Finding Treasure at the Movies

Posted by Paul Schroeder on 12/6/2007 11:49:50 AM

The Schroeder family loved the movie National Treasure (yes, sometimes even I like pop culture) and we were thrilled to find that the sequel is scheduled for release this holiday season. But, there was a disappointing catch-it was being released without video description.

We've blogged before about Descriptive Video Service (DVS), which is a separate audio track heard through a headset that describes key visual elements in a movie, and its importance to blind and visually impaired moviegoers (and there are many of us!). With DVS, there's no need to have my wife or daughters describe the movie to me in a whisper that's sure to irritate our fellow moviegoers. And so we contacted a friend at WGBH, the pioneer behind DVS and the motion picture access efforts called MoPix, who put us in touch with National Treasure's distribution company, Buena Vista.

Thanks, in part, to a most eloquent note written by my wife, Lori, Buena Vista agreed to describe the movie. So there you have it-proof that one person can make a difference!

Emboldened by this success, we are now petitioning The Weinstein Co. to describe The Great Debaters, also due out during the big Christmas rush. You can read Lori's letter, which is similar to the one she sent to Buena Vista.

Her words express exactly how important DVS is for our family, and I suspect for others as well. In fact, my favorite line was "I hate to admit, there are times that I avert my eyes (because I am scared by what is on the screen) and during those times, Paul has no idea what is taking place on the screen." Yes indeed! Taking my wife to see Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, which was not described in theatrical release but was later released on video with description, is now the stuff of legend in our house as I was left hanging disappointed at some very key moments. If you also love movies, but hate missing much of the action, take this story to heart and urge the movie studios to add description-they will listen to you, and the more they understand how important DVS is, the more movies will get described.

WGBH's National Center on Accessible Media maintains an excellent site with lots of information about movies and theaters with video description (and closed captioning) at www.mopix.org.

Re: Finding Treasure at the Movies
Posted by Jake Joehl [http://jajoehl_74.tabulas.com] on 1/6/2008 10:31:48 PM

I too would love to see DVD's include talking menus and audio description. I once saw "The Brothers Grimm" with a neighbor who has perfect vision, and he had to sit there and tell me what was going on throughout the movie. We were the only two in the room at the time, and e did a very fine job of this, but I still think all DVD's should include audio description and talking menus.

Re: Finding Treasure at the Movies
Posted by Paul Schroeder [http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=42&TopicID=252&SubTopicID=49&DocumentID=2614] on 12/10/2007 9:21:17 PM

Many of us really appreciate the question about DVDs with description. Now that we're beginning to see a wide variety of movies described in theatrical release, we'd love to see DVDs with the description track. After all, it's getting hard to find VHS players and DVDs are superior in many ways. However, while it is possible to incorporate description on a DVD, it is still relatively rare. You can go to www.wgbh.org/dvs for info about some of the releases from the Media Access Group at WGBH in Boston, the same group that pioneered theatrical description with MoPix. I'd love to hear from other readers suggested sources of DVDs with description. One caution, DVDs typically require the use of an on-screen menu and "talking" menus are not at all common yet. BTW, I'll be posting some great news about another successful advocacy effort. escribed

Re: Finding Treasure at the Movies
Posted by Marc Grossman on 12/7/2007 3:30:57 PM

Thank you to Buena Vista for adding DVS to this film and continuing to provide accessible entertainment for people with vision or hearing loss. I recently saw Michael Clayton and American Gangster and feel like I would have been completely lost if it were not for the descriptions provided. Also, thank you to AMC for providing accessible theaters in New York City. We need additional auditoriums equipped with the accessible technology, so please reach out the movie theaters in your community and ask them to install DVS and closed captioning.

Re: Finding Treasure at the Movies
Posted by Jane Emanuel on 12/7/2007 11:48:13 AM

Thank you! My daughter loves movies, DVS has made her continued enjoyment possible as her vision decreases. We are always so disappointed if an anticipated movies comes out without DVS. Any thoughts on how to get them to come out on descripted DVD when they have been descripted in the theater? (thats the other disappointing thing)

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