H2G2

The first port of call for me in the research for this project is the radio shows of BBC 4, and in particular 'The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy' (H2G2).
The Brief, creating a sense of space is integral to this series so it only, makes sense to look at it for inspiration. To its creator Douglas Adams, the sound of H2G2 was incredibly important and due to this it was revolutionary in its use of sound. It was vital that these imaginary and distant lands would come to life in the minds of the listeners. This task fell to the BBC radio phonic workshop. Douglas Adams had created a world that was so detailed and far fetched, therefore the sound had to support this and anchor it to reality, as in radio drama sound is all there is to make the audience believe this world could exist and therefore truly engage with the story. The impact of sound is incredible if the series had been without the effects only the spoken words, the world Adams created would not have come to life the way it does and would not resonate with the audience.
The sound created a ‘sense of space’ sets the scene as scenery would in a theatre or set design would in a TV show or film. The task the radio phonic workshop had to face was a tough one. They had to realise the sound of a spaceship driven by the improbability drive. . This is where the sound is perhaps most effective. In the first series, the main characters Arthur and Ford are picked up in the crucial 30s window where they can survive in open space by the heat of gold, a ship driven by the improbability drive. They are placed in the ship’s hold that, because of the improbability drive is morphed into several different things including an infinite number of monkeys who have worked out a script for Hamlet. The BBC radio phonic workshop had to create this scene. It is in my view a great use of sound effects in order to create a scene by using everyday sounds and recordings. For example, the infinite number of monkeys , taking a recording of monkeys and manipulating it to make it seem distant and never ending but still making it sound recognisable and not just duplicating the sound a million times which would have resulted in a mass of noise. Another example of this is the sound of a million robot singing share and enjoy. This could have sounded like rubbish had they simply duplicated one robotic voice a million times but they found a way to create the effect but still make it clear and understandable, and still sound like a huge, million strong choir of robots.
Back in the Ship’s hold there is a visulisation of southend, naturally the sound at this point is of the sea but it has still been manipulated to sound otherworldly. Similarly with the voices, they are processed to show what has happened to the characters. For example when Ford unexpectedly turns into a penguin, the pitch of his voice is heightened which instantly makes the scene more believable. This is carried on throughout the series, space ports, alien planets, aliens, spaceships and characters are brought to life through the use of sound. Therefore the series is an incredibly useful for looking to in terms of inspiration for a sense of space