DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS SHAPING THE USAGE OF PRODUCTS WITH AUDIO DESCRIPTION: THE LITHUANIAN VIEWERS’ PROFILE

Abstract

The audiovisual content including cinema, theatre, visual art, or other media has broad and heterogeneous audience: blind and sighted, hearing, and deaf viewers of various age, gender, cultural background, or mental abilities. The profile of the audiovisual content viewer is vivid and changing. People with different physical abilities, for example, blind and partially sighted people, face numerous challenges watching movies or theatre performances: the problem is not only the language barrier of foreign films, but also the inaccessibility to the visual layer of the product, which can be solved by the audio description service. Cintas states, that audio description “consists in transforming visual images into words, which are then spoken during the silent intervals of audiovisual programmes or live performances” (Cintas, 2008: 7). Hence, audio description (hereinafter AD) can generally be understood as verbal commentaries of the visual layer of an audiovisual (or statical visual) product, and the demand of the AD service is increasing with the rising amount of audiovisual material at this time. The purpose of this scientific article is to define the profile of the Lithuanian consumer with a visual impairment when it comes to the accessibility of audiovisual material. The first objective of the research is to carry out a statistical analysis and provide structured information on the evolution of the number of blind and visually impaired people in Lithuania from the earliest times when such data began to be recorded. The second objective is to present research conducted in Lithuania during the last 15 years with the scope of information and cultural content accessibility for the blind and partially sighted, concentrating to the AD service. The three research works will be analysed and presented in this article: two of them were conducted by other authors and the third (as well as the newest) was implemented by the author of this article – the Lithuanian scientific research project “Inclusive culture: the study on accessibility of audiovisual products for the visually and hearing impaired” (hereinafter “KlaRega”), which was dedicated to the analysis of Lithuanian deaf and hard of hearing as well as blind and partially sighted audiences with special attention to the viewers’ profile. Methods. The article combines diachronic (historical) analysis, statistical analysis, and critical content analysis. The studies analysed in this paper use audience research methods such as paper and electronic questionnaires, live interviews, and discussions. Results. For many years, Lithuania has not had any research that reflects the profile, needs or experiences of the Lithuanian blind and partially sighted audience in relation to AD. In 2008, the first attempts of research on the AD service and method can be identified. The first in-depth research was only conducted in 2018, when the research initiative by “Create for Lithuania” was launched. The “KlaRega” project, which ran from 2021 to 2022, allowed for a detailed study of the profile, experiences and needs of the audience of both deaf and hard of hearing as well as blind and partially sighted people, for which the films with AD or SDH are intended. The study also analysed the demographic factors that shape the profile of the visually impaired consumer of AV material. The research has shown some relevant insights in the understanding the need of audio described audiovisual content and the possibilities to reach that content by the Lithuanian visually impaired viewers. Conclusions. The structured material presented in this paper has shown that there is a high degree of unevenness in the studies of consumers’ profiles, with very different aspects being included in the research, which leaves information gaps and makes it difficult to draw generalised conclusions. In this article, the conclusions are based on the commonalities observed and highlight the differences between the three studies presented and goes some way to describing how the viewers’ profile has changed over time.