Archrs: an everyday story of web development
The Archers is a radio soap opera - "an everyday story of country folk" - that has been running for more than 15,000 episodes since May 1950. What I find particularly intriguing about The Archers in terms of the future of radio is that it is, in a way, happening in real time.
Every evening on Radio 4, the programme contains events that happened (approximately) "today" in - so if it's Easter in real-life then it's Easter in The Archers. It's also very topical - featuring real-life events such as outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease or the World Cup. As a drama, each episode is split into distinct scenes - typically indicated by a fading to silence - a convention for audio drama because of its need for clear signposting. The other interesting aspect is the many distinct facets of each scene - which characters are involved, the time of day, the current location, the storylines that intersect at that moment and even the weather. (Picture of Archers recording from 1981)
So, earlier this year, the Radio Labs team started to design and build a prototype website for The Archers based around the drama's scenes and facets.
Read more and comment at the 91Èȱ¬ Radio labs blog.
Tristan Ferne is Senior Development Producer, R&D, FM&T for 91Èȱ¬ Audio & Music Interactive.
