Auteur Description: From the Director's Creative Vision to Audio Description

Abstract

Audio description (AD) is now major technique for making films, theater performances, operas, and other events accessible to people who are blind or have low (Holland, 2009; Matamala & Orero, 2007; Orero, 2007). The provision of AD services is regulated in some countries, for example, in United States by Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 and in European Union by Directive 2007/65/EC. Using gaps between dialogues, AD provides spectators who are visually impaired with information on who does what, where, and how (see Vercauteren, 2007). Traditionally, who, what, where, and how of AD have largely depended on what audio describers deem to be most important. Following various AD guidelines, audio describers are supposed to describe what they see--and no more (see American Council of Blind, 2009; Rai, Greening, & Leen, 2010). What you see is what you say (WYSI-WYS) is an injunction reiterated in many AD courses (see Snyder, 2008). As consequence, AD relies heavily on skills of particular audio describer and his or her ability to translate visual images into words adequately. However, as Udo and Fels (2009, p. 179) noted, conventional AD focuses on description of what is seen--the set, actors' movements and lighting--rather than on what is meant to be seen--the director's vision. AUTEUR DESCRIPTION In this report, I follow suggestion that film director's creative should be incorporated into AD. I present new type of AD for auteur and artistic films: auteur description, which incorporates director's creative in AD script through use of screenplay (or other available materials, such as interviews and reviews) and thus gives audio describer artistic license to depart from dictate of objectivism. The main function of auteur description is to immerse spectators who are blind or have low in story world created by film's director. The technique of auteur description was invented with artistic films in mind. In an auteur film, is director who is seen as film's major creative force. As Bordwell (1979, p. 59) noted, the author becomes formal component, overriding intelligence organizing film for our comprehension. The director of an auteur film leaves recognizable imprint on all his or her films. Bordwell argued that a small industry is devoted to informing viewers of such authorial marks. International film festivals, reviews and essays in press, published scripts, film series, career retrospectives, and film education all introduce viewers to authorial (p. 59). This report examines how such authorial codes can be rendered in auteur description by incorporating fragments of published script. Auteur description differs from conventional AD in way who, what, where, and how of film are described. Departing from notion of objective description, eagerly embraces vivid and emotional language. Going beyond WYSIWYS principle also means that script can include additional information on characters and their emotions, actions, and settings that are not necessarily visible on screen, but are important from point of view of director and, as such, are included in screenplay. This technique is presented using example of auteur description for Spanish film Volver (2006), directed by Pedro Almodovar, which had AD for Polish viewers. The idea of incorporating director's in AD script is not new. It was previously explored by Fels, Udo, Ting, Diamond, and Diamond (2005) and Udo and Fels (2009), who stated that it is important to respect intentions and decisions made by creative team to create production that is true to director's initial vision (Udo & Fels, 2009, p. 182). Although is much easier for audio describers to cooperate directly with directors from same country, as was case with Udo and Fels (2009), is much more difficult with foreign films, especially those by world-famous directors. …

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