About audio description

What is audio description?

Audio Description (AD) is a narration which explains what’s happening visually in television, movies, DVDs or live performances. Delivered during gaps in the dialogue, this includes scenes, settings, costumes, body language and ‘sight gags’ – anything that is important to understanding.

With AD you can share entertainment experiences with family and friends, without having to ask ‘What happened?’

Listen to a sample of audio description [MP3 553KB] (thanks to Roadshow Entertainment) or our audio brochure on audio description [MP3 7.4MB]

How can audio description help?

Anyone can use audio description (AD), and different people may find it useful in different situations. These people will particularly benefit:

People with vision impairments

AD will enable them to understand subtle action they would otherwise miss.

People who are blind

AD conveys all visual elements of every scene.

People with print, learning or physical disabilities

AD will enable people with print disabilities such as dyslexia, colour blindness, and others with both learning difficulties and physical disabilities to interact with print and visual media.

Where can I find audio description?

While audio description (AD) has been adopted into the mainstream in both the United Kingdom and North America, it has not yet developed in Australia to anywhere near the same extent.

More detail is provided under the individual sections on this website, but here is a snapshot of where you can find this service in Australia:

AD at the movies

Audio described movies are available at cinemas in every state and territory in Australia, and locations and session times can be found by visiting www.yourlocalcinema.com.au.
Seventy percent of the captioned movies shown have AD tracks on them, so more cinemas could include AD as an option for patrons.

AD on DVD

Currently in Australia about 18% of DVD titles are released with AD, although this is slowly increasing. If a DVD has been audio described, it is identified as a language specification on the back cover of the DVD.

AD on television

AD services on television are now well established in Europe and North America, but not yet in Australia. Some television shows released on DVD have AD added, including Australian television shows.

AD for live performances

AD is provided by volunteer describers from organisations such as Vision Australia for selected theatre performances in some states and territories of Australia.

History of audio description

AD has been in existence for well over a decade, but has really developed since 2000. In the English speaking world, AD is starting to catch up with its access counterpart, captioning.

Particularly in the United Kingdom and North America, it is commonplace to see AD on television, DVD and cinema, as well as performing and visual arts.

In Australia, AD is available on DVDs and live performances, and at 12 independent cinemas spread across Australia.

AD promotion in Australia

Most of the work in advocating audio description (AD) is undertaken by blindness organisations, such as Blind Citizens Australia. The progress is being strongly assisted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). There are no legislative or regulated requirements for audio description in Australia at present.

For a printer friendly version of the information on this page download the print version of the MAA AD Brochure [RTF 31KB].

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