Enhanced Audio Description

电影和电视的音频描述（AD）由预先录制的音频评论组成，通过提供对动作、手势和地点的描述等信息，使视障观众能够访问视觉内容。尽管多年来，数字技术已被用于改进AD的交付模式，但其设计背后的概念基本没有改变，尽管数字声音制作和后期制作领域取得了重大进展。此外，广告是一个独立于创意制作的过程，只被视为一种可访问性策略。增强音频描述项目研究数字音频技术如何改变电影、电视和互动媒体广告的设计和实施，从而改变视障观众体验视听演示的方式。这项研究将开创基于新音频技术的新颖声音设计技术，可用于增强AD，提供更接近艺术家视觉的音轨，并将弥合视力正常和视障观众之间的差距。此外，该计划有助艺术及人文学科的研究人员改善视听艺术与视障人士之间的交流，并推动数码科技和方法的发展，以改善视障人士的视听体验。该项目将研究如何通过数字技术更新广告，以提供信息丰富和娱乐的体验，同时鼓励视障人士和视力正常的观众使用相同的配乐。增强音频描述探讨了两种关键方法：第一种方法研究了环绕声渲染和互动媒体系统的最新进展，以创建更精确的空间配乐，其中包括准确呈现角色和物体在空间中的位置，镜头类型，摄像机运动，摄像机角度和帧深度；这种方法将减少对描述的需要。第二种方法是结合第一人称叙述作为描述性声音的替代方案，以提供更适合视觉风格的广告，并为所有观众提供乐趣。这两种方法都需要将AD整合到创意过程中，将其从可访问性措施转变为创意工作流程的一部分。虽然这两种方法都非常适用于电影演示，但该研究旨在推广这种方法，以便视障观众可以在博物馆，客厅或个性化移动媒体设备等众多环境中增强原声，以及在无数应用程序中，如电影，电视，游戏，治疗，培训和其他刺激英国数字经济的视听活动。因此，提案人将与来自电影、电视、互动媒体行业和无障碍服务的主要利益相关者接触，以考虑其实施的实用性，包括如何适应当前的工作流程。这项研究的一个重要成果将是将增强AD的新技术机制与为视障人士提供新媒体服务的总体目标联系起来。

Audio Description (AD) for film and television consists of a pre-recorded audio commentary that makes visual content accessible to visually impaired audiences by providing information that clarifies the narrative, such as descriptions on actions, gestures and places. Although, throughout the years, digital technologies have been used to improve the mode of delivery of AD, the notions behind its design have been mostly unchanged despite significant advancements in the field of digital sound production and postproduction. Furthermore, AD is a process separate from the creative production and only considered as an accessibility strategy.The Enhancing Audio Description project investigates how digital audio technologies can transform the design and implementation of AD for film, television and interactive media and as a result, change the ways in which visually impaired audiences experience audio-visual presentations. This research will pioneer novel sound design techniques based on new audio technologies that can be used to enhance AD, providing an audio track that is closer to the artist's vision and that will bridge the gap between sighted and visually impaired audiences. Moreover, the project will enable researchers in the arts and humanities to improve the communication between audio-visual arts and visually impaired audiences and will drive the development of digital technologies and methods that can be used to improve audio-visual experiences for people with sight loss. The project will investigate ways in which AD can be updated through digital technologies to provide both an informative and entertaining experience, while also encouraging the use of the same soundtrack for both visually impaired and sighted audiences. Enhancing Audio Description explores two key methods: The first method investigates recent advancements in surround sound rendering and interactive media systems to create a more spatially accurate soundtrack, which includes an accurate rendition of the positions of characters and objects in space, types of shot, camera movements, camera angles and depth of frame; such a method will reduce the need for descriptions. The second method is the incorporation of first person narration as an alternative to the descriptive voice, to provide an AD that is better suited to the style of the visuals and could prove enjoyable for all audiences. Both methods would require the incorporation of AD to the creative process, transforming it from just an accessibility measure into part of the creative workflows. Whilst both methods are highly applicable to cinematic presentations, the research aims to generalise the approach so that visually impaired audiences can have enhanced soundtracks in a multitude of environments such as in museums, living rooms, or on personalised mobile media devices as well as in a myriad of applications such as film, television, gaming, therapy, training and other audio-visual activities which stimulate the UK digital economy. The proposers will therefore engage with key stakeholders from the film, television, interactive media industries and accessibility services to consider the practicalities of their implementation, including how they fit within current workflows. A significant outcome from the research will be in linking the new technological mechanisms for the enhancement of AD with the overall objective of inclusion in new media services for those with visual impairments.