Audio Descriptions

Summary

Audio description is narration that is added to describe visual elements of media. Audio description is used in movies, TV shows, theater, or online content. It can be either live or pre-recorded. Audio description matters because people with either total blindness or low vision need it to understand visual information in media. Without audio description, they may not know the information is there.

Overview

People who can see automatically understand visual elements in the media they are viewing. For a person who is blind, an added audio description track provides this information. It can include actions, expressions, written language, and subtitles.

Audio description was founded in the 1970s, popularized in the late 1980s, and is now prevalent in the blind community. WGBH in Boston audio description popularized with their Descriptive Video service, now known as the Media Access Group. Then, it hit TV stations to attract a broader audience. Today, streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix allow people to view movies and TV shows with audio description.

There are two main types of audio description. Standard audio description fits into the pauses between the production’s natural dialog. Sometimes, the pauses are not long enough to fit in the audio description. Extended audio description pauses the production altogether to allow the description to fit.

• Standard audio description: Frozen trailer (Disney)
• Extended audio description: Documentary excerpt (AI-Media}

The above examples show the different tones of the audio description provided depending on the movie. As a fun Disney movie, Frozen needs a more lighthearted voice for the audio description. The second example is a documentary, so the tone of the audio description can be more generic.

Audio description varies with different media.

Professional audio description

A Hollywood-produced movie tells a story, so the descriptions contain more detailed elements. They describe the scenes and set the mood. These descriptions can include what people are wearing, how they look, facial expressions, what rooms look like, and anything else needed to describe the visual elements adequately. Just as these professional movies spend a lot of money on the visual aspects of production, they often invest equally in the production of high-quality audio descriptions. This includes using professional actors, matching the actor’s tone to the feel of the movie, and carefully scripting the audio description to fit the movie’s script.

Self-produced audio description

Media like a classroom educational video does not need the same type of audio description as a Hollywood movie. Since it is not a story, the description will focus on details like examples on a blackboard, relevant physical gestures, visual counting or text, or other instructional material.

You must also consider the audience’s needs. These may vary due to age, level of education, familiarity with the topic, or many other factors. For example, children’s educational videos may need more detailed descriptions so they can understand what is going on. Teenagers and adults may not need as much detailed information in the audio description.

Who It Helps

The target audience for audio description is people with total blindness and low vision.

People with low vision may not be able to see the visual elements well, so audio description assists people who are blind and people with low vision equally. The audio description describes the visual elements of media as needed to support both groups of individuals.

Other people, such as those with cognitive and learning disabilities, may benefit from audio descriptions, but they are not the primary audience.