Audio Description Project

Audio Description International Conference 2002

Presented by
Audio Description International
and
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
March 23-24, 2002

The Business of Video Description

Facilitator - Craig Dreeszen

A group of about 20 individuals gathered separately to share information and discuss concerns specifically focused on description for video and television. A list of the issues raised follows:

The recently implemented FCC rule and the logistics of getting AD to users
Consistency of AD offerings
How to begin providing AD for film and video
AD for DVDs and the possibility of providing "pre-show" information therein
Cost/benefit ratios for recorded vs. live AD
How programs to be described are chosen based on general popularity
Department of Education funds had been driving production / now costs and choices will rest with commercial broadcasters
AD users should make desires known; currently pop programming and documentaries are most desired
A reliance on the SAP (Secondary Audio Program) channel could result in competition with foreign language use; this will change with advent of digital TV
In US, the three leading national service organizations for people who are blind do not speak with the same voice complicating advocacy for AD
Use of AD on the web and within Internet applications should be explored
AD for public domain movies could be explored with funds raised through the sale of advertisements
AD vs Captioning: AD is more expensive, less needed by blind than captioning by deaf ?
As producers assume costs, quality will be a greater concern; AD could become a profit center as population ages, appropriate sponsors could be contracted
Benefits also go to the sighted: spouses, commuters, streamed audio audience
Ideally, AD should be built in early in production; less costly and more easily accomplished; a universal design issue; AD could be anticipated by screenwriters and integrated within the work as an aesthetic innovation
Professionalism in AD will require standards; TV producers will look to ADI for guidance in this area as well as with information about description providers, training, and other contacts
Broadcasters should be encouraged to maintain focus groups of AD users
Is redundancy of AD on film an issue, i.e., same film being described by various providers of description? Does this raise the possibility of shared AD scripts?
"Live" description for live televised events or for first-run films in the movie theater; "soon" AD users will carry pocket receivers for ongoing transmission of AD track in a movie theater; allows AD users to be participate in pop culture
British use of AD on web servers eliminating paper scripts and saving on mixing costs; less alteration to original material could result in less resistance from producers
Greater professionalism in AD may increase in proportion to payment for description; producers must build in AD costs from the beginning and consider sponsorships to cover expenses; free AD does not prepare organizations to bear the costs at a later date; ADI can help "grow the profession" by informing the field on these issues

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