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Audio describers sound like they're half asleep or on drugs (self.Blind)
submitted by DrillInstructorJan
I was going to include an example of this but unfortunately reddit supports video files but not not audio files (accessibility fail).
So I was watching the movie Ten Things I Hate About You with a couple of my padawan learners. Two of us are totally blind and the other one has a very tiny bit of light perception, so we had the AD on. This is the UK audio description and honestly, the woman who's doing it sounds like she was woken up in the middle of the night and forced to start audio describing, or maybe she's half off her head on some sort of illegal narcotic.
There are all kinds of things that can be wrong with audio description but one of the main ones is that there isn't enough detail, they skip over things and that's usually because there isn't enough time between the characters speaking. Okay, that's fine. But the last thing you want is for the describer to recite it like a slow motion person. It's incredibly annoying. I mean, most people have the screenreader talking at a speed nobody in the world could really talk and we're not expecting that, obviously, but good grief. There's not enough time for all the details anyway, and you're sitting there talking like a cassette tape where the tape has been stretched. It drives me crazy.
I don't really know why they do this, but I have my suspicions. I think someone has told them that lots of blind people are really old, and maybe suffering from other problems of old age, and they're talking slowly and clearly to get through this level of dementia they assume we're all suffering. But this is Ten Things I Hate About You. It's a teenage romantic comedy. It's not something that three hundred year old Doris with her age-related macular degeneration is going to be watching to begin with. And in the end you just sit there feeling vaguely patronised.
In short, audio describers, talk faster.
So I was watching the movie Ten Things I Hate About You with a couple of my padawan learners. Two of us are totally blind and the other one has a very tiny bit of light perception, so we had the AD on. This is the UK audio description and honestly, the woman who's doing it sounds like she was woken up in the middle of the night and forced to start audio describing, or maybe she's half off her head on some sort of illegal narcotic.
There are all kinds of things that can be wrong with audio description but one of the main ones is that there isn't enough detail, they skip over things and that's usually because there isn't enough time between the characters speaking. Okay, that's fine. But the last thing you want is for the describer to recite it like a slow motion person. It's incredibly annoying. I mean, most people have the screenreader talking at a speed nobody in the world could really talk and we're not expecting that, obviously, but good grief. There's not enough time for all the details anyway, and you're sitting there talking like a cassette tape where the tape has been stretched. It drives me crazy.
I don't really know why they do this, but I have my suspicions. I think someone has told them that lots of blind people are really old, and maybe suffering from other problems of old age, and they're talking slowly and clearly to get through this level of dementia they assume we're all suffering. But this is Ten Things I Hate About You. It's a teenage romantic comedy. It's not something that three hundred year old Doris with her age-related macular degeneration is going to be watching to begin with. And in the end you just sit there feeling vaguely patronised.
In short, audio describers, talk faster.
grinchnight14 1 points 10m ago
It's the main reason I actually don't usually look for it when watching movies anymore. I found one, who did the TV series Winging It, and she's the most boring person I've ever heard ever, that's actually what made me decide to not watch the show lol. There are some good narrators, but most of them are really bored sounding.
EmeraldSunrise4000 1 points 1y ago
I have nothing constructive really to add but I’ve noticed this as well, glad I’m not the only one and I totally understand why they may find it difficult to do audio description – voluntary, underpaid et cetera – but it makes it difficult to watch films sometimes
ultamentkiller 1 points 1y ago
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think all of the audio describers in the UK our volunteers, and don’t get paid much if they get paid at all. This might contribute to a higher ratio of them sounding tired or bored, or just bad description. I don’t mean this in a nationalist way, but I find that the American audio describers and descriptions themselves are often better.
CloudyBeep 3 points 1y ago
This is the case for some live audio describers for theater and other live events, but I'm 99% sure it's not the case for TV and film.
ultamentkiller 1 points 1y ago
When I used to download movies and shows from Blind Mice, I remember a few of them sounding tired and bored, and I definitely remember some terribly described from the UK. There are American examples too, but I don’t remember as many. But then again, most content on Blind Mice was from the UK, so I’m probably being unfair.
BlindGuyNW 1 points 1y ago
Interesting. I've heard a few very good UK descriptions but a lot of mediocre to poor as well. I wasn't aware there was a pay discrepancy, that might have something to do with it.
not_so_kawaii13 1 points 1y ago
Google translate also sounds kind of slurred too if you hit the speech button a second time. It's great.
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