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Blind and Visually Impaired Community

Full History - 2021 - 08 - 31 - ID#pfgtie
2
Understanding Silent Parts of TV Shows (self.Blind)
submitted by iceywater23
I was watching a TV show where a guy said he wasn't going to steal something and the guy he was talking to believed him so it would lead the audience to also believe that he wasn't going to steal something. However, the camera, with no sound, shows him stealing the item.

My question is, how would a blind person who is watching this show understand that part of it, the fact that he did steal the item?
FinFlipper1328 2 points 1y ago
I’m glad I’m not the only one this happens to. People who are not disabled sometimes don’t understand what it’s like. Takes longer to get over standard illnesses as well. That’s why I love the internet. Socializing abounds and there’s no going out involved.
TwoSunsRise 2 points 1y ago
A lot of tv shows and movies have something called "audio description" that narrates what's happening in a scene, when there's no dialogue. It's fairly common now but if the blind person doesn't have it for a certain movie or show, then yes, a scene like that would be hard to decipher.
draakdorei 2 points 1y ago
Some (most?) shows and movies have video descriptions that can be enabled specifically for scenes like this and action scenes where the jokes or story has no vocalization.

It's called SAP DVS on the Spectrum web player. I believe it's an Audio option on Amazon Video. Not sure for other video hosts.

Note: SAP/DVS can also cause issues too. Some shows, like Judge Mathis, has no SAP and will purely mute the show if enabled.

The quality is also varies quite a bit.

CaptionMax, who does Law & Order SVU, is pretty good about maintaing the names of known players in the show.

Not sure who did White House Has Fallen, but they don't bother naming the main actor. It was "Agent takes down the terrorist with a chop to the neck" kind of bad.
iceywater23 [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Do you think the descriptions for a dramatic event should also be dramatic?
draakdorei 2 points 1y ago
Absolutely.

Aside from TV, I listen to audiodramas and the better productions emphasize the dramatic moments. Audiobooks as well do that when done right, imo; though I have heard some that are so monologous that it's better to just read it out with MS Sierra on the PC. She's got just as much drama in her voice as some of the flat readers.
Adventurous-Bid-9341 1 points 1y ago
My father, who has been totally blind since he was about 21. With TV, usually if you continue to watch (listen), context and language in a next scene, etc. will allow him to keep up. Now with movies, however, when we are kids the regular theater was Just not going to work, so we’d do the drive in, and we’d just tell him what was going on. I was able to recently do that with him when he and I binged the first season of American Gods ☺️. There is also a “narrative” option on some shows, which gives a blow by blow off what’s happening, but my dad, as well as his 3 blind siblings, find it to be a bit much!
Berenice101 -3 points 1y ago
I don’t think there’s a way for a blind person to know that.
bradley22 1 points 1y ago
There is; it's called audio description.
Berenice101 1 points 1y ago
You’re right about that.
Sorry
bradley22 1 points 1y ago
It’s completely fine :)
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