Innovative Techniques for Creating and Distributing Described Video for the Blind

项目简介（由申请人提供）：建议项目将发展一项创新的互联网技术——视频描述交换（DVX），以协助研究为盲人和视障人士提供业余视频描述的有效性。视频无障碍是盲人和视障人士康复中一个日益重要的问题，并对教育和就业、娱乐和社会融合产生影响。专业的视频描述需要仔细编写脚本并记录简短的画外音片段，以宣布屏幕上的事件，否则盲人和视障人士无法看到这些事件。视频描述已被证明可以使教育和娱乐视频对盲人和视障观众更有效，但它非常昂贵且耗时。随着视频资料制作的加快和支持专业描述的资金的减少，调查基于志愿者的视频描述系统的有效性和可行性变得越来越重要。DVX将提供一个平台，用于简单地创建、共享、观看和评估志愿者记录的DVD和基于互联网的视频内容的描述，并由各种视觉障碍人士进行评估。DVX将是第一个将视频描述记录和播放工具与基于服务器的描述共享机制紧密结合在一起的系统，从而使志愿者和盲人消费者都可以无缝地创建和使用所描述的材料。DVX的可用性将有可能解决几个重要的研究问题，即使用业余爱好者来描述视频的有效性。我们提出了几个具体的研究问题；然而，DVX开启了更多未来视频描述研究的可能性。本项目拟利用基于互联网的调查协议进行以下调查，涉及50名视力正常的业余描述者和200名具有广泛视力障碍的评估参与者：与传统的专业视频描述相比，评估各种类型和视频格式的业余描述的有效性。此外，评估消费者反馈对业余描述质量的影响。2. 评估一组拟议的增强播放功能的有效性，旨在减轻业余描述中常见的问题；3. 对使用主流社交网络平台（如Facebook和Twitter）招募业余描述员进行初步研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project will develop an innovative Internet technology - the Descriptive Video Exchange (DVX) - to facilitate research into the effectiveness of amateur video description for the blind and visually impaired. Video accessibility is a critical and growing issue in the rehabilitation of the blind and visually impaired, and has impacts in education and employment, as well as entertainment and social integration. Professional video description requires careful scripting and recording of brief voiceover segments announcing on-screen events that would otherwise be inaccessible to the blind and visually-impaired. Video description has been shown to make educational and entertainment video more effective for blind and visually-impaired viewers, but it is extremely costly and time-consuming. With the accelerated production of video materials and dwindling funding to support professional description, it is increasingly important to investigate the effectiveness and viability of a volunteer-based system of video description. DVX will provide a platform for the simple creation, sharing, viewing, and evaluation of descriptions of DVD and Internet-based video content recorded by volunteers, and evaluated by people with a wide range of visual disabilities. DVX will be the first system to tightly couple video description recording and playback tools with a server-based, description-sharing mechanism, thus making the creation and consumption of the described materials seamless for both volunteers and blind consumers. The availability of DVX will make it possible to address several important research questions about the effectiveness of using amateurs to describe video. We propose several specific research questions; however DVX opens the possibility for many more future video description studies. The present project proposes to conduct the following investigations utilizing an Internet-based survey protocol involving 50 sighted amateur describers and 200 evaluation participants with a broad range of visual disabilities: 1. Evaluate the effectiveness of amateur description for a variety of genres and video formats, in comparison to traditional, professional video description. In addition, evaluate the influence of consumer feedback on the quality of amateur description. 2. Evaluate the effectiveness of a proposed set of Enhanced Playback Functions intended to mitigate problems commonly encountered in amateur description; 3. Conduct preliminary research into the use of mainstream social networking platforms (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) for the recruitment of amateur describers. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The limited accessibility of most video materials is a critical and growing issue in the rehabilitation of the blind and visually impaired, and has negative impacts on their education and employment, as well as entertainment and social integration. The proposed project will develop an innovative Internet technology - the Descriptive Video Exchange (DVX) - to facilitate research into the effectiveness of using amateur describers to boost the availability of accessible video for the blind and visually impaired. With the accelerated production of video materials and dwindling funding to support professional description, it is increasingly important to investigate the effectiveness and viability of a volunteer-based system of video description.