This is an ADLAB PRO video.
ADLAB PRO is a project funded by the European Union.
This video is made available to you
on a Creative Commons licence.
Hello. I’m Agnieszka Chmiel from Adam Mickiewicz University
in Poznan, Poland.
In this ADLAB PRO video I will present the basic information
related to audio description software.
This is Unit 3 "Software" in Module 2 "Screen AD".
You can buy professional software to create audio description.
The two most popular suites include the one by Starfish Technologies
and Miranda Softel Swift ADePT.
The software usually works like this:
You import the video to be audio described.
You can view it in one window.
Another window is used to enter AD text.
The software creates timecodes for you
by finding places without dialogues.
You can also set the in-time and out-time manually
by pressing a predefined key.
The software automatically flags descriptions
that are too long to fit a particular interval
between the in-time and the out-time by calculating the number of words
and comparing it to the preset reading rate.
The software automatically mixes the film sountrack
with the recorded audio description by lowering the volume
of the original soundtrack when the script is read out.
There is also free software available:
YouDescribe and LiveDescribe.
YouDescribe is a free web-based project offered
by the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute
where you can create audio description to YouTube videos.
The interface is very simple and you just record the audio description.
You don’t create any written script here.
You can choose inline or extended AD.
Inline AD is integrated with the video playback
while extended AD means that the frame is frozen
while the description is played.
LiveDescribe is a free stand-alone application
offered by Canada’s Ryerson University.
Its interface includes a video preview window,
an AD script window and a recording option.
LiveDescribe also offers a web-based service
to audio describe YouTube videos.
You can both write and record the script here.
Some audio describers use subtitling software,
such as Subtitle Workshop,
to quickly generate timecodes for AD script.
Timecodes in AD
are the reverse of timecodes in subtitling.
AD text fits where there are no dialogues and subtitles.
If you want to find out more, I recommend reading
“An Introduction to Audio Description.
A practical guide” by Louise Fryer.
I hope you have learned some interesting things
about audio description software from this video. Bye!
The preparation of this presentation
was supported by ADLAB PRO. Audio Description:
A Laboratory for the Development of a New Professional Profile
financed by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Programme,
Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships.
Project number:
2016-1-IT02-KA203-024311.
The information and views set out in this presentation
are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect
the official opinion of the European Union.
Neither the European Union institutions and bodies
nor any person acting on their behalf
may be held responsible for the use
which may be made of the information contained therein.
This was an ADLAB PRO video.
ADLAB PRO partners are: University of Trieste,
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,
University of Antwerp, Adam Mickiewicz University,
RTV Slovenia, Utopian Voices,
Soundfocus and Royal National Institute of Blind People.
ADLAB PRO was funded by the European Union.
This video was made available to you
on a Creative Commons licence.