How WDR mediagroup Produces More Audio Description with Frazier

Hello Tatjana, hello Anja, please introduce yourselves briefly!

Tatjana Urosevic: WDR mediagroup is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WDR, and we have been responsible for creating accessible content since 2010. We provide subtitles, audio descriptions, and sign language translations for WDR, but as a subsidiary, we are also allowed to work for other clients, such as other public broadcasters and private clients. We are a pool of 32 permanent employees in full- and part-time positions, plus freelance colleagues, two permanent sound engineers, and an in-house studio. I am the Head of the Subtitling and Audio Description Department.

Anja Funk: I am a writer and editor, and by now, I work exclusively in audio description. I started in 2007 as a freelancer, and for the last few years, I have been doing this full-time. I write scripts myself, but I also approve the scripts of other writers and schedule the recording sessions. In consultation with Tatjana, we decide together with the clients which projects we process using Frazier and which ones are produced traditionally.

Which software did you use before Frazier?

Tatjana Urosevic: Very traditionally, we used Word for script writing and a subtitling software called FAB to play the videos. The Word script on the side, parallel to the recording, and the actual production took place downstairs in our recording studio with the sound engineers.

Anja Funk: We used to mumble the scripts to ourselves to check if the timing worked. Sometimes there are two or three of us in the office, each mumbling to themselves. But with headphones, it’s not a problem; we’re all used to it. You develop a routine over the years.

How did you come to use synthetic voices?

Tatjana Urosevic: That was in 2022 when I attended the IBC. That was the first time you really heard anything about synthetic voices. I did some market research, and that’s how we ended up with you.

Anja Funk: At first, we only had a quota of a few minutes. I can still remember us always thinking, “Oh, we are getting really close to the limit now.”

And what were the reactions when you launched synthetic voices on the market?

Tatjana Urosevic: Difficult. We really faced some pushback in the beginning. People said the mediagroup was only doing low-budget productions. Luckily, WDR was open to it: “test it out, try it, we’ll listen to it.” It was a tough battle in the beginning, but we stuck with it.

What are the biggest advantages of using Frazier in your daily work today?

Anja Funk: From a writer’s perspective, you are simply faster.

Tatjana Urosevic: The real leverage is that we can produce much more. Web formats, media library versions, YouTube, and TikTok versions. Things we didn’t offer at all in the past. For Aktion Mensch we now do this exclusively with Frazier.

Tatjana Urosevic: Financially, the savings aren’t reflected in the voice actors, because the software costs money too. But our permanent writers and sound engineers simply have more time to produce more content. Less post-production effort, no more studio bookings, and a leaner organization.

Was there a particular “aha!” moment?

Anja Funk: For me, it was a really small thing: playback speed control. I have the script read out to me, but there are often long pauses in between, and I still want to listen through to know if the audio description fits. My favorite speed is 1.75; it allows me to listen more efficiently. It was a lucky find. I wondered, “What’s behind this little gear icon?” And behind the gear icon was the speed setting. I was really happy about that.

Tatjana Urosevic: You really have a very fast response time. If there is an issue, you react quickly, provide updates, and proactively keep us informed so we don’t have to follow up. If there were meetings we couldn’t attend, you provide a report afterward. You take excellent care of your customers.

Anja Funk: I agree completely. As Tatjana said, the response time is really fantastic. Usually, you reply within minutes.

Frazier in one sentence?

Tatjana Urosevic: A process-optimizing tool for the efficient production of audio description.

Anja Funk: Spot on. I don’t need to add anything to that.