Title
Audio description strategies for conveying characters' actions and emotions. Case studies on Thai television drama
Conference name
Media for All 10 Conference
City
Country
Belgium
Modalities
Date
06/07/2023-07/07/2023
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to find effective strategies for Audio Description (AD) to convey actions and emotions expressed through characters’ gestures and facial expressions. With this aim in mind, four case studies that represent different characteristics of Thai television dramas and, as a result, different AD challenges, have been selected: Bad Genius, Bai Mai Tee Plid Plew, Buppesannivas, and In Family We Trust.
This article focuses on the Textual Analysis of four sequences from these Thai television dramas, as well as the Reflexive Thematic Analysis of interviews with forty Blind and Visually impaired (BVI) Thai people.
The Textual Analysis of the television extracts showed the use of four camera shot sizes related to the characters' gestures and facial expressions, which included information that was central to the Audio Description. The group of medium shots highlighted the movement of the physical actions of the characters. While close-ups and extreme close-ups conveyed the emotions of the characters. There were also many different types of sounds such as actual words, human nonverbal vocalisations, sound effects, foley, music and ambience that were also employed to convey meaning within television dramas. When audio describers were aware of the functions of each sound, they could more effectively locate sound gaps or used their judgment to determine which area was suitable for inserting AD.
Forty BVI people were interviewed to determine the strategies that they used to follow the plot and the emotions of the characters by asking them to identify meaning of sounds, describe the plot, and characterise the feelings of the characters after listening to sample clips of these TV dramas. BVI participants mentioned that six main factors influenced their comprehension of storyline and character emotions: media experiences, sighted experiences, life experiences, the trait of audiences, synopsis details, and characteristics of TV dramas. In addition, the BVI participants were also asked to reflect on different possible styles of AD after listening to the sample clips, and how these different styles would enhance their understanding, enjoyment, and engagement with the four separate clips. The results demonstrated that the requirements for various AD strategies to be applied in each scene were influenced by genre, narrative styles, storytelling pace, the functions of soundtracks, and the density of dialogue.
Therefore, the concept of binary opposition between the objective style and subjective style of AD was challenged because no single style could be applied to all cases. Additionally, the effective AD strategies for describing gestures and facial expressions also included identifying suitable sound gaps, choosing the key elements, and producing a comprehensible script.
This article focuses on the Textual Analysis of four sequences from these Thai television dramas, as well as the Reflexive Thematic Analysis of interviews with forty Blind and Visually impaired (BVI) Thai people.
The Textual Analysis of the television extracts showed the use of four camera shot sizes related to the characters' gestures and facial expressions, which included information that was central to the Audio Description. The group of medium shots highlighted the movement of the physical actions of the characters. While close-ups and extreme close-ups conveyed the emotions of the characters. There were also many different types of sounds such as actual words, human nonverbal vocalisations, sound effects, foley, music and ambience that were also employed to convey meaning within television dramas. When audio describers were aware of the functions of each sound, they could more effectively locate sound gaps or used their judgment to determine which area was suitable for inserting AD.
Forty BVI people were interviewed to determine the strategies that they used to follow the plot and the emotions of the characters by asking them to identify meaning of sounds, describe the plot, and characterise the feelings of the characters after listening to sample clips of these TV dramas. BVI participants mentioned that six main factors influenced their comprehension of storyline and character emotions: media experiences, sighted experiences, life experiences, the trait of audiences, synopsis details, and characteristics of TV dramas. In addition, the BVI participants were also asked to reflect on different possible styles of AD after listening to the sample clips, and how these different styles would enhance their understanding, enjoyment, and engagement with the four separate clips. The results demonstrated that the requirements for various AD strategies to be applied in each scene were influenced by genre, narrative styles, storytelling pace, the functions of soundtracks, and the density of dialogue.
Therefore, the concept of binary opposition between the objective style and subjective style of AD was challenged because no single style could be applied to all cases. Additionally, the effective AD strategies for describing gestures and facial expressions also included identifying suitable sound gaps, choosing the key elements, and producing a comprehensible script.