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STANDARDS FOR AUDIO DESCRIPTIONThe Purpose | The History | The Basics | Standards Unique to Live Description | Standards Unique to Video DescriptionDefinitionsDescriber – the person who writes/creates the descriptions, in advance or live. Narrator – the person who speaks the descriptions. In the case of live description, the narrator and describer would be the same. Product – the work being described – a play, a television program, a dance performance, a film, a painting, a display. Audio Description – Audio description for low vision and blind people is the art and technique of using the natural pauses in dialog or narration during live theater performances to insert descriptions of the essential visual elements: actions, appearance of characters. Body language, costumes and settings, lighting, etc. Descriptions are delivered through a tiny earpiece thus permitting visually impaired people to sit anywhere in the audience. [1] Video Description – Video Description is the art of audio description applied to television, videos and motion pictures. In Video Description the credits and subtitles are voiced. Descriptions are delivered via separate audio channel permitting TV viewers and moviegoers to hear or not hear the descriptions according to their wishes. [2] The PurposeTo ensure that those who are blind or visually impaired have the same access to cultural events as those who can see for themselves. [3] A 1993 study conducted by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) for WGBH Educational Foundation with a grant from the National Science Foundation found: …that description had significant positive impacts… Participants report that when they watch television they feel they generally miss information that is available to fully-sighted people. Adding description makes programs more enjoyable, interesting, and informative; description does not make programs more confusing. Having audio description makes the participants more comfortable discussing programs with sighted friends. They are more able to talk about the program themselves and are more able to ask others about it. Participants who watched the described video version of the programs remembered what was presented in the descriptions. Further, one to two months later, they retained significantly more information from the programs. The participants prefer to have description for television programs in general and science programs in particular. They would seek out programs they knew would be described. [4] Highlights of a research project to study the viewing habits of blind and visually impaired people and the impact of video description completed in 1997 by the American Foundation for the Blind reports: • Blind and visually impaired people (approximately 3% of the U. S. population) watch television and videotapes about as often as those who are not visually impaired. In, addition, their households own televisions and VCRs, and subscribe to cable television, to the same extent as other households. •The vast majority of those who have experienced formal video description say they would be more likely to watch a television show or video with description than without. • The vast majority of blind and visually impaired people who have experienced description say that it is important to their enjoyment of programming. • People who have experienced video description feel that it affords important benefits, which fall into the categories of enhanced viewing, learning, and social experiences watching television and videotapes. [5] An article by Jaclyn Packer in New Technologies in the Education of the Visually Handicapped (1996) states: Among the benefits of video description cited most often by blind and visually impaired viewers are the following: 1) Gaining knowledge about the visual world; 2) Gaining a better understanding of televised material; 3) Feeling independent; 4) Experiencing social connection; 5) Feeling equality with those who do not have visual impairments; 6) Experiencing enjoyment; 7) Relief of burden on sighted viewers with whom they watch. [6] Included in the 1997 AFB study are the following comments from study participants: “These services make me feel just like all other people and I can benefits so much more from the programs.” “With description, I feel that my TV- and movie-watching experiences are tremendously enhanced. No frustration, sadness, of anger at having looked forward to a pleasurable experience and feeling cheated out of it because of not being able to follow the action.” “Description is the best thing to happen to television in my lifetime.” “I’m always so excited to find out a movie or program had been audio described. This tempts me to watch things I may not watch otherwise.” “I think descriptive TV is a wonderful enhancement.” [7] The History“The concepts underlying audio description were first developed in the 1970’s by Gregory Frazier, a professor at San Francisco State University. In the early 1980’s, the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, collaborated with a group of accessibility advisors, including Cody and Margaret Pfanstiehl from the Metropolitan Washington Ear, Inc., to develop an audio description program for its live performances.” [8] In March of 1988, Jim Stovall, founder and president of the Narrative Television Network, independently begins descriptions for movies on cable channels. [9] “Since 1972, WGBH in Boston has been a leader in making television accessible. In 1987, WGBH created Descriptive Video Services (DVS®), a subsidiary that provides audio description for television viewers. In areas where the local public television station is equipped to participate, DVS® uses a special audio channel available on stereo televisions to broadcast audio descriptions for various programs. DVS® has also engaged in providing audio description for first-run films in theatres nationwide.” [10] In October 1990, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded Emmys to Margaret Pfansteihl, PBS, Jim Stovall and the late Gregory Frazier. [11] By the mid-1980’s audio description crossed the Atlantic to a small theatre called the Robin Hood, at Averham, Nottinghamshire where the first described performances in Europe are believed to have taken place. [12] The BasicsThe Independent Television Commission (ITC), which licenses and regulates commercially funded television services in the UK, Guidance on Standards for Audio Description states: “There are three golden rules to description: describe what is there, do not give a personal version of what is there and never talk over dialog.” [13] Describe what you see.• This is the first rule of description. What you see is what you describe. The product is previewed with an eye toward including the key plot elements, objects, places, etc. not mentioned in the dialog or made obvious by the audio track. Do not Editorialize.