WRITING FOR RADIO... FOR FUN AND INDULGING YOUR MID-LIFE CRISIS

[nearlypastit]

Dear whoever,

I was hoping to fence with enthusiasts and professionals about writing with accents... i.e. having crap actors with virtually no accent skills so you write 'Phonetically' and hope.

As it is, usually I just find actors with accents and no concept of their true value, though that doesn't always work.

For example; for a Welsh person I usually have to allow for £50, petrol money and an afternoons supply of bakewell tarts. Trendie Londoners... a little more.

Any suggestions out there? 

[Azure]

You can always have the actor record at home and send the files to you for mixing. It's pretty much how I do my stuff, there's simply no way I'd be able to round up enough people to record anything myself.  I think some people would question the chemistry between actors in that case, but it's a trade off if you really want people with the correct accents.

[paulw]

Or hooking up with local colleges or amateur drama groups might also help. In videogames we often record actors separately, which is not ideal, but with a strong director who understands the big picture and a good cast, it can work.

[davew]

As great radio is so very hard to write for, does anyone have any good pointers on how to select the right voice for the characters in plays ect

[paulw]

Very often a writer has an actor or type of voice in mind when writing. It's hard not to when writing dialogue, so good communication between writer and director is essential. Maybe one day we should organise a reading session, get a bunch of actors together in a studio and let a small group of writers try out some scenes whilst recording them.