Talk DVD

client:
Disability Rights Commission

project:
Talk DVD

the brief:
With the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), any business has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure they don't discriminate against disabled people.

In light of this new legislation, iceni was approached by the Disability Rights Commission to produce a groundbreaking DVD version of the BAFTA award-winning film 'Talk' with the following brief: the project must be accessible to all including people with hearing and visual impairments.

iceni was to take masters of the film and produce a complete product to be distributed by the Disability Rights Commission; from the design of the interface to the print and packaging and, using advanced DVD design and authoring, produce an accessible, simple-to-use DVD.

creative strategy:
This project was an exciting opportunity to work with the DRC to further develop, refine and standardise the accessible DVD format. The operation of every link and menu in the navigation system had to be audio-described for the visually impaired, and due to the limitations of the DVD format, a simple menu and submenu system turned into hundreds of hidden menus, each with audio-description.

The main focus of our design was to keep the DVD simple. There are no long overtures or menu-builds in the project that could cause confusion for a visually impaired user. There is no background music on the menu and the information is presented as quickly as possible. iceni worked in partnership with the DRC to develop a DVD in line with RNIB guidelines for on-screen font size and colour theory.

This was the first DVD produced in partnership with the DRC and so our design team had to test, simplify and develop the navigation system.

Extra features on the DVD include Director's comments and documents about the making of the film and design of the DVD itself. Everything from the copyright warning to the credits on the DVD is accessible to all. There is also a resource section included on the disc designed for teachers to use in Citizenship and Disability groups, to enable students to respond and react to the powerful messages in the film, to provoke ethical debate, and to learn about their own attitudes towards disabled people and social inclusion.

results:
Client feedback is as follows:
"We think this DVD is unique in its accessibility. iceni came up with a clever solution, by providing talking menus and also making the audio-described version the default setting mirroring the theme of the film. We user-tested the talking menus and made a few minor adjustments before the DVDs were produced and we are confident that iceni have developed a highly-accessible product.

The award-winning short film 'Talk' has been a very popular and effective tool for raising awareness of disability discrimination and rights. The DVD has already been well-received and it has given the film a new lease of life! It enables us to meet a range of accessibility requirements at once instead of having to produce different versions on video tape. We have also been able to include clips which teachers can use as part of the Citizenship and Disability teaching resource. "

Here are some initial responses from end-users:

"I like 3 formats in one place...Using subtitles and audio description is excellent."
"Very useful. We love it, and would like a sequel! Very accessible, meets individual needs."
"The DVD is excellent. I have recommended this DVD to other trainers and organisations."