Summary (Film between the ears)

Project number (RCN): 194098/I40

Adaptation of TV broadcasts for visually impaired has long been neglected in Norway. On this background MediaLT initiated the project Audio subtitling (http://www.medialt.no/en-US/audio-subtitling/200.aspx ), which confirmed that Norway is far behind countries it is natural to compare with. The Norwegian Government is now committed to Universal Design. In this project we wanted to take Universal Design in film a step further than what had been done in other countries. We investigated what could be done during the production of a film, to reduce the need for adaptation afterwards. This approach held many exciting research challenges:

  • What can be done already in the planning phase to reduce the need for adaptation?
  • In what way and to what extent can more conscious and active use of sound replace the need for visual interpretation?
  • What gives added value for everyone and leads to a better experience for the general public?
  • To what extent is it appropriate to use actors in the adaptation work to preserve artistic quality?

The project was implemented in close cooperation with the Norwegian Filmstudio, which works with sound tracks for over half of Norwegian feature films. The results was used to demonstrate how film can be designed in a Universal way, and was presented at the movie premiere. Moreover, the results was used to further efforts to provide long term finance for Universal Design of Norwegian films. The objective for the future is that Universally Designed films should already be available on the premiere date, without the need for adaptation afterwards as is the case today. 

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