ORIGINS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND ISSUES IN VIDEO DESCRIPTION: RESULTS FROM IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH MAJOR PLAYERS Jaclyn Packer, Ph.D., Barbara Gutierrez, M.A., and Corinne Kirchner, Ph.D. June 1997 Final Report From Project to Conduct Research on Described Video's Audience and Methods of Distribution U.S. Department of Education Grant #H026G40001 The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education. Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 History ........................................................................................................................................... 4 AudioVision7 (Gregory Frazier) .................................................................................................... 4 Conceiving the Idea ....................................................................................................................... 4 Testing the Concept .................................................................................................................... 5 Audio Description as a Need and a Right ...................................................................................... 5 Attempts to Get Funding ................................................................................................................ 6 Meeting August Coppola ............................................................................................................... 6 AudioVision7 is Launched ............................................................................................................. 7 Using the Technique in Live Film and Broadcasting ..................................................................... 7 International Recognition ............................................................................................................... 8 Founding of AudioVision7, Inc. ..................................................................................................... 9 The Washington Ear (Margaret and Cody Pfanstiehl) ................................................................. 10 Early Involvement ......................................................................................................................... 10 Describing Live Theater ................................................................................................................ 10 Describing for Public Television via Simulcasting....................................................................... 11 Describing for Public Television via SAP .................................................................................... 12 Descriptive Video Service7 (DVS7) ............................................................................................... 14 WGBH Explores Uses for SAP .................................................................................................... 14 Conceiving the Idea of Described Programming .......................................................................... 14 Presenting the Idea ........................................................................................................................ 15 From Idea to Reality ...................................................................................................................... 16 A Local Test is Conducted ............................................................................................................ 16 AFB's Commitment to the Project ................................................................................................ 17 Creating the Descriptive Video Service7 ...................................................................................... 18 WGBH: Pioneer in Captioning, Now in Video Description ......................................................... 22 Response of the Deaf Community ................................................................................................ 23 The Second Language Track ......................................................................................................... 23 Selecting the Appropriate Distribution Method ............................................................................ 24 The Impact of Additional Funding ................................................................................................ 25 Television ...................................................................................................................................... 25 Home Video .................................................................................................................................. 25 1 Describing Nature and Science Programs ..................................................................................... 28 Department of Education Increases Funds for Description .......................................................... 29 Children's Programming ............................................................................................................... 29 Library Access to Described Shows.............................................................................................. 30 Expanding to Cable ....................................................................................................................... 31 Narrative Television Network (NTN) ............................................................................................ 32 The Idea is Formed ....................................................................................................................... 32 From Idea to Reality ...................................................................................................................... 33 Dissemination ............................................................................................................................... 33 Getting Advertisers and Sponsors ................................................................................................. 34 Rethinking Distribution ................................................................................................................ 34 Breaking Into Television: Local Cable Stations ........................................................................... 36 Breaking Into National Television - Tulsa Cable ......................................................................... 37 Nostalgia Television ..................................................................................................................... 38 Audio Optics.................................................................................................................................. 41 Audience....................................................................................................................................... 43 Rules of Description .....................................................................................................................45 Narrator's Voice ............................................................................................................................ 45 The Art of Describing ................................................................................................................... 46 Interpretation ................................................................................................................................. 49 How Much to Describe? ............................................................................................................... 51 Description During Music ............................................................................................................. 53 Race and Ethnicity Issues .............................................................................................................. 54 Age ................................................................................................................................................ 55 Language Level ............................................................................................................................. 56 Cost of Description ...................................................................................................................... 58 Peers and Competitors ................................................................................................................ 60 Closed and Open Description .................................................................................................... 63 Consumer Input and Outreach.................................................................................................. 69 DVS7 .............................................................................................................................................. 69 Consumer Advisory Councils ....................................................................................................... 69 Focus Groups ................................................................................................................................ 72 National Conventions.................................................................................................................... 73 Surveys .......................................................................................................................................... 74 2 Letters and Telephone Calls from Viewers ..................................................................................