Audio Description Research Articles

Features of museum excursions for blind and visually impaired people in Kazakhstan: innovative methods of adapting museum spaces

The author of the article addresses an important problem of modern society – creating equal opportunities for all citizens, including people with visual impairments. Inclusive tourism, which implies equal comfort for all travelers regardless of physical and mental disabilities, is gaining momentum all over the world. Museums as socio-cultural institutions that are a platform for the formation of public consciousness and the preservation of cultural heritage, are becoming an important object for tourists, including the blind and visually impaired. The work describes initiatives to ensure the accessibility and adaptation of museum space for blind and visually impaired visitors, including conducting excursions with tactile models, audio descriptions, audio guides, etc. Attention is paid to the peculiarities of conducting museum excursions for the visually impaired, taking into account the choice of location, route planning and the choice of those museums that already have the necessary environment for receiving inclusive visitors.

Broadening Participation in the Museum Experience Through Interactive Aesthetics: Enabling Access to Pluripositionality in the Inclusive Co-Creation and Dissemination of Audio Descriptions

Broadening Participation in the Museum Experience Through Interactive Aesthetics: Enabling Access to Pluripositionality in the Inclusive Co-Creation and Dissemination of Audio Descriptions

Experimenting with audio description

Abstract After years in the shadows of translation, research on audio description (AD) is now gaining momentum thanks to its contribution to a more accessible and inclusive world. This paper claims that experimental AD studies have a rightful place in cognitive translation and interpreting studies (CTIS) and discusses some of its limitations and prospects. The first section introduces the relevance and interest of choosing accessibility as a general field of study and AD as a modality of accessible translation. The second section takes a snapshot of existing experimental AD studies and summarizes their main results. Then, useful tips are provided to help confront relevant challenges. The final section discusses the potential of AD research for advancing our knowledge of sensory, multimodal, and cognitive processing and for transferring research results to society.

Expression of Emotions in the Spanish and Italian Filmic Audio Descriptions of The King’s Speech

This paper puts forward a three-layered model for the analysis of linguistic items in filmic audio description (AD). The model is applied to three Spanish and Italian audio described scenes of the drama film The King’s Speech (Hooper, 2010). The aim is to evaluate lexical items that are chosen to verbalize information on characters’ emotional condition, or psyche. Verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs used in the compared ADs will be analysed taking into consideration the communicative function(s) associated with each scene. The overall objective of the research is to shed light on the linguistic strategies that could potentially be used in AD to enhance the communicative value of the audiovisual source text, guiding the choice of informative or expressive rendering in AD to foster the audience’s engagement with the narrative. Results suggest that it might be useful to identify the communicative function of a given scene; this can turn into a valuable criterion, to be given due credit when creating AD. Lay summary In this article, we presented a model for the analysis of the words used in filmic audio description. Audio description is the verbal explanation of images or other elements which are difficult to grasp when it is not possible to access the visuals. We analysed the Italian and Spanish audio descriptions of three scenes from the drama film The King’s Speech (Hooper 2010). We focused on what types of verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs are used in the audio descriptions to talk about the characters’ emotions and disposition. We wanted to verify if the words used in the audio description scripts manage to reveal the hidden meanings expressed through images and sounds in each film scene. The model helped us to obtain initial results. We found that both the Spanish and Italian scripts prefer objective descriptions of the images, explaining the characters’ actions and reactions. At the same time, the Italian audio description tends to employ non-literal meanings, as shown by the use of some verbs in figurative senses and the inclusion of nouns that overtly refer to the character’s feelings. The study led us to conclude that, when the expression of emotions prevails in the film scene, it is crucial to determine which layer of meaning stands out in the scene, in order to choose the most appropriate words in audio description.