• Don’t interpret, explain, analyze or in any other way “help” the audience. Allow them to form their own opinions and draw their own conclusions. • Character’s moods, motives or reasoning are not the subject of audio description. If the conclusion is that a character is angry, describe what led to that conclusion – the gestures/facial expressions of the character. • The careful choice of adjectives and adverbs is crucial. Choose only those words, which are not themselves subject to interpretation – “beautiful” says only that something is deemed not ugly. It begs the question “What makes it beautiful?” “A few well-chosen words can enhance a scene considerably, but they must not reflect the personal view of the describer.” [14] Do not talk over dialog.• The dialog is telling the story and must be heard. This rule is broken only when the confusion by omitting the description is greater than maintaining the integrity of the dialog. This, of course, presupposes the description is vital. • Lyrics should be treated as dialog. If there are repeated choruses, you may describe over them. Whenever possible, the rhythm of the music should be matched by the description. According to M. Pfanstiehl, ". . . our theory has been, if it's the main song you don't want to talk over it, because that's like spoken lines." [15] • The dialog from radio, television or other speaking characters maybe important to the story or may be considered background noise. If background noise, it is permissible to describe over it, again assuming the description is vital. Do not Summarize.• Don’t take a series of specific, separate actions/events/images and describe them as one. Do not Patronize.• Don’t be condescending to the audience. Trust them to grasp the context. They may well know more about what you are describing than you do. Do not Intellectualize.• Don’t assume a lecturing or clinical tone. Some connection to the product is essential and is reflected in the describer’s choice of language. • Neither should the describer avoid the emotional state of the product. A tender love scene should have appropriate vocabulary. What to describe.• Focus on that which is the most significant and least obvious from the dialog/audio. Describing everything is impossible: describe what is essential in the allowable time. • Describe what is seen, not what you think is going on or why. Give the audience what they need to understand the story. ". . . the describer is there to supply the missing vision and the visual elements. They're not there as a teacher, interpreter, or explainer." [16] • Do not describe obvious sound cues. You may mention who answers the phone, not that the phone is ringing. • “A describer watching a programme several times may notice mistakes in continuity or in the editing. Pointing them out to the viewer, is not necessarily helpful, merely distracting from the programme.” [17] How much to describe.• Describe what is essential in the allowable time. If time permits, describe further. Details to include could be architecture, clothing style, technology, color, light & texture. • Description, however, should not fill every available pause. Audio description is not a running commentary. As Laurie Everett of DVS® states: “…because pacing and breathing are the audio equivalent of ‘white space’ in print and both are extremely important to the aesthetics of the experience.” [18] “Too much description can dilute the mood of a scene.” [19] • The audience will want varying amounts of description. “According to the Pfanstiehls, the amount of narrative detail preferred often depends on whether an individual is congenitally blind (was born without sight) or is adventitiously blind (was born with sight but lost it at some point in life). M. Pfanstiehl explained the differences in preference: ‘The congenitally blind often have little concept of how very visual the world is. People who have always been blind from birth and have never has useful vision, have a … poor idea of just how much nonverbal communication is always going on… They will say, “I don’t need it. From the dialogue, I et everything I need. I can imagine all the rest … I want just the script description. If you’re going to describe to me at all, I don’t want you to say very much. Just a phrase here or there is sufficient to clarify things.” And then you have the adventitiously blind who are saying, “I’d like as much detail as you can possibly give me.”’ C. Pfanstiehl explained that people who once had sight ask for more detail because they can remember how they perceived things before the onset of vision loss. Stovall agrees with this concept.” [20] • Gregory Frazier “has come to the conclusion that the main thing is to remain focused on the story and not get bogged down in superfluous details that are not pertinent to the story line.” [21] Keep the language consistent.• Use the present tense. The story is unfolding now, in the present. Time shifts (flash backs, or visions of the future) should be made in reference to the character – “Emily sees the dead girl playing.” “George sees himself much older.” Music and visual effects may further identify time changes. • Use the same name for characters, places, objects, etc. throughout. • Use the most descriptive words and concise sentence structure. • Use language appropriate for the audience. Children’s programs would use vocabulary suitable for the age group. • Product with violence, sex, and/or profanity should have appropriate vocabulary as well. The describer’s feelings about the content are not relevant. • Use the correct terminology as long as it would be commonly understood. • Colloquialisms and slang should be avoided. • Assume the audience is nationwide. Style• Read verbatim words that appear – “Words appear: One year later.” • Likewise, read subtitles verbatim – “Subtitles appear: bla, bla, bla.” • “If something is identified by name or has already made an appearance, the definite article “the” is used. If the subject or object is new, the indefinite “a” is preferable.” [22] • “If someone’s name or location is about to be introduced by the programme itself, there is no need to put it in the description.” [23] • Use pronouns carefully. If there is only one female in a scene, then “she” is fine. If there are more than one, proper names will be clearer. • If possible, follow the action. Allow the sound effects to occur then identify the action. There will be times when leading the action is necessary. • “Colors have meaning and should be described.” [24] • Use vivid verbs. People frequently “walk” but they also: “march” “stagger” “shuffle” “saunter” and “stroll.” Choose the word that best matches the action. CharactersThe introduction and description of characters differ in live and video description and are treated separately below. SettingsThe description of settings differs in live and video description and is treated separately below. Standards Unique to Live Description
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