Visual Music

Sign language interpretations of today's pop hits

January 5, 2010, 11:10am PST

(Sumaiya Malik, Good News Gazette) "These videos come the closest I've seen to actually conveying music with the sound off." That’s the type of feedback Michael Chase DiMartino receives from fans of his sign language music videos on YouTube, as he makes pop music from the likes of Britney, Lady Gaga and Kelly Clarkson accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing.

It’s easy to see why sign language comes so naturally to DiMartino. He’s an animated conversationalist who frequently talks with his hands. "I’m Italian," he says with a smile. DiMartino, who took up signing to meet a language requirement in college, works as a sign language interpreter. In his spare time he has created a series of videos that move beyond narration and interpret the musical stylings of many of today’s biggest pop stars. And in the process, he’s opening up the world of music to many who might not otherwise be able to appreciate it.

"Music isn’t necessarily only something that you can hear. It’s something that you can see, something that you can experience." With flashing lights, well-timed editing, and punchy sign interpretations, DiMartino creates a robust visual that is leaps and bounds beyond what the deaf and hard of hearing can experience solely through more traditional captions as he strives to capture visually what he terms the "musicality" of each song – the lyrics as well as the meaning behind the lyrics, the beat and rhythm of the music.

It’s been a labor of love for DiMartino who has self-funded the creation of all of his videos to-date and also learned the skills to light, edit, and produce them. It’s the overwhelmingly positive feedback he receives from fans that motivates him to continue.

DiMartino's first venture in song interpretation came as part of his sign language training. He interpreted Kanye West's Gold Digger for class because he thought it would be challenging. He put the video up on YouTube, not really expecting much of a response. Within two months the video had reached 30,000 views, and Michael's enthusiasm for this new art form grew. He proceeded to teach himself video production and editing skills, and created a portfolio of sign language video interpretations. His big break came in late 2008 when his interpretation of Britney Spears’ hit Womanizer was posted on her website and reached over 300,000 views.

DiMartino doesn’t necessarily believe word-for-word interpretation works well in translating songs for his audience because it tends to detract from the flow of the music. His preference is for a more conceptual interpretation. After selecting a song for a video, he goes through a process of evaluating what the artist is trying to say to determine what needs to be relayed exactly word-for-word versus what requires interpretation in order to get the point across to viewers who cannot hear the lyrics. "I do conceptualize the lyrics but sometimes I keep the idioms if I feel it was important and relevant to the creativity of the artist's song," he says.

For example, in his interpretation of Britney Spears' If You Seek Amy, DiMartino uses a split screen to convey the double entendre behind the song. One side shows the lyrics verbatim, the other illustrates their meaning so that the deaf and hard of hearing can, he says, "understand there is a hidden message there" that they obviously cannot pick up auditorily.

The performing bug gripped DiMartino early as he had his first big break swaddled up on stage as the baby Jesus in a Nativity play at the age of two. He now wants to bring all of his passions – singing, dancing and signing – to the fore of his creative endeavors. After primarily focusing on the music of other artists, DiMartino is adding his own music to the mix. He recently recorded and released his own single, "Nasty Habit" (Click here to listen) "As far as I know, there is no other American pop singer that has targeted for the deaf and hard of hearing," he says, "so I’d like to be the first."