Multimodal Analysis as a Way to Operationalise Objectivity in Audio Description

Objectivity is a constant recommendation in audio description (AD) guidelines. However, some scholars have pointed to the advantages of a more subjective, creative, or narrative rendition. In this paper, we seek to determine to what extent subjectivity and objectivity coexist in Spanish filmic AD. In order to fulfil our aim, we operationalised objectivity by means of multimodal analysis based on Chaume’s (2004) classification of meaning codes. To operationalise objectivity through multimodality, we employed a qualitative content analysis and examined whether visual and acoustic information was rendered objectively or subjectively in a corpus of four Spanish AD scripts from Netflix. Our results show, firstly, that objectivity and subjectivity interact in the mobility, iconographic, and editing codes. Moreover, dissimilarities arise in the way these meaning codes are described in Spanish: movement is mainly described objectively, whereas iconography and editing are rendered either subjectively or objectively. In conclusion, we can state that neither is objectivity systematically applied in our AD scripts, nor is a purely narrative AD to be found, but rather a mixture of both coexists. Furthermore, this coexistence seems unequal, since different tendencies can be identified in the way that movement, editing, and iconography are described. Lay summary Audio description is an oral narration aimed at blind people that provides information about what is going on in an audiovisual product. The traditional view has been to inform objectively about the audio description contents, but some scholars support more subjective or creative alternatives. This papers seeks to observe whether audio description actually contains both subjective and objective elements. In order to find these elements, we used multimodality, a kind of analysis that shows how visual and acoustic information interact to create meaning. In this analysis we exposed instances of objective and subjective elements in a group of Spanish audio descriptions from Netflix. Our results show that there are objective and subjective elements when informing about movement, symbols, or spatio-temporal changes. However, these elements are not balanced, since movement is mainly described objectively, whereas symbols and spatio-temporal changes are described either subjectively or objectively. In conclusion, we can state that current audio description seems to be the result of a mixture of subjective and objective elements.

Beyond Objectivity in Audio Description

For many years, objectivity was considered a key norm of quality in audio description (AD), and it still features prominently in many AD guidelines. The primary motivation behind the concept is a recognition of users' autonomy in forming a mental image of the audiovisual content independently. Research has offered many alternative views on the issue that conceptualise the idea of objectivity/subjectivity as a continuum, emphasizing that different approaches can be appropriate depending on the given context of situation, giving rise to different AD styles that cater for a range of aesthetic preferences. Against this background, various cultural domains are experimenting with alternative approaches, challenging established AD practices and the assumptions it is built on. The articles included in this special issue all explore the various ways in which AD user needs can be met and illustrate the dynamic views that exist on objectivity, addressing key questions related to the operationalisation of objectivity, the challenge of interpretation for AD, the exploration of emerging subjective styles, and the concept of aesthetics of or in access.

Emotywny odbiór audiodeskrypcji dzieła malarskiego Wassilego Kandinskiego

Psychological models of art reception postulate the presence of two fundamental effects: cognitive understanding and emotional response. Unfortunately, these models are dedicated to sighted viewers. However, even though visually impaired individuals cannot directly perceive artistic creations, audio description enables them to experience the reception of, for example, a painting. In order to answer the question of whether the reception of audio description of a painting triggers similar emotions as the reception of the actual artwork, two independent studies were conducted. The research material was an audio description of Wassily Kandinsky’s abstract watercolour sketch for Composition VII, titled „Untitled”. Subjective experiences were measured using the SUPIN scale. In Study I (N = 138), higher intensity of positive affect was observed compared to negative affect after listening to the audio description. In Study II (N = 67), an increase in positive affect intensity and a decrease in negative affect intensity were observed following the audio description. The results indicate that listening to audio description, which represents an indirect contact with a visual artwork, can improve the well-being of the listeners. The obtained results will be analysed in the context of social construction of emotions and embodied cognition.

Increased Subjectivity in Audio Description of Visual Art

This article discusses a focus group reception study of visual art audio description (AD) that focuses on the standard style as described in previous corpus-based studies, along with one of the less frequent approaches also found among current practices, namely the “gist” style. The results from the qualitative analysis of the focus group discussions show that user experience of the gist AD style varies among participants, with some reporting positive impressions thereof. In addition, users’ experience of AD has several layers, since the discussions progressed from specific aspects to broader questions dealing with the very definition of AD and user preferences regarding visual arts. Lay Summary This article talks about a research study that looked at how people perceive audio descriptions (AD) in visual art. Audio description is a way of providing information about visual elements for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The study focused on two styles: the standard style, which is commonly used and has been studied before, and a less common approach known as the "gist" style. The gist style is type of AD where only a few visual components are mentioned without many conceptual connections between them and with high importance to the voice and it modulations. The researchers conducted focus group discussions to understand how participants experienced these different AD styles. These discussions are group conversations where participants share their opinions and experiences about a particular topic, guided by a moderator. The results were obtained through qualitative analysis, where the focus is on understanding people's experiences and opinions in-depth, often involving open-ended discussions rather than quantitative data. They revealed that people had varying opinions about the gist style. Some participants liked it, while others didn't. Moreover, the discussions went beyond just talking about specific aspects of AD; they delved into broader questions about what AD is and what users prefer when it comes to describing visual art. The study found that opinions on the gist style varied among participants, and the discussions went beyond specific details of AD to explore broader questions about its definition and user preferences in the context of visual arts.

