Audio description
Audio description, (AD) also referred to as a video description, described video, or more precisely visual description, is a form of
In
In film and television, description is typically delivered via a secondary audio track. In North America, Second audio program (SAP) is typically used to deliver audio description by television broadcasters. To promote accessibility, some countries (such as Canada and the United States) have implemented requirements for broadcasters to air specific quotas of programming containing audio description.
History
This article is missing information about History in regards to theatrical use.(April 2019) |
The transition to "
In the 1980s, the Media Access Group of U.S.
In the 1990s at cinemas in California,
In the UK Audio Description services were made available on the BBC and ITV after a collaborative project with industry partners. In 2000, the BBC voluntarily committed to providing descriptions for at least 20% of its programming annually. In practice, the BBC has often exceeded these targets. In 2009, BBC iPlayer became the first streaming video on-demand service in the world to support AD where every programme that was broadcast with AD also had AD on BBC iPlayer.[9][10][11][12] On January 29, 2009, The Accessible Channel was launched in Canada, which broadcasts "open" audio descriptions on all programming via the primary audio track.[13][14] Audio description has also been extended to live events, including sporting events, the ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, among others.[15][16][17]
In April 2015, the subscription streaming service Netflix announced that it had added support for audio description, beginning with Daredevil—a series based on a comic book character who himself is blind, and would add descriptions to current and past original series on the platform over time.[18][19] The following year, as part of a settlement with the American Council of the Blind, Netflix agreed to provide descriptions for its original series within 30 days of their premiere, and add screen reader support and the ability to browse content by availability of descriptions.[20]
On June 17, 2016,
In the late-2010s,
Legal mandates in television broadcasting
Canada
Under
On March 26, 2015, the CRTC announced that beginning September 1, 2019, most broadcast and specialty networks owned by
United Kingdom
The
United States
Initially, audio description was provided as a public service. However, in 2000, the
This was rectified in 2010 with the passing of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which gave the FCC jurisdiction to enforce video description requirements. The previously intended quotas were reinstated on July 1, 2012, and have been gradually increased to require more programming and wider participation since their implementation.[31][32][33][34]
Operation
Broadcast audio description is typically delivered via an alternate audio track, either as a separate language track containing the narration only (which, if the playback device is capable of doing so, is mixed with the primary audio track automatically, and can have separate volume settings), or on a secondary audio track pre-mixed with the primary track, such as a
Many video on demand (VOD) and streaming platforms host separate assets for the audio-described media, with the soundtrack pre-mixed. Despite AD typically being presented as something that can be enabled, as with subtitles, users can encounter problems when trying to turn AD on or off because the underlying media version they require is unavailable.
In movie theaters, audio description can be heard using DVS Theatrical and similar systems (including
In live theaters, patrons also receive the description via a wireless device, a discreet monaural receiver. However, the description is provided live by describers located in a booth acoustically insulated from the audience, but from where they have a good view of the performance. They make their description which is fed to a small radio transmitter.[37]
Audio description in Football (Soccer) stadiums
In 2006, on the occasion of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, a project was launched with the aim of making the live commentary of a match available to blind and visually impaired football fans in the stadium. The project was very well received and had great success. In 2008, audio description in football was also adopted in Switzerland. The radio of
Descriptive Video Service
The Descriptive Video Service (DVS) is a major United States producer of audio description. DVS often is used to describe the product itself.
In 1985,
After reviewing and conducting various studies, which found that blind and visually impaired people were consuming more television than ever but finding the activity problematic (often relying on sighted family and friends to describe for them), WGBH consulted more closely with Pfanstiehl and her husband, Cody, and then conducted its first tests of DVS in Boston in 1986. These tests (broadcasting to local groups of people of various ages and visual impairments) and further study were successful enough to merit a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to complete plans to establish the DVS organization permanently in 1988. After national testing, more feedback, more development of description technique, and additional grants, DVS became a regular feature of selected PBS programming in 1990.[38] Later, DVS became an available feature in some films and home videos, including DVDs.
