Time to modernize closed captioning and audio description

With organizations representing the blind and the deaf raising concerns about closed captioning (CC) and audio description (AD), researchers from Ryerson University are calling for a review of current policies at the CRTC hearing in November."Closed captioning has been around for a long time, the technology for it was developed in the ‘70s and it has not changed since that time even though television has changed a lot," says Deborah Fels, director of Ryerson's Centre for Learning Technologies.Fels, who is currently leading research on improving CC and AD, says there isn't a-one-size-fits-all approach to CC or AD and the CRTC should consider that when it reviews input in the fall hearing on access to broadcasting services to people with disabilities.In CC, a captionist adds, subtracts, and adapts information on an electronic script, which is encoded into the program's video, to enable viewers to understand what is on the screen. For AD, the process consists of a team, usually a describer and an audio production expert, who develop a script and record and edit it. The description track is balanced for volume levels and timing and is mixed with the main program's audio before it is submitted to a production studio or broadcaster.One of the problems with both processes is that they were designed for analog systems and Fels says with the advent of digital television, things need to change. Not only should CC and AD be tuned to the digital era, but should also offer users a holistic experience when they are watching a program on the screen. For instance with CC, Fels says the only thing that's available is dialogue but the rest of the sound is not captured."So if you are watching a horror movie for instance, the director intended that you experience all that is associated with the movie as you watch it, but you miss that," says John-Patrick Udo, a research associate at the Centre for Learning Technologies.Fels also say that CC and AD creation is done by third parties who then deposit the end product to broadcasters, who hardly review the material provided. The technology for CC and AC has remained archaic because it is an added cost, which broadcasters are not keen to embrace."As a result, they are often trying to find ways to reduce costs by using the least expensive service and method of captioning regardless of whether there is any adherence to published standards," said a brief the Centre provided to the CRTC.Another reason why CC has remained stuck in the past is because broadcasters don't see any revenue avenues in it."It's something they have to do, not something they want to do, and when budgets are tight it is easily dropped," says Fels.The Centre for Learning Technologies has developed software that it says will modernize CC and AD. Live Describe is a computerized system that will enhance user experience for AD. It allows users to produce their own video description for digital video on a PC. These descriptions are uploaded to a central repository, where blind or low vision users can download them. The software is free and can be downloaded at the Centre's website.Udo says the software is targeted for content producers and enables a relevant audio description that is in tune with the way a director sees his or her own film. In the old AD system, a describer has to identify pause stops in a film to allow for description. The new software, which was developed six months ago, identifies the pause spots automatically, is more accurate, and captures the entertainment experience. For CC, the Centre has developed Enact Talk, but it isn't available pending further research.

Time to modernize closed captioning and audio description

Broadcast | August 21, 2008

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