DifferentApproachestotheADinRussia:HowtoImprovetheADQuality?

Alexey Kozulyaev

RuFilms, Moscow

Ivan Borshchevsky

a presentation by

ADinRussia• Asearlyasin1920s,duringthesilentfilmera,describers(calledbyaJapanesewordbenshi)providedlivenarrationforsilentfilms

• Vasili Oshchepkovwasoneofthem.

ADinRussia• 1978Thefirstdescribedfilm,Cleopatra,the1963Americanepichistoricaldrama,wasscreenedinMoscow.Audiodescriber–AnatolyChechetin

ADinRussia

• 1970s-1990s“Audiofilms”

ADinRussia

2000s• Reacomp (Institute)- “typhlocommenting”• All-RussiaSocietyoftheBlind• RuFilms,LLC

Comparingapproaches“Typhlocommenting”vs.Audio

Description

“Typhlocommenting” AudioDescription

is notconsideredaformoftranslation isconsideredafromof translation(intersemiotic,R.Jacobson),particularly,aformofAVT

“Typhlocommenting”

• SpaceDogs,aRussiananimatedfilm

“Typhlocommenting”Viewers’comments

mymindwasabouttobeblownmymindwasabouttobeblown

almostunbearablestressforthebrain

Ifyoucloseyoureyesatthebeginningofthefilm,youmayevenfindyourselfhaving

fallenasleep…

youstopgraspingthejabberingvoiceofthedescriber

Why?• Descriptionofeachframe,ratherthanasequence,andtautology

“Closeupofalumpofcheese.Thelumpofcheeseisincrow’sclutches.Thecrowdancesintheairwithcheeseinitsclutches,doesflipsandsomersaults.Crowjuggleswiththelumpofcheese,movingitfromonelimbtotheother,catchingitwithitsbeak.”

Why?

• The“description”fillsineverysparesecond.• The“description”overlapsnotonlymusic,noisesandwalla (rhubarb)soundsoftheoriginalsoundtrack,butalsodialogues

• Obvioussoundsaredescribed.• Unnecessarydetailsaredescribed.

“Typhlocommenting”

HowtospoilanOscar-winningfilmwithabad“typhlocomment”

MoscowDoesn’tBelieveinTears“Typhlocommenting”

Character Timing Soundtrack Whatisdemonstratedonthescreen

Ludmila 06.40 Canyoujustsay“Hello”whenhecallsme?

Ludmilatalkstoareceptionistinthehostel.

Describer 06.42 Atthemonument... Ludmilareturns toherroom

Receptionist 06.43 Imustput itdown. Thereceptionist takesapen.

Describer 06.44 ...toMayakovsky.

Poet 06.45 Walla AndreyVoznesensky,afamousRussianpoet,readshispoemattheMayakovsky’smonument

MoscowDoesn’tBelieveinTears“Typhlocommenting

Katya 07.31 YousayTonya’s lifeisbad,mineisbad,too.

KatyaandLudmilaarewalkingalongthestreet.Theypassayoungmanwhoisgivingahugtohisgirlfriend.

Describer 07.33 PoliceCommunitySupportOfficers...

Katya 07.34 Whatdoyoucall“life”? PoliceCommunity SupportOfficersapproachtheyoungman.

PoliceCommunitySupportOfficer

07.35 Stophugging!You’reinapublic place!Don’tyouknowthat?

Theyoungmantakesawayhisarm.

Describer 07.39 ...addresstheyoungman... KatyaandLudmilaarestillwalkingalongthestreetfollowedbytwoyoungmen.

Ludmila 07.41 Andyourchemistryissuchaboringscience.

Describer 07.42 ...whoplacedhishand.. KatyaandLudmilapasslargeshopwindows.

Ludmila 07.42 Youdealwithboringformulas.

Describer 07.43 …ongirl’sshoulder. Ludmilaisadjustingherclothesandstumbles.

Turningpoint

• InsuchanenvironmentRuFilms hadtoredefineADsothatitcouldbeclearlydifferentfromtyphlocommenting.

