The Archers

Codes and Conventions
Pauses Between Scenes - There are a couple of seconds of silence between scenes to signify the scene change. This is done with a fade out from one scene to a fade in on the next.
Very Different Voices - There is quite a difference between mens voices and females voices in a radio drama. With video, we can easily tell when different people are talking, but with radio drama's it's a little more difficult. The character Pip sound quite young because she doesn't have so much of a strong accent, she speaks with a bit more of a higher pitch than the other characters. Pip's mother has a stronger accent than Pip, and speaks with a slight lower pitch to show her age more.
Background Sound - In one of the opening scenes, Pip is about to head off to the Students Union. You can hear keys being held in Pip's hand and also the start of the car at the end of the scene when Pip is about to head off. There is also a faint sound of cars in the background and I'm sure I can hear a cow moo at one point.
Voices Panned - To separate the dialogue from each character, you can hear certain people more out of one side. An example would be with Pip's Mum, you can hear her more through the left ear, and hear Pip more through the right ear.
Music - Music is used for the theme tune at the beginning and the end of the episocde. Sometimes there will be a bit of music in the background, but that's more meant to represent music being played in the background.



Structure
Set out in Scenes - The Archers is set out in scenes just like a TV drama. We pick up bits of story's of different people per scene. It helps to add suspense to each scene by making you have to wait through different scenes to find out what happens to that character.
Opening and Closing Theme - The theme tune is used to represent the start and finish of the radio drama. It's also a recognisable tune so you can tell what the show is.

Style
Modern - The Archers is set out as a radio drama of modern times. It's based around country-side people in everyday situations.
Spoken Word Drama - There is no narrator, every scenes is mapped out using dialogue and background noise. Certain scenes like the pub would use background people talking, glasses tapping together and background music. Also, you'd hear phrases in the pub like "Last round".