Codes & Guidance Notes

Guidance on Standards for Audio Description

3  THE PRINCIPLES OF AUDIO DESCRIPTION USING PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

The preparation of an audio description is an absorbing and lengthy process and each programme comes with its own set of challenges. Though some programmes are more complex than others, the procedures should be the same. A two-hour film may take up to sixty hours to prepare, whereas a half-hour soap opera may take as little as an hour and a half. On average it takes one describer a working week to produce between one and a half and two hours of described programming.

3.1   Use of the Present Tense

An audio description is a commentary, tells the viewer what is happening at a given moment, so it should be in the present tense, using the present continuous for on-going activities. The opening of the film, ‘Dead Poets’ Society’:

‘A wall painting of a class of adolescent boys, - all with short haircuts, wearing ties and sports jackets. In front of the painting a boy aged about eight in a red school cap is having his tie adjusted. A teenage boy in a Scottish hat opens his bagpipe case, carefully fitting the pipes together. A master focuses a camera on the eight-year old, as an older boy in a boater puts his arm around the smaller boy. The bulb flashes. A white candle is lit. Another master is whispering instructions to an elderly former pupil.’

The mixture of simple present and present participle gives the text a better narrative feel. If the simple present is used throughout, it can sound abrupt. Where there is the luxury of enough time, a description should read like a piece of writing that makes sense on its own. Situations can be put in context and the describer can sometimes refer back to an action, if there is time. From ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’:

‘The little boy has slipped out of his bed and is padding down the stairs in his Boston university T-shirt over his pyjama bottoms towards the open porch door and the bright light outside.… he turns his head towards another sound…. he toddles into the kitchen and stares wide-eyed at the mess on the floor. He raises his head towards the noise, his big round eyes fascinated. His mouth opens in calm surprise.’

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” if preferable.

“he toddles into the kitchen.” The kitchen has already featured.
“he stares wide-eyed at the mess on the floor.” Refers back to all the food falling out of the fridge.

‘Through the haze of a yellow sandstorm, a current of air buffets a scrap of rough scrubland as the glowing headlights of a jeep gradually come into view. It is the present day in the Sonora Desert, New Mexico. Several men climb out of the now stationary jeep. Some hooded, others wearing caps, hold up their hands to their faces to protect them from the flying sand.’

3.2   Prioritising Information.

Setting the scene is an essential part of audio description. Scenes change in a matter of half-seconds and without guidance the visually impaired viewer can quickly lose the thread of a story or narrative. There may only be time to say one word, but it gives the viewer a starting point. ‘Now...’ can indicate a change of scene: ‘Now on the stairs...’, ‘Now outside…’, but it should not be overused. Any word that appears too frequently in a description, becomes a distraction and an upward inflection in the voice ‘Indoors...’, ‘Upstairs...’, ‘In the bedroom...’, ‘That night...’, ‘The next morning...’, is more effective.

The use of personal pronouns, ‘We see…’, ‘In front of us…’, should generally be avoided with the exception of children’s programmes which sometimes need a more intimate tone.

‘Now he’s coming towards us. His mouth hangs open, his arms are outstretched and he is breathing heavily... he’s beckoning us to follow him...’

When there are several people speaking at the same time it is important to clarify who is speaking at any given moment. ‘Karen..., Roach..., Carver to Datta…, The policeman..., The mother...’

In general it is helpful to repeat proper names frequently so the viewers are left in no doubt as to who is doing or saying what.

However tempting it is to use colourful imagery and elegant turns of phrase, clarity is the main aim of audio description. The describer must learn to weed out what is not essential.

In the opening sequence of the film ‘Hear My Song’, a young boy is waiting in a hospital corridor to be taken to see his dying mother. With no time restriction, the full description of the opening few seconds might go like this:

‘A black and white flashback of a small brown-haired, freckled boy aged six, sitting on a bench in a stark white-washed Victorian hospital corridor. He is wearing grey shorts and a grey school jumper over a white shirt and a grey school tie. He is playing Pandora’s Box.

A stout middle-aged nurse wearing a starched white uniform comes up to him.’

That description includes the four main categories of information, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘who’ and ‘what’. However, there are only six seconds to fill, so the description is pared down to the essentials:

‘In black and white flashback a boy aged six sits on a bench in a hospital corridor...’

