Re: Audio Descriptions for Talking Heads

Hi David,

	if there is a talking head - then there usually isn't any space for description anyway.

	Also - the point is to allow a person who is blind to access key visual information.

	On key part IS the front end of the video where they usually have an identification of the speaker.  OR during the video - where they overlay the screen with text identifying the speaker. 

	It would be good to get audio into those places if there is a pause in the regular audio.

	I think this is a  GREAT place for an online tool (or free downloadable tool) that would allow people to add a few short descriptions to a video for these types of situations.   It would not have to be done by "talent" if non - commercial.

	we also should work more on "closed description" mechanism which should be easy in IP to allow video description to be available on request.

	This is what GPII is all about  (http://raisingthefloor.org  and http://GPII.net)

	I also added Nicholas Reville < npr@pculture.org> to this posting.  Nicholas and "Universal Subtitles"   (http://www.universalsubtitles.org/en/) is spearheading this aspect of GPII)


Gregg
--------------------------------------------------------
Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D.
Director Trace R&D Center
Professor Industrial & Systems Engineering
and Biomedical Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Co-Director, Raising the Floor - International
and the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure Project
http://Raisingthefloor.org   ---   http://GPII.net








On Jun 18, 2011, at 10:01 AM, David MacDonald wrote:

> I’ve been coming across a lot of this lately, and don’t really know what to do about it... we have a requirement for audio descriptions... but 95% of all video on Government and corporate sites are just talking heads, like a message from the CEO, or from the marketing manager, or from the Minister, where he’s just talking in front of a non-consequential background.
>  
> Honestly, it seems extraneous to require these videos to be audio described which can cost thousands of dollars, and provides almost zero value for a person who is blind...
>  
> We could I guess get a voice overdub at the front that says... “the minister speaking in his office, with a flag in the background” ... but I almost wish we had some kind of an exception for these videos of talking heads... it would cost a thousand bucks for that line, (unless there is some kind of internal production facility).
>  
> Thoughts?
>  
> David MacDonald
> www.eramp.com
>  
>  
>  
> From: w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Loretta Guarino Reid
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