Subtitling and Audio Description for All

Oakwood Cinema is a community-based project, set up eight years ago. We screen current films once a month to 150+ local audience.This project stems from a democratic vote, held in 2023 after a member of the audience requested that subtitles be switched on. Before the film, a vote was taken and, of the 150 strong audience, approximately 40 people raised their hands to support the use of subtitles. The subtitles weren’t activated. During the intermission the requestee explained her disappointment and explained that it was tantamount to discrimination. She had a point!

Currently mainstream cinema (and community cinemas) offer little-to-no accessibility to screenings that provide subtitles and/or audio description. After some research and some pottering around with some second-hand computers, knackered monitors and filters, a possible solution was discovered. This project hopes to address the issue(s) and offer a low-cost option for screening subtitles and offering audio description, so cinemas can improve accessibility and be properly inclusive.

Team

John Edmonds – Oakwood Community Cinema / Senior Teaching Fellow in Digital Production, University of Leeds