This is an ADLAB PRO video.
ADLAB PRO is a project funded by the European Union.
This video is made available to you
on a Creative Commons licence.
-Hello. I’m Nina Reviers, from the University of Antwerp,
and in this ADLAB PRO video
I will discuss Audio Description guidelines.
This is Unit 7 in Module 1 "AD: General Introduction".
In this video I will address the following questions:
What types of AD guidelines exist?
Why are AD guidelines important?
What topcis do AD guidelines cover?
What are the differences between guidelines?
A guideline is a document that includes a recommended
course of action for a product or service.
AD guidelines, more in particular,
aim to streamline the creation process
of an audio described product and offer advice
on AD scripting strategies based on sound practice and research.
There exist different types of AD guidelines,
depending on three factors.
First, the country in and for which they were developed.
Most countries or regions that offer AD,
have some kind of local guideline in the local language.
Second, the type of AD they cover.
Most guidelines have been developed for film,
but some countries also have guidelines for theatre AD,
museum or web accessibility, for instance.
Finally, the purpose and scope of AD guidelines differs.
Some guidelines have been developed by broadcasters
or companies to be used as a style guide
for employees and freelancers, think of Netflix, for instance.
Some guidelines have been developed by non-profit organisations,
such as the US Description Key
or in collaboration with research institutions,
such as the ADLAB guidelines.
But why are guidelines important?
Guidelines support good quality.
They set a standard that helps students and professionals
to develop their skills and that provides
production companies and user organisations with tools
for training and quality assessment.
AD guidelines are rarely binding, but in some countries
they are officially recognised by public or regulatory bodies
and linked to laws and regulations,
which significantly increases their impact.
Most AD guidelines focus on AD scripting and cover topics,
such as the following:
What to describe: How to select and prioritise information?
When to describe:
audio description should make effective use
of the space available, but at the same time
leave enough room for the film’s atmosphere to shine through.
How to find a balance?
How to describe in terms of linguistic choices,
lexis, syntax, tense and cohesion.
How to describe in terms of voicing,
intonation, narration speed and voice type.
In addition, guidelines discuss specifically thorny issues such as:
Subjectivity, film techniques,
the use of colour and describing ethnicity,
and how to deal with sounds and text on screen.
Let’s look at two examples.
In 2014, the EU-funded project ADLAB
published the first European-wide guidelines for Audio Description.
The aim of the project was to develop guidelines
for AD scriptwriting that had a sound
scientific grounding and that were not prescriptive,
but offered strategies,
described their effects in different contexts
and provided insights into when they are appropriate.
The ADLAB guidelines are freely available online
on the project website adlabproject.eu.
Another widely used AD guideline was published in 2000 by Ofcom,
the UK’s communications regulator.
They are entitled “Guidance On Standards for Audio Description”.
Even though this guideline was developed
for the provision of AD in the UK,
the Ofcom guidelines were and to some extent still are
a standard for Europe.
While most guidelines, such as the two examples we just discussed,
cover similar topics, there are differences among guidelines
in terms of the general approach,
for, instance, prescriptive or strategic.
Or in terms of the proposed strategies
to deal with specific issues.
One such thorny issue,
by way of example, is that of subjectivity.
The guidelines of the American Council for the Blind,
for instance, advise to describe what you see
in an objective way
and, in relation to gestures and movements in particular,
they say to “resist any temptation to convey
what you may feel is inferred by them,
such as an emotional state.”
Ofcom’s “Guidance On Standards for Audio Description”
adopts a similar approach:
And I quote: “A few well-chosen words
can enhance a scene considerably,
but they must not reflect the personal view of the describer."
The ADLAB guidelines, on the other hand,
try to offer a more nuanced approach that acknowledges
the benefit of more subjective strategies for certain contexts.
They say, and I quote:
“There are a range of possible strategies
for describing a narrative event
with different gradations in the explicitness of description.
Generally speaking they imply a choice
between "objectively" describing what you see on screen,
a strategy located at one end of the scale,
naming what can be seen more accurately,
located somewhere in the middle of the scale,
or explaining what the visual element means
located at the other end of the scale.
The ADLAB guidelines provide the following example:
“A flashback” versus “Back in 1930”.
“Her eyes open wide” versus “She is amazed”.
Or a combination of these:
“Her eyes open wide in amazement.”
Audio Description is an innovative field that is continuously evolving,
as a result guidelines and best practices keep evolving as well.
It is therefore important as a describer
to keep up to date with the newest developments!
-The preparation of this presentation
was supported by ADLAB PRO. Audio Description:
A Laboratory for the Development of a New Professional Profile
financed by the European Union
under the Erasmus+ Programme,
Key Action 2,
Strategic Partnerships.
Project number:
2016-1-IT02
KA203-024311.
The information and views set out in this presentation
are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the official opinion of the European Union.
Neither the European Union institutions and bodies
nor any persona acting on their behalf
may be held responsible for the use
which may be made of the information contained therein.
This was an ADLAB PRO video.
ADLAB PRO partners are:
University of Trieste,
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,
University of Antwerp,
Adam Mickiewicz University,
RTV Slovenia,
Utopian Voices,
Soundfocus and Royal National Institute of Blind People.
ADLAB PRO was funded by the European Union.
This video was made available to you
on a Creative Commons licence.