The benefits of Audio Description

In today’s world, where visual media is essential for entertainment, education, and information sharing, it is crucial to ensure that everyone has equal access, regardless of their visual abilities. Audio description serves as a bridge between the visual and auditory realms, making media more accessible to all, and serving as a gateway that opens up a treasure trove of visual content to individuals with visual impairments, enabling them to participate fully and independently in visual culture.

Audio description serves a purpose beyond just providing access. It empowers individuals with visual impairments by giving them both independence and equal opportunity. By providing a detailed audio description of visual elements, people with visual impairments can build mental images, comprehend intricate details, and actively engage with visual experiences. In turn, this helps visually impaired individuals to fully participate in activities and events that they might otherwise miss out on.

What are the benefits of Audio Description?

Audio description is an accessibility service that aims to make visual content accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. This service involves the addition of audio narrations that describe the visual elements of films, TV shows, theatre performances, museum exhibits, and other multimedia formats.

The objective of audio description is to provide an inclusive experience for people with visual impairment by providing an audio explanation of the visual content.

Audio description on TV

Today, most mainstream televisions have built-in accessibility features for people with visual impairments. Audio description is also available on all major UK broadcast television platforms, including Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, Freesat, and YouView.

Broadcaster-led:

Popular television broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 offer catch-up services that enable viewers to watch their shows for a limited time after the original broadcast, usually up to 30 days after the shows original broadcast date. These services are commonly referred to as ‘catch-up services’, and all now offer audio description as an option for their users. The key catch-up services that offer this service are:

• BBC iPlayer
• ITV X
• Channel 4
• My5

Independent services:

Streaming services like Netflix, iTunes and Amazon Prime offer users access to their content libraries on a wide range of devices, at any time. Several major providers in the UK now offer audio description as part of their monthly subscription. Here are the key providers that offer this service:

• Netflix
• Amazon Prime Video
• Apple TV+
• Disney+
• iTunes

Audio description in museums and galleries

Museums provide audio description in various formats to enhance accessibility to their exhibitions and events. They generally provide descriptions of the most noteworthy exhibits and directions to help you navigate through the gallery.

Usually, you can find these recordings online, where you can either download or stream them through your own device.

Alternatively, the museum may offer handsets on-site.

Audio description in cinemas

The beauty of cinema is enhanced when it is accessible to everyone. Audio description in films ensures that people with visual impairments can also enjoy the richness of cinematic storytelling, allowing them to fully participate in the cinematic experience, appreciating the wonders of storytelling, cinematography, and visual effects.

Audio description is usually played through wireless headsets or dedicated audio tracks, so users receive real-time descriptions of visual elements in sync with the film’s dialogue and sound effects, helping users understand the visual narrative of the film.

Most cinemas in the UK offer this service, the key cinemas to note are:

• Odeon
• Cineworld
• Vue

Audio description in theatres

Numerous theatres across the UK offer audio description services for their productions. Typically, this service is available at one or two performances per production and is transmitted via infrared, radio, or WiFi to a receiver that audience members can reserve in advance while purchasing tickets.

Prior to the audio described performance, audiences are often provided with introductory notes that describe the visual side of the show and its characters. These notes are usually accompanied by an onstage touch tour, where audiences can explore the set, handle costumes and props, and meet a few of the cast members.

In need of Audio Description for your content? We’re here to help.

If you are looking to invest in the professional production of Audio Description for your project, the next step is finding the right agency to take your content from just OK to impactful, memorable and valuable.

Matinée Multilingual has 40+ years of experience, recording studios with BBC quality acoustics, expert sound technicians, and a bank of audio descriptive writers and voice artists at our fingertips. We provide you with transparent costing for the entire project so you know exactly how the investment will work with your budget.

Call us for advice on +44 (0) 118 958 4934

Or email project@matinee.co.uk

Or why not listen to some of our featured voice actors to hear the depth and breadth of expert narration we can offer?