Audio Introduction and Touch Tours

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From the course by Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Accessibility to the Scenic Arts

1 rating

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Accessibility to the Scenic Arts

1 rating

Is your show accessible? When we ask about accessibility to shows, most people think about access for wheel chairs: the sitting arrangements and where their WC is accessible. When we ask for more details, people usually think about producing a show where persons with disabilities are performing, for example producing a show where there is some dancing with people on wheel chairs. Accessiblity for us is a comprehensive concept that goes from purchasing a ticket through an accessible website to catching the bus back home after the performance on accessible public transport. Accessible webs, accessible web content, accessible transport, subtitling, audio description... the possiblities are endless. Why is this course useful? To make the venue and the production accessible to all citizens, and specially to persons with disablities. The course will go through the many accessible services you can offer, and how to implement them in your venue or your production. The final aim is to mainstream accessibility so all people have equal access to culture.

From the lesson

ACCESS SERVICES - CONCEPTS

Introduction2:26

Overview of Access Services6:57

Large Letters4:12

Audio Description5:53

Good Practice - AD booth2:15

Mini Docu AD in the theatre3:21

Audio Introduction and Touch Tours5:23

Good Practice - Audio introduction2:42

Good practice - AD & AI in the theatre2:59

Surtitling or Captioning4:26

Audio Subtitling4:32

Surtitling for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing3:33

Sign Language Interpreting6:15

Hearing Loops & Vibrating Chairs6:04

Relaxed Performance2:38

Meet the Instructors

Pilar Orero
Titular de universidad
Área de Traducción e Interpretación
Sharon Black
Research Fellow and Tutor in Translation and Interpreting
Queen's University Belfast
Anna Matamala
Profesora
Dept. de Traducción e Interpretación y de Estudios de Asia Oriental

Welcome.

In this part of the unit, you will learn in more detail

what audio introductions and touch tours are.

As you have previously learned, audio introductions and touch tours

are services aimed at increasing the access to the visual aspects

of an event or performance before it starts,

through the auditory and tactile channels.

Audio introductions and touch tours are often offered together,

which is why we also discuss them together here in this video.

Let's start with audion introductions, often abbreviated as AIs.

An audio introduction is a piece of narration

of about 10 to 15 minutes long, which is read out live

or recorded in the language of the performance by an audio describer.

It includes factual and visual information

about the performance or the event that make it easier for the audience

to grasp the content of the production.

The content of an audio introduction is tailored

to the specific requirements of each performance or event,

but it usually includes a short synopsis or description of the event

and a description of the stage setting and the environment

in which the event or performance takes place.

Other staple topics related to the performance include

the lighting and other special effects,

as well as a description of the performers

or the fictional characters and their costumes.

Moreover AIs usually include some technical and practical information

of which users of visual accessibility services should be aware.

Firstly, the functioning of the devices

used for transmitting the audio description,

but also information about the building,

such as the presence of stairs or steps, the location of toilets

and the emergency exits.

What is included or not also depends on the moment at which

and where the audio description is delivered before the performance.

How does one go about making an audio introduction?

Audio describers are the professionals that prepare the AI

based on the programme leaflet if it is available,

based on information about the event or performance online,

additional research and feedback from the artistic team.

They also take into account

what they expect to be able to include in the AD itself,

which is offered during the performance.

A good AI serves as a framework for audiences

to better understand and enjoy the event or performance.

It engages the listener’s attention, whets their appetite,

and, most importantly, enables them to appreciate

the performance’s inherent visual qualities.

In theatre settings, audio introductions are usually read live

by the audio describer from a sound-proof booth

and audiences receive the signal through wireless headphones,

the same way they listen to the audio description.

But AIs can also be pre-recorded and offered via the organisation’s website

or sent to patrons on CD in advance of the event.

Now let's turn to touch tours.

Live audio introductions can in some cases be combined

with what are called touch tours.

These are guided tours,

during which blind and visually impaired audiences

can access the stage and set before the performance.

Patrons can then explore the space or stage,

and handle selected props, costumes and furniture.

Touch tours firm up the descriptive information

that audiences have already received in the audio introduction

and provides them with extra detail

to allow them to engage with the production.

Touch tours usually last approximately 30 minutes.

They need the involvement of the audio describers, technical staff,

stage management and the company in order to work smoothly.

But it is usually the audio describer, who also makes the audio introduction,

who prepares and guides these touch tours.

It is important to know that audio introductions and touch tours

are almost always combined with audio description during the performance,

about which you learned previously.

A good introduction and related touch tour therefore interacts seamlessly

with the information provided in the audio description

because it can anticipate events for which there is very little time

to describe them during the performance.

Only in very specific cases can an audio introduction and/or a touch tour

be offered without audio description during the performance

and this should be discussed carefully with the professional audio describer,

who is best placed to advise on this issue,

in consultation with the artistic director of the production.

Now that you know what audio introductions are,

it is time to look at some examples provided through the links below.

However, if you can find a theatre nearby that offers the service,

make sure you book a ticket to experience it yourself.

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