Audio Description – think about it!

Arts ,filmpro lates diary ,Inclusive design
February 2015

The late opening in December 2014 was dedicated to the promise for an inclusive experience for viewers of film, moving image and digital artworks.

The starting point:

A definition of Audio Description: “the process of putting into words the visual aspects of an event or objects.”

On the day we created an interactive public workshop space and encouraged visitors to test Audio Description in practice, discover the dos and don’ts, their dos and don’ts, push the limitations of political correctness and ultimately suggest their own audio description
Selected films and videos were screened throughout the event with and without audio description. Visitors had the opportunity to audio describe scenes and even to record their version.

The event was a springboard to the campaign for inclusive filmmaking processes and film viewing experiences.

The next step:

Audio description in films and any other artform is an access imperative. It should be discussed about and practiced much more. There are questions about making a ‘good’ audio description, understanding the varied cultural layers, and political correctness to name a few. Not knowing the answers to these is not bad; not trying to answer these is….

One of the secrets is in a triangle of cultural translations: interconnecting the visual (image, picture), the verbal (words, texts) and the art medium itself (filmmaking, video). (Raina Haig, 2005)

Watch this space! If you are interested in this or have something to share, get in touch!

Till then, click here to view photos from the event on 4th December 2014.