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 Elisa Perego from the University of Trieste, Italy,
and in this ADLAB PRO video I will give you some tips
on how to implement AD strategies.
This is Unit 4 "Strategies" in Module 4
"Semi- live or recorded AD
for static arts and environments".
As you probably already know at this stage,
formulating AD entails
excellent observational and writing skills,
as well as the ability to select and convey
a lot of information in a succinct manner.
According to most AD guidelines, an effective AD
should in a nutshell be meticulous, accurate,
concise, visually intense,
and at the same time usable, that is to say,
clear and simple to process.
This applies to all forms of AD,
including AD for visual arts.
The latter however can be defined
as a sub-genre of AD,
with a number of special features.
To start with, AD for visual art
will include art jargon and technical terms,
typically frowned upon by some AD guidelines
because not fully inclusive.
However, can you really talk of an installation
without using this very term?
Would your AD be effective and complete?
A recent corpus-based analysis on the language of museum ADs,
for instance, indicates that there are
some repeated features or strategies typical of this genre
that could be considered best practices.
Let’s see some of them.
First, a museum AD will be highly informative
if it uses a high type token ratio, that is,
if it is rich and varied in vocabulary use
and avoids a narrow, repetitive repertoire of words.
Informativity will also be achieved
via high lexical density,
expressed by the substantial presence in a text
of lexical rather than grammatical words.
Well-chosen lexical words such as nouns, adjectives,
verbs and adverbs can therefore contribute
to convey rich semantic meaning
and should be preferred to more diluted formulations.
As far as syntax is concerned, it is difficult to express
complex art related ideas in very simple sentences.
So, do not be afraid if your sentences are a bit too long.
However, try not to substantially exceed
the average sentence length in your language.
In English, for instance, this corresponds to approximately
15-16 words per sentence.
Let’s now move to a very useful word class
in AD of visual art: adjectives.
Adjectives, in particular descriptive adjectives
such as “flat”, “naked”, “unfeathered”,
play a major role in conveying precision and vividness
to the description, as well as in offering
vivid details and nuances.
That’s why they are used extensively in ADs.
When a simple descriptive adjective is not enough to convey
the intricacy of some artworks,
English can turn to complex adjectives in isolation
or embedded in heavy noun groups.
Think of expressions such as “a prominent eyebrow ridge”,
or “a tiny lilac-coloured footprint
on a newborn baby girl’s identification form”.
Do not be afraid to use colour adjectives in your ADs,
especially in art description:
people with sight loss
know what colour is and how to interpret it.
They learn about colour in many ways,
and can attribute intrinsic or symbolic meaning
to different colours.
Furthermore, in some circumstances, lively or bleak colours
can render a specific mood
that could not be rendered otherwise.
On the other hand, let the visitor free
to interpret the work of art you are describing:
avoid evaluative adjectives such as "ironic",
or "beautiful" whenever possible.
However, be aware of the fact that there are some circumstances
where you might go against the rules.
The nature, meaning and connotation of some works of art
might require very explicit interpretative expressions
to enable full understanding.
To conclude, on a more macro-textual level,
you should be able to produce a logical and consistent text,
forming a unified whole and with no informative gaps
hindering smooth comprehension.
This is not an easy task and it will require
several drafts and a lot of text editing,
so do not run out of patience.
Now I’ll give you a simple tip.
Consider to have your AD script read by a friend
who is not acquainted with the AD processes,
to check whether they can follow
the narrative flow of your AD text with ease
as well as visualize and appreciate
the work of art you described,
or whether it still needs some fixes and clarifications.
As for you, from now on try and read or listen to
as many ADs as possible to spot good practices
but also inconsistencies you should learn to avoid.
I hope this unit has been a useful introduction
to art AD strategies.
If you want to find out more, I recommend you to read
the chapter written by Josélia Neves
in the ADLAB guidelines. Bye!
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.