This drama will be written for the 11:30 slot on BBC Radio 4. The slot is designed for ‘wry and witty’ pieces, and this is what we intend the drama to be. The commissioning brief states that ‘small casts and simple plots’ are invited. Our piece is relatively simple and contains a maximum of 3 key voices over the course of the piece. The brief highlights that 11:30 is a ‘busy time of day’ so the fact that we will be having Jack and the Police investigator discussing his actions in the taxi should help those listeners who may have misheard something, or missed some of the piece. It’s important to keep the audience’s attention throughout the piece, so these explanations should be detailed enough for those who are busy, but not patronising to those who know what is going on. New information should be revealed in these sequences.
In terms of multi-platforming, we will be creating a production blog containing notes about the development of ideas, the process of finding actors and recording and editing the final piece. In addition to that, the blog will contain profiles of all the actors and link to websites that they wish people to see. Character biographies will also be on display on the website, much like those on the BBC’s Archers website. If there is any unused audio, that will be added to the website as a type of ‘deleted scene’ content. If Jack’s character was seen to be a success, there is great potential in a serial of this format, and possibly and online presence, and even a TV series if it was seen to be entertaining enough.
Treatment (200 words) (how it will sound)
The piece starts as a parody of a dramatic scene where a character is discovering the truth. It will be over-the-top and Jack will exclaim various clichés as if he were a police investigator discovering something new.
Jack pays a visit to the local police station at lunch time to talk to Ben about his latest investigation, something very unimportant. As always, Ben tells Jack that they cannot follow up on this investigation as their resources are stretched and the alleged crime is not serious enough. Jack brings in some new evidence, in the form of more recorded conversations. Whenever the recorded conversations are introduced, they are initially heard from the ears of the characters, so they sound tinny and are combined with the background sounds of the police station. After a few seconds, the audio becomes clear, as if the listener is now inside the taxi listening to the conversation first-hand when it took place. We will hear various people talking about various crimes.
Discouraged, and yet not disheartened, Jack sets about investigating something bigger, and sees a TV report on a local murder. He knows what his next big project will be. Soon after, a regular customer gets into his taxi, and all his investigative phrases come out of the woodwork once again.
A large emphasis should be put upon the sounds of the taxi being driven, as it is part of the way Jack’s character changes over the course of the story. Different car-related actions may represent what Jack is thinking at that moment.