• Thecuewastakenin2013-2014fromtheearlyresearchinaugmentedrealityproductions.

Oneandonlyreality

• Thewayvision-impairedandblindpeopleperceivetheworldaroundthemistheironeandonlyreality.

• AD/SDH/electronicdevicesarevarioustoolsforaugmentingthatrealityinvariousdirections.

ADasanARtool• Thereareseveraldirectionsinwhichvisionimpairedpeople’srealitymightbeaugmentedtothelevelwhentheycancommunicateaboutitwithnon-impairedpeople– Informative(thisiswheretyphlocommenting isstillworking)

– Emotional(visionimpairedpeoplecannotbedeprivedofemotionsfromnaturalsounds,music,richnessofvoicesandgoodreading)

– Experiential(thevisionimpairedpeopleneedtolivethroughtheplotandcharacterexperiences,scenesetc)

Movingout

• ThisapproachallowedRuFilms todepartfromtherigorious treatmentsofAVproductionsthattyphlocommenting offeredandstartmovingtowardclassicalADexpandingitsprinciplesatthesametime.

WhatcanbedonetoimprovetheADqualityinRussia?

• Thebasicanswerisclear:

AudioDescriptionvs.“Typhlocommenting”

JoelSnyder’sfourprincipalelementsofAD• OBSERVATION• EDIT• LANGUAGE• VOCALSKILLS

CommonsenseandChekhov’sgun

• Oops!Notthisone!

CommonsenseandChekhov’sgun

Chekhov’sgun

• “Removeeverythingthathasnorelevancetothestory.Ifyousayinthefirstchapterthatthereisariflehangingonthewall,inthesecondorthirdchapteritabsolutelymustgooff.Ifit’snotgoingtobefired,itshouldn’tbehangingthere.”

— AntonChekhov

WhatcanbedonetoimprovetheADqualityinRussia?

• Raisepublicawarenesstowardsnewapproaches

WhatcanbedonetoimprovetheADqualityinRussia?

TheRufilms SchoolofAudiovisualTranslationpromotestheADinleadingRussianuniversities

WhatcanbedonetoimprovetheADqualityinRussia?

• TheSchoolforAudiovisualTranslationinvitesinternationalspecialistsinthefieldtoteachRussiantranslatorsandrecentlyheldauniqueAVTcoursethatfeaturedinitsADpart– JoelSnyder–AnnaMatamala–PilarOrero–PabloRomero-Fresco–AnnaJankowska–Agnieszka Szarkowska

Students’Feedback

• Raushana K.:“…auniqueopportunitytolistentolecturersfromallovertheworld…”•MariaB.:“…ateamofenthusiastswhoaredevotedtotheirworkanddoitwithalltheirheart”• ElenaE.“…itwasgreattolearntheADfromthebestexpertsinthisfield…”

2018astheyearoflegitimisationofAD

•RightnowRuFilmsADexpertsareworkinginthenationalgroupontheestablishmentofthestandardsoftheprofessionofatranslator/interpreterandsuccessfullypromotetheAD/SDHasapartoftheAVTprofessionalcluster.•ThestandardswillbeadoptedbytheGovernmentinDecember,2018andthiswillopenuptheRussianeducationalsystemandprofessionalcommunitiestothenewapproaches.

RuFilms ADprojectsof2016-2017

Dozensoffilmsincludingbutnotlimitedto:•MashaandtheBear, aRussiananimatedtelevisionseries•Matilda,ahistoricaldramaaboutthelastRussianTzar,NickolasII.•Loveless,A.Zvyagintsev’s film, anOscarnominee•ADfortheAeroflotin-flightentertainmentprogram•ThefirstRussianmusicvideowiththeAD(“Please”,Amelie-Na-Meli)

Conclusion

•OnecansaythatADatthispointhasfirmlyestablisheditselfinRussiaasadistinctbranchofresearchandanAVTdiscipline•ThedefinitionofADasanARtoolprovestobeagoodtoolfortheintroductionofADinnewmedias(3D,VR,games)asitallowstoclassifythelevelsoftherealityaugmentationandanalyse theirperception.