Audio Description Practice in the Catalan L1 Classroom

Audio description (AD) has been successfully used in educational settings, especially in foreign language learning—often in combination with other audiovisual translation modes. Most studies have focused on advanced foreign language learners, in the context of higher education. The use of AD in school settings, and in connection with L1, is a promising but arguably under researched area, which our study explores. The AD workshop conducted in a Catalan secondary school in the realm of the research presented in this article is now part of a forthcoming catalogue of activities to encourage the use of Catalan among students, which is published by the Generalitat de Catalunya and addressed to Catalan schools. The article outlines the pedagogical design of the intervention, its main results, limitations, and ways forward. We report a positive effect of practising AD on students’ lexical and syntactic abilities in Catalan and an important impact on their awareness on blindness and functional diversity, as well as the development of critical thinking and empathy. One of the challenges of the activity was to evaluate students’ productions and another was to deal with multilingualism and translanguaging in the classroom, two key aspects that are also discussed in the article. Lay summary Film audio description is an aural description of what happens on screen inserted between dialogues and important sounds. It is a mode of audiovisual accessibility for persons with blindness or low vision, but we can also use it in education. In this context, students create an audio description as a way of practising their language skills: this is called didactic audio description and it has been used with success in foreign language learning in universities. Our study explores the use of didactic audio description in secondary school and in the local language of instruction (L1). Our project took place in a secondary school in Catalonia. The project involved two researchers (the authors of this article), a professional audio describer, a teacher of Catalan, and 80 students aged 12-13. These students participated in a workshop. The workshop included a presentation of what audio description is, a first practice, and a guided final practice. This final practice consisted in the audio description of a short film where the main character is blind: The Fish and I, by Babak Habibifar (2020). In this article we inform on didactic audio description, we explain the methodology of our study, the realisation of the workshop, and our most important results. These results concern the main benefits of didactic AD in L1 in secondary school. The most important results are: The benefits of didactic AD for developing language skills in L1. The benefits of didactic AD for developing other competences, such as working in team or analysing a film. The benefits of didactic AD for making students aware of blindness and diversity. The benefits of didactic AD for the revitalization of Catalan, a minority language. The article also presents the difficulties that the research team encountered. Some of these difficulties were evaluating the students’ work and dealing with multilingualism in the classroom.

Audio Description in Abstract Art

The aim of this article is to analyze the linguistic techniques used to develop the audio description (AD) for a multimedia video installation and to reflect critically upon creativity and “invisibility” of AD in abstract art. Considering AD as a type of intersemiotic translation, a functionalist approach to audio description (Mazur, 2020) was adopted as our theoretical framework. Taking into account that the main function of art is aesthetic (Eisner, 2022; Iseminger, 2004) and considering the main goals of the exhibition, we embarked in a challenging decision-making process to determine what linguistic and creative techniques to use our particular piece. Among those techniques, metaphors proved to be very effective tools. The results indicate that the main metaphors to describe abstract art were synesthesia, participation, and vocal emphasis metaphors. Another conclusion is related to the degree of creativity in audio describing abstract art and the boundaries that the audio describer can easily trespass by creating metaphors that go beyond the source domain of the original work. It is precisely here where the function of the art piece and the purpose of the exhibition play a crucial role in finding that balance between fidelity and creativity. Lay summary This article analyses the linguistic techniques used to create audio description —the translation of images into words mainly intended for blind audiences— for a multimedia video installation in an art museum. Taking into account that the main function of art is aesthetic (Iseminger, 2004) and considering the main goals of the exhibition, we embarked on a challenging decision-making process to determine what linguistic and creative techniques to use for our particular piece. Among those techniques, metaphors proved to be very effective tools (Luque Colmenero & Soler Gallego, 2020). The results indicate that the main metaphors to describe abstract art were synaesthesia —incorporation of sensations experienced by senses such as touch, smell or hearing—, and vocal emphasis. Another conclusion is related to the degree of creativity in audio describing abstract art and the boundaries that the audio describer can easily trespass by crafting metaphors that go beyond the original work. It is precisely here where the function of the art piece and the purpose of the exhibition play a crucial role in finding that balance between fidelity and creativity.

