Glossary of Common Radio Drama Terms

Ad lib: An unplanned speech or effect that is left up to the discretion of the actor, performer, or technician.

Ambient Sound: Background noise or sound, usually used to establish setting.

Example: The engine room of a ship would have the sound of machinery and motors.

Audition: To tryout for a part in a play.

Antagonist.. The term that refers to the thing or person that stands in the way of the main character as he/she attempts to solve his/her problem or conflict in the story. It is the force that the actions of the story sets in opposition to the protagonist. The antagonist does not have to be a person; it may be nature, the sea, a mountain, a disease, the supernatural, etc.

Background: Music or sound effects played at the same time as dialogue to establish a location, create mood, or to create the effect of realism. These background sounds are played at a low volume so as not to interfere with spoken lines. (Ambient sound is background.)

Build: In a play or a scene: The gradual increase in tension as the conflict proceeds toward a climax and resolution.

In a character's line: The expressed increase in tension should coincide with the increase in emotions felt by the character. For example: If fear is the emotion, the character's emotion might grow from NO SENSE OF FEAR to JUST A HINT OF FEAR to A DISTINCT FEAR to A STRONG SENSE OF FEAR to AN OVERWHELMING SENSE OF FEAR.

Character: Referring to one of the parts in a play. Also used when referring to what the actor does to communicate the uniqueness of the role he or she is playing,

Characterization: This is how the author creates people for a story. Character is revealed by: what the author says about the character; how the character speaks, thinks, and acts; and how other characters act toward the character as well as what they say about the character.

Climax: Climax is the point in the story where tension is the highest. It is the point in the action where the conflict is about to be resolved.

Complication: Complication refers to the difficult circumstances that come about through the protagonist's attempts to find solutions to his/her problem.

Concept: The briefest statement of a story idea. Usually reveals the following: setting, main characters, conflict, and resolution.

Conflict:

External Conflict. The struggle between a character and another character or between a character and his/her surroundings.

Internal Conflict: The struggle that occurs within a character.

Credits: Listing the people responsible for a performance.

Cross-fade: Fade in one sound at the same time as another sound is fading out, overlapping.

Crowd noises: A sound effect, usually on tape. Usually used as background for a scene.

Cue: The signal for an actor or technician to perform his/her part. The cue may be:

The last few words of an actor's line. A sound effect or music. A director's hand signal.

Cut: Stop the performance, or delete a portion of the script.

Dead mic: A microphone that is turned off, disconnected, or out of order. Dialogue: The characters'exact words in a conversation. Dialogue is one of

the most common ways an author reveals character. The words a character uses serve to relate the plot to the listener.

Director: The person responsible for presentation of a play. Has the responsibility of casting, and supervising the rehearsals and performance.

Dress: The final complete rehearsal.

Engineer: A technician who operates or controls the electrical equipment.

Effects:

Sound effects (SFX): Devices or recordings used to imitate real life sounds in a play.

Synchronized effects: Effects that must be timed to occur at a precise point in the play, coinciding with a word or another effect.

Vocal effects: Devices used to alter the quality of the spoken word. For Instance: filtering a character's voice to make it seem as though the sound is coming from a telephone receiver.

Unsynchronized effects.. Ambient sound or music used as background to create a specific mood or establish setting. Synchronization with other elements in the play is not critical.

Fade to Black: One sound fades completely out and is followed by a period of silence, then the next sound begins to fade in.

Flashback: A scene depicting events that happened earlier.

Foreshadowing: A suggestion or hint in a story that something is about to happen. It is put there by the author to indicate an event to come. At times this hint may be so subtle that it is difficult to recognize until the event has occurred.

Hot mic (Live mic): A microphone in which the current is flowing. It is picking up sound.

Kill the mic: Turn the microphone olf

Establish: In reference to sound effects. Especially at the beginning of a scene, sound effects are used to tell the audience where the scene is taking place. Traffic might be heard if the scene is taking place on a busy street. The sound of waves and seagulls might be heard at the beginning of a beach scene.

Fade: A decrease in volume.

Fade in: An increase in volume from zero to a specified volume level.

Fade out: A decrease in volume to zero.

Layering: Combining two or more sounds to create a new eltect.

Level: The amount of volume.

Master control: The switch through which all voices and sounds are fed to the recordercthe mixer.

Mix: Combining the input of two or more microphones or tape players to get a balanced signal to be recorded.

Mixer: A panel of knobs or levers for controlling and blending input from the microphones and tape recorders.

Mixing: Blending sound with the proper balance.

Mood: Mood is the feeling that an author wants the listener to experience. The way words and sounds are put together determine the kinds of feelings the listener feelscfear, humor, sadness, hate, anger, etc.

Narrator: The voice that fills in the details of the story by introducing scenes and revealing points about the story that cannot be made clear in other ways.

Off. Speaking or directing sound away from microphone.

Off mic: When an action takes place away from the scene of the action.