ITFC HELPS SET THE SCENE FOR DORIAN GRAY

creative audio description and subtitling carried out for film adaptation

itfc, the leading London-based media access provider, has completed audio description and subtitling for Dorian Gray, a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Their work allows blind, partially sighted, deaf or partially deaf people to enjoy films, which without AD and subtitling can be meaningless. Distributed by Momentum Pictures, Dorian Gray stars Ben Barnes as Dorian and Colin Firth as Lord Henry.  Directed by Oliver Parker and produced by Barnaby Thompson, the film is out in cinemas across the UK on Wednesday 9 September.

The film follows a man named Dorian Gray who has his picture painted by Basil Hallward. Taken with how handsome he looks in the portrait, Dorian wants to do whatever it takes to stay as young and handsome in real life as he looks in the picture. His wish is fulfilled after he makes it clear he'd like to sell his soul to ensure the picture would age instead of himself, and over time the portrait changes its appearance to reflect his evil actions.

James O'Hara, managing editor at itfc, worked on the audio description script and described 7442 words for the film in five days. Occasionally, he had to go back to the script to make amends because one or two actors weren't mentioned by name until later on in the film, and he'd already referred to them in the script as 'the handsome man' or the 'young lady'. James also had to make sure the most important detail was included in the description, since there wasn't always enough time to describe everything in a scene.

"Dorian Gray is quite a dark film so I decided to deepen my voice to match this ambience. As the film is about his portrait and not himself ageing or becoming disfigured, I had to make sure I made reference to this throughout the film so the plot was clear to the listener."

Describing the different eras proved an interesting challenge, but was helped by the change of external sounds played throughout the film - orchestras playing a waltz become gramophones, the sound of horse-drawn carriages becomes the motor car, and an artist's brush becomes the click of a camera. "Dorian's lifespan stretches from gothic Victorian, through to the Edwardian age, so I had to make sure I described this effectively to the listener so they could tell he wasn't ageing during the film. It was a good film to describe," continued James.

itfc also worked on the subtitling, which took a week to prepare and consisted of 6000 words in total. Accuracy was key when subtitling the film especially when conveying the animalistic noises of Dorian Gray's increasingly desolate, vice-ridden alter ego in his ageing portrait.

"Dorian Gray came with some interesting subtitle challenges," said Caroline Lomas, subtitling coordinator at itfc. "Formal period drama language can sometimes come across as stilted or harsh if the subtitle editing isn't done with a light touch. We had to make sure there was a generous amount of time on screen to allow the reader to absorb the richness of such unusual words."

With words such as firkytoodling (a 17th-century term for fondling) unfamiliar to the modern ear, itfc had to make sure the subtitles explained them as clearly as possible - and with visits to Dorian's portrait occurring throughout the film the subtitler had to find fresh and effective ways to describe non-verbal sounds.

About itfc

Established in 1976, ITFC has provided post-production services to the film and TV industry for over 30 years. Its London facilities range from digital media asset management, subtitling, audio description, telecine, editing, restoration, DVD authoring and encoding to QC, HD and SD conversions and duplication.

In 2007, ITFC was acquired by the Medici Group and now has sister companies in Burbank, Berlin and Sydney.. Its client portfolio includes ITV, Five, Channel 4, Virgin Media TV, GMTV, RTÉ, NBC Universal Television, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Buena Vista. For more information, please visit www.itfc.com.

About Momentum Pictures

Momentum Pictures is a subsidiary of Alliance Films, a leading distributor of motion pictures in Canada, with motion picture distribution operations in the United Kingdom and Spain. The company distributes filmed entertainment to theatres, on DVD, online and to television broadcasters.