiance 3

https://soundcloud.com/group-2a/train-station-ambience-3?in=group-2a/sets/train-journey-and-station

Train Station Ambiance 4

https://soundcloud.com/group-2a/train-station-ambience-4?in=group-2a/sets/train-journey-and-station

Casting Update

After good communication with George Carson, he stopped responding to my emails and Ian Watt has now agreed to take the part of Archie.

I also found someone to take the lead female role of Chrissie. Angela Branney a student in her 20's with some previous acting experience (I believe this is her: http://www.guideandgazette.co.uk/news/local-headlines/angela-leading-the-life-of-royalty-at-stirling-castle-1-1635147). It is not ideal that she is a lot younger than the character, but she seems very enthusiastic and hopefully she will be able to protray the character well.

With the extras Campbell found us we now have a complete cast and will be looking to begin production sometime after the 11th April as Angela is on holiday until then.