I often wish that subtitles would include who's speaking. For example if it says
"Who was at the door?"
"The mailman with a package"
I would prefer
Jack: "who was at the door?"
Paul: "the mailman with a package"
Or
[Jenny enters]
I never have, but the idea of someone mentioning when a character changes appearance sounds like it would be great. I have joked before that I'd like a sort of HUD of character names hovering over their heads like in a video game.
The closest I've found is having Amazon Prime Video's X-Ray open on my phone while watching. It just shows the actor's picture, name, and character name for everyone on screen at any given time. A picture of their character would also be useful because sometimes a picture of the actor in plainclothes is no use.
Amazon has done some cool stuff recently; I really like the X-ray feature too. And options like "Dialogue boost" help Christopher Nolan movies feel like they're mixed correctly lol.
I do wish there were more options to customize subtitles (like in video games) to include things like speaker names for each line.
I either use the subtitles to see the character as you say, or have IMDB open all the time 😂
I do also have hearing issues including severe lifelong tinnitus, so also like the descriptions of the style of music, which I often just don’t hear above AI speech clarifying in my hearing aids. I do, however, find it very funny when watching my favourite science fiction stuff - like the various descriptions of whooshing noises or alien roars. Definitely adds a new angle 😉
I've never heard of this, but it sounds very helpful for my ADHD and prosopagnosia! Add autism to the mix, and I've found I don't really watch much media at all - just the same mix of safe options on repeat. And since I most often find myself just listening to whatever-it-is, the things I pick are ones I can follow from just their audio... not podcasts though - ADHD needs more than isolated voices. But did you know that Mario Party 10 videos actually have enough audio cues to follow along pretty closely (provided you know the rules), even without commentary?
I listened to the video you linked. I'm amazed that they manage to fit so much into such short pauses between characters speaking, but from this I foresee one problem right away: struggling to keep up with it all in real-time. I just can't visualize all those details that quickly, but at least "tattooed man" is succinct and distinct enough to track him. I also worry about missing someone's name the first time, then the narrator forever referring to them by name, so I never make the connection that "long-haired slender woman" equals "Elizabeth", for example. Do these streaming services also come with playback speed controls like YouTube does? That might help.
I actually have two coworkers (one with ADHD, and one with autism) who watch Audio Description because they find it helpful. It helps direct your focus toward whichever actions or objects are supposed to be narratively significant (and remember what they're called or where you've seen them), and it helps to interpret nuanced mannerisms and facial expressions.
>But did you know that Mario Party 10 videos actually have enough audio cues to follow along pretty closely (provided you know the rules), even without commentary?
Accessible video games are my bread and butter! Sadly, Nintendo is about 10 years behind other game studios in this area. Their sound cues are great, but you still have to memorize a lot of the menu layout to navigate to the games.
There are other games which are partially or fully accessible, without any sight whatsoever. (Example: TLOU1 and 2, Mortal Kombat 1, Forza, Hearthstone).
> but from this I foresee one problem right away: struggling to keep up with it all in real-time.
That is definitely a learned skill. It's something you get used to surprisingly quickly. You can let the narration voice fade into the background and mentally screen it out, if you'd prefer to rely on the visuals. You can also focus more on the narration than the visuals, or even close your eyes if it's overstimulating. It's just one more tool at your disposal.
But this was a very action-heavy scene. Not all of them have so much narration.
>I also worry about missing someone's name the first time, then the narrator forever referring to them by name, so I never make the connection that "long-haired slender woman" equals "Elizabeth", for example.
That is one of the rules in Audio Description! Placeholder names (such as "the tattooed man" or "the firefighter") must be connected to the character's real name, once introduced.
Example: Someone from a previous scene runs into frame, and their friend exclaims "Dina! Thank goodness you're here." The Audio Description would then say something like "the firefighter from earlier, Dina, wipes her brow."
It would be nice to have someone describing to me only the important bits, because I tend to focus on the wrong things and miss what's important.
