Audio Description
- 1 Apr 2015
Michael Ward writes about opening the arts world to people who are blind or have low vision
On the stage a young man embraces a young lady beneath a fig tree. It’s the scene of their first kiss when they were teens. She is dressed in a cream ornate lace dress and light brown ankle boots, her tussled blond hair falls gently over her shoulders. He is in army greens, ragged and torn to expose bloodied bandages beneath. They caress each other gently, gazing into each other’s eyes, all the while, the jilted ex-boyfriend listens, clenched fists and a look of scorn, pouring over their every word from the side of the stage…
To someone who is blind this scene could merely be a smattering of sweet nothings between two young people. The history and dynamics of the two main characters is not defined from the dialogue alone, nor is the potential menace that lurks.
Audio Description (AD), an additional narration track, woven between onstage dialogue would bring this scene to life, using concise, objective descriptions of the settings, characters, costumes, props, facial gestures, body language and so on, all while the scene plays out.
AD is quickly developing as an integral way of connecting people who have previously been isolated from the arts world due to vision loss. AD is now available in many art galleries, at the cinema, DVDs and in online videos. It is also widely available for live theatre across Australia.
At the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane dozens of events including plays, operas, musicals and ballets are described each year by Vision Australia’s expert team of audio describers.
Anyone wishing to utilise this service simply purchases their ticket to the described session of the show and collects a small receiver and headset as they enter the auditorium, which is worn during the performance to receive the description.
Behind the scenes audio describers, working in pairs and having prepared the description by viewing the show several times prior, transmit the AD from a sound booth live at the back of the auditorium. Timing the description to fit neatly between dialogue through succinct and keenly observed phrases is a skill in itself. Highly trained Vision Australia describers take great pride in delivering descriptions that reinforce and enhance the visual aspects of a stage play, allowing the plot to unfold and develop naturally.
No longer are people who are blind or have low vision left to guess what is happening on stage. Nor do they require a sighted companion to fill in the gaps while seated next to them.
Essentially AD means people who are blind or have low vision now have equal access to a performance. This in turn opens an opportunity to share in the theatre experience, to discuss, highlight or debate one’s impressions afterwards. A user of the service recently said to me “Audio Description places the vision impaired person in a position of equal partner in the communication exchange.”
In addition to the AD, pre show notes are also prepared and sent out to attendees prior, detailing even more intricacies of the set designs, costumes and characters. A good example of this was The Lion King musical, a show visually rich in texture and colour. In this instance each character was identified through their descriptions prior to the performance, so when they entered the stage their profile was instantly recognisable.
Tactile tours round out the suite of accessibility options allowing people using the AD service to explore props and costumes before the show, bringing people even closer to the theatre experience.
A recent convert to AD had this to say about their first experience with AD:
“For the first time I knew why the audience was laughing” she said of a sight gag. “You can feel left out, excluded if you are the only one in the room who doesn’t get the joke. Because of audio description there I was, in the moment, laughing along with everyone else”
Brisbane resident Noela outlines why AD is important to her.
“I was a regular patron of the ballet when I was sighted, this love continues to this day. The audio description has allowed me to continue my patronage”.
Audio Description, it’s a key tool in enabling people who are blind or have low vision to access the arts and entertainment world. If you know someone with low vision, tell them about it, it may just reconnect them to a part of the world they once knew.
Michael Ward is the National Coordinator of the Vision Australia Audio Description Service.
For more information about Audio Description call Vision Australia on 1300 84 74 66 or email Michael.Ward@visionaustralia.org
Image supplied by Vision Australia