Technique
DVS describers watch a program and write a script describing visual elements which are important in understanding what is occurring at the time and the plot as a whole. For example, in the opening credit sequence of the children's series Arthur on PBS, the description has been performed as follows:
"Arthur is an 8-year-old aardvark. He wears round glasses with thick frames over his big eyes. He has two round ears on top of his oval-shaped head. He wears red sneakers and blue jeans, with a yellow sweater over a white shirt."[39]
The length of descriptions and their placement by a producer into the program are largely dictated by what can fit in natural pauses in dialogue (other producers of description may have other priorities, such as synchronization with the timing of a described element's appearance, which differ from DVS's priority for detail).
FCC involvement
When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) started establishing various requirements for broadcasters in larger markets to improve their accessibility to audiences with hearing and vision impairments,[42] DVS branched out to non-PBS programming, and soon description could be heard on the SAP for shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Simpsons. However, a federal court ruled in 2002 that the Federal Communications Commission had exceeded its jurisdiction by requiring broadcasters in the top 25 markets to carry video description.
Since that time, the amount of new DVS television programming in the United States declined, as did access to information regarding upcoming described programming, while broadcasters like ABC and Fox instead decided to devote their SAP channels to
The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 reinstates the FCC's involvement in providing rules for video description. Under the rules, affiliates in the top 25 markets and the top five-rated cable networks will have to provide at least 50 hours of video described programming per quarter; the rules took effect on July 1, 2012.
Online streaming services such as
ABC, along with sister network
Some shows have lost their DVS during their original network runs due to outside factors or complications. For instance, American Dad! had a two-season interregnum in part of season 12 and all of season 13 without any DVS service during its move from Fox to TBS in late 2014, before it returned in November 2016 for its fourteenth season. The Mindy Project lost DVS at the start of their fourth season upon the move to Hulu, which does not yet provide DVS service. Cartoon Network and their time-share partner Adult Swim began to pass-through DVS for their syndicated content in the last quarter of 2018.
See also
Citations
- ^ "Description Key for Educational Media". The Described and Captioned Media Program. November 4, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
- ^ "From visual to auditory – audio descriptions with the tour guide system". BMS Audio. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
- ^ ISBN 9781317627845.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ Gibson, Gwen. "Words worth 1,000 pictures". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ Bandler, Michael J. "NEW VISION". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ a b Scott, Tracy L. "Stars lend voices to assist blind viewers". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ "The strange story of how deaf and blind viewers were left behind by the on-demand revolution". Radio Times. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ "Audio description on BBC". RNIB. 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ "Where is TV audio description heading in 2019?". Broadcast. 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ "BBC iPlayer audio description is now available". BBC Internet Blog. BBC. August 27, 2009. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
- ^ Accessible Channel Launches with "Open Format'; Broadcaster Magazine; 2008-12-01
- ^ a b "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-821". Canadian Radio-television and Communications Commission. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ "Three Blue Jays games to feature described video". bluejays.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on 2013-10-22. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2012-07-26). "London Olympics Preview: Coverage Is "Hybrid Of Innovation And Tradition", But Will It Do The Job?". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (2015-12-02). "'The Wiz Live!' First Live Entertainment Show Accessible To Visually Disabled People". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ "Netflix makes a blind superhero accessible to blind audiences". Washington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ "Netflix Adding Audio Description Tracks for Visually Impaired, Starting with 'Marvel's Daredevil'". Variety. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (2016-04-14). "Netflix to Expand Audio Descriptions for Blind Subscribers". Variety. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
- ^ "Pornhub Is Making Audio Porn for the Visually Impaired". Vice. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- ^ "'The voice of blind people hasn't been heard': inside the fight for audio-described ads". The Drum. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ a b "Call for comments on an amendment proposed by Bell Media Inc., Corus Entertainment Inc. and Rogers Media Inc. to their condition of licence that requires prime time programming to be broadcast with described video". CRTC. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
- ^ a b c "Let's Talk TV - Navigating the Road Ahead - Making informed choices about television providers and improving accessibility to television programming". CRTC. 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (December 3, 2019). "Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2019-392: Amendment proposed by Bell Media Inc., Corus Entertainment Inc. and Rogers Media Inc. to their condition of licence that requires prime time programming to be broadcast with described video". Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ "ESPN UK fined £120,000 by Ofcom". BBC News. 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ "Changing the channel on Audio Description". Policy Forum. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ Martin, Harry C. (May 2002). "FCC Update: Video: description rules in place". TV Technology. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ "Court Nixes FCC's Video Description". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. 2002-11-08. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (2002-11-11). "Narration mandate mooted by court". Variety. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
- ^ "Networks Set To Launch Video Descriptions". TVNewsCheck. 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
- ^ Browne, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP-Maria T.; London, Ronald G.; Holl, Brendan (26 August 2011). "FCC adopts video description regulations". Lexology. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
- ^ Eggerton, John (12 July 2017). "FCC Expands Video Description Mandate". Broadcasting & Cable. NextTV. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
- ^ Wattles, Jackie (2017-07-12). "FCC to require more shows be aired with video descriptions to aid the blind". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2019-04-16.