[The nurse:] ‘Are you Micky O’Neill’

Because a woman’s voice identifies the boy immediately, there is no need to name him in the description. What is important, is to indicate his age and where he is. His school uniform and the game he is playing are details which enhance the description but are not essential.

‘The elderly nurse takes the boy by the hand and leads him down the corridor. She ushers him into a room where a blond woman in her early thirties is lying in a bed. Micky looks at her, his lips slightly parted.’

The woman identifies herself a moment later.

‘Don’t die gasping for breath, son.’

If someone’s name or a location is about to be introduced by the programme itself, there is no need to put it into the description.

Too much detail can become fragmented in the listener/viewer’s mind rather than giving a strong overall impression. For example:

‘At the back of the large, floral papered rectangular room, a pair of French windows leads out into a patio, which has been planted on both sides with bushes of blue and grey lavender and deep pink oleander. On the left wall of the room above the marble fireplace, a gilt-framed portrait of a portly 18th century gentleman. On the mantelpiece two yellow and white King Charles spaniel china ornaments …...”

A sighted viewer may see all these details but unless antiques and furniture are the subject of the programme, each individual item does not need a mention. A sighted viewer will form an impression of the room. The same applies to a visually impaired viewer. It is much simpler and clearer to say:

‘A warm, book-lined, comfortably furnished drawing room in an 18th century country house.’

As a rule, too much description can be exhausting or even irritating. The programme should be allowed to breathe from time to time, allowing the soundtrack and atmosphere to come through. In an episode of ‘The Bill’ a female police officer is walking around a missing woman’s bedroom, making notes. There is an element of mystery and unease in the room which is conveyed as much by the pauses as by the actual description.

‘Karen picks up her clipboard and walks in front of the shattered dressing table mirror...(pause)...she picks up a blood-stained lace mat...(pause)...she touches the corner of the red-spattered sheet on the bed...(pause)...she walks alongside the bed...(pause)...from the floor she picks up a broken silver framed photograph of the missing woman smiling broadly with her arms around a teenage boy...’

Too much description can dilute the mood of a scene.

3.3  Giving Additional Information

The describer should be completely familiar with the programme material in order to be able to pick out the key visual clues, which a visually impaired viewer may miss. If, for example, a knife is lying on a kitchen table and is used later as a murder weapon in a drama, it should be mentioned in a subtle way, because that is how the sighted viewer will see it.

Describers should not voice a personal opinion or interpret events. The description is there to clarify what is going on but occasionally a little additional explanation can help. For example in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ Hannibal Lecter steals a pen from his jailer Doctor Chilton. At that moment, there is no opportunity to mention it, but it is crucial to know about it in the horrific ‘cage’ scene. At a convenient moment the description says:

‘Chilton fumbles for the pen he last had in Hannibal’s cell.’

The audience now knows the pen is missing and its re-appearance in Hannibal’s hands makes sense.

Describers in the US are not encouraged to add anything or offer any information that is not apparent on the screen at that moment. Rather than saying a character is angry, they describe the action as they see it and let the visually impaired viewer decide what that action implies. British research seems to indicate that additional help is appreciated, as long as it is not condescending or interpretative. For example, the following descriptions do not immediately convey what the facial gestures mean and by the time the viewer has worked them out, the programme has moved on.

‘She purses her lips and narrows her eyes.’ ‘Her mouth drops open and her eyes widen.’

Whereas,

‘She narrows her eyes suspiciously.’ ‘Her mouth drops open in shock.’

CID is a well-known term but SOCO, though perhaps familiar to regular viewers of police series may not be generally known. Explaining SOCO dispels any doubts that might creep into the audience’s mind. Before adding this ‘support information’, however, the describer must establish whether viewers are being encouraged to think that the woman drawing up outside might be the missing woman. In this case, The Bill’s production office confirmed the woman was a regular character in the programme, but if a mystery or tease is intended, the description should not pre-empt it.

‘Karen, the Scene of the Crime Officer, gets out of her car and pulls a metal attaché case from the boot.’

Having explained the term once, it does not need to be repeated.

