Captioning & Audio Description at the ODEON CheltenhamSeventy-eight cinemas across England, approximately 1 in 7 cinemas, are to benefit from a new National Lottery scheme to improve facilities for cinema-goers with captioning and audio description equipment. The improvements are part of the UK Film Council’s £500,000 National Lottery funded Cinema Access Programme.The move will enable thousands more people with hearing or sight loss to enjoy films at the cinema including the latest blockbusters and specialised films. At present only 22 cinemas in England are equipped with such equipment.DTS Cinema Captioning Systems will allow ODEON Cheltenham customers with sensory impairments to enjoy film. Customers with hearing impairments can enjoy many more subtitled performances and customers with visual impairments can enjoy the benefits of Audio Description.CAPTIONING - NOT SubtitlesSubtitles translate the dialogue, which makes them most appropriate for foreign language films and hearing audiences.Captions actually follow the action and denote which characters are speaking by the position of the caption on the screen. They are created specifically for movie-goers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. They also give clues to the rest of the soundtrack - describing, for instance, a phone ringing, a gunshot, someone singing - additional information which helps those who cannot hear better understand the flow of the plot and the detail of the action. | 
| Chris Martin, Chief Technician at the Odeon Cheltenham pictured with GCAB Manager, Ronnie Rowan. This was after a demonstration where the film Peter Pan was shown with Audio Description. |
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HOW DOES IT WORK?A Video Projector projects the captions on the screen.AUDIO DESCRIPTIONThis is a format to help blind and partially sighted movie-goers enjoy the cinema experience. In gaps between the dialogue, a narrator describes what is happening in the scene. It might be the setting, what the characters look like, the body language, or the action. Audio description writers have become very skilled at providing just the right information without getting in the way of the dialogue.HOW DOES IT WORK?Customers need to borrow special headsets to hear audio description,Audio description is delivered via infra-red headphones. These have an “open ear” design that enables the user to hear the same soundtrack as the rest of the audience.The system can also be used as a ‘hearing aid’ the headphones can be switched to act as a pair of head phones that just gives the soundtrack of the film.At present only Odeon 1 is equipped and this screen is not at ground level, however it is possible that Odeon 7 which is at ground level will be equipped at a later date.How do YOU find out ‘What’s On’If you phone the ODEON (01242) 514421 after 11-15am on a Tuesday we can usually let you know ‘what’s on’ from next FridayWe can E-mail you the detailsWe could send the details by postYou could look at this website - www.yourlocalcinema.com please note, the new listings are posted on a Thursday by 12-00 noon, the day before they start showing the film.If you have another method - let us know |
