My focus group allowed me to pinpoint a lot of areas that were missing, especially ones that I had not considered before. This means that I will have a better understanding of what my audience wants and what will help enhance my radio drama further. The first question that I asked was, "What did you think went well with my radio drama first draft" which allowed me to understand what was initially intriguing. This was done so that I could get a good understanding of what my audience enjoys, ensuring that I don't take it out in case I personally do not like it. My general feedback was that they enjoyed the narrative and story, which was both comedic and serious at the same time. This was reassuring since that was my intention. I was keen on adding a sense of humour since my audience's age demographic is more likely to stay intrigued if they are laughing whilst learning; it keeps the audience listening, even in the serious parts.
Moving on to my second question, I asked what my group thought I could improve on. Now, I am aware that this question is slightly vague. However, it meant that it was widely open to interpretation. This meant that my audience could state the first thing that came to mind on what was missing, allowing me to know what the biggest parts of improvement were. This question actually gave me a range of different responses. The first response was that there wasn't any background music, which did not create a sound atmosphere, with this in mind, I will look to add appropriate background music, which will help add some flavour to my show. The second response was that she had heard "white noise" in the background, which made the sound quality less pleasing. To fix this, I will try to isolate the vocal sounds, which will hopefully remove this. The third response was that the actor was, at times, too close to the mic, which created a "banging" sound afterwards. This is a feature that is most definitely prominent after reviewing my radio drama again, and I will look to choose different recorded versions of the dialogue instead. Lastly, I was informed that there were not any sound effects, which made the drama at times jarring when we were going through flashbacks and forwards. I've figured that I will use a cliché transition sound to emphasise this transition.
On to my third question, I decided to go a little more specific and prompted, "Were there any missing foley sound effects that you think I could have added." This question allowed me to understand exactly where they felt that there were missing sound effects. Therefore, I would be able to adjust where the audience felt a little isolated. The responses were door noises, murmuring and footsteps. This was a very good spot, and I will make sure to sprinkle this across my radio drama. I have identified spots which are in need, specifically during the pub scene and police station scene. These sound effects were said to create a sense of "verisimilitude" once added, thus helping my audience to fully submerge in my radio drama and feel as though they are in the same room.
My final question was what genre/ theme of music I should use for my radio drama, considering the feel of what it felt like overall. The audience suggested something upbeat whilst also being mellow to reflect both the comedic and serious parts of the drama. They also suggested, in terms of background music, that I should also use that kind of music per what is being said during the radio drama. This is a point that I will look out for as I edit my radio drama, and I will ensure that my radio drama has something upbeat and also chilling.
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