CO537-5142 — Page 168

- 5-

Performance.

40. Voices must be clear and of good accent, speech must be of the right speed, characters in plays must be easily distinguished from one another by quality of voice, acting must be of reasonably good quality, effects must be simple and recognisable, the use of music behind speech must be avoided, dialect and character voices must be used with moderation.

41.

Dramatisation is an important element in many types of Schools Broadcasts, but a cast of half a dozen actors cost money, and is difficult to assemble in the morning, which is the most suitable time for Schools Broadcasting. Good actors for child parts are particularly difficult to find at any time.

42.

In planning programmes care must be taken to allow only for as many dramatisations as can be afforded, and if these include characters which occur throughout the series, some consideration must be given as to whether in fact it will be possible to get the necessary actors regularly, and what will be done if any of them fall sick, go on leave or are transferred.

is

43. Many amateur actors who are acceptable on the stage have not sufficiently flexible voices, or voices of suitable quality to be acceptable on the air. broadcast stands or falls by quality of voice. One voice with magic in it, one actor of power, is worth 50 scratch players. In fact a couple of scratch players can kill the best script in the world. There must be fit and adequate rehearsal. The technique of speaking slowly without losing volume and dramatic quality takes the most practised actor some time to learn. With regard to the broadcasting of talks, a manner suitable to the lecture hall or the classroom is not usually suitable to the microphone.

Advance Information.

440 It is essential that schools should receive well in advance a timetable of broadcasts for the coming year so that it can be borne in mind when the schools' own timetables are made up. They must also receive well before the beginning of each term sufficient detail about each broadcast series for the class teachers to bear them in mind when planning their term's work. And they must receive well before each broadcast sufficient information for the teacher to do any preparation either of himself or the class before the transmission.

45. The B.B.C. issue each term printed illustrated pamphlets for the broade casts in each series. In Malaya, duplicated notes are issued at fortnightly intervals. The latter practice has the advantage that the notes can be pre- pared after the broadcast has been written; otherwise there is danger of mentioning characters who do not after all appear in the broadcast or of leaving out a point of which the teacher should have been informed.

46. The B.B.C. issues illustrated pamphlets for use by individual childrên, and for some series, pamphlets for teachers only. In Malaya, notes are issued for the teachers only, but they are fuller than those issued by the B.B.C. The preparation of this advance information, together with maps, dia- grams, pictures, music, etc. is additional work which falls on the staff.

Good Reproduction in the Classroom.

47. Reproduction must be absolutely clear and free from 'fading' and 'interference'. It must not be lacking in 'top'; that is to say, the high frequencies, the high notes in music and human speech, must be fully reproduced. If they are not, the effect is woolly and the audience must strain to understand what is being said.

48. Classrooms are themselves 'echoey' and installation should be super- vised by an expert so that the best results can be had. This is important. Care taken at the installation stage can save a good deal of trouble later on.

49.

Many receiving sets manufactured for home use are unsuitable for use in schools, because their output is sufficient only for a small room; if the volume is turned up too high there is distortion. Many sets also give too little 'top'; this is partly because it is cheaper to produce a set of this