(Anna) My name is Anna Hammarlund. Right now I live with my mother and father.
I am completely visually impaired I was born blind.
My parents are sitting behind me.
(Jenny) I'm Jenny Hammarlund, Anna’s mom.
(Hasse) And I’m Hasse, Anna's dad.
(Ester) Anna, do you ever use audio description or audio subtitles?
(Anna) No, not subtitles. But I do listen to audio descriptions a bit.
I hear what they say on TV if I raise the volume.
I have trouble hearing, I have impaired hearing.
If the volume is low, I can’t hear.
(Ester) So audio subtitles are not something you have used?
(Ester) Only audio descriptions? (Anna) No, I have not used them.
(Ester) In what situations do you use audio descriptions?
(Anna) Swedish movies with no commercials are best.
(Ester) Swedish movies without commercials?
(Anna) I don’t like commercials. They are always so confusing.
Audio descriptions tell you what's there and how it looks.
About clothing and what they are doing in the movie. That’s the way audio descriptions should be.
(Ester) Have you ever used audio descriptions at the theater?
(Anna) Yes, once I listened. I had a thing over my ear.
Someone sits in back and speaks and listens to everything.
(Ester) How was that? (Anna) It wasn’t bad.
The ear piece can be a pain. Sometimes I can't hear and have to turn it up.
You should really sit in the middle by the big speakers.
They have to speak more clearly if there is music at the same time.
I listen with an ear piece in one ear so I hear everything they say.
(Ester) When you listen to audio descriptions on TV, for movies and the theater?
Do you ever have problems understanding?
(Anna) Sometimes.
(Ester) What is it that makes it hard to understand?
(Anna) In the “Halv åtta hos mig” program they speak so unclearly.
They talk too fast.
(Ester) Even in the audio description? (Anna) Yes, they're too fast all the time.
(Hasse) The problem is not the audio description itself.
The problem is that it is hard to find programs.
It is almost impossible to find movies with audio descriptions-
-in TV guides and other places.
Audio description is hard because you can’t find-
-the programs in the right order for example.
(Ester) So there are audio described programs but they are just hard to find?
(Hasse) Right. And I'm used to searching. But it’s really difficult.
It is absolutely impossible for Anna to find them herself.
We only have access to a fraction of what is out there.
Because they are so hard to find.
(Anna) Yeah. (Hasse) It’s really a waste of resources.
And a pity for those who can’t find which movies have audio descriptions.
(Jenny) Every morning we look at what shows are on that day.
But it doesn't say anything. It tells you when it is subtitled.
But when there are audio descriptions it’s not in the list of programs.
They tell you right when the program is starting.
Then they say, “This program has audio descriptions”.
How are you supposed to find it so quickly?
Right when the program is starting? If you’re going to watch with your family?
You need to know in advance if a program has audio descriptions.
There’s so much lacking.
Programs you know about you can put on.
But if you don't know it has audio descriptions we watch it the usual way.
Instead, we provide the audio descriptions. I describe things to Anna myself.
(Ester) When you find programs with audio descriptions, what do you think of them Anna?
Do you think they are easy to understand?
(Anna) Some things are, but then they have to speak clearly.
(Jenny) But Anna, you love the “Mandelmanns gård” program.
(Anna) I love “Mandelmanns gård”. They talk for themselves.
(Anna & Jenny) They have good audio descriptions.
(Ester) What makes those audio descriptions good?
(Anna) They talk about the animals.
(Jenny) Audio descriptions have to say what needs to be added.
Not all the time. Mandelmann talks a lot themself.
Lots of things happen in the program. The animals walk around, kind of exciting.
Those audio descriptions are good not only for Anna's target group.
They talk about what you should focus on.
(Hasse) Audio descriptions are special in that they tell you what is happening on screen.
But a speaker in a nature program does pretty much the same thing.
But in another way, and it’s almost better.
When you watch a nature show and hear natural sounds like a lion's roar.
And someone is telling you what's happening. It’s all very engaging.
Even though you can’t see the images. It’s interesting.
It’s not audio descriptions, yet it is somehow.
Yesterday, we were watching an edition of...
(Anna) “Så mycket bättre”? (Hasse) No. What’s it called?
(Anna) Oh, right! It was... (Hasse) What did we watch last night?
(Anna) The one about animals. (Hasse) “Veterinärerna” or something.
(Hasse) A program about veterinarians. It was the same thing there.
They talked about how a horse was sick and needed an operation.
And the little cat felt bad and had an injured tail.
There was a narrator.
And it was just as good as audio descriptions we think.
A good program we saw on TV was the “Bröllop & Begravning” series
(Anna) Oh, right! (Hasse) They did something we haven't seen before.
They paused the film and described things.
They explained that new people had come in.
That's because it goes too fast otherwise.
You don’t have time to hear what’s being said
and the program sound and the description.
So here they stopped the program occasionally and explained the context.
It was a good new way.
(Ester) The people who make audio descriptions in programs,
what should they think about to make it as easy as possible
for you to follow along in the audio description?
Forget the program, just think of the audio description.
(Anna) I think they should speak more slowly, and that they are clear at all times.
(Jenny) It’s good that there are programs with audio descriptions.
(Anna) Yeah, it is really good.
(Jenny) But I’m sure it can be improved. (Anna) Would need to be entirely improved.
(Ester) How could programs with audio descriptions be improved?
(Anna) Speak clearly and slowly. Stop the show occasionally.
And describe what's happening.
Then continue the show. And talk like that.