Seeing films through sound: Sound design, spatial audio, and accessibility for visually impaired audiences. (May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lopez, Mariana; Kearney, Gavin; Hofstädter, Krisztián
• Is Part Of: British journal of visual impairment. Volume 40:Number 2(2022)
• Page Start: 117
• Page End: 144
• Publication Date: 2022-05
• Subjects: Accessibility -- binaural audio -- sound design -- spatial audio -- visual impairment; People with visual disabilities -- Periodicals; Blind -- Periodicals; Vision disorders -- Periodicals; Blindness -- Periodicals; People with visual disabilities -- Services for -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; Blind -- Services for -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 362.4105
• DOI: 10.1177/0264619620935935
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-6196

Abstract

Enhancing Audio Description is a research project that explores how sound design, first-person narration, and binaural audio could be utilised to provide accessible versions of films for visually impaired audiences, presenting an alternative to current audio description (AD) practices. This article explores such techniques in the context of the redesign of the short film 'Pearl', by discussing the creative process as well as evaluating the feedback supplied by visually impaired audiences. The research presented in this article demonstrates that the methods proposed were as successful as traditional AD in terms of providing information, enjoyment, and accessibility to audiences, demonstrating that both practices can coexist and, as a result, cater for the different stylistic preferences of end users.