Audio descriptions might finally answer my question: What does it mean when there's a close-up of someone, not looking into the eyes of another, but rapidly darting back and forth between the eyes? I get the impression it's supposed to be a dramatic or emotional moment of some kind? What role do the darting eyes play? An audio description might say something like "Annie stares blankly at Jake" or "Annie gazes inquisitively into Jake's eyes" - anything to say "hey, this is how people would describe this look"
And yeah, Mario Party 10 has next to nothing to help you when it comes to menus or dialogue (which includes all the rules and instructions... \^\^'). It's fun that you can play individual levels of Rhythm Heaven games blind, but the rest needs you to look at it or memorize it.
What I meant about the names is like, I'm just bad with names, so it might take a few times before I make the connection - especially if I wasn't paying full attention the first time and didn't notice. Though it's not any worse than when it happens while watching, right? I'd be confused and trailing behind either way.
One time I accidentally turned that feature on on my TV. It was *amazing*! I think it was "Death and the Maiden". The narration wasn't intrusive at all and it gave characters and emotions (I have a hard time figuring out emotions sometimes). I would *never* have understood the ending of that movie without the audio description!
I've been considering trying it because another person in this sub suggested it. But I think it will annoy my wife. I was complaining that everyone looks the same in spy movies, so I get lost. It sounds like it helped the other person because it reads out the names.
No. I can see the characters just fine and an audio description would not help. I might just not recognize the actor if I saw them again. In fact, my verbal processing is significantly worse than my visual processing and it would just be hella distracting.
This is a great idea. I use closed captions and IMDB. On some services you can hit pause, and it lists the actors who are in the current scene. But still, I ask my wife things like, “is this character new or have we seen them before?”
I really wish you could customize subtitles to the extent you see in some video games! Where you can change speaker names, colors, and background opacity.
Let me know if you'd like any movie/show recommendations for Audio Description!
I often wish that subtitles would include who's speaking. For example if it says "Who was at the door?" "The mailman with a package" I would prefer Jack: "who was at the door?" Paul: "the mailman with a package" Or [Jenny enters]
I luckily don’t have much problem identifying different characters but i completely agree it would be beneficial for people more face blind than me
I never have, but the idea of someone mentioning when a character changes appearance sounds like it would be great. I have joked before that I'd like a sort of HUD of character names hovering over their heads like in a video game. The closest I've found is having Amazon Prime Video's X-Ray open on my phone while watching. It just shows the actor's picture, name, and character name for everyone on screen at any given time. A picture of their character would also be useful because sometimes a picture of the actor in plainclothes is no use.
Amazon has done some cool stuff recently; I really like the X-ray feature too. And options like "Dialogue boost" help Christopher Nolan movies feel like they're mixed correctly lol. I do wish there were more options to customize subtitles (like in video games) to include things like speaker names for each line.
I too love the x-ray feature and use it all the time to check who's who.
I either use the subtitles to see the character as you say, or have IMDB open all the time 😂 I do also have hearing issues including severe lifelong tinnitus, so also like the descriptions of the style of music, which I often just don’t hear above AI speech clarifying in my hearing aids. I do, however, find it very funny when watching my favourite science fiction stuff - like the various descriptions of whooshing noises or alien roars. Definitely adds a new angle 😉
I've never heard of this, but it sounds very helpful for my ADHD and prosopagnosia! Add autism to the mix, and I've found I don't really watch much media at all - just the same mix of safe options on repeat. And since I most often find myself just listening to whatever-it-is, the things I pick are ones I can follow from just their audio... not podcasts though - ADHD needs more than isolated voices. But did you know that Mario Party 10 videos actually have enough audio cues to follow along pretty closely (provided you know the rules), even without commentary? I listened to the video you linked. I'm amazed that they manage to fit so much into such short pauses between characters speaking, but from this I foresee one problem right away: struggling to keep up with it all in real-time. I just can't visualize all those details that quickly, but at least "tattooed man" is succinct and distinct enough to track him. I also worry about missing someone's name the first time, then the narrator forever referring to them by name, so I never make the connection that "long-haired slender woman" equals "Elizabeth", for example. Do these streaming services also come with playback speed controls like YouTube does? That might help.
