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 Louise Fryer, from Utopian Voices.
In this ADLAB PRO video I will give an overview
of audio description for live events.
This is Unit 1 in Module 3.
Audio description is not only recorded for film and television.
It is also delivered live for all sorts of events:
plays, ballets, operas, even carnival and circus.
It's provided in some sports arenas too
but we won't be dealing with sport in this module.
There are differences between AD for screen and AD for live events
in terms of content, scripting and delivery.
You should describe the performance space, what the theatre is like
and where the stage is situated: at one end of the room
or with audience on one, two or three sides
or even moving from place to place in a promenade performance.
In live performance, the AD is enhanced by other elements:
an audio introduction delivered live just before the performance
or recorded and circulated in advance.
There may also be a touch tour, when people with sight loss
are invited onto the stage, to explore the set and the props
and perhaps to meet the cast.
Traditionally, AD in the theatre is “closed”.
People with sight loss listen to it using a headset.
The sighted audience probably don't even know
the description is happening. Some people with sight loss
find headsets uncomfortable or isolating
so the AD is integrated into the performance.
For now I'm focussing on what's called Traditional AD.
Unlike a film or a TV programme
where the action is always the same, timings change.
An actor might slow down or speed up from one performance to the next
or forget their lines completely. The set might break down,
or the performance is stopped because of an accident.
You have to expect the unexpected and improvise.
In some countries for screen AD, the describer’s script
is delivered by a voice talent,
in AD of live events, you'll deliver your own.
That means you need to have good vocal skills
to read your own script live.
You’ll have to work some simple technical equipment too.
For plays you'll have access to the script,
but many types of live performance have no dialogue.
You might need to learn technical terms for dance or circus,
but also convey an impression of the impact of the movement .
You have to get extremely creative.
Another difference is that the person listening
is part of an audience. They need to be able to laugh or cry,
gasp or applaud at the same time as everyone else.
As a describer of live events you'll have close contact
with people with sight loss. You might need to guide people
at the touch tour and show them props or costumes.
You will also liaise with the stage manager,
brief the cast and the front of house team
and work closely with sound technicians.
The description may be divided between two describers.
One person might describe Act 1 and the other Act 2.
Or you might divide the performance with one person
describing scenes in the present and the other scenes in the past.
Work closely with your fellow describer to keep the AD in synch
in terms of style and terminology.
Your co-describer can give you feedback.
You may also have to incorporate feedback from people with sight loss
or the director or a member of the company.
That concludes this brief overview
of the challenges involved in describing live events.
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 person 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.