Representation in Media Accessibility

This article is a theoretical essay discussing the potential for the analysis of media accessibility contents and practices (AD, SDH, Sign Language Interpreting, etc.) through a queer feminist lens, which makes it possible to tackle the representation of diversity and non-normativity. Based on a literature review of previous works on the intersection of Queer and Feminist Studies, and Media Accessibility and Disability Studies, it shows the need for this approach based on the nature of media accessibility services, which primarily cater for people with disabilities, a historically excluded minority actively involved in the claim for socio-cultural space and representation. It then proposes a method of work and analysis that combines queer and feminist translation strategies – a method, which is subsequently applied to commercial instances of audio description of diversity. The conclusions highlight the need to bring accessibility closer to contemporary concerns in research, i.e., gender, queer, feminist, and postcolonial issues. Some future lines of research are proposed, such as the expansion of this model of analysis to other accessibility services or the call for interlinguistic studies. Lay summary This article presents theoretical essay which describes the potential of the analysis of media accessibility, those services for the visually impaired and the Deaf, such as audio description, subtitling and Sign Language Interpreting, through a queer feminist lens able to tackle the representation of non-normative characters and narratives: racialised or queer individuals, for instance. Based on a literature review that gathers previous works on Queer and Feminist Studies, and Media Accessibility and Disability Studies, it shows the need for this approach based on the nature of media accessibility services, which target people with disabilities, a minority actively involved in the claim for socio-cultural representation. It then proposes a method of work and analysis that combines queer and feminist translation strategies, which is subsequently applied to real excerpts of audio description of series. The conclusions highlight the need to bring accessibility closer to contemporary concerns in research, i.e. gender, queer, feminist, and postcolonial issues. Some future lines of research are proposed, such as the expansion of this model of analysis to other accessibility services or the call for studies combining different languages.

Universal and ecological design in media accessibility: finding common ground

AbstractThis article cross-checks universal design and ecological design in the context of media accessibility (with an emphasis on audio description, captions, audio subtitling, sign language interpreting, touch tours), aiming to identify practices that adhere to both design approaches. Following a literature review, a theoretical commentary is presented. Therein, each of the seven universal design principles (Connell et al. in The principles of universal design, 1997. https://projects.ncsu.edu/design/cud/about_ud/udprinciplestext.htm) is assessed in the light of ecological design. Three different outcomes are found when connecting universal design and ecological design principles: (1) certain universal design principles overlap with ecological design principles; (2) others are divergent with ecological design principles and (3) some are complementary, that is, they are unrelated but may be reconcilable. Universal design principles one and two (equitable use and flexibility in use) are harmonious with principles of ecological design in several ways. Principles three (simple and intuitive use), four (perceptible information) and seven (appropriate size and space) remain seemingly unrelated to ecological design principles, though they could be reconciled if certain changes were undertaken. Principles five (low physical effort) and six (appropriate size and space for approach and use) of universal design could be antagonistic with ecological design in some regards.

