How to write an audio drama. Part 2— Dialogue

1. The ear can’t take in everything which the eye can.

A TV drama might include a wide shot of the house, maybe the car pulling up outside and the family spilling out. Then you’re inside the house watching them enter and seeing their faces when they find the mess the burglars have left. There’s barely any dialogue throughout.

So, you’re still thinking in TV visuals and you might think you can simply reproduce that scene in sound with the following SFX:

CAR ENGINE AS IT PASSES, CRUNCH OF GRAVEL BENEATH TYRES AS IT TURNS INTO THE DRIVE, CAR HALTING, ENGINE OFF, CAR DOOR OPENING. FOOTSTEPS ON GRAVEL.

2. SFX have their place and are invaluable but, when you’re initially writing dialogue, it’s best to assume there aren’t any sound effects. For now. Yep, the dialogue has to do all the work.

3. Keep it light, keep it economical and tell the audience what’s going on without them even realising it.

4. Not always, but on average scenes tend to be longer. Because you’re frequently building up a dynamic between the characters which must be expressed verbally — visually it could be summed up in a few reaction shots.

5. This is a writer’s medium. You’re not going to leave it in the hands of the director to create a few meaningful…