[accessibleimage] audio description

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Sunday, August 28, 2005

Talking pictures

By Adam Turner

CAPTION: Frank Nowlan keeps up with the movie action using a special commentary 
DVD track.

For most people there are few things more annoying than someone talking through 
a movie, but for some a running commentary is essential.

Frank Nowlan, blind from childhood, follows the action thanks to an extra on DVDs known 
as "audio description". An AD sets the scene, details the action and important 
visual clues between the dialogue.

AD is making a range of movies more accessible for movie fans like Mr Nowlan.

"The aim is to say enough to make the movie as meaningful as possible without saying 
what's already obvious," Mr Nowlan says.

"The narrator sometimes describes actions before they happen or describes things 
that might be important later - which can be off-putting to non-blind viewers."

Blind Citizens Australia and the Australian Caption Centre are developing a pilot project 
for AD DVDs in Sydney with the assistance of the Department of Family and Community 
Services where audio "describers" are trained on an accredited course.

Once recorded the AD track is sent to the Australian movie distributor to be 
included on the local release of DVDs chosen.

Titles across a range of genres have been produced as part of the project, 
including new releases such as Million Dollar Baby and cult classics such as 
Pulp Fiction .

There is no international labelling standard yet and some imported DVDs refer to AD as 
"descriptive video service" under Special Features.

It can also be difficult for blind users to switch on the option because, with 
no dedicated button on a remote control there's no standard way of accessing it.

Despite the teething problems it is hoped that ADs will soon become as common 
as text captions for the deaf.

Related Link:
http://audiodescription.com.au/


http://www.smh.com.au/news/livewire/talking-pictures/2005/08/23/1124562865687.html


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