Event Segmentation in the Audio Description of Films

To make the content of films available to a visually impaired audience, a sighted translator can provide audio description (AD), a verbal description of visual events. To achieve this goal, the audio describer needs to select what to describe, when to describe it, and how to describe it, as well as to express the information aurally. The efficacy of this communication is critically dependent upon basic cognitive processes of how the sighted audio describer perceives and segments the film’s unfolding chain of events and in what way the visually impaired end users conceive the structure, content, and segmentation of such events in relation to the produced AD. There is, however, virtually no research on this interplay in relation to AD. In this study, we scrutinize live AD of a film from two trained audio describers and examine how events are structured, segmented and construed in their AD. Results demonstrate that the event segmentation experienced from the film is indeed a fundamental part of how AD is structured and construed. It was found that AD at event boundaries was highly sensitive to different spatiotemporal circumstances and this relationship depends on semantic resources for expressing AD. Lay summary In our everyday lives, we naturally organize and remember our experiences as meaningful sequences of events. This happens the same way when we watch movies – we see them as a series of events happening in different places, times, and with changing character dynamics. Now, think about making this cinematic experience accessible to people with visual impairments. This is where a sighted translator, called an audio describer, becomes really important. To make movies understandable for a visually impaired audience, a sighted audio describer describes crucial visual events in the film. Their goal is to create a "narrative equivalence" between the original film and the audio-described version. Thus, the main challenges for audio describers are deciding what information to describe, when to do it, and how to articulate it effectively. In the current case study, we looked at two audio descriptions for the Swedish film "Skumtimmen" (English title: "Echoes from the Dead"). These descriptions were created by trained audio describers. We wanted to see how these narrators organized, broke down, and verbalized the course of events in their audio descriptions. To achieve this, we focused on two important parts of storytelling – changes in time and location – and paid special attention to how often and in what way audio describers verbalized these event boundaries. What we found is that both describers indeed verbalized most event boundaries. This shows that these boundaries are a big part of how audio descriptions are put together. We also learned that the descriptions at these event boundaries were very sensitive to when and where key events unfolded in the story. The way these boundaries were described depended on fundamental cognitive and linguistic resources to talk about space and time. Our findings help us understand how breaking down events in a film is a crucial part of shaping audio descriptions. Plus, our research highlights how important it is to study how events are broken down and verbalized, giving useful insights to improve audio descriptions and train future audio describers. The ultimate goal is to make the experience better for visually impaired viewers, contributing to a more inclusive and enjoyable audiovisual world.

Evaluation and collaboration in creating online audio descriptions of visual art

AccesArte es un proyecto de accesibilidad que forma parte del programa del periodo de prácticas de Kaleidoscope, una organización sin ánimo de lucro fundada por las autoras con objeto de aplicar las investigaciones sobre la audiodescripción (AD) al desarrollo de programas de accesibilidad. El proyecto consiste en descripciones en audio de una selección temática de obras de arte visuales, así como en el desarrollo de tipos de audiodescripción eclécticos y orientados por la experiencia. Utiliza vídeos en línea de libre acceso, y realiza una evaluación formativa y de conjunto de los recursos de carácter abierto, continuo y en línea. El objetivo de este artículo es ofrecer una descripción detallada y un análisis crítico del proyecto, haciendo hincapié en el proceso de evaluación formativa. En este sentido, la evaluación formativa nos ha permitido incluir en el proceso a asesores total o parcialmente ciegos, así como mejorar la calidad de los recursos y hacer más rica la experiencia de aprendizaje de los becarios participantes en el programa de prácticas.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence Enabling Scalable Audio Description on Brazilian Television: A Workflow Proposal

The Use of Artificial Intelligence Enabling Scalable Audio Description on Brazilian Television: A Workflow Proposal

Using annotated pivot templates to transfer culture specific references in audio description: translators’ performance, strategies, and attitudes

ABSTRACT This article investigates the use of pivot templates in audio description (AD), focusing on AD template translators' performance, strategies, and attitudes. Data was collected in a study where six participants, five audiovisual translators, and one describer, were asked to translate audio descriptions for five Spanish clips from a pivot English template into Polish. Following common subtitling practice, the templates were time-coded, and culture specific references (CSR) were not localized but explained in annotations. Three data types were collected: screen recordings, scripts translated into Polish, and post-task interviews. Quantitative analysis of the scripts revealed that the translated scripts retained most CSRs and, on average, transferred 94% of the CSRs from the pivot template and that translators rendered them via tactics known from subtitling. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed that when deciding about a given tactic, translators took their own and the audience's frame of reference into account. They also considered how helpful the tactic might be in visualizing culture specific references. While the participants found CSRs to be the most challenging part of the task, they considered the task feasible mainly because of the identification and annotations, which they thought to be the main advantage of pivot templates.