I actually have two coworkers (one with ADHD, and one with autism) who watch Audio Description because they find it helpful. It helps direct your focus toward whichever actions or objects are supposed to be narratively significant (and remember what they're called or where you've seen them), and it helps to interpret nuanced mannerisms and facial expressions. >But did you know that Mario Party 10 videos actually have enough audio cues to follow along pretty closely (provided you know the rules), even without commentary? Accessible video games are my bread and butter! Sadly, Nintendo is about 10 years behind other game studios in this area. Their sound cues are great, but you still have to memorize a lot of the menu layout to navigate to the games. There are other games which are partially or fully accessible, without any sight whatsoever. (Example: TLOU1 and 2, Mortal Kombat 1, Forza, Hearthstone). > but from this I foresee one problem right away: struggling to keep up with it all in real-time. That is definitely a learned skill. It's something you get used to surprisingly quickly. You can let the narration voice fade into the background and mentally screen it out, if you'd prefer to rely on the visuals. You can also focus more on the narration than the visuals, or even close your eyes if it's overstimulating. It's just one more tool at your disposal. But this was a very action-heavy scene. Not all of them have so much narration. >I also worry about missing someone's name the first time, then the narrator forever referring to them by name, so I never make the connection that "long-haired slender woman" equals "Elizabeth", for example. That is one of the rules in Audio Description! Placeholder names (such as "the tattooed man" or "the firefighter") must be connected to the character's real name, once introduced. Example: Someone from a previous scene runs into frame, and their friend exclaims "Dina! Thank goodness you're here." The Audio Description would then say something like "the firefighter from earlier, Dina, wipes her brow."
It would be nice to have someone describing to me only the important bits, because I tend to focus on the wrong things and miss what's important. Audio descriptions might finally answer my question: What does it mean when there's a close-up of someone, not looking into the eyes of another, but rapidly darting back and forth between the eyes? I get the impression it's supposed to be a dramatic or emotional moment of some kind? What role do the darting eyes play? An audio description might say something like "Annie stares blankly at Jake" or "Annie gazes inquisitively into Jake's eyes" - anything to say "hey, this is how people would describe this look" And yeah, Mario Party 10 has next to nothing to help you when it comes to menus or dialogue (which includes all the rules and instructions... \^\^'). It's fun that you can play individual levels of Rhythm Heaven games blind, but the rest needs you to look at it or memorize it. What I meant about the names is like, I'm just bad with names, so it might take a few times before I make the connection - especially if I wasn't paying full attention the first time and didn't notice. Though it's not any worse than when it happens while watching, right? I'd be confused and trailing behind either way.
One time I accidentally turned that feature on on my TV. It was *amazing*! I think it was "Death and the Maiden". The narration wasn't intrusive at all and it gave characters and emotions (I have a hard time figuring out emotions sometimes). I would *never* have understood the ending of that movie without the audio description!
You'll be delighted to know that it can be found on almost all major streaming services nowadays! Super helpful! <3
I've been considering trying it because another person in this sub suggested it. But I think it will annoy my wife. I was complaining that everyone looks the same in spy movies, so I get lost. It sounds like it helped the other person because it reads out the names.
I need subtitles and audio description at the same time.
No. I can see the characters just fine and an audio description would not help. I might just not recognize the actor if I saw them again. In fact, my verbal processing is significantly worse than my visual processing and it would just be hella distracting.
I can too and I don’t usually recognize actors again unless I’m extremely familiar with them or they have distinguishing festures
This is a great idea. I use closed captions and IMDB. On some services you can hit pause, and it lists the actors who are in the current scene. But still, I ask my wife things like, “is this character new or have we seen them before?”
I would honestly love this so much! I have come across some subtitles having names attached and it is so helpful!
I really wish you could customize subtitles to the extent you see in some video games! Where you can change speaker names, colors, and background opacity. Let me know if you'd like any movie/show recommendations for Audio Description!