Later, three cars draw up and five men get out. There is no other time to identify them than as they arrive. They do not refer to each other by name, and without any identification, visually impaired viewers might be left with only a vague notion of who they are. Some viewers might recognise their voices, but not if they are new or incidental characters. The description goes as follows:

‘A car pulls up. Plainclothes officers Roach and Carver from CID get out. Behind them two other vehicles bringing two forensics men and a police photographer.’

No further description needs to be given. Having been introduced to them, the sound effects and dialogue become self-evident. When to identify a character or to offer an extra piece of information or give advance information is also a question of judgement.

The information must never interpret or give away the plot.

The beginning of a programme or film is often the most difficult for visually impaired people who are unable to pick up visual clues.

‘In a taxi, Nancy wearing dangling diamante earrings, her hair in a topknot, puts on red lipstick with her purple gloved hand. She smiles to herself. The taxi pulls up outside Heartley’s nightclub. She is greeted by two burly men. Derek the shorter and balder of the two, pays the cab, Gordon opens the door.’

Here, three of the main characters are identified by name at the beginning of the film. If Nancy were intended to be a ‘mystery woman’, as she might be in a thriller, it would have been wrong to name her, but she is part of the main action right from the start and there is no mystery attached to her name. It would however have weakened the next scene, if she had been called Micky’s girlfriend in the first description because that becomes dramatically evident the next few minutes of the film.

The two burly men are not mentioned by name in the film but without a name they would have to be described as the fatter, shorter man or the taller, dark-haired man, which is cumbersome, if repeated.

In the opening few minutes of the feature film ‘Pretty Woman’ the male lead, Edward, is identified straight away on screen. The heroine is introduced more enigmatically:

‘Nearby, in a small hotel an alarm clock goes off. A shapely thigh stirs and turns to reveal black lacy panties and a red T-shirt on the upper half of this female body. An arm stretches out from the bed silencing the alarm at five to nine. Around her a few torn snapshots of herself with different men. Their faces have been scratched out. The girl eases on a stretchy cream top, attached by a metal ring to a short blue skirt."

Whilst the girl is only glimpsed partially as if in a peep show, it would be premature to name her as introduces herself in a significant way a few minutes later.

Early identification of principle characters allows the viewer to concentrate on the event, but if surprises are intended then they must not be given away,

3.4  Signposting or Anticipating the Action.

Where possible, the description should mirror the action but ‘signposting’ is sometimes needed when there is no other suitable place to insert a description. For viewers with residual vision this can unfortunately cause confusion. In this description from ‘Pretty Woman’ Vivien’s return to the room has to be described before it actually happens:

‘Cautiously Vivien takes a croissant and walks barefoot onto the balcony. When she comes back into the room she sits on the edge of the dining room table near to Edward.’

Because there are so many forms of visual impairment, some people will notice occasional timing discrepancies. For the describer, it is a matter of deciding whether information is vital or not. Even if it is, there will be some people who may not like it!

3.5  Stating the Obvious

There are times when visually impaired viewers say: ‘I didn’t need to be told that, I could hear it.’ Or ‘I could imply it.’

A telephone or doorbell ringing does not need to be described, unless the actual sounds are unfamiliar. A continental telephone sounds different from a British phone, for example. When a car screeches to a halt, the sound should speak for itself.

‘Her eyes widen, her head falls on the pillow, her eyes stay open.’

[a rasping sound]

‘She dies... Micky’s nose starts bleeding.’

A blind audience was asked whether they needed to be told that the woman dies. Some said it was unnecessary, but others thought that it added to the drama of the moment. There will always be opposing views!

‘Kitty Ryan stalks up to Micky. She clenches her fist.’

[sound of a blow]

‘Micky lands heavily on the floor.’

It was not necessary to add ‘Kitty punches Micky in the face’ but some even thought that, ‘Micky lands heavily on the floor’ was unnecessary because it was obvious that Micky had fallen down. Then again, others said it was important to know where he landed.

The describer must get a feel for when it is helpful to state the obvious and when not, but should not be tempted to impose personal knowledge or expertise unless the programme or film calls for it. If a film is obviously set in London or Paris then it can be mentioned. If it is nowhere in particular, although the describer might recognise a location, it should be left unsaid.

