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Radio Planning Final Session - Scripting Your Links


 I'm sure most of you want to get in the studio and start freestyling your links. Sorry but you can't. The criteria EXPLICITLY STATES that all dialogue has to be scripted. It says it in the criteria (look at part e of criteria 3) and also states it in the teaching guidance later in the spec.


WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT without a script that you stick to your show, no matter how hilarious/great YOU might think it is, is going to fail this criteria and you'll fail the unit. YOU HAVE TO GENERATE SCRIPTED LINKS FOR AT LEAST A HALF-HOUR OF YOUR SHOW. SO - every time you've indicated in your RUNNING ORDER that you're going to say something or have a  link between tracks, you will have to script that link. 

I don't want you necessarily to write a script that you then read nervously in the studio. But I do want some hint as to what you're going to say. What might be ideal is scripting the links for now, recording them with a little bit of relaxed freedom and then going back to your script and amending them. No-one gets let near a studio though until you have something to do in there - i.e record a fully scripted show. 

To create your script do the following. 

1. Go to the following link. https://radio.co/blog/radio-script/

 Read it, don't just skim it. Half/3quarters of the way down you'll see this. 

Enter your name and e-mail and get the pdf of the two script formats. You're not writing a radio play so you're only concerned with the first two pages of the pdf.

2. Using the template on the PDF, and bearing in mind what the link said about how you should keep things informal, use your running order to create a script for at least half an hour of your show. You should be bearing in mind the length of songs and how much time you've given yourself for links. Your spoken-word speed will be important. I suggest you'll be needing at least 150 words per minute of link-time (so if you've set aside 2 minutes to talk about a track and then lead into the next one, you'll need 2x150 =300 words for example).

Remember you're not just naming the tracks you're talking about, you might be talking about the tracks in more detail, or mentioning anything else about the artist that is current/ relevant/ amusing/ interesting. Links of just a few monosyllabic words are not acceptable unless you have indicated in your planning that talk will be minimal because it suits the kind of podcast/show you're making. You should remember though - This unit is called TALK AND MUSIC RADIO. All music with barely any talk and a really thin/threadbare script is unlikely to get you any more than a pass.

4. When your script is complete and includes cues for music/jingles as well as what you're going to say and the tracks you're going to play, save it as a word document and paste it into a new blogpost called 'RADIO PLANNING: MY SCRIPT'

WHAT YOU SHOULD END UP WITH
A full script for your half hour show, ready for me to check before I let you in a studio.

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