I have used Weebly to create the website for my radio drama as it offered a wide variety of elements for the production process and offered simplicity in the creation and appearance of the website, something which I wanted to achieve in providing a friendly and unthreatening feel to the radio series. Because of this, the appearance I have chosen for the website is admittedly a little unorthodox when compared to conventional websites such as 'ChatterBox Audio Theater' and 'Cosmic Forces,' However, I felt that my website was in keeping with the product it was promoting. As we worked on the overall plot of 'Ground Floor Up,' in order to have a goal to reach towards if not shown within the first nine minutes, it was decided that the ‘storyteller’ approach would be appropriate as the human character was guided through the building. Therefore I thought that at a writing/notice board theme for the website would work well with this idea.
For the pages, I have chosen to provide conventional information, albeit it presented as though Jenny was the visitor's guide throughout the building, the page titles being labelled as the various floors to add to this effect.
The basement or home page provides a brief introduction to the website, listing the things that may be found on the other pages. Here I have also begun the concept that the guide has been written from the point of view of one of the characters, although here they are unnamed, since this was generally felt that it would be far more engaging for the reader if presented with a character of the radio series rather than one of its producers. This idea has been continued throughout the website.
The ground floor page provides some basic information to the reader about the nature of the product and the length of each episode. This I found to be a convention of the majority of websites concerning radio drama such as 'Chatterbox Audio Theater' and the BBC, which offers a short description of the dramas, some amounting to no more than a sentence long, the genre and the length of the drama.
In researching radio audiences, I have found that one reason for the popular opinion that radio is dying is that a large percentage of the audience no longer listens to the radio over the wireless, preferring to turn to the online world or audio books. And in all of the websites for radio drama which I came across, there was the opportunity to listen to the drama which had been produced, either instantly online or downloading the series straight to your computer. Therefore, I have uploaded my final product to my website, allowing the viewer to listen to the first nine minutes of the series. Offering this preview, as it were, to the full series would hopefully kindle interest in the drama as the audience would want to know what happens as the story progresses as the series is broadcast.
There is a running theme throughout the website of the reader being warned away from the fifth floor due to its closure although no explanation is given as to the reason behind this. Whilst it was decided that the fifth floor should not be mentioned in the extract of the series we produced due to the fact we did not believe it conventional to include it so early on there was no reason to cut it out of the website. In keeping with the idea of the fifth floor being barred and its place on the forums on the third floor page, I thought it would engage the audience and cause speculation as to the plot of the radio drama, creating an interactivity between individual consumers and Jenny’s character who we would maintain through replies to queries via the contact from and forums.
Another convention of the websites is the inclusion of character profiles, giving brief details of the roles and personalities as well as mentioning the actors' names. I have placed this information on the second floor page.
Wanting to create interactivity and a space for speculation and discussion for the radio drama, I have set up a forum on the third floor page for the consumers to converse amongst themselves or with the character of Jenny whom I would maintain, as I feel that this would be something to which an audience would respond positively. Creating speculation for the characters and later points of the plot would be a way of encouraging further listening as the consumers’ desire to reach the end of the story, discovering certain facts along the way would likely be increased by the various theories and discussions.
One thing I wanted for the website was for the consumer to be able to ask questions in a more confidential manner than the forums, something which is conventional for many websites in the media. As such I have chosen to include a contact form here for people to enquire or comment on the website or the drama itself.
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