War of the Worlds: Fake news broadcast

1. Narrative

•  Well spoken formal English

• In depth very descriptive and serious
• Texture: rich & thick
• Volume: loud
• Pitch: low
• Rhythm: moderate speed

Forecast

• Middle pitch
• Rhythm: :fast

Music

• Slow classical orchestra

News

• fast and punctual
• Pitch: high/moderate
• Goes straight back to music after news bulletin leaving audience in shock but hoping the music will calm them down. This also makes the story seem more believable to listeners that were not tuned in from the beginning

Princeton New Jersey

• Calm voice ( show he knows what he's talking about)
• Sound effects- muffling in background vibration)
• Professor Pierson: deep voice slightly not bothered
• Music: calm light piano to add to the overall feel of the drama

New York

• Pitch: high
• Volume: loud (shows anxiety & excitement new news have arrived)
• Sound effect: abnormal (made to cause panic)
• Volume: at this point the reporters voice is made louder to put emphasis on the anxiety of the scene
• Sound effect: police pushing crowd back showing commotion (explosives,silence,coughing, screaming)
• Mr Wilmer dialect: 'Bingo' slang word used shows not formal

Why did the Radio drama seem so real?

• Power cut during the fake news report matching the story lines so listeners following the story are bound to panic.
• Substation overloaded and blew up causing massive explosions adding to realism of the news report

Outcome of it all

•  People fainted
• Some ran 2 miles
• Guns were taken
• People stole petrol to go to nearest church to confess to priest
• no one could call and contact loved ones due to the power cut
• People who didn't follow tried to calm others down
• People who weren't even from Concrete Washington travelled to see if it was true and then when seeing police and commotion this assured their superstitions.