11 Mar
GUEST POST: Mathayu Warren-Lane, Hollywood Access Services
It was a text message that came in from Ric that tipped a metaphorical domino one night. A nifty, little dawning moment for him, his lovely Jen, and my yearling company. (Sidebar for Jen: I could/should just as easily say it was a dawning moment for you and your lovely Ric, but Ric is the one who texted me. So, sorry, the more patriarchal sentence prevails.)
Now, what my company does is pivotal to this anecdote, but hold that thought.
At the Adventure 16 event in San Diego, (or so Ric’s text message informed me), two women from the audience took the opportunity to thank and congratulate him, and one of the pair – a blind lady – very good-spiritedly laughed and noted that she “would’ve loved to have seen more.” I can only guess Ric’s thought and feeling in that moment.
But I am guessing my guess and your guess might be polar opposites. You might suppose Ric laughed along, understood sympathetically, and found a friendly, respectful rejoinder that managed to cradle and lay down the mildly bittersweet reality of the situation. Maybe Ric had to put it out of mind as more people stepped up to compliment him. Maybe it stuck with him. Maybe, when he was later reviewing the evening with Jen after brushing his teeth, he found himself helpless before the remark of this art-smart fan every bit as culture-loving and entertainment-loving as himself – only living with blindness.
Now, anyone who didn’t know of my career or my company or the other dedicated companies out there that do what I do (just not as well, of course!) might assume that’s how it went for Ric. But I know for a fact, Ric was probably pleasantly surprised by the encounter. You see, in the course of the many days and nights that Ric and Jen and my wife and I have all enjoyed our kids and dogs and high school humor and massaged kale salad, we have naturally traded tales of our career aspirations and accomplishments.
It so happens that my business partners and I specialize in describing TV, films, and geographic sites (like theme parks, zoos, museums, and aquariums) for people who are blind or live with low vision. We write description of what you and I see in between the lines of dialogue in a show or movie, that is, all of its unique visual content, and then we record it with a narrator and offer it in one way or another for playback along with production’s audio. We turn a visual experience into one someone listens to, like a radio show.
Our company Hollywood Access Services has all the chops a media accessibility company could need, with a collective 40 years describing and captioning content. When Ric’s text came in, I smiled BIG at the little yellow pop-up on my smartphone screen. For our new “Little Company that Could,” the opportunity to just step right up to a polished, final piece to execute our mission of access for blind audiences – without having to explain the service or establish its worth – made this a boon. Suddenly, because of a complimentary and outgoing blind woman from San Diego, (Thank you wherever you are!) here was a moment where a friend’s passion and my own could make a perfect picture like the sun over Mt. Whitney.
As you might guess, my business partners and I love writing and producing vivid, engrossing audio description every bit as much as Jen and Ric love being in and celebrating nature and friendship on film. That text from Ric has been gold to me. Such a nice little closing of a loop.
In working with Jen and Ric on making Mile.. Mile & A Half accessible to audiences with sensory impairments, I’ve gotten more than artistic beauty, official cred as a new company, deeper friendship, and the occasional bowl of potato-chip-peanut-M&M trail mix. I’ve gotten the satisfaction of knowing that these two fine artistic people truly care about bringing their love of nature to as broad an audience as possible. And if that ain’t a propos to a certain Mr. Muir, then go take a hike.
(Sidebar to Jen: what is that crazy trail mix called again???)
Thanks to our friends at Hollywood Access Services, we’ll have more accessibility on the DVD & BluRay. In addition to closed captioning for the hearing impaired, the DVD & Bluray will include an additional stereo mix that incorporates audio description for the visually impaired. Audio description is the recorded narration of a film’s or televisions program’s visual elements that is designed to flow with the program audio by fitting in between lines of dialogue, sound effects and music. It provides visually impaired audiences with an experience more to that of their sighted peers as possible.
Want to know more? Check out this great video Ric made on Hollywood Access Services.