William G. Vicars, EdD, Lifeprint Library, November 12, 2021
It is almost like a knee jerk reaction in online ASL-related discussion groups.
Whenever someone posts a practice video in which the lighting conditions or
camera angle are not perfect it triggers a reaction so common as to be a cliché:
Someone will comment "Your background is distracting. You should use a plain
colored background!" or "Your lighting is bad you should..." (blah, blah, blah).
Allow me to gently suggest a different way of thinking about the situation:
A practice ASL or fingerspelling video created in front of a busy background
provides excellent practice for reading ASL or fingerspelling in front of a busy
background.
It is common for people in online threads like this to request "perfect"
conditions and to quickly suggest that the signers have "perfect" backgrounds to
make the reading of signs easier.
Then those who make such requests wonder why it is after months of practice they
still can't catch or understand Deaf signing in the real world.
Maybe it is because Deaf signers in everyday situations are signing in imperfect
or even challenging conditions?
Constantly demanding "perfect" background conditions has a "chilling" effect. In
other words, such demands cause people to be less enthusiastic about posting.
As the administrator of an online discussion group I'd rather have 10 videos
with a variety of backgrounds than 2 videos with perfect backgrounds.
Those who can't "get" the harder videos are welcome to scroll on past to an
easier video or hire a tutor and pay them to sign only in front of a plain
colored, contrasting background.
=======================
*Note: Let's not confuse "practice" with production. The above situation is not
the same as when an ASL teacher must correct dozens (or hundreds) of ASL videos
each semester and requests the students use good lighting and a solid
background. The above is also not the same as when a presenter is giving a
formal presentation in front of a large group of Deaf or intended for public
announcement purposes. In those situations it is of course appropriate to
provide the best lighting and background as reasonably possible with your
available time, energy, budget, and other resources.
Notes: