An Introduction to Audio Description: A practical guide

213 Pages·2016·1.208 MB·English

by  Louise Fryer

An Introduction to Audio Description
An Introduction to Audio Description is the first comprehensive, user-friendly
student guide to the theory and practice of audio description, or media narration,
providing readers with the skills needed for the effective translation of images
into words for the blind and partially-sighted.
A wide range of examples, from film to multimedia events and touch tours in
theatre, along with comments throughout from audio description users, serve to
illustrate the following key themes:
• the history of audio description
• the audience
• the legal background
• how to write, prepare and deliver a script.
Covering the key genres of audio description and supplemented with exercises
and discussion points throughout, this is the essential textbook for all students and
translators involved in the practice of audio description. Accompanying film clips
are also available at: https://www.routledge.com/products/9781138848177 and
on the Routledge Translation Studies Portal: http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/
translationstudies/.
Louise Fryer is a teaching fellow at University College London and describes
for the National Theatre of Great Britain and VocalEyes. For many years, she
presented Afternoon on 3, Live in Concert and Proms for BBC Radio 3.
Translation Practices Explained
Series Editor: Kelly Washbourne
Translation Practices Explained is a series of coursebooks designed to help self-
learners and students on translation and interpreting courses. Each volume focuses
on a specific aspect of professional translation practice, in many cases corre-
sponding to courses available in translator-training institutions. Special volumes
are devoted to well consolidated professional areas, to areas where labour-market
demands are currently undergoing considerable growth, and to specific aspects of
professional practices on which little teaching and learning material is available.
The authors are practicing translators or translator trainers in the fields concerned.
Although specialists, they explain their professional insights in a manner acces-
sible to the wider learning public.
These books start from the recognition that professional translation practices
require something more than elaborate abstraction or fixed methodologies. They
are located close to work on authentic texts, and encourage learners to proceed
inductively, solving problems as they arise from examples and case studies.
Each volume includes activities and exercises designed to help learners consol-
idate their knowledge (teachers may also find these useful for direct application
in class, or alternatively as the basis for the design and preparation of their own
material.) Updated reading lists and website addresses will also help individual
learners gain further insight into the realities of professional practice.
Titles in the series:
Translating Children’s Literature Revising and Editing for
Gillian Lathey Translators 3e
Brian Mossop
Localizing Apps
Johann Roturier Audiovisual Translation
Frederic Chaume
User-Centered Translation
Tytti Suojanen, Kaisa Koskinen, Scientific and Technical Translation
Tiina Tuominen Explained
Jody Byrne
Translating for the European
Union Institutions 2e Translation-Driven Corpora
Emma Wagner, Svend Bech, Federico Zanettin
Jesús M. Martínez
Subtitling Through Speech Translating Official Documents
Recognition Roberto Mayoral Asensio
Pablo Romero-Fresco
Conference Interpreting Explained
Translating Promotional and Adver- Roderick Jones
tising Texts
Ira Torresi Legal Translation Explained
Enrique Alcaraz, Brian Hughes
Audiovisual Translation, Subtitling
Jorge Diaz-Cintas, Aline Remael Electronic Tools for Translators
Frank Austermuhl
Medical Translation Step by Step
Vicent Montalt, Maria Introduction to Court Interpreting
González-Davies Holly Mikkelson
Notetaking for Consecutive
Interpreting
Andrew Gillies
For more information on any of these titles, or to order, please go to
www.routledge.com/linguistics
This Page is Intentionally Left Blank
An Introduction to Audio