- ^ "Accessibility & The Audio Track File". Cinepedia. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
- ^ "Enjoying theatre, museums, galleries and cinema". Australia: Vision Australia. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ The Development of the Descriptive Video Service
- ^ WGBH - Media Access Group - ABCs of DVS
- ^ "About AudioVision". Archived from the original on 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- ^ WGBH - Media Access Group - DVS FAQ
- ^ "The Campaign for WGBH Educational Foundation".
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ "MoPix – Motion Picture Access". Archived from the original on 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- ^ WGBH - Media Access Group - DVS Home Video
- ^ "Comcast and NBC to Make the 2016 Summer Olympic Games Accessible to People with Vision Loss through Live Description". American Foundation for the Blind. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ "Networks Set to Launch Video Descriptions". TVNewsCheck. June 13, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- ^ "Netflix Begins Audio Description for Visually Impaired" (Press release). Netflix corporate blog. 14 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
General and cited references
- Cronin, Barry J. Ph.D. and Robertson King, Sharon, MA. "The Development of the Descriptive Video Service", Report for the National Center to Improve Practice. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
- "The ABC's of DVS", WGBH - Media Access Group. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
- "Our Inclusive Approach Archived 2019-11-05 at the Wayback Machine", AudioVision. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
- DVS FAQ, WGBH - Media Access Group. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
- "Media Access Guide Volume 3", WGBH - Media Access Group. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
- "ACB Statement on Video Description" American Council for the Blind Legislative Seminar 2006, February 1, 2006. Retrieved from Audio Description International on July 30, 2007.
- List of PBS series with DVS, August 2007,[permanent dead link] WGBH - Media Access Group. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
- Homepage, MoPix. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
- "DVS Home Video" WGBH - Media Access Group. Retrieved on July 30, 2007.
Further reading
- Hirvonen, Maija: Multimodal Representation and Intermodal Similarity: Cues of Space in the Audio Description of Film. (Ph.D. thesis.) University of Helsinki, 2014.
External links
This section's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (July 2019) |
General
- "Description Key for Educational Media" by The Described and Captioned Media Program
- ACB's Audio Description Project
- Audio Description Associates
- Audio Description for Blind and Visually Impaired
- "Who's Watching? A Profile of the Blind and Visually Impaired Audience for Television and Video"
- List of UK audio described programmes on TV
- List of UK audio described DVDs
- Joe Clark on audio description
- E-Inclusion Research Network
- Media Access Australia: Audio Description
- VocalEyes, UK audio description charity, providing access to the arts for blind and partially sighted people
- Audiodescription-france.org (in French)
- Audio Description Association (Hong Kong)
- In the US:
- WGBH - Media Access Group - DVS Services
- The Audio Description Project
- Schedule of USA Audio Described TV Programs, Produced by the American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project
- Metropolitan Washington Ear
- Audio tracks of DVS version of Masterpiece Theatre's "Wind In the Willows" (regional restrictions may apply)
- Poems written from a transcribed DVS version of Basic Instinct via Triple Canopy (online magazine)
Examples of audio description
- adp.acb.org/samples.html
- www.audiodescribe.com/samples/
- www.artbeyondsight.org/handbook/acs-verbalsamples.shtml
- Description of Neighbours[permanent dead link] and The Motorman[permanent dead link] from the National Film Board of Canada (QuickTime)