Making Foreign Animation Films Accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired Audiences: A Multi-sensory Perspective

Abstract

As a modality of audiovisual localisation, audio subtitling (AST) is positioned at the interface between subtitling, audio description (AD) and voice-over (Orero and Braun, 2010). The paper will summarise the results deriving from the screening of a foreign stop-motion animation film with AD and AST in Greek in combination with a pre-screening touch tour and post-screening questionnaires. The reception study has been conducted to Greek adult blind and visually impaired people, aiming at finding the best strategies in synchronisation and voice delivery. It appears that the linguistic choices, technical aspects and voicing strategies have an effect on emotional activation and enjoyment, while, in the framework of a multi-sensory approach, touchable objects along with AD could encompass a more engaging and entertaining experience for the audience.