Jack Ferguson : "The Man Who Treads the Water's Edge"

“Would you mind jogging on the spot for about thirty seconds before the next recording?” This was one of many unusual directions given to actors during the making of Hunger: The Legend of Sawney Beane, a project that I was proud and delighted to be a part of during my final undergraduate year at the University of Stirling. The process of planning, scripting, directing and recording this project, at first, terrified me. The thought of other students in my production group relying on me to produce a script that, not only had to be long enough to cover twelve minutes of program time, but coherent enough to be understandable using sound alone. And, just to further complicate matters, myself and my production group decided on producing a period piece, meaning a distinctive soundscape had to be created, to evoke a particular era and setting. Our story had to include facts relating to the period, as well as biographical details that made the story realistic, considering our story was based on the real life Scottish cannibal Sawney Beane, who did actually live with his family in a cave, abducting and murdering people from nearby villages.

 

One of the most enjoyable aspects of recording was going out to unique locations around Stirling, to find the best atmospheric sounds for our piece. I remember going on a road trip with the team to a cave just beyond Bridge of Allan, to record the inside of it to use as a sound bed for our scenes set in the cave of Sawney. We hiked through forests and hills and came upon a babbling brook carving its way though the valley. And with our boots disappearing in mud and coats heavy with rain, we found it, a small crack in the hillside, a cave that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write part of ‘Treasure Island.’ We were a treat for passing hikers, who were confronted with the unusual scene of a group of young people, with microphones, shouting and chanting in the middle of a cave, as well as breaking apart tree branches and eating cabbage. Now, I can explain, there was method in our madness; the chanting was for battle cries, the branch breaking was for to imitate the sound of bones snapping, and the cabbage eating was used to mimic the sound of Sawney’s munching. Ah, the things we do for art.

 

We tried to also be very creative in the sound studio in regard to setting. For our scene set in horse and carriage, we had the actors sit on chairs with the microphones pointed downward towards them, to give the impression they were talking to each other in a cart, where they would be sitting down. In addition, for the cave scenes, we covered four chairs with a sheet of tarpaulin and had the actors sit cross-legged underneath the tarpaulin with the mics pointed down under it also. This gave a suffocating, echoing atmosphere to the scenes, and with added reverb on the mics, really gave an authentic impression that the characters were talking in a cave.

 

It was a pleasure to work with such talented people, the scenes I gave the actors weren’t easy, yet they were able to quite often put an astonishing amount of feeling into their voices, and make some of the hard to swallow parts of the plot seem very real, and very engrossing. We helped the actors perform their lines with more emotion by getting them to, for example, turn their head, smile, growl, or address another actor directly. By allowing the actors to either walk up to, or step away from, the mic, we created a sense of distance that added an extra vitality to scenes.

 

I learned how to choose locations for my dialogue that were the most aurally pleasing and distinct to the listener. Scenes located within pubs and churches for example have their own characteristics, such as echoing interiors or claustrophobic chatter, which really give a ‘sense of place’ and make them recognizable to the listener. I learned how to signpost characters, so that the listener doesn’t get mixed up with who is speaking, at any particular point. I learned that even a simple name drop helps to keep the story moving along, and helps to distinguish between each character. We were advised to have about two or three characters in our play, and again, we, or perhaps I should say more honestly, I, decided to have about ten, to give ourselves a challenge. Personally, I loved dealing with more characters, as there were then so many parts of the plot that we could explore.

 

In short, bringing all the unique sounds we went road trips for together, along with the twentieth version of the script, and the three-week recordings of numerous actors, we found ourselves eventually with a completed piece. A creation that we could play to the world and say that’s its ours, we can claim it as our baby, and there is very little that quite compares to the surge of pride you feel as all those words and sounds blend together, to the delight and entertainment of your listener, your captive audience.

 

I know that when hearing the words that I had written amongst a hushed, crowded room, being performed so well, and being part of a plot that I realized did make sense, and was engaging, and did leave an impression, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment, the like of which I had never felt before.

 

What I would say to any radio enthusiasts? Sign up for the radio drama module when the time comes. Sign up and grab it with both hands. And put the effort in. Get past the writer’s block and work every day, and you can make a work of art. A piece that you can show your children, or grandchildren, and say “I did that” and “Yes, I made that.”

 

My favourite line from the drama was “Remember, the man who treads the water’s edge and lives, is better than the man who dives into the deep, and dies.” Still one of the best things I’ve ever written. I dare you to write something better. Go on. Do it.

 

 

 

Jack Ferguson graduated in June 2017 with a First Class BA Hons in English Studies and Film & Media.  He was also the recipient of the 2017 Mediaspec Prize for Best Radio Student.