""If there's a high pitched sound, if there's a low pitch, I'm using my hands to show where the pitch is going for the deaf audience to understand - some of the deaf audience cannot capture the high pitched noises," Julian Ortiz told SFGATE (translated by fellow interpreter Flo McHenry). "So our responsibility is to catch those pitches and to provide it in a visual language, so they wouldn't miss the exact sound that hearing people are listening to.""
"Roughly one- third of Portola's acts feature ASL interpreters sidestage, and whether attendees understand sign language or not, their body language is so attuned with the music that they're often more entertaining than the DJs they're supporting. Amber G Productions supplies the interpreters from a roster of 30, with a team of six attending Portola this year. Last year, Angela "AV" Vilavong's translation of notoriously vulgar performer Peaches was one of the most memorable moments of the festival."
Neon green lasers and thick haze transformed Portola's Warehouse Stage into a visually immersive environment while melodic techno played in near darkness. Sign language interpreters performed sidestage, using expressive movement to translate lyrics, pitch, and energy for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. Interpreters indicate rising and falling pitches with hand shapes and motion so listeners who cannot hear high tones receive equivalent visual cues. Amber G Productions provided interpreters from a 30-person roster, sending six to Portola. Interpreters travel from out of state to work festivals, and some translations of provocative performers have become memorable moments that resonated across audiences.
Read at SFGATE
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]