LiveDescribe: Can Amateur Describers Create High-Quality Audio Description?
By Branje, Carmen J.; Fels, Deborah I.; Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, Volume 106, Number 3, pages 154-165Publication Date: March 2012
Study evaluated the usability of the audio description software LiveDescribe and explored the acceptance rates of audio description created by amateur describers who used the software. LiveDescribe is an open source software application designed to facilitate the creation of audio description for digital video content by amateur describers. The interface allows users to record, insert, edit, and manipulate their descriptions on a time line. It also provides a graphical representation of the audio track the automatically identifies and highlights non-dialogue spaces available for inserting descriptions. Participants were 12 amateur describers with little or no previous experience with audio description. Participants used the software to describe a single episode of a 20 minute comedy show. The descriptions were then rated by 75 reviewers who were blind, had low vision, or were sighted, using a number of criteria including overall quality and entertainment value. Participants found LiveDescribe useful and easy to use. Three of the describers produced descriptions that were rated as being of good overall quality, while 6 produced descriptions deemed of medium quality, and 3 produced descriptions considered of poor quality. Audience preference for description appeared to be based on various characteristics of describers, such as their vernacular and tone of voice and the length and timing of the descriptions.
Assistive Products Discussed: LIVEDESCRIBE
Published by: AFB Press (Website:http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=46)
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) (Web Site: http://www.afb.org )
