Netflix begins audio description for visually impaired

Adding AD to third-party content is trickier, because for the most part it's not Netflix's content to audio describe in the first place. If the distributor has AD assets available, it's then a complex process of aligning those assets to the pre-existing copy of the asset which Netflix is using. That's not always just "drop and go" because the versions won't necessarily align, or even contain the same visual material (e.g. Cut versions, syndication edits, director's cuts, special editions, etc.)

At the same time, "just use the description from TV" is not that straightforward either - here in the UK, the audio description is almost always produced by the television channel showing the programme, and NOT the programme maker/distributor themselves. Accessing that content now becomes more complicated, both proceedurally and contracturally.

It's not trivial - but at the same time it's not impossible. And for all the stick they get, Netflix actually leads the way in accessible content - there are vast numbers of video on demand services which simply do not even support access technologies in the first place. (It's a bit better in the US, where the FCC lays down rules about availability of captions on online video, admittedly.)

But especially here in the UK, almost no VOD services support even basic subtitles, let alone multiple audio tracks. In contrast, Netflix is a breath of fresh air - they actively seek out and obtain subtitles/captions, and now AD, from the third party producers that they licence content from.

They deserve praise for their attitude in this area, in my view - they put some of the largest media companies in the world to shame. That might sound excessive, but I've lost track of the number of major, major media companies whose reps pass on the company line that accessible VOD is "not possible at the moment", when the reality is that it's perfectly possible, they just choose not to do it or to make it any kind of priority.

With that kind of competition, Netflix is an easy number one in the field. They know their stuff and they're doing what it takes - I've got nothing but respect for them.

As someone who is only very slight of hearing - no problem talking with people in person - it is also immensely frustrating that I usually can't get English subtitles on Netflix instead of a translation. And when I can finally get it in English, it's closed captions, which kind of ruins my experience by captioning every sound effect in a movie or TV show.

I have no idea why this isn't a bigger focus at Netflix given there must be a whole iPod generation with some minor hearing problems.

There is: Screenwriters often don't leave room for that narration to occur to when writing. So how are you going to fit all the narrative information into an audio track without breaking up the flow of dialog? This is especially problematic for situations where you you jump from one scene into a completely different one involving other times, places, characters or whatever for story reasons, and that scene's dramatic impact often depends on the abruptness or incongruity of the transition.

I'm looking over my current script in regards to this and while it would work fine for some scenes it would be hugely problematic for others. I have characters who show up unannounced and start talking before they appear on screen, characters who engage in important expository conversations immediately after they show up (but whose appearance differs significantly from how they looked previously), character that react to things that are not fully articulated to the audience, and things that are deliberately left ambiguous or paradoxical for aesthetic reasons.

I'm certainly not against making it easier for blind people to enjoy movies and would cheerfully work with someone one this, but just because you have a copy of the script doesn't mean you're going to have all the answers to convey those things to the audience. I think I would rather rewrite large chunks of it as a radio play than have someone trying to do an additional voice-over track explaining what's going on in the gaps between the dialog and this film has substantially less dialog than most (about a 3:1 action:dialog ratio, whereas most drama films are more like 1:1).

Besides all these factors, adding something like this isn't free or even cheap. Sure, Netflix can afford to throw money at the problem, but if this becomes a requirement for selling your film it's going to be an expensive overhead for indie producers. You basically have to write a second script, fit it in between the existing dialog and sound effects and music, and pay an actor (or multiple actors) to voice it, plus the studio rental and the sound editing. Doing this properly would add probably $10,000 to a film's production budget, Bear in mind that streaming revenue going to the producer from a service like Netflix is (estimated) about $0.25.

Also, as Kingett has said, "now comes the easy part." Adding description tracks on Netflix for all of the movies and TV shows for which they have been available all along.

Few people actually do this. I think it might be better if there were some open-source portal where volunteer 'readers' do this for blind people and upload them.

As a normally hearing person this would actually be useful on some films, I struggle to follow dialog when there is so much background noise on-screen and in the cinema.