Our staff is motivated, determined and very meticulous when producing described video. We believe that research is necessary, fact checking is key, an overall understanding of the plot is essential and the ability to describe the same thing in multiple ways is mandatory.
In fact, the latter is a challenge that I was faced with while writing our most recent project. We produced the DV for a documentary that features two men on a canoe adventure across the Canadian North. There were many similar shots of the men paddling on a lake or trekking on foot along the vast Inuit Tundra. In order to enhance the described video experience, I was sure to utilize a wide range of adjectives and verbs to describe similar scenes throughout the documentary.
There were only so many times that I could say, “Todd and Frank canoe across a lake” or “ The men continue on foot through the vast tundra”.
Instead, I used phrases like, “They paddle the red canoe along a tranquil shoreline” and “Todd and Frank continue their canoe ride through the river rapids” or “Large waves cause the canoe to bobble up and down as they fiercely navigate their way through the water”.
Same went for describing the landscape. I included sentences like, “The river bares a rocky shoreline dabbled with large spruce trees and rolling mountain tops in the distance” and “The vast expanse is mostly dry rock with sporadic patches of water” or “Rocks and tiny green shrubs cover the landscape of the plateau”.
Having a visual impairment doesn’t mean that you can’t paint a picture in your mind. This is why we strive to create VISION THROUGH VOICE.
