Shaun MacLoughlin and his twelve year old son, Seamus, cycled 1,100 miles along the ancient pilgrim’s road from Mont St Michel in Northern France to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The journey took five and a half weeks.
This is the kind of feature that as researcher, writer, presenter, sound recordist, producer and editor you could put together yourself – with the help of a few other voices.
The shape of the programme was simple. It was that of pilgrims, throughout the ages, making the journey. Shaun and Seamus MacLoughlin were simply the most recent among the multitudes, who had gone that way before.
May I suggest you count the elements: scripted speech, actuality, pre-recorded music, etc, and think about how you would plan the shape, and record and assemble these elements.
This feature was over a year in the making. Cycling up to fifty miles a day with a twelve year old and finding the route and accommodation was a full time activity.
Notes to Actors:
We managed to keep diaries however; most of which we recorded on family holiday in France the next summer (for the authentic background of birds, cicadas, etc), just before Seamus’ voice broke. In fact I did not shoulder all the artistic responsibility, as John Theocharis, produced it, directed the actors playing mediaeval pilgrims and provided an objective ear. He was able to tell me where I was self-indulgent and should be cut and where Seamus and I were instructive and entertaining.
John Tydeman, Head of Radio Drama, described the feature, which was broadcast four times on BBC Radio 4, as “Pilgrim and Adrian Mole.”
You will find the script and audio in “Documentaries” if you click here