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Live Audio Description

Leading the way as the pioneer of live description, Descriptive Video Works has celebrated many milestones in broadcast history. In 2010, we pioneered audio description of live tv events by describing awards shows and live reality competition shows in real time. In 2012, we broke ground again by live describing the opening and closing ceremonies and daily highlights of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. We continue to partner with broadcast networks in championing all access to these distinguished events today.

Descriptive Video Works has provided Audio Description to a wide variety of live-streamed and in-person events, to include hybrid models with pre-recorded materials. We’ve covered gaming showcases, talent shows, theatrical productions, major political events, conventions, awards shows, and so much more. We recognize that each live event has its own unique requirements, and our team of experienced live describers can adapt to your needs.

Broadcast & Streaming

Audio Description of the highest quality. We uphold our pledge for increased access to Broadcast and Streamed programming while also ensuring that blind talent is included in our process: “Nothing About Us, Without Us.”

Descriptive Video Works has built a team of specialists in Audio Description that delivers overall excellence, adhering to best practices set out by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States and the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in Canada. Our socially-conscious quality standards are continually evolving to guarantee a culturally competent product, which demonstrates respect above all else.

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A multiracial crowd of men, women and children sit smiling and laughing in rows of blue upholstered seats.

Corporate

Engage. Inform. Empower.

Whether it’s a product announcement, tech expo, or informational conference, we can help ensure your corporate event is accessible for blind and partially sighted attendees. Audio Description can be added to pre-recorded, streamed, broadcasted, and in-person events, so that everyone can engage and enjoy.

Descriptive Video Works has many years of experience adding Audio Description to a wide variety of corporate videos, including promotional materials, presentations, tutorials, and even training materials.

Descriptive Video Works promises to facilitate regulated access to educational, informational, and promotional messaging, making all corporate information and instructional tools accessible.

Gaming

Descriptive Video Works broke new ground in 2022 by being the first Audio Description studio to professionally produce Audio Description in a video game. The Last of Us Part 1 is a deeply emotional experience, and its award-winning narrative can now be fully enjoyed by blind players. We are currently the only Audio Description studio to have produced in-game Audio Description, and we continue to innovate in this space by building on our extensive experience.

Our past work has included adding Audio Description to cinematics (both pre-rendered and in-engine), Quick-time events, and other gameplay interstitials such as death animations and super moves. We also offer Audio Description for trailers, live events, and other promotional videos, plus localization into a variety of different languages. We pride ourselves in leading the charge by creating new quality standards for interactive media, and testing concepts which have never been done before.

We offer Audio Description solutions to fit any size of studio. Please contact us for further information.

The sun shines over apartment buildings in an abandoned city. Joel holds a revolver, a gasmask attached to his backpack, and Ellie has a rifle slung over one shoulder.
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Sign Language

Descriptive Video Works has grown our team of accessible media specialists to include sign language and Deaf cultural experts, ensuring that we deliver a seamless experience for our clients from start to finish. We will help build an inclusive experience for consumers from the moment they tune in to your program, join your meeting, or fire up your game. Working with best practices set by live entertainment, corporate, and academic sign language interpreting, our team will adapt them to suit your unique needs and together, we will create a new standard of unmatched quality.

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RespectAbility is grateful to have Descriptive Video Works as a trusted partner. They have removed the barrier for several of our disabled filmmakers from our Lab program for audio description services – not only does this allow for their work to be seen by a greater audience, but it also reaffirms the importance of accessibility within filmmaking and Descriptive Video Works as a leader in the accessibility advocacy space.

Vanni Le — Sr. Manager of Entertainment Partnerships, RespectAbility

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Copyright © 2023

Opening entertainment experiences to people who are blind and low vision through audio description. On time. On budget. On target.

Descriptive Video Works
147 W 3rd Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V5Y 1E6

1-866-818-3897