I found the menagerie of radiophonic artworks presented in class to be largely highly entertaining. Since the beginning, the delineation of which group is which has been unclear. I am unsure which groups are Groups 1 to 4 or 5, so I’ll distinguish them by the works produced.
The work that I sincerely enjoyed the most was the propaganda allegory of the robotic factory worker uprising. I appreciate the bold swing for the fences that it was, an immersive and bizarre sci-fi parable, taking place in a detailed world of serial numbers and oppression.
If someone had told me they had ripped the audio from a cutscene in a late 90’s PC adventure game I would have completely believed them. I don’t profess to know their direct inspiration or reference points, but as a listener I was distinctly reminded of Ion Storm’s now-classic 2000 dystopian role-playing game, Deus Ex and its distinctive paranoid chintz. Similarly dealing with the repercussions of the artificial intelligence singularity in an authoritarian world, intentionally or otherwise, the group’s voice acting work and the sonic qualities of the music and sound effect assets really favourably captured that uncanny, charming character of early cyberpunk concerns in the digital realm.
The piece concerning the passing seasons was also very relaxing, and yet stimulating in it’s intricate sound design choices, without feeling the length of its fifteen minute runtime. Something I also really admired was the actual harnessing of the broadcast medium as a recording and compositional tool, acting as a binding varnish on the group’s individual contributions. Our work, and others, however detailed, acts as mimicry of the norms and stylistic functions of radio, instead of directly inserting itself onto the airways. Part of me wishes we had done something similar, re-wilding our work as a final process.
Our work was, in part, very successful. It became apparent that the first two thirds were the most entertaining and refined, while the limping final act became duller and less engaging by fellow students’ reactions and comments. A large responsibility as group leader is the delicate balance between fairly representing and platforming all members’ contributions while ensuring the best chance for success of the final product.
I try to maintain a ‘best idea wins’ model of collaboration, and remove ego as much as possible, yet still feel that my own comfort with the thought of cutting or downplaying a member’s material because it isn’t working to be discomfortingly detached. What is the group leader’s prerogative? Fair representation despite the potential for bum notes, or instead to prioritise the ‘wellbeing’ of the piece, regardless of the potential for hurt feelings? One member’s part singularly received the most direct criticism, however I choose to take that as a criticism of my own failing as an arranger of said work. The tutor, Ed, described that segment as “audible noodling”, which had been apparent to me since I had received that piece for editing. I will endeavour to work with the dynamics present in that section to find a more elegant placement for it. Few things feel more deflating that a boring, rote ending.
A positive comparison was that of the sound design work of David Lynch. A true beacon of inspiration throughout his career, Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return contained one sequence that directly informed my scripting, performance and processing choices during the alien call vignette:
A Woodsman, a sooty, alien figure of evil, invades an isolated desert radio station and begins broadcasting an eerie, looping poem that casts a dark spell over its listeners. Lynch reference is incredibly easy to get wrong and embarrass yourself attempting, however in our script there was more emphasis on the delicate thematic and tonal swivel from humour to fear, rather than the abject George Romero-esque horror that this scene demonstrates. The unearthly way the Woodsman’s voice is processed was also influential in deciding upon how the alien’s voice would sound; the helium-balloon, stereotypical results of previous experiments were unsuitably campy and silly to convey the sense of fear in the face of the truly, unknowably alien that the script called for. I was pleased to see laughter and incredulity among our classmates, and discuss the delicacy of that balance in our piece.
Radio as a medium encourages the live element of surprise, the unpredictability of occurrences and performance are thrilling. Particularly in radio drama, without necessarily being self-reflexive or self-referential as we were, special consideration and anticipation has to be given to the audience’s cogent understanding of your artistic goals. In radio, you often have to act as the guide bearing the torch, and a great deal of opportunity for unexpected events can be found along the journey. The role that improvisation and ad-lib can play in the radio field are exciting in their immediacy. The direct communication with an unseen listenership, bridging the gap and crossing the portal from the other into the domestic environment and back again.
Bibliography:
Deus Ex. (2000) Microsoft Windows (Game). Ion Storm, Dallas: Eidos Interactive
‘Part 8’ (2017) Twin Peaks, season three, episode eight. Showtime. 25 June 2017.