Authorial (audio) description

Abstract The unprecedented growth of audiovisual translation practices in the creative industries has boosted the role of creativity which has taken centre stage and become the emblem of global cultural policies. The study addresses the role of creativity in the digital space of Netflix as a means of cross-cultural mediation and communication, and as a multidimensional tool in audio description (AD), in order to provide the end-users (the blind and visually impaired audiences) of digital audiovisual products with participatory and engaging forms of access to the audiovisual ‘planet’. The aim is to investigate whether and how creativity is used to transmit culture-specific references (CSRs) from a translation perspective within a highly discussed TV series streamed on Netflix. To do so, the rendering of the most significant CSRs in the Korean Netflix series Squid Game (SG) as transferred into the English and Italian ADs will be examined.

Accessibility and reception studies at the Macerata Opera Festival

Abstract This essay discusses an audience reception study carried out within the framework of media accessibility to evaluate the experience of blind/partially sighted patrons and their (sighted) accompanying persons in the context of the Macerata Opera Festival (MOF). Adopting a qualitative analytical approach, feedback was collected from individuals in the sample who completed post-hoc self-report questionnaires, and three interdependent variables were measured: (a) comprehension and recall, (b) cognitive load, and (c) psychological immersion. This qualitative analysis was combined with a descriptive methodology, using attitudinal data to evaluate the lived experience of individuals, notably their appreciation and preferences. Results revealed that there was no substantial divergence in the values of the variables recorded for the two groups in the sample: blind/partially sighted and sighted (accompanying) patrons. Additionally, audio descriptions and tactile tours increased psychological immersion, without provoking cognitive overload. Furthermore, high levels of appreciation and preferences were related to comprehension and recall, cognitive load, and psychological immersion. This confirms the effectiveness of audio descriptions and tactile tours in enhancing the engagement and empowerment of blind/partially sighted members of the audience.

Your translated memory or mine? Re-membering graphic novels in performed audio descriptions for The Cartoon Museum, London

ABSTRACT This article offers a practical and theoretical exploration of a (highly) specialised type of comics re-mediation, namely, audio described (AD) comics for the Blind and Partially Sighted (BPS). Building on relevant work in comics studies and translation studies, it is argued that translation activity, broadly seen to include interlingual as well as intersemiotic translation (Jakobson 1959), helps rewrite original works. Translation is defined as a blend, or a hybrid mental space combining characteristics of source and target contexts. As such, it entails the imbrication of personal memory, collective memory and the diffusion of a translator’s memory in linguistic codes, social milieus, textual traditions and digital capabilities at play. AD exhibits the same blend logic in that it selectively contains visual source-text information in target-text audio performance. An exploratory comics AD pilot project at The Cartoon Museum (London) serves as an exemplar. The project consists of three phases: a focused interview with the creative team (describer, curator, comic artists); scripting and performance of three AD samples; and collecting feedback from BPS visitors. The project reveals how collective memory started to form in this dialogic process and, ultimately, which aspects of AD practice may be deemed to be effective.

Assessment criteria in audio describer training: An investigation of learner perceptions in a university interpreting programme in Hong Kong of China

Audio description (AD), which renders images into words, is an important subject in the field of translation studies. Audio describer training (ADT) is provided in university translation programmes. However, research on AD pedagogy remains limited, and there are even fewer studies on AD learners. Based on the commonalities between AD and interpreting, especially in terms of quality assessment criteria, this study explored students’ perceptions of ADT and interpreter training in a postgraduate programme in Hong Kong of China. An Audio Description Rating Scale (ADRS) was designed to collect students’ perceptions of ADT, with a focus on quality assessment criteria. Thirty-six students participated in the study. The results show that three particular criteria of AD were identified as the most difficult to achieve: “no unjustified addition,” “appropriate language styles,” and “synchronisation with images.” Furthermore, significant correlations were found between students’ perceptions of certain AD and interpreting criteria, and between interpreting proficiency and AD learning. Individual differences were also recognised in AD learners. The findings shed light on the interactions between the learning of AD and interpreting. The study is expected to inspire trainers to develop more diverse and refined integrations of ADT into existing translation programmes.