At the Rock en Seine festival (source in French), on the outskirts of Paris, music is not experienced only through the ears. The lights, the artists’ gestures, the way they move around, their expressions and the audience’s reactions also form part of the concert experience. Yet these visual elements remain out of reach for blind and partially sighted spectators.
For the first time in its history, the festival is offering live audio-described concerts this year. One show a day, on the Main Stage, benefits from the scheme set up with the Valentin Haüy Association: Miki, Djo, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Amyl & The Sniffers and The Cure.
On a dedicated platform, festivalgoers wearing headsets hear the voice of an audio describer live. But the idea is not to comment on every second of the show. The job is to step in at the right moment, without drowning out the music or the lyrics.
“I am the eyes of spectators who cannot see“, explains Raphaëlle Valenti. A voice actor, writer and audio description trainer, she founded the company ZeugmaConcepts, which is devoted to developing this practice. She trains new writers and has been working for several years to make cultural content accessible.
“I mustn’t intrude; I mustn’t speak over an emotional moment for the singer, for instance“, she continues. Her role is to seize the moments when she can step in to convey the key visual information: the artist’s movements, their position on stage, their expressions, their gestures. “I will say all that, to convey the emotion.”
It requires intense concentration from someone who has to watch the stage, understand what is happening there and find the right words at the right time. Audio description thus becomes a form of live narration that has to remain discreet, so that the music can take centre stage.
A first experience that is widely appreciated
For Saliha, a partially sighted spectator, the experience is a revelation. “She has a pleasant voice to begin with… she was my eyes, I knew absolutely everything that was happening, it was brilliant.” But the exercise also requires her to find the right balance: “On the one hand, there is active listening to the description being given and, on the other, if I want to listen to the lyrics, it’s complicated.”
A kind of ‘gymnastics’ that doesn’t stop her enjoying her return to the world of festivals. “It’s been so many years since I last went to a festival that now I fully intend to have fun,” she smiles. “Because this set-up is just… wow!”
Audio description does not aim to replace the music, but to convey what goes with it: a change of lighting, an artist moving across the stage, an expression, a gesture, an interaction with the audience. Everything that helps turn a concert into a live performance.
On stage, the artists keep singing, the lights dance and the audience continues to buzz. In the headsets, a voice adds images to the music.
For those who cannot see them, the concert is told in a different way. But the emotion is the same: being there at last with the crowd and enjoying the show.