Description
A practical guide
Louise Fryer
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Louise Fryer
The right of Louise Fryer to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fryer, Louise, author.
Title: An Introduction to audio description : a pratical guide / by Louise Fryer.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, [2016] |
Series: Translation Practices Explained
Identifiers: LCCN 2015046903| ISBN 9781138848153 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781138848177 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315707228 (ebook : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Translating and interpreting—Technological innovations. | Multimedia
systems—Research. | Audio-visual equipment—Technological innovations.
Classification: LCC P306.93 .F79 2016 | DDC 418/.020871—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015046903
ISBN: 978-1-138-84815-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-84817-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-3157072-2-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
Contents
List of tables xiii
How to use this book xiv
Acknowledgements xvi
Glossary and abbreviations xvii
1 Introducing audio description 1
1.1 What is audio description? 1
1.2 Audio description within audiovisual translation 2
1.3 AD within AVT 3
1.4 Meaning making in AD 4
1.4.1 AD, access and equivalence 4
1.5 AD and presence 6
1.6 Definitions of AD 7
1.7 Conclusion 9
1.8 Exercises and points for discussion 10
1.9 Suggested reading 10
References 11
2 A brief history, legislation and guidelines 15
2.1 Introduction 15
2.2 A brief history 15
2.3 The legal background 19
2.4 Non-broadcast TV 20
2.5 AD in practice 21
2.5.1 Screen-based AD 21
2.5.2 Live AD 21
2.6 Guidelines 22
2.7 Conclusion 23
2.8 Exercises and points for discussion 23
References 23
viii Contents
3 Putting the audio into audio description 26
3.1 Introduction 26
3.2 The visual information stream 26
3.3 The auditory information stream 27
3.3.1 Exercises and points for discussion 27
3.3.2 Dialogue 28
3.3.3 Exercises 29
3.4 Cognitive load 29
3.5 Sound effects 30
3.6 Exercises and points for discussion 30
3.7 Translating music 31
3.7.1 Describing live musical events 31
3.7.2 Visual dominance and music 32
3.8 Finding the ‘gaps’ 33
3.9 The When of AD 34
3.9.1 The When of live AD 36
3.9.2 Touch tours 37
3.9.3 Sound and live events 37
3.9.4 Exercises and points for discussion 39
3.10 Conclusion 39
3.11 Suggested reading 39
References 39
4 The audience for audio description 42
4.1 Introduction 42
4.2 What is blindness? 42
4.3 Age and blindness 43
4.4 A model of visual processing 44
4.4.1 mental models, schemata and scripts 44
4.5 A cognitive model of AD 47
4.6 Exercises and points for discussion 48
4.6.1 An extract from the AD script for Notes on Blindness 49
4.6.2 Notes on Blindness 49
4.7 What do AD users want from AD? 49
4.8 Conclusion 50
4.9 Exercises and points for discussion 51
4.10 Suggested reading 51
References 51
5 Audio description skills: writing 54
5.1 Introduction 54
5.2 The What of AD 55
Contents ix
5.3 Word choice 58
5.3.1 Need to know versus nice to know:narration
and description 58
5.3.2 Cultural references 61
5.3.3 Ambiguity 62
5.3.4 Pronouns 63
5.3.5 Tense 63
5.3.6 Articles 65
5.4 Sound symbolism 66
5.4.1 Rhythm and rhyme 66
5.5 Sight-specific references 68
5.5.1 Verbs of vision 68
5.5.2 Colour 68
5.6 Creative use of language 70
5.6.1 Repetition 70
5.6.2 Structure, word order, literary constructions 70
5.6.3 Punctuation 70
5.7 Cues and notes 70
5.8 Conclusion 71
5.9 Exercises and points for discussion 71
References 72
6 Audio description skills: script preparation 75
6.1 Introduction 75
6.2 Screen software 75
6.2.1 How it works 75
6.2.2 Timecode 77
6.2.3 Speech rate 77
6.2.4 Creating the script 78
6.2.5 Freely available software 79
6.3 Live scripting strategies 80
6.3.1 By hand 80
6.3.2 Electronic scripts 80
6.4 Common scripting faults 81
6.5 Exercises 83
6.5.1 Exercises using software 83
6.5.2 Exercises by hand 84
6.6 Discussion points 84
6.7 The process 84
6.7.1 Screen AD 84
6.7.2 Live AD 84
6.7.3 The process for the AD user at live events 85