Accessible DVDs
Descriptive Narration
Many people are familiar with closed captioning, the means by which the dialogue and sound effects of a film or television program are made visible via on-screen text. However, description, for viewers who are blind or have low vision, is less familiar. Description conveys the key visual aspects of a film or television program by describing scenery, facial expressions, costumes during natural pauses in dialogue.
You can listen to a clip of Disney's The Lion King with descriptive narration created by The Media Access Group at WGBH. Because people who are deaf or hard of hearing have few opportunities to "experience" description, this clip also has closed captioning.
Mainstream Movies
In the fall of 2009, several studios announced that they would be releasing mainstream movies on DVD with captions and described narration.
- Accessible DVDs for Movies at Home - A list of films that have been released on DVD with captions and descriptive narration, as well as information about the effort to increase their availability. (From the Media Access Group at WGBH.)
- MoPix (Motion Picture Access) - "Making movie theaters accessible to disabled audiences."