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 the workflow in the traditional audio description of live events.
This is Unit 6 in Module 3.
Describers will be contacted by a theatre or a production company.
You’ll need to agree what model of AD they want you to provide:
a traditional or an integrated approach
and using one or more describers.
You’ll need to negotiate a fee and organise for them
to provide the tools you need. These are:
a programme either in hard copy or an electronic one,
tickets to watch the show, a video of the show,
an e-version script if available.
You’ll also need to agree a date for a dry run
and whether or not people with sight loss can attend.
Then go to watch a live performance. Take notes on the sets,
characters and costumes for the AI
and notes of any on-stage action
that you think might be hard to see on a video.
You might also meet the Stage Manager
and walk the set before the show. The next stage is to write the AI,
usually in collaboration with another describer.
The AI is recorded three weeks before the described performance.
Send your script in advance to the recording engineer
and the producer if there is one. It is usually up to the theatre
to distribute the AI or upload it to their website.
The dry run usually takes place the night before the performance
or earlier for more complex shows such as dance or opera,
the technicians should have set up the equipment before you arrive.
About an hour before the show starts, carry out a sound check.
After the dry run, you will have a debriefing session
to discuss your AD script with whoever was listening.
On the day of the AD performance, arrive early for the Touch Tour.
Before the performance carry out another sound check.
If there’s to be more than one described performance of the show,
note any changes as you go.
At the end of the show, announce the next described production.
After the performance, report any technical issues to the technicians,
pick up any feedback you can, from Front of House staff
or direct from users.
All of the following might be involved in an AD performance:
An access officer, sound technicians,
recording engineer or producer, Front of House Manager,
Stage Manager, Assistance Ushers,
AD users or evaluators, describers.
The buck stops with the Describers.
You are not responsible for all the steps,
but you need to check that all the steps are covered
by ensuring the venue knows what to expect and what to provide.
The whole process takes place over a much longer time period
than writing AD for screen. For a long-running show,
the work may begin three to four weeks before the performance.
You may be booked several months before.
In some places, you have to turn it around much more quickly.
That might mean seeing it in another venue if it’s a touring production,
or watching a performance on a Tuesday night
with the dry run on the Friday evening
and the described performance on the Saturday.
Some theatres record the AD performance,
so the AD can be triggered live at future performances by a technician.
Some French theatres use this “semi-live approach”.
This will require a different way of working.
An integrated approach involves the describer in rehearsals
and more conversations with members of the company.
That was unit 6 “Workflow” in Module 3 “Describing live events”.
With me Louise Fryer.
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.