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 scripting the AD for live events.
This is Unit 4 in Module 3.
For plays you’ll have the script,
but many live performances have no dialogue.
You’ll have to use non-verbal cues such as action,
lighting changes or music and sound effects.
There are different ways of working.
I’ll outline the process for traditional AD
which added after the production is complete.
Watch the performance. Take notes on what the set looks like
and how it works, what the characters are wearing
and how they move and on anything else you will need
to write the audio introduction.
The easiest way to script the show itself
is with a video of the performance.
Arrange this with the company or the venue.
Ask for a performance, not a rehearsal,
to be filmed in a single shot from a fixed position
with a good view of the whole stage.
Write your description into the script if there is one.
Make the AD a different font and colour, so it stands out.
Keep sentences short and the language vivid.
Order each phrase so the most important information comes first.
Instead of “Wearing a splendid gold cloak, the King comes in”,
say “The King comes in wearing a splendid gold cloak”.
Be prepared to cut the word "splendid"
or the whole phrase, if the gap shortens.
While it is nice to know the visual detail about the cloak,
it is not essential to follow the next scene.
Prioritise information you need to know,
over information that is nice to know.
If time was short, you could just say “the King”!
Use terminology you have set up in your introduction for settings,
character names, technical terms or movement sequences
that there’s no time to describe in full during the show itself.
Test your draft in a live, non public-facing performance.
This is called a “dry run”.
You’ll need all the equipment and someone to listen and take notes.
Whoever’s giving feedback might notice things you didn’t and be able
to fill in details that were hard for you to see on the video.
Use your script as a guide. If an actor does something different
each time, write in options or be prepared to improvise.
Don’t use the stage directions for your description.
They will almost certainly be of the wrong duration,
written in the wrong tense
and they might not reflect the style of the production.
“Exit, pursued by a bear” is famous stage direction
from Shakespeare’s play "The Winter’s Tale".
Exit is an imperative. The stage direction doesn’t say who exits?
It’s a character called Antigonus who has been talking to a baby
he’s been ordered to abandon.
The bear ensures he can't change his mind and rescue her.
So it’s vital anyone listening to the AD knows
that the baby is left behind. You might say:
“putting the baby down, Antigonus races off, chased by a bear”.
At the very least you need Antigonus exits pursued by a bear.
But is exit the best word? He might run, dart, creep or flee.
There is no single “right” way.
The important thing is to consider alternatives.
Check with the person with sight loss listening to your dry run
that you neither said too much, nor left them with questions.
The best result is if they want to discuss the production, not the AD.
That was Unit 4 “scripting” in Module 3
“Audio 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.