Thread by @SocHistoryWar

#NVHOW20 Introducing Jonathan Ruffle @JonathanRuffle ‘TOMMIES’ – The First World War as BBC Radio Drama’- the conception and building of the 11th November 1918 episode of the @BBCRadio4 drama set 150 miles up the Dvina River in northern Russia #FWW #WW1 #FirstWorldWar

1 #NVHOW20 Hi #twitterhistorians. I'm @JonathanRuffle. I created, co-wrote and co-produced a 42-episode real-time BBC Radio 4 drama called TOMMIES about the First World War.

2 #NVHOW20 Our 1918 Armistice Day episode was set in Russia with the 2/10 Battalion Royal Scots up the Dvina River. But I started where we all do.

3 #NVHOW20 I'm focusing for this twitter presentation on radio drama's need for specialised authentic historical sounds. This twitter promo film shows the size of the problem. Volume up throughout the presentation, please.

4 #NVHOW20 So that's the sound of the shell landing –what about the artillery piece that fired it? I got to the Royal Artillery Museum just before it went into store, when this opportunity would have been lost. Keep that volume up, please.

5 #NVHOW20 Getting and firing a FWW British rifle is quite easy. But firing an authentic French rifle with period ammunition has its own difficulties.

6 #NVHOW20 The characters in TOMMIES were mainly signallers. I sampled authentic Morse code demonstrated by my 'ham radio' brother and substituted the sound. To actually operate a genuine spark-gap transmitter would disrupt the airwaves and is illegal.

7 #NVHOW20 There are also peaceful FX -- found for example on this research trip to Gallipoli. A great sense of place for the actors in the studio – and some battlefield archaeology.

8 #NVHOW20 The soldiers write about seeing tortoises fighting in the wild. It gave me a drama idea for a night patrol who thought helmets had come to life.

9 #NVHOW20 After all this effort to get the right sounds – some are completely faked in the studio. This FX gave rise to a twitter competition.

10 #NVHOW20 Easy, wasn't it? Thanks for looking at this brief introduction to historical sound. Any questions, I'm here on @JonathanRuffle and #BBCTommies.