3.6  Highlighting Sound Effects

Usually a sound effect, or the event leading up to it, is described just before it happens:

‘The burglar drops his sack.’

[thud]...

Sometimes it can be even more effective after the action.

‘Waving their arms they run towards the platform..’

[Chuff chuff... the sound of a train pulling away]

‘The train is pulling out of the station.’

If the available time is short, pronouns and articles can be dropped.

Generally, the describer should try not to talk over sound effects, but occasionally if they are part of the background atmosphere and there is important information to be described, the background level may be lowered to allow for the audio description.

‘An ambulance man is carefully raising the woman’s head from the ground.’

[Sounds of the police radio system and the sirens of other approaching police vehicles]

These sound effects lend atmosphere and the individual words audible from the radio, are part of the ambience only and not central to the story.

3.7  The Use of Proper Names and Pronouns

It is extremely important for visually impaired viewers to be quite clear about who is doing what. In one sequence of a cooking series, the presenter prepares a fish dish. She is the only person on screen and so it is enough to use ‘She…’

‘In her kitchen, she puts on a white apron and out of a piece of greaseproof paper, she unpacks three pieces of hake.

There is the potential for ambiguity when there are several people on screen at once:

‘Kowalski stumbles down the stairs and doesn’t see T-Shirt attaching the rope to the back fender of a car. He jumps into the driver’s seat and starts the engine as Bagsy lopes exhaustedly into view. He hears the car engine then sees the rope moving past him…’

Does Kowalski or T-shirt jump into the driver’s seat and who hears the car engine? For clarity, repetition of names is helpful:

‘T-Shirt jumps into the driver’s seat...’
‘Bagsy hears the car engine...’

3.8  Adjectival Descriptions

The use of descriptive adjectives is very important in audio description. A few well-chosen words can enhance a scene considerably, but they must not reflect the personal view of the describer.

‘She sits down on a dark green moth-eaten sofa.’ is an objective statement.

‘She sits down on a hideous dark green moth-eaten sofa.’ is subjective and would only be acceptable if the ugliness of the sofa were the issue.

The question of whether to comment on physical attractiveness produces two opposing responses. Some viewers feel they should make up their own minds as to whether a character is attractive or not. It does help to indicate the level of attractiveness where beauty or ugliness is relevant to the issue. For example, although a female TV presenter may be pleasant to the eye, her appearance is not relevant to the subject of newsgathering.

In a drama, it may be necessary to mention someone’s looks if they have some bearing on the way other characters react to them:

‘Her deep blue eyes focus on him as she pushes back her long shiny, corn yellow hair. Her perfectly chiselled face betrays no emotion as she slowly uncrosses her long slim legs.’

Describing clothes is important, but it has to be done at the right moment, otherwise it can seem inappropriate to the action.

The man in a yellow coloured jumper and neat blue slacks shoots the blonde who is wearing a turquoise low cut dress. Is this a fashion show or a thriller?

3.9  Use of Adverbs

The most effective use of adverbs is to support the description of an action, as a corroboration but they should be used carefully.

‘brusquely, carefully, cautiously, jovially, eagerly, haughtily, anxiously’ are all descriptive and specific, whereas ‘characteristically, clearly, instinctively, arguably, suitably’ are vague and interpretative.

‘She stamps her right foot impatiently.’

‘She grins at him mischievously.’

3.10   Colours / Ethnic Origins

One of the questions most frequently asked of describers concerns colour: Why should colours be described to people who have never seen them?

The percentage of people who have never had any useful sight is quite small. Most visually impaired people have at some time seen colours and either retained the visual memory of colour or can remember the significance and impact of a particular colour. For the majority of people, colours are an important part of the description. People who are blind from birth or from an early age cannot ‘see’ colours but they do understand the significance of a particular colour by its association. They may not ‘see’ green, but the colour of flower stalks, leaves and grass, which people can touch and smell does mean something. Green is fresh, the colour of renewal and nature in spring. Red is the colour of fire and heat, exuberant and overt, blue is more reserved, yellow is the colour of the sun and ripe corn, etc. A person wearing bright colours is making a personality statement, wanting to be seen. Someone else wearing black may be being dramatic, mysterious or sad, depending on the situation. If the grass is brown, it may have been deprived of rain. And so on. Colours have meaning and should be described.

