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Responsive Audio-Video For Blind & Sight Impaired Persons
Integrated Audio Descriptions

[Author: Bill Fischer]

Overview

Universal Responsive Media is Based in Progressive Enhancement

An equal quality of experience for sight, hearing, physically, and cognitively impaired persons is the goal of responsive media. At the baseline of the progression is text. Then, multi-sensory enhancements are added for those persons that have the physical abilities to engage with them. Research has shown that audio descriptions, improve learning and retention for all sensory abilities (The effectiveness of audio description for sighted persons A ResearchGate list of studies (external link)

Integrated Audio Descriptions

These eliminate the need for added narration which are typically hurried and interrupt the natural flow of the video, animation, or film. This I-See-U specific approach aims to create an experience that sight, hearing, and cognitively impaired persons can organically experience together. One that is optimized to provide a quality experience for all, at the same time, in the same place. They're designed for accessibility from the start, they flow with the action, they make time for the audio descriptions and their organic integrations eliminate the stigmatization that blind and sight impaired persons can experience when watching with sighted persons.

Traditional audio description

is the most common accessibility feature in film and video for the blind and sight-impaired. It typically utilizes added narration, to provide a description of the action. This method attempts to 'fix' video and film that was not initially designed for blind and sight-impaired persons. They interrupt the flow of the action, leave little time for an accurate description, and stigmatize disabled persons in group viewings due to the employment of an obvious ‘fix’. However, traditional audio descriptions are far better than no audio descriptions. Read more about Traditional Audio Descriptions here.

Old Time Radio Integrated Audio Descriptions

Old time radio style stories are great examples of integrated audio descriptions. This Prairie Home Companion live radio broadcast excels at storytelling with sound design. Here is a breakdown for how some of that is accomplished in the "Lives of the Cowboys" segment in the adjacent video.

- - Theme Song: 00:05 - 00:10 (setting up the cowboy genre)
  - Foley: 03:07 - 3:15 (traveling by horse)
  - Scoring: 03:23 - 3:50 (setting sense of mood)
  - Environment 04:50 - (door opens then old-time piano and laughing in a saloon)
  - Spoken location 04:50 - ("here's the saloon")

Integrated Audio Description Design Methods

When creating a rich audio experience for blind and sight-impaired persons, we should try to organically capture all aspects of what is happening the action, location, lighting, and mood. With this approach we can create an equal quality experience for everyone. And, a better experience than traditional audio descriptions, which only address the action in a non-organic fashion.

Nine Methods

Create a rich audio experience for persons of all sensory abilities using a combination of the the 6 possible methods listed below. An audio hierarchy that is mixed using volume and limiting techniques can be used to ensure that the most important narrative elements are attracting the most attention at every point along the timeline. It would be a rare instance when all 6 methods are deployed concurrently. More typically, 1-4 of the 6 methods are audible at any one time.

Accomplish With narration and/or dialogue

[1] Complex Actions: Can be accomplished two ways, often in combination.

Actors are given additional words or lines that describe the action. An example: an enlistment officer exclaims "Look at all those soldiers in line to enlist".
A narrator is used to tell the story or deliver the information in a way that organically includes descriptions of the action. An example: 'Sometimes Jordan gets down on their knees and looks into their dogs eyes, and wonders, what are they thinking?'

[2] Who is speaking: Once the voices for each character or person is established, additional identifications may not be necessary

[3] Physical appearance of persons on screen: Only include those visual aspects that are important to the story or information being conveyed.

[4] Taste, Smell, and Touch: Describe taste, smell, and touch sensations to create an extra-rich experience for everyone with those sensory abilities.

Accomplish with Sound Design

[5] Simple Actions: Can be handled with sounds like footsteps, opening and closing doors, cars starting and driving away, etc. (this is called 'foley').

[6] Location: Environment sounds like wind, birds, waves, city traffic, etc.

[7] Time: Such as morning, mid-day, evening, the future, the past, etc.

[8] Mood: Musical scoring that is not typically a song, but more often a musical loop that evokes an emotion. In the visual realm of film and video, this is often addressed with lighting and color choices.

[9] Emotional Accents: These are short strings, horns, percussion ad other instrumental or electronic sounds that can add maximum emotion to climactic sequences.

Integrated Audio Description Example

This short animated video segment is from the 'Harlem Hellfighters' short documentary series created for The Jim Crow museum as part of The Epic Project. Here, you can watch the full Hellfighters video and see the credits (external link)

The Script

... with the integrated audio description parts highlighted in blue.

Narration:
“They never lost a man through capture, lost a trench, or a foot of ground to the enemy. ”wrote historian, Arthur W. Little.”
environment:
battle sounds (artillery, gunfire)
foley:
a single shot from a gun, reloading, then another

Here's the video segment with the integrated audio descriptions in place:

Helfighters-Intro-Trimmed.mp4

How Do Blind and Sight-impaired Persons Experience the World?

Keep in mind that the sight impaired create their own understanding of events happening on screen within the context of the way they experience the world through their available senses. And, that experience is rooted in sound, touch, smell, and taste. We only have sound to work with in video, so audio-storytelling that addresses as many senses as possible is key.

The topic of visual experiences for the blind and sight-impaired is addressed in greater detail in the Audio-Visual Cognitive Load section.

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Responsive Audio-Video For Blind & Sight Impaired Persons
Integrated Audio Descriptions

Overview

Universal Responsive Media is Based in Progressive Enhancement

Integrated Audio Descriptions

Traditional audio description

Old Time Radio Integrated Audio Descriptions

Integrated Audio Description Design Methods

Nine Methods

Accomplish With narration and/or dialogue

Accomplish with Sound Design

Integrated Audio Description Example

The Script

How Do Blind and Sight-impaired Persons Experience the World?

Content Usage:

Accessibility:

Responsive Audio-Video For Blind & Sight Impaired PersonsIntegrated Audio Descriptions

Overview

Universal Responsive Media is Based in Progressive Enhancement

Integrated Audio Descriptions

Traditional audio description

Old Time Radio Integrated Audio Descriptions

Integrated Audio Description Design Methods

Nine Methods

Accomplish With narration and/or dialogue

Accomplish with Sound Design

Integrated Audio Description Example

The Script

How Do Blind and Sight-impaired Persons Experience the World?

Content Usage:

Accessibility:

Responsive Audio-Video For Blind & Sight Impaired Persons
Integrated Audio Descriptions