[real-eyes] Fw: Online Now: Audio Described Wind in the Willows
- From: "Jose" <crunch1@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "real eyes list" <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 07:26:31 -0500
just came across this and wanted to share it with the list.
From Jose
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will
counsel you with My eye upon you."
Psalm 32:8
Non-Reciprocal Law of Expectations: Negative expectations yield negative
results.
----- Original Message -----
From: Mary Watkins
To: MAG_News@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 11:27 AM
Subject: Online Now: Audio Described Wind in the Willows
April 2007
Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls... An Audio Described Stream of
Masterpiece Theatre's The Wind in the Willows
A new audio described adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic story The Wind in
the Willows, which aired on PBS stations on Sunday evening, is now available
online. As is the case with all Masterpiece Theatre productions, this program
was described by WGBH's Media Access Group. However, for this program, WGBH,
producer of Masterpiece Theatre, sought and received the rights to stream the
audio described version (no video) on the program's Web site. Due to rights
restrictions, this content is only available online in the United States, its
territories, possessions, and commonwealths.
Here is the link to the program's site, and to the streaming audio files:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/willows/index.html
(link to Video Description)
Here is a taste of the description from the opening sequence:
Sniffing the air, Mole lifts he gaze to a hole the missing roots left in the
ceiling. Sunshine streams in from the blue sky above. Mole steps into the
light, and breathes in. With his hairy, clawed hands, he digs himself out of
the burrow. Resting on a molehill, he squints in the bright sunlight. "Ah."
His surroundings come into focus: lush trees border a sprawling field of yellow
and purple wildflowers.
"My oh my." Mole inhales deeply, then looks out at the range of distant hills
behind him. "Oh!" He scratches his shaggy dark hair, then climbs out of the
molehill. With butterflies flying overhead, he starts across the field, and
reaches up toward the bright blue sky.
(Music swells) A title appears: "Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows."
The idea that described audio could be used as "car movies" or for many other
uses by sighted audiences beyond the traditional audience's usage is exciting
and would spur, we all hope, a growth in the overall availability of the
service. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing remember the big jump in
captioning once hearing audiences and producers discovered the use of that
service in loud environments such as airports and gyms, and now for for search
capability in online video.
Here now is additional information about Masterpiece Theatre's adaptation of
Wind in the Willows:
RELEASE
"Messing about in boats" and other misadventures
The Wind in The Willows
By Kenneth Grahame
The most charming small mammals you'll ever meet team up with the world's most
exasperating amphibian to pursue their merry adventures in Masterpiece
Theatre's adaptation based on Kenneth Grahame's beloved children's classic, The
Wind in the Willows.
The Wind in the Willows is the first Masterpiece Theatre production presented
in High Definition.
Dispensing with animation, Masterpiece Theatre relies on the striking animal
instincts of some very talented actors. Which is only proper, since Grahame's
story features animals acting like people, like slightly barmy Edwardian-era
gentlemen, to be exact.
British comedian Matt Lucas (Casanova) stars as gadget-crazed Mr. Toad, the
irresponsible scion of a great fortune, which he splurges on boats, a caravan,
motorcars, and a snazzy wardrobe.
Toad's bosom buddies are the stern Badger, played by Bob Hoskins
(Hollywoodland, Mrs. Henderson Presents); easy-going Ratty, played by Mark
Gattis (Match Point); and diffident but loyal Mole, played by Lee Ingleby
(Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).
Also appearing are Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House) as the Jailor's Daughter,
who befriends the forlorn Toad in prison; and Imelda Staunton (My Family and
Other Animals) as the Barge Lady, who almost outwits the web-toed schemer after
his jail break.
The story's opening scene includes one of the most satisfyingly bucolic
passages in literature: "Believe me, my young friend," says Ratty to Mole as
they gently row downriver, "there is NOTHING--absolutely nothing-- half so much
worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
But this dreamy mood is broken by the maniacal entrance of Toad, who darts past
in a racing scull--his latest toy. Toad's hilarious misadventures form the
exciting core of The Wind in the Willows, which started out as a series of
bedtime stories told by Grahame to his young son in the early years of the 20th
century.
Like many well-heeled idlers of the day, Toad loses all self-restraint when he
encounters his first motorcar. He absolutely must have one; and as soon as he
wrecks it, another- and another and another! At wits' end about how to reform
their incorrigible friend, Ratty and Mole appeal to Badger, braving the
carnivorous weasels in the Wild Wood to reach his den.
There, the three conspire to keep Toad under house arrest at Toad Hall, but the
crafty creature eventually escapes, and a life of crime ensues-- involving auto
theft, prison, and a getaway at breakneck speed aboard a locomotive!
Generations of readers have vivid images of these exploits indelibly etched in
their minds, often based on the many illustrated versions of The Wind in the
Willows. But oddly enough, the first edition of the book in 1908 appeared
without pictures. The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature quotes
Grahame's biographer Peter Green on the reason:
"When asked specifically (apropos the escape on the railway train) whether Toad
was life-size or train-size, [Grahame] answered that he was both and neither:
the Toad was train-sized, the train was Toad-sized, and therefore there could
be no illustrations."
The Wind in the Willows is a Box TV production for the BBC, produced in
association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, WGBH Boston and NBDtv.
It is adapted by Lee Hall from the book by Kenneth Grahame. The producer is Gub
Neal. The director is Rachel Talalay. The executive producers are Justin
Thomson-Glover and Patrick Irwin, and Rebecca Eaton for WGBH.
Funding for Masterpiece Theatre is provided by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting and public television viewers. Rebecca Eaton is the executive
producer of Masterpiece Theatre.
Press materials and photography are available at pressroom.wgbh.org and
pbs.org/pressroom.
Press contact
Ellen Dockser, WGBH Boston, 617-300-5338, ellen_dockser@xxxxxxxx
Jen Holmes, WGBH Boston, 617-300-5388, jen_holmes@xxxxxxxx
©2007 WGBH Educational Foundation
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