Transcript: Ally Woodford on September's audio described DVDs

16 September 2012

Roberta: In one of our regular segments here on the show we’re going to learn of the latest release DVDs that have audio description. Audio description allows people with a vision impairment to enjoy a DVD through a descriptive narration of the visual elements of a program.

To tell us more about accessibility to DVD and, of course, the latest release titles, Ally Woodford from Media Access Australia is with us. Hello Ally

Ally: Hi Roberta, hi everyone.

Roberta: Now before we talk about the titles, can you just remind us how a person who is blind or vision impaired can access the audio description on a DVD?

Ally: Sure, it’s a great question, because watching a DVD requires visual navigation of the menu before you actually start to watch the program itself. Generally audio description needs to be selected by the setup or the language option on the DVD menu. Very occasionally there’s a DVD that’s released that’s got an audio version of the menu that will talk you through what needs to be done. But for the most part they don’t.

So if you’re unable to navigate the visual menu yourself, there’s another way. And that is that most DVD players these days, on the remote control, have an audio button. So once you’ve familiarised yourself with that, all you need to do is insert the DVD in to the player and keep pressing the enter button until the program itself starts playing.

Then when you hear the soundtrack start, press the audio button until you hear the description commence. You might need to press it one, two, maybe even three times, depending on how many soundtracks the DVD has.

Roberta: So what other types would that be then?

Ally: With the soundtrack option you might have something like a director’s commentary or the program soundtrack may have been dubbed into another language. So these are all audio options on the disc and audio description is going to be one of those as well.

Roberta: Now, to the DVDs themselves. What are the big name movies we’ve got with audio description this month?

Ally: Okay, for our big Hollywood movies this time round, I’m going to start with The Vow. And that stars romance movie favourites Rachel McAdam and Channing Tatum. Total chick flick and as a chick I can totally recommend this one.

We’ve also got a drama/thriller called J.Edgar starring Leonardo Di Caprio as J. Edgar Hoover, about his life and involvement with the FBI. And the last one I’m going to put in this category is Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close. It’s a drama that’s set in the present day, starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, and they’re the parents of a nine-year-old boy who’s trying to get to know his father by unlocking secrets and stories from his father’s friends. The thing is that his father was actually killed in 9/11. So it sounds a little maudlin, you might say, but it is actually a heartening film.

Roberta: I think it would be good with Sandra and Tom in it, I think.

Ally: Yeah.

Roberta: Ally, besides these blockbusters and before we move on to the other movies, I believe there’s an audio described documentary out about Queen Elizabeth II?

Ally: Yeah, yeah, I was really pleased to see this on one our shelves. It’s rare that we get a documentary that’s audio described. It’s called The Diamond Queen, and it was released to mark the Queen’s 60 years on the throne. And what it’s done, it traces her life during her 60^th year on the throne.

It’s got interviews with pretty much all the senior royal family members and other high ranking UK officials. So thank you BBC for this one, it’s fantastic.

Roberta: Well that sounds really good, I wouldn’t mind sort of having a listen to that myself. Now to round out the list of movies then, minus the pomp and circumstance, what else do we have for our general entertainment viewing?

Ally: From the top, we’ve got quite a few comedies here. We’ve got the movie version of the 80s TV show 21 Jump Street. We’ve got a movie called 50/50, and it’s a light hearted look at a young man’s diagnosis and struggle to beat cancer. An Aussie comedy, Any Questions For Ben, and that stars Rachel Taylor.

If you’re a Jonah Hill fan you might want to check out The Sitter. Still on the comedies, we have The Big Year. And I loved this one, it stars Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson as birdwatchers. Carnage, that stars Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster and was directed by Roman Polanski.

We’ve got Jennifer Aniston in Wanderlust and also Project Decks. It’s a bit cringe worthy but it’s also touching. It’s about some high school students doing whatever they can to gain popularity. For the thrillers we have Meeting Evil, Cleanskin and Contraband. For drama we’ve got a modern take of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus and Like Crazy. And straight out horror, there’s The Devil Inside.

And finally, we’ve got a few action movies. Haywire, Killer Elite, John Carter, and we’ve also got Reese Witherspoon in This Means War. So that’s it.

Roberta: That’s quite a collection isn’t it?

Ally: I know.

Roberta: Well, you can search for these titles and more in the audio described DVD database on Media Access Australia’s website. Or you can call Ally on 02 92126242. Or you can email Ally with any questions that you might have.

Thanks for that Ally.

Ally: Thanks Roberta.

Roberta: I’ve been speaking with Ally Woodford from Media Access Australia and Media Access Australia is a supporter of this program.