Hello!

The Enhancing Audio Description II project seeks to explore the potential of sound design practices and spatial audio to provide accessible film and television experiences for visually impaired audiences. It fuses audio technology and creativity to widen the notion of media accessibility and increase the quality and quantity of provision, providing cutting edge techniques to the UK cultural sector.

Binaural listening test room


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Enhancing Audio Description II: implementing accessible, personalised and inclusive film and television experiences for visually impaired audiences, is a project that proposes a new paradigm in accessible experiences, in which there is not an overreliance on a narrator's spoken word, as in traditional Audio Description practices. Instead it utilises new accessibility features that include: the addition of sound effects, the spatialisation of dialogue and sounding objects, and first-person narration, to provide accessible experiences that are seamlessly integrated to the soundtrack of a film or television programme. These techniques are integrated into film and television workflows from the development phase up to final delivery.

The project builds up from previous research which demonstrated the success of these methods, and explores them even further, by concentrating on the conveyance of cinematographic elements through sound, the exploration of the intricacies of using first-person narration across different genres and different cast sizes, as well as exploring how spatialisation techniques can be adapted for multi-listener scenarios for a variety of loudspeaker formats. The exploration of these methods will be conducted with an end-user centred approach, in which visually impaired audiences are consulted from the design process up to delivery. Furthermore, the project explores the creation of guidelines that will allow the incorporation of these methods to professional broadcasting pipelines and film workflows, by collaborating with a Project Advisory Panel representative of the different roles in film and television as well as end users.

Newsletter

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    Blog

    ‘Our new logo.’

    New EAD logo by Oswin Wan

    We are delighted to announce that we have a new logo thanks to the wonderfully talented Oswin Wan. Find out more.


    ‘A girl and a boy are walking up a road in the countryside. A frame from the film Spines.’

    DARCI Ep.02

    In this episode Mariana interviewed Joseph Inman, a film director working in Cornwall, director of Spines. Find out more.


    ‘A screenshot of our online meeting with people smiling.’

    Visible Mending BAFTA Nomination

    Congratulations to the Visible Mending Team on their BAFTA Nomination! Find out more.


    ‘A screenshot of our online meeting with people smiling.’

    Annual Advisory Board Meeting

    In December 2023 we hosted our annual Advisory Board Meeting online, an opportunity to update our board on what we’ve been up to as well as seek advice on ways forward. Find out more.


    ‘A photo of studio with a computer screen, microphone and headphones.’

    DARCI Ep.01

    We're pleased to introduce our new podcast, DARCI, which stands for Disability, Accessibility, and Representation in the Creative Industries. Our first episode is a brief introduction to what we hope DARCI will achieve and to what our team members have been working on. Find out more.


    ‘.’

    Conference in Italy

    Last September, Michael got the chance to present some of our research from the EAD project at the Immersive and 3D Audio conference, at Bologna Italy. Find out more.


    ‘The short film's poster, featuring the main actors.’

    Neurodiverse Talent and Crew

    Delve into the journey of Spines, the first BFI Network-funded film to be written, directed, and starring an autistic person. Find out more.


    ‘A photo of Jerome’

    Jerome's Internship Experience

    We are excited to have had Jerome doing an internship through us. In this post he sums up his experience delving into the intricacies of sound mixing for high-budget films and TV with the London based Formosa Group. Find out more.


    An image with two frames from the short films discussed.

    Panel discussion with filmmakers at King's Manor

    Discussion on accessible filmmaking within the context of the EAD methods. Find out more.


    Mariana sitting on hill with microphones.

    Mariana's Interview on the Field & Foley Podcast

    Mariana had the pleasure of being interviewed by Ben Reichstein on his captivating podcast, Field & Foley. Find out more.


    A photo of train station.

    EAD on the road

    Last July, Mariana had the challenge, but great satisfaction, of being able to present on the Enhanced Audio Description (EAD) methods at two international conferences in one week. Find out more.


    A photo of Ore.

    Ore's Internship Experience

    We are excited to have had Ore doing an internship with us. In just a few weeks, she immersed herself deeply into our project as well as helped us with our impact case study. In this post, she sums up her experience. Find out more.


    University of Salford

    University of Salford

    On 8 Mar 2022, Mariana held a seminar for the University of Salford titled Enhanced Audio Description – The Convergence of Sound Design and Accessibility. Find out more.


    Krisztián demonstrating the use of a portable microphone.

    Roving Reporters Training Day

    Last June, MySight York, the Enhancing Audio Description project (represented by Krisztián), and Jane Bateman teamed up to introduce the basics of audio interviewing and creating podcasts to a group of visually impaired participants. Find out more.


    Event logo.

    2022 Conference and Exhibition on Languages and the Media

    Mariana attended the Languages and the Media Conference in Berlin between 7th-9th November 2022 to deliver a pre-conference workshop and present a poster on the EAD project. Find out more.


    MySight York's imformation booklet on a table.

    Visual Impairment Awareness and Sighted Guiding Training

    Last June, we did two workshops with MySight York, a local organisation in York supporting visually impaired people. The first one was a whole day training session delivered by Vicky and Jade from MySight York. Find out more.


    Award logo.

    Inclusive Impact Award Nomination

    Our project has been nominated for an Inclusive Impact Award! Find out more.


    Event photo.

    York Festival of Ideas — On Binaural Audio and Beyond

    Michael got the chance to help Mariana and Gavin with their Festival of Ideas talk last June. This post is a reflection on his experience. Find out more.


    Event logo.

    Internship

    We are excited to announce that our project will be supporting a third internship during the first year of the 4 year project. In conjunction with and funded by Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE), we have a further internship which is now open for undergraduate student applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. Find out more.


    Digital Planet Logo.

    BBC World Service's Digital Planet Radio

    We are delighted to tell you about a recent opportunity where Mariana and our project were featured in a series of accessibility segments on BBC World Service's Digital Planet, a weekly tech radio show. Find out more.


    Event logo.

    Internships

    We are delighted to announce that our project will be supporting a number of internships throughout the course of the 4 year project. The initial two internships are now being advertised to students across the University of York and are currently open for applications! Find out more.


    Participate

    Our team carries out focus groups, interviews and other sessions on a regular basis. If you are visually impaired and are interested in participating you can sign up to our participants' mailing list below to find out about the opportunities available.