Shout out to all of you professionals in audio description.
Excellent quality Audio Description can’t have any weak links.
Any of these could be dealbreakers:
Audio description script word choice.
Placement of those words.
Rate of words (how many words, how fast).
Emphasis of words (is it “she ate the red * APPLE * , or she ate the * RED * apple? Is it the fruit or the color of the apple?)
Intention of words (this is where the voice talent brings her skills to the table. Some call this emotion – but it’s intention – a performance craft that is active.)
Clarity of words.
Support of the story.
Casting of the voice.
The voice’s professional and ongoing training.
The placement of the audio cues.
The mix of the audio (how loud or soft it is in your ear)
How it aligns with production.
The quality control – consistency of words.
How the audio description fits in the mind of the audience.
The necessary elements of the story.
Not stepping on or interrupting the emotional silences.
Then it’s gotta travel from “cinema to streaming.”
Then it’s gotta be accessible.
So there are just 18 elements right there, and the countless of hours of training and experience and ability to deliver this on deadline.
There are more elements than these 18!
But in this example, if 17 are spectacular, and if even one of them isn’t great,
it can negatively affect your entire Audio Description experience.
Thank you to all the professionals who put in the time and care to do their part to not be the weakest link.