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Films and television have more or less settled on an industry standard for production credits — which go at the beginning, which go at the end, who are mentioned, who aren’t, what names go at the top and before and after the title, what at the end, in what order. Some of these things make no sense to most audiences. Who knows what a "grip" is or a "best boy?" What’s the difference between a "guest artist" and a "guest star?" For the most part viewers do not know or care about the contractual arrangements and Hollywood pecking order that determines such things and that have little to do with the artistic contributions made to the opus involved.
Audio drama has no such standardization. We do not even use the same terms for the same functions. For the sake of clarity and for the acknowledgment of the deserving, I think a general agreement on credits and announcements ought to be put in practice. Fortunately, contractual and industry pecking orders do not hamper us. At times, we do have to consider favors we owe and feelings we ought not step on. Nonetheless the following recommendations should serve a useful guide.
Your announcer may not be the same artist who narrates the play. The narrator describes the play’s action and environment, the announcer delivers the wrap-arounds — the billboard, the credits, the in and out cues for the act breaks. If you hire the same talent to narrate and announce, you should make that person aware of the different functions of announcements and narration so that he or she can vocally differentiate the two.
Your announcer should have a pleasant and professional sound. He should work the mike closely for a warm sound at a fairly intimate volume. You should direct the announcer to speak in a style complementary to the tone of the work — lightly for a comedy, dignified for a drama, etc. When you’re performing before a house audience, the announcer’s dynamic should be livelier, not so intimate, something bespeaking the excitement of live presentation.
If I could, I’d use one announcer for all my published productions. Doing so, gives your collected ouvres a sense of institutional identity. "Ah, I recognize that voice! This must be a Sally So-and-so production!" Another school of thought believes that you cast an announcer the way you cast the roles in the play itself. One kind of voice and approach suit a comedy, others work better for high drama, horror, period pieces, etc. I’ve prefered to use one announcer versatile enough
Opening
Get to the play proper as soon as possible. A listener bored by lengthy preliminaries can and will switch to another station rather than wait patiently for the good stuff. Therefore, opening announcements, the "billboard," should only be long enough to dispense essential information and to register in the listener’s mind. If too brief, the announcement will end before the audience can focus on it. A musical bed (called the MAIN TITLE) helps draw attention to and expand the billboard.
If I have a major sponsor, funder or grantor, I give it a mention it first thing. The money folks like it. Also, it’s the one thing I don’t mind getting lost when a listener tunes in late.
T
he following program is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.(Teaser)
(Billboard)
(Act One)
Billboard the network (if you are distributing through one), the production entity, theseries and episode titles and the author. The announcer should separate the phrases.
(MAIN TITLE UP, ESTABLISH, FADE, CONTINUE UNDER:)
National Private Radio presents . . . the Hollywood Theater of the Ear production of . . . Perfidy and Perfection . . . an "epistolary romance" by Charlotte de Quincy.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT.)
... or...
(MAIN TITLE UP, ESTABLISH, FADE, CONTINUE UNDER:)
Pubic Radio Worldwide presents . . . the Hollywood Theater of the Ear production of . . . Buckles and Swash — Tales of Love and Adventure . . . . Tonight — Perfidy and Perfection, an "epistolary romance" by Charlotte de Quincy.
(MUSIC UP AND OUT.)
If you have engaged name talent, you can, and probably should, mention them "above the title" in alphabetical order.
The Nordstrand Network presents . . . the Prairie Wolf Radio Theater production of . . . Buckles and Swash — Tales of Love and Adventure . . . . Tonight, Martin Spleen and Jennifer Lopeste in . . . Perfidy and Perfection, an "epistolary romance" by Charlotte de Quincy.
Wrap every break with an announcement at the top and the bottom. The audience needs a few seconds of transition. Before the break:
In a moment, Act Two of Perfidy and Perfection.
... or...
Buckles and Swash will return with Act Two of Perfidy and Perfection after this brief pause
.... or...
In a moment Martin Spleen and Jennifer Lopeste will return in Perfidy and Perfection. In a moment, Act Two. But first, these brief messages.
After the break:
And now . . . Act Two of Perfidy and Perfection.
Before and after the last break:
In a moment, the conclusion of (etc.)
And now, the conclusion of (etc.)
Use "conclusion" instead of "Act Two," "Act Three" or whatever, as a slight antidote to the Law of Diminishing Returns.
The most important names go first: the author, followed by the principals. Identify the latter by role and list them in order of appearance. After the principles, the remaining cast in alphabetical order. Do not list walla nor identify the roles non-principals are playing.
