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 what to describe for live events.
This is Unit 3 "Content Selection" in Module 3.
For all types of AD describers have to select
from the many things they can see.
This includes settings, actions and characters.
In screen AD what the audience sees is largely dictated by the director.
Directors control our attention by camera shots and editing.
In live events, the sighted audience has more choice
over where to direct their gaze.
This gives the describer more choice too.
As well as what’s happening on stage you might need to describe
the actions and reactions of the audience.
Is there full on audience participation?
You need to describe not only where a scene is set,
but how that setting is created.
It might be a cherry orchard, with stepladder trees.
Or trees painted on a cardboard flat or a photographic projection trees.
And what about the props and characters?
A horse may be a real horse or a puppet,
perhaps a horse-shaped framework brought to “life” by puppeteers.
Some of these details can be given in the audio introduction,
but you will need a reminder of how the illusion is created.
Simon who’s partially sighted remembers a stage version
of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, about a fabulous flying car.
He says “it is important to know if it’s a real car
or just a car cut-out, a bloke standing in a cardboard car.
You might need to describe where a character appears on stage
"Peter comes in from the left". So users with residual vision
know where to focus any remaining sight.
Describe from the audience point of view.
From the left, right, close to us, towards the back of the stage.
You don’t need to use actors’ terminology such as upstage or DSR.
Include details of stagecraft.
Is the curtain lowered between scenes,
are the lights dimmed or do we watch the stagehands?
Perhaps the cast moves the set themselves?
The aim is to help your audience feel they’re attending a live event.
Not listening to a radio play.
Here are some thoughts from an AD user and a director:
“As a user I want an immersive experience.
I don’t just want it to be the functional stuff.”
“The AD was telling me what was happening on stage
but wasn't creating the same quality of experience.”
Here’s an example from the start of the children’s play "Peter Pan".
“The lights in the auditorium dim.
A young woman in a blue dressing gown, Wendy,
picks up a teddy and props it on the pillow.
She sits on the end of the bed and looks at us.”
Notice how the AD moves from describing stagecraft
to the onstage action.
Also the tense used is the first person plural, us.
The aim is to help users feel they are part of the audience,
and that the describer is part of the audience too.
It is thought to increase a sense of social presence.
What do you think? If the description said
“She sits on the end of the bed and looks at the audience”
instead of “She sits on the end of the bed and looks at us.”
Would you feel different? Would you feel more or less involved?
Pschologists showed that social presence enhances both
enjoyment and “transportation”,
taking you further into the imaginary environment.
I’ve been discussing what to describe at live events.
Unit 3 of Module 3.
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.