New audio described DVDs for 2012

10 June 2012

Roberta: Now that we’ve reached the winter months, the idea of staying inside over the weekend curled up on the lounge in front of a DVD is a popular option. Distributors couldn’t have got their timing more right than in hitting a record high 40% of new release audio described movies on our rental shelves. Media Access Australia keeps regular tabs on DVD accessibility, and Project Manager Ally Woodford joins us today to take us through the latest titles. Hello Ally.

Ally: Hi Roberta, hi everyone.

Roberta: It wasn’t too long ago that we only had a handful of titles to talk through, so are you surprised by this recent figure of 40%?

Ally: Well, you’re right in saying that it was only really five, maybe six years ago that we started looking at all this, and I remember figures of 2% initially, and being really happy when we got to 5%. But there has been a lot of work done behind the scenes with members of Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association to get to this figure of 40%, and that, it really boils down to the changes to their importing procedures, as we rely heavily on imports of DVD. So we have been hovering around the 30% for a while now, and I suspect we’ll waver around this mark for quite some time. But look, you know, 40% for the first time, I’m really happy to claim it as a record. [laughs]

Roberta: Absolutely. Now Ally, can we jump in and hear what titles what we have on offer? So can we start with the dramas?

Ally: Sure. We’ve got some great movies out at the moment, including Brad Pitt in Moneyball, Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson in We Bought a Zoo, and Michelle Williams in the acclaimed, My Week with Marilyn. Clooney fans may want to check out The Ides of March, and one of the big movies over the Christmas holidays was Steven Spielberg’s The War Horse or War Horse it was simply called; it was beautifully shot and would lend itself to some fabulous description I’d imagine. And…

Roberta: I think so with the others, really, though wouldn’t they?

Ally: Mm, yeah. There’s some good movies in there for sure, especially My Week with Marilyn I think will be fantastic.

Roberta: Mm.

Ally: And lastly, with the dramas, we’ve got Warrior, Burning Man, The Eye of the Storm, The First Grader, Restless, Shanghai, and Tyrannosaur.

Roberta: That’s quite a few.

Ally: Mm, yeah.

Roberta: Anything to make us laugh in the comedy section, Ally?

Ally: Well, not as many as the dramas, but again George Clooney fans are going to be pleased with The Descendants being made accessible.

Roberta: That is perfect for audio description.

Ally: Yes, I haven’t seen it; I’ve read the book, but I can’t wait to see the movie. Yeah.

Roberta: Yeah, that is perfect because it’s a lot of scenery and a lot of, as I call it, “looking”, you know?

Ally: Yeah, set in Hawaii; I’m sure it’s going to be a great one too here with the AD.

Roberta: Mm. Okay.

Ally: We’ve also got Charlize Theron in Young Adults, 30 Minutes or Less, and also The Art of Getting By. Also with comedies, a rom-com, a romantic comedy in “New Year’s Eve” and also it’s a movie called Tower Heights, we’ve got Eddie Murphy and Matthew Broderick in it. It was touted as an action movie, but it’s a bit funny and not too much action, so I’m not really sure what it wants to be, but I’ll call it a comedy.

Roberta: I can imagine those two being comedic, really.

Ally: Yeah, yeah.

Roberta: And what are the final movies newly available with audio description and captions?

Ally: Well this one’s a definite action movie, and it’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and we also have “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”, and a strangely named Machine Gun Preacher; they’re the action ones. For thrillers we have: Don’t be Afraid of the Dark and The Son of No One; there’s a straight out crime movie called Straw Dogs; and lastly we have three family-friendly movies in Dolphin Tale, The Adventures of Tin Tin, and Happy Feet 2.

Roberta: That Straw Dogs, is that a remake or is it the old one?

Ally: It is; I didn’t even know it was an original, but it’s the “Straw Dogs” from 2011.

Roberta: Oh yeah, it was. Ah, I must catch up with that because I do a programme Movies:
Then and Now, the remakes and all that, but I missed that one. I want to check that one out.

Ally: Mm.

Roberta: Now just a final question Ally for you on DVD: Do you still think it’s the most popular home entertainment format, or is it fading away, say the Beta cam tapes did?

Ally: Well DVD I think is going to be around for a while yet. Blu-ray was supposedly the format that would see the death of DVD, but it hasn’t really come to pass. And the cost of Blu-ray versus DVD has been one of the reasons it hasn’t taken off; you know, to get the full benefit from Blu-ray you need a high definition TV as well as the Blu-ray player, so it’s more expensive equipment.

What’s being bandied about now is the format to supersede DVD is online video, so it’s through the likes of iTunes and BigPond Movies etc. But the question for all of us is, do these formats provide accessible content? And the answer: Well, it leans more towards a “no” than a “yes”, so it’s something that we’re going to begin looking at here at MAA.

Roberta: Well, for the meanwhile we still have plenty of audio described and captioned DVD’s to keep us entertained. All of which are searchable on Media Access Australia’s DVD database, online at mediaaccess.org.au. And Ally can also answer questions you have, and can be contacted on 02 9212 6242 or by email at info@mediaaccess.org.au. Thank you Ally for all of that today.

Ally: Thanks.

Roberta: I’ve been speaking with Ally Woodford who has been taking us through all the latest titles available on DVD. And Media Access Australia are supporters of this programme.