L&M: Ms Fryer, you have been working in the field of audio description for over ten years - describing plays, musicals, films, TV and opera – as well as exhibitions for museums and galleries in the UK and abroad. Where do you see the main difference between describing recorded and live events?

Louise Fryer: The principle differences hinge on recorded AD having fixed timing and fixed visual stimuli – you know exactly what is going to appear and how long you have to describe it. With live AD, you need to do lots of preparation so you can be ready to describe what you think is about to happen. But in the event you may need to trim, expand or amend what you were intending to say, or say it earlier or later, depending on the vagaries of the live performance. There is no clear-cut start to a performance – you often start describing long before the curtain rises (if there is a curtain) and continue to the curtain call or even beyond. And there is no director dictating via the camera lens where the audience should focus. A describer at a live event has the whole stage picture to choose from, so has to make many more editorial decisions about what to include and what to leave out.

L&M: Getting the atmosphere right seems to be the most important objective. How do you as a describer, for example, draw the audience into a play?

Louise Fryer: Technically, the AD is delivered via a headset, so the describer is speaking directly into a person’s ear. This gives the AD a particular intimacy, allowing subtleties of vocal tone and inflection that can carry more emotional weight than the more objective delivery advocated for film or TV AD. There is a natural adrenaline to call on, so the voice has a “live” feel, rather than the smooth, polished delivery of AD recorded in a studio. The describer is also helped by the rest of the audience, who provide suitable gasps of delight or astonishment, applause or laughter that help “colour” the words of the describer. There may also be music to “underscore” the AD. The describer’s language can be tempered to suit the language of the play or event. All in all, there is a much more direct engagement between the describer and the source material, and that can be conveyed in the AD.

L&M: What are the most important skills a professional audio describer must possess?

Louise Fryer: A describer needs to have a facility with words and a voice that is easy on the ear, but more importantly they need to have an understanding of the way images and sound function together to convey information. For theatre description they need to have a basic understanding of stagecraft, of character motivation, of the way visuals are manipulated by the director / designer / choreographer to affect how the sighted audience responds to the play. Some of this can be taught, as can a knowledge of the needs of their blind and partially sighted audience. Innately, a describer needs a good sense of timing and sensitivity in delivering the script. In terms of character, they must be able to put aside personal concerns to take on board suggestions and criticisms from fellow describers and blind advisors to best serve the interests of the play.

There are no guidelines for theatre AD in the UK, and although as a trainer I teach students what to look out for and what to avoid, there are always times when you need to think about breaking the rules. That is much less easy to teach – new describers have to build up experience and the confidence to know which rules they might break and why in a particular situation.

L&M: You have worked in the UK and abroad. Do you see differences in the various countries in which you have worked?

Louise Fryer: I think there are different cultural approaches to AD – mostly concerning objective versus subjective interpretation. Generally, subjectivity is frowned upon and I would agree with that to some extent – no-one wants to listen to the describer’s opinion - but you can take it too far. English is a very rich language. If a character is walking wearily across the stage, you are already interpreting by, for example, choosing the verb ‘trail’ over the verb ‘trudge’. It is important to convey a vivid image, which may be conjured by a great variety of visual clues: a performer’s facial expression, their physicality, the way their clothes sag, the sound effects of their shoes dragging over the stage floor, the lighting, the reactions of other characters. Such evidence supports an interpretation, and leads to a more immediate, engaging description than strict objectivity would allow. There is also the question of the describer picking up on cultural references in the piece they are describing. Just as a describer with no knowledge of football would have a limited ability to describe a match, so a describer of ballet needs to understand the language of dance, and the describer of a hip hop musical needs to understand youth culture and terminology. That is not to say only a young hip hop dancer would make a suitable describer, just that a describer needs to research the cultural background to whatever they are working on – be that a culture in the geographical or the artistic sense.

L&M: Ms Fryer, thank you very much for your time.

September 6th, 2010