If there is time to describe the physical features of a person, the colour of hair and skin should be mentioned, along with other physical features. If the colour or ethnic type of a person is central to a storyline, it should be mentioned. If it is incidental, it can be mentioned at an early stage, but if repeated too often, viewers might be misled into thinking that the racial type is more significant, than it actually is. Multi-racial casts are becoming the norm.

In a car chase, it can be helpful to identify the make of cars involved:

‘The green Ford veers off to the left, but the white Lancia is right behind.’

It is not necessary however to identify all the cars that the Lancia and Ford pass in the road unless it is directly involved. A sighted viewer would not do it, because the chase is what is important.

‘The Lancia skids round a corner; in the middle of the road a parked red Chevrolet. The driver of the Lancia tries to brake, but it’s too late. He smashes into the side of the red car.’

In a nature film, there may be wildlife in the distance, but if they are too far away to identify, there is little point in examining them through a telescope. If they were more than incidental to the sequence, they would have been filmed in close-up.

3.11   Use of Verbs

The use of the correct verb can make all the difference to a description. One of the most frequently used verbs is ‘walk’. If the only information needed is to convey the simple action, then it is the right word to use. Swagger, lope, tiptoe, march, sidle, shuffle etc are examples of specific ‘walks’.

3.12   Logos and Opening Titles

Some opening titles using computer-generated text can move too rapidly for any helpful description to be given. A popular alternative is to provide the viewer with some useful information about the programme, for which there might not be time later. In other cases, the musical theme tune can be enjoyed for its own merit, without any description over it. But with American programme material there may be a contractual obligation to describe the opening logo.

‘The Bill’ opens with a fast-moving sequence of images from the series which cannot be read in the time available. It is can be more useful to introduce the episode like this:

‘In tonight’s episode of ‘The Bill’, ‘Occupational Hazard’, written by Carolyn Sally Jones and directed by Jean Stewart, young black PC Gary McCann gets his first crack at crime-busting. In the CID room at Sunhill Police Station detectives Burnside, Lines and Carver are looking through the file of suspected con-man Harry Osborne. Detective Viv Martella was the officer in the case.’

3.13   Cast Lists / Credits

Reading the credits at the beginning and end of films and television programmes is an important function of audio description as it is an area in which visually impaired people feel they particularly miss out. However, most of the people questioned, like the majority of sighted viewers, are not too interested in the names of production teams and technical crew. Many broadcasters today prefer their announcers to talk over end credits or to go straight into a trailer or ad break. A monthly bulletin or electronic programme guide could give important information about audio described films and programmes in advance of the transmission date. This will have to be decided on an individual basis.

With described film video releases, many American movie companies insist on every credit being read out at the end of a film, even if this means a voice reading the names over a blank screen. This is unlikely to be acceptable in the context of television because airtime is too valuable. If it is ever necessary to read out all the credits, it saves a lot of time if the credit list is acquired on computer disk from the distributor and attached to the end of the audio description text. Typing all the names is laborious.

The opening credits often appear over an important action sequence and it may be necessary to compress them into a shorter space or to read them in advance of their actual appearance on screen, in order to be ready to describe the action as it begins.

The credits following soap operas scroll very quickly, sometimes at speeds that sighted viewers can hardly follow. During the Audetel trial transmissions a shorthand approach was adopted where a few names from the cast are read after each episode. As there are several episodes each week, the whole cast list can be built up over each complete week. Generally, the time taken for the credit roll will allow for six to eight of the cast to be mentioned after each episode with three or four of the main production team: e.g. After Monday’s Coronation Street:

‘Among the cast today:
Emily Bishop was played by Eileen Darbyshire
Audrey Roberts... Sue Nichol
Liz McDonald... Beverley Callard
Raquel Wolstenholme... Sarah Lancashire.
Written by Adele Rose,
Director Brian Mills
Executive producer Carolyn Reynolds
Producer Sue Pritchard’

And after Friday’s programme:

‘Among this week’s cast:
Mike Baldwin was played by Johnny Briggs
Bet Lynch... Julie Goodyear etc .etc

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