📻 Format Guide
Radio Drama
The most intimate storytelling medium. No visuals — only voice, sound, and silence. Radio drama demands a completely different approach to writing.
Overview
Writing for the Ear
Radio and audio drama is one of the most demanding scriptwriting forms. Every element — location, weather, time of day, a character's age and mood — must be communicated through sound alone. Nothing can be shown; everything must be heard.
The BBC Radio 4 drama department remains the most active commissioner of radio drama in the world. The format conventions below are based on BBC house style and are also widely adopted by podcast audio fiction producers.
Episode Lengths
| Format | Duration | Pages (approx) |
|---|---|---|
| BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play | 45 min | ~55 pages |
| BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play | 90 min | ~100 pages |
| BBC Radio 3 Drama on 3 | 60–90 min | ~70–100 pages |
| BBC World Service | 25–30 min | ~30–35 pages |
| Podcast episode | 20–60 min | ~25–70 pages |
Radio timing: Audio drama pages do not follow the 1 page = 1 minute rule. A page of dense dialogue can run 40–50 seconds; a page with sound design and silence may run 90 seconds. Always time your script by reading it aloud.
Script Format
Radio Script Layout
Sound Design
FX & Music Notation
- FXSound effects are prefixed with "FX:" in CAPS and described in italics. Be specific: "Door slams" is vague; "A heavy oak door slams. The echo fades" tells the sound designer what you need.
- MXMusic cues use "MUSIC:" and describe the tone and function: "MUSIC: Gentle, ambiguous. Something unresolved." Avoid specifying particular pieces unless they are diegetic (heard by characters).
- ATMAtmosphere (or ATMOS:) describes the ambient sound environment that runs beneath scenes: traffic, crowd noise, a ticking clock. This is distinct from specific sound effects.
- SILSilence is a powerful tool in audio drama. Write it explicitly: "Silence. A long beat." The listener hears it. The director must be instructed to hold it.
Script Specimen
THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER
BBC Radio 4 · Afternoon Play · Written by [Author]
| SCENE 1 | |
| FX: | Waves on rock. Distant foghorn. Wind under everything. |
| NARRATOR: | The light has been dark for three weeks. Nobody from the mainland has come. Until now. |
| MUSIC: | Fade in. Low, unresolved strings. Under the following. |
| MARGARET: | He won't answer the door. |
| FX: | Knocking. Three hard knocks. Then silence. |
| MARGARET: | (calling through door) Samuel. I know you're there. I can see your shadow. |
The audio drama secret: Characters must find natural reasons to say aloud what a film would show. Avoid clunky exposition ("As you know, Margaret, we've been standing on this cliff for ten minutes..."). Instead, use environment, voice quality, breath, and sound to show what you cannot tell.
Page Count & Runtime
Estimate audio drama running time.
Quick Reference
- Format Two-column
- FX: Sound effect cue
- MUSIC: Music cue
- ATMOS: Ambient atmosphere
- Silence Write it explicitly
- Narrator Label: NARRATOR:
- Parenthetical Delivery note in ()
- 45-min play ~55 pages
- 90-min play ~100 pages
- Timing rule Read aloud only
- Diegetic Heard by characters
- Non-diegetic Score / narration