You have been listening to [TITLE] by [AUTHOR].
You have heard [ACTOR] as [ROLE]...
...[ACTOR] as [ROLE]...
...[ACTOR] as [ROLE]...
...[ACTOR] as [ROLE]...
...and [ACTOR] as [ROLE]...
...with NAME], [NAME], [NAME] and [NAME].
Pecking order for the production crew is as follows:
The play was directed by [NAME]...
... produced by [NAME]...
... and featured original music by [NAME]...
... conducted (or performed) by [NAME]...
[NAME] was Executive Producer...
...[NAME], casting director...
...[NAME], recordist...
...[NAME], editor...
...[NAME], mixer...
...[NAME], foley walker...
...and...
...[NAME(s)], [TITLES].
[FUNDING OR SPONSORSHIP CREDIT, OTHER ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS, IF APPLICABLE, GO HERE.]
This has been a production of [PRODUCTION ENTITY]...
...And I am [ANNOUNCER'S NAME].
If the program is part of a series:
You have been listening to [SERIES] and [TITLE] by [AUTHOR].
...and later....
[SERIES] is a production of [PRODUCTION ENTITY]...
If you’re working with a network, it will probably require that you end the program with a "system cue," such as:
This is NPR — National Public Radio.
Many audiobook publishers prescribe copy for announcements (or "tags," as they’re often called). Even so, you have some leeway to customize the tags or to adjust them to satisfy your preferences. If you’re self-publishing, as, say, the LA Theatre Works and ZBS do, you can, of course, do whatever you like. The following recommendations are for the self-publisher.
Opening
Plays on cassette, compact disk, the Internet, etc., can afford to open slower in these media than when producing for broadcast. You can presume that, after buying the volume, tearing off the shrink wrap, removing the recording from it container and placing it in the player — or downloading it to the computer or ipod — listeners will more patiently await their reward than those who can so quickly and easily switch the radio off or to another channel. Be that as it may, while I may forego a teaser or narrative hook at the top of the first side, I still prefer a brief opening billboard, such as the one for broadcast detailed above.
Closing
Since you don’t need to shoe-horn your production into an exact time-slot, you don’t need to mention your bookkeeper and janitor just to fill. On rare occasions, your credits may push you over the last cassette side or CD, in which case you will have to prune them rather than add a mostly blank additional cassette or CD. In either case, I still prefer to restrict the closing credits to those who have contributed artistically or technically to the production. I think listing everybody and his brother diminishes the recognition given the deserving artists and technicians.
Use the same wording for the opening and closing wrap-arounds that I suggested above for broadcast. In addition, you may wish to add additional copy, such as a copyright notice, plugs for your web site and/or other recordings, a gloss of the play or recording, background information about your production group. These additional items belong at the very end, after the closing credits.
Tags
Strictly speaking, tagging, or announcing the beginning and ending of cassette sides and compact disks, isn’t mandatory. It is a convenience you provide for the listener. If you decide to us them, your announcer should read them at a modestly slow tempo. Separate them from the play proper with a pause of a second or two.
On cassettes:
At the end of A sides:
This play is continued on the other side of this cassette.
At the beginning of side B and all subsequent sides:
[TITLE] continued, cassette [NUMBER], side [NUMBER]
At the end of all B sides, except the last:
This play is continued on cassette [NUMBER], side [NUMBER]
On CDs:
At the end of all disks, except the last:
This play is continued on disk [NUMBER]
At the beginning of all disks, except the first:
[TITLE] continued, disk [NUMBER]
In addition to or instead of production credits in the recording itself, I find it advisable to include production credits in print on the back cover or an insert or the inside pages of a one-fold CD label. If you fell it necessary you have room to include staff as well as production personnel on those inside pages or insert.
CD front cover CD back cover Front Cover Copy
Reserve the front cover for essential information — that which identifies or helps sell the production.
Back Cover Copy
Not much room here. Credits have to fit with:
a blurb
the copyright
the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and bar code
the publisher's logo
the retail price
the length ("approximately five hours thirty minutes on 5 compact disks")
the "abridged" or "unabridged" notice
Therefore, I use the highly compressed style you see on movie ads. Use a compact font, set in small type in this fashion:
Hard to read, but better than nothing.
In an insert, you have space for a roomier style approximating a theater playbill. A typical playbill for a regional theater company shows credits more or less like this:
Personally, I prefer to adapt the kind of style you see in movie end-credits:
(etc.)
TOM
Frank Moviestar SUE Ingenue Franklin GREGG Supporting Aktor NORMAN Player Aloiscious
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