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EASIT. Easy Access
for Social Inclusion Training.

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Unit 3B. Easy to understand
and audio description.

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Element 1. Processes.

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Interview with professionals:
Louise Fryer.

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In this interview,
the AD professional Louise Fryer

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will talk about AD accessibility.

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She will share her ideas
on what can make AD difficult

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and unveil her stance
on describing in an easy way.

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Hello, I am Louise Fryer.

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I am an audio describer
and an academic.

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I am in my 50s
with short brown hair graying.

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I am wearing a purple jumper
and a black vest.

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I am sitting at my desk
in a cottage in the UK.

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I will answer some questions
by the EASIT project.

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Do I think AD as I produce it
is really accessible for all?

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No. AD makes
some content accessible

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for some people by providing
access to the image

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to those who cannot perceive it.
But the problem is that 

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even though the blind
and partially blind audience is diverse,

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there is only one AD track.

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In an ideal world,
people could choose

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between descriptions
targeted differently,

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i.e. depending
on sight experience.

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Has the person
always been blind,

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or did they lose
their sight later in life?

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Some may choose the director's AD,
focusing on camera work.

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Some might prefer a man's voice,
others a woman's.

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As of now,
AD of live events

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is only accessible
to those who wear a headset.

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This means it is closed.

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What about those
with other levels of education,

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or lack of cognitive skills?

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AD aims to use language
suited to the content.

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For the AD of a play
with complex words,

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the AD will be complex too,

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which might not
be accessible to everyone.

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What elements of AD

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do I consider to cause
a higher cognitive load?

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Cognitive load has not been
well researched in AD.

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It relates to Working Memory Capacity:

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holding information in short term memory
and manipulating it.

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I.e., remembering the description
of a character from the introduction

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until that character gets on stage,

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and updating your mental image
if they put on a disguise.

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Working Memory Capacity
is thought to be limited.

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It is affected by
the amount of information,

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or the complexity of the content,

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but also the word count,
the speed

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and the linguistic structure
of the AD itself.

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The AD may reduce its load
by adding context

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to enable users
to interpret the dialogue easily.

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Load can also be eased by users

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not having to filter out
unneeded information.

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This describer
is not describing everything:

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by giving information
in different methods,

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inflection, tone and soundtrack

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can convey emotional detail
without complex words.

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Do I think
I describe in an easy way?

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I don't think so,
but I do try to describe

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in a logical order, prioritizing
which information I give first.

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Do I think
I could describe in an easy way?

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I do not like to be limited
as to the vocabulary I use

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beyond adapting it
to suite the content.

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While I would use easier words
for a children's show,

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I would not like to use
easy words

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to describe content
made for educated adults.

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Have I ever been given feedback

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on how easy it is
to follow my AD?

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I was once told
that I used too many words.

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Since then, I try to use
words more effectively.

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"Less but better"
as Dieter Raams put it.

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As an AD professional,
I have never been asked

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to write an "easy" AD,
but I have been asked

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to describe for
a relaxed performance

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for a neuro-diverse audience.

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So I kept the descriptions
very short but helpful.

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It became more of a guide
than an audio description.

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I said things like
"the girl is happy",

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"she is clapping,
she is encouraging us to clap, too".

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I have also been describing
for film AD

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to be delivered
by synthetic speech.

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The writing
has to be more explanatory

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because you cannot use
inflection and pace

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to build excitement or tension.

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Replacing some descriptions
by explanations is common in AD:

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to use a technical word
with its explanation.

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I like to do both when I have time
and whoever I am describing for.

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This video
was prepared by Elisa Perego,

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produced by Angelika De Marchis, Laura Marini,
Annalisa Navetta, 

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from the University of Trieste.
Narrator: Annalisa Navetta.