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• Background - How to Add Description

How Do I Add Description to My Media?

Information for the professional and the amateur.

• Professional Description Providers

  • Description Service Vendors

    The DCMP provides a listing of description service vendors prepared from information provided by various description-related sources and from surveys conducted by the DCMP. While we have attempted to identify all service vendors, we apologize for any omissions. As additional service vendors are identified, they will be included in this list. Listing of a service vendor does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Association of the Deaf, or the DCMP.
    
    Costs for description (sometimes called "audio description" or "video description") vary according to the length of a program, the nature of the desired service, the format, and other technical processes.
    

• Do-It-Yourself Description

• Description Key

  The Description Key guidelines are a key for those performing description, and cover a range of topics from preparing to describe to determining both what information needs to be described and how to describe it. The information is also applicable to vendors and other businesses that provide description for broadcast television, movies, and other media. Thus, it will also be useful to media producers/distributors and others who are considering describing their products or learning about description. Some background information and rationale are included for the novice, as well as an evolving list of description resources to help improve the quality and efficiency of one's description.
  

• Software/Tools for Description

  • YouDescribe

    YouDescribe is a free web-based tool from the Smith-Kettlewell Video Description Research and Development Center that allows anyone, anywhere, to describe any YouTube video and share that description with the world. YouDescribe does not change or copy the original video; instead, it plays the original video from YouTube and synchronizes it with your descriptions. This revolutionary new approach to description provides better access to YouTube videos for millions of blind and visually-impaired "viewers." The DCMP has produced this YouDescribe promotional video.

  • LiveDescribe

    LiveDescribe is video description software designed, prototyped and developed at The Center for Learning Technology by developer Carmen Branje. LiveDescribe combines the massive power of a television studio with the economy of shareware software. Now the home user as well as the studio professional can add high quality descriptions to virtual any video source.