[111/365] D & D&D & AD

[cosmolinguist]

D and I went to see the Dungeons & Dragons movie this evening. We'd tried for like a week before our trip to Minnesota but Things kept getting in the way so I'm glad we could manage it now. He had been so looking forward to it, and seemed to love it, so that's good (especially since he got some not-nice news right after).

We saw it a mostly-empty theater so we could take our masks off and everything (the numbers box did good numbers for us! I've started thinking of the co2 monitor as "the numbers box" because that's what I called it the other day when I was too tired to word).

And with Sue Perkins doing the audio description. That was fun! She's in the minority of people who sound like they're really getting into it on occasion, excited during action scenes and stuff. Most voice actors read audio description more like a non-fiction book than a novel, y'know?

There were a couple jokes in it, like at one point she says "They steal two horses," fine. But then: "So if you're missing two horses, that's why." I bet this will grate on some people but I loved it. And it didn't happen much

I was also interested to see that at one point she summarized subtitled dialogue, when I'd normally expect that to be spoken by two different voice actors (usually, maybe even always, with apparent-genders to match those of the characters who are speaking). The summary technique wasn't even better or worse, just new to me.

I think there was another point I was going to make about the AD, but I forgot it while I was writing the preceding paragraph. I am very tired.

Comments

[momentsmusicaux]

> Most voice actors read audio description more like a non-fiction book than a novel, y'know?

I've noticed that the few times I've heard AD!

I can imagine her approach makes it a lot more pleasant and entertaining.

[cosmolinguist]

I mean I think the non-fiction style is fine, maybe just because I'm used to it. On the other occasions when a voice actor has gotten really into the movie they're telling me about, it has been kind of distracting. I think what style works best is going to be pretty contextual, and of course it's all a matter of opinion anyway.

The little jokes/asides were new though and they were funny. It was also funny to be the only person in the cinema sniggering at those times. :)

[silveradept]

I'm very glad that Sue took to the AD like it was an acting gig and not a dry narration. And I'm pleased about both the jokes and the summarizing parts. It sounds like someone was thinking hard about the experience of someone listening to the AD.

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah I don't mind things the way they were but now I'm wondering if they're just what I'm used to. It's nice to see different things being tried. It is still relatively new as an art/skill. So there's lots of room for innovation.

[silveradept]

Absolutely. I appreciate it when there are jokes for the subtitles as well as the soundtrack, say jokes for the AD should also be part of trying to make the experience good for everyone who wants to see it.