The number 1 thing screenwriters grapple with when writing for audio…
There’s small but significant differences between writing for screen and for scripted podcasts.
The most common area of confusion for first-time audio writers is understanding the static nature of the microphone. Traditionally, when a dramatic audio scene is recorded, there is a fixed microphone in the studio and the actors all act around it. The BBC still records radio dramas this way, and if you have a lovely studio set-up you should do it this way too. But even if you are recording each acting part separately and stitching the scene together, understanding ‘where the mic is’ in relation to each actor is vital.
Watch a clip of how the BBC records The Archers here. You can clearly see one microphone and all the actors acting around it within the radio drama set.
When writing a dramatic scene for your fiction podcast series, ask yourself, “Where is the mic in this scene?” It’s the same thing as asking, “Where are my listeners in this scene?” (because your listeners hear exactly what the microphone hears). The fixed microphone is the way you communicate the mise-en-scène to your audience. Without it, the audience is discombobulated.
It’s something TV and film writers never need to think about, but in audio it’s integral to a scene making sense.
Think about this real-life example. Can you spot where it goes wrong?
EXT. DR LAWSON’S HOUSE - FRONT DOOR - DAY
FX: DR LAWSON PULLS HER FRONT DOOR SHUT.
DR LAWSON: (into phone) I’m just on my way there now. We need to-
FX: A MOTORBIKE APPROACHES.
DR LAWSON: (into phone) I’ve got to go.
FX: THE MOTORBIKE PULLS UP NEXT TO DR LAWSON. CUTS ITS ENGINE.
DR LAWSON: Hello Bullseye. What can I do for you?
BULLSEYE: Doctor Lawson. Long time no see.
DR LAWSON: You missed me, did you?
FX: ACROSS THE STREET, WENDY RIDES HER BICYCLE PAST. SHE BRAKES.
WENDY: (to self) What’s Dr Lawson doing with him?
BULLSEYE: (shouting at Wendy) Oi, you!
FX: WENDY QUICKLY CYCLES ON.
Hopefully you noticed that it splits the mic in two. First, it’s with Dr Lawson and Bullseye, and then it suddenly has to move over to Wendy passing by on her bicycle. This can’t work in the same scene because it confuses the audiences about Wendy’s proximity to Dr Lawson and Bullseye.
Let’s make some small changes to the formatting. In the first scene, the mic is at Dr Lawson’s front door. In the second scene, the mic is with Wendy across the street:
EXT. DR LAWSON’S HOUSE - FRONT DOOR - DAY
FX: DR LAWSON PULLS HER FRONT DOOR SHUT.
DR LAWSON: (into phone) I’m just on my way there now. We need to-
FX: A MOTORBIKE APPROACHES.
DR LAWSON: (into phone) I’ve got to go.
FX: THE MOTORBIKE PULLS UP NEXT TO DR LAWSON. CUTS ITS ENGINE.
DR LAWSON: Hello Bullseye. What can I do for you?
BULLSEYE: Doctor Lawson. Long time no see.
DR LAWSON: You missed me, did you?
EXT. DR LAWSON’S HOUSE - ACROSS THE STREET - DAY
FX: WENDY RIDES HER BICYCLE PAST DR LAWSON’S HOUSE. SHE BRAKES.
WENDY: (low) (to self) What’s Dr Lawson doing with him?
BULLSEYE: (off mic) (shouting at Wendy) Oi, you!
FX: WENDY QUICKLY CYCLES ON.
If you go off and read some audio scripts, you will notice there are shorthands to indicate the proximity of a character to the microphone. Some common ones:
(OFF / OFF MIC) – When a character is talking in the next room, or from some distance.
(APP / APPROACHING) – When a character is moving closer to us (i.e. the mic) while they’re speaking. For instance, when they’re entering the room.
(LOW) – When a character is speaking quietly, often secretively or urgently.
(CLOSE) – To create the feeling of intimacy. It gives the impression of characters being very close together, or of the character speaking directly to the listener.
Another scenario that often confuses people is a character getting out of a vehicle, like stepping off a bus. You need to decide if the microphone is fixed to the character themselves, i.e. we will follow the character off the bus (in which case the sound of the bus would fade away into the distance) or does the microphone stay on the bus (in which case we would hear the character exit the bus, hear the doors shut, and hear the bus taking off again with ‘us’ on it).
What about intercut phone calls?
I’m glad you asked! If two characters are speaking to each other via phone (or walkie talkie), you can’t ‘intercut’ between both sides of the conversation like you can in telly. The microphone can only be with one character, so all the other character’s lines will sound filtered.
For example:
BULLSEYE: Hello?
BABS: (FILTERED THROUGH PHONE) Hey lover.
BULLSEYE: Oh, it’s you.
BABS: (FILTERED) Are you alone?
ESMEE: (GRABBING PHONE) (TO BABS) No, he’s bloody not.
FX: BULLSEYE AND ESMEE GRAPPLE FOR THE PHONE.
BULLSEYE: Esmee! Give it here! (TO BABS) It’s not a good time, Babs.
BABS: (FILTERED) (SHOUTING) Esmee!! You stay away from him!!
