Audiodescription (AD) is the translation into words of the visual elements of an audiovisual production, such as films, plays, sportive events, and paintings, among others. AD makes these audiovisual productions accessible to people with visual impairment. Research on AD has been focusing on films, involving both descriptive and exploratory studies. This paper aims to present the results of one of these studies developed by the research group LEAD (legendagem and audiodescrição) at the State University of Ceará (UECE) under the cooperation project between the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and UECE (PROCAD). This study approached the reception of the visually impaired to the movie O Grão (The Grain) by the Brazilian filmmaker Petrus Cariri (2007). The film was part of two film festivals made accessible by LEAD, who handled its script, recording and editing. LEAD also produced The Grain on DVD with audionavigation menu, subtitling for the deaf, audiodescription and Sign Language interpreting. The methodology included a descriptive dimension, which classified and analyzed the description insertions contained in the AD script, and one exploratory, in which a reception test was applied with two groups of visually impaired participants. The first was formed by born blind subjects, and the second, low vision participants. After watching the film, the visually impaired participants made a free report about their understanding of the film plot. Then, they answered a questionnaire dealing with their opinion about the AD. The whole process was filmed for the reactions to the film to be part of the analysis protocols. Two variables were considered: the type of visual impairment and the film genre. The results showed no difference in reception between the two groups analyzed, since the four participants understood and enjoyed The Grain, a film regarded as difficult by most viewers, because it is different from the typical classical narrative presented by Hollywood. The data suggested that even an author's film can be enjoyed by a visually impaired audience by means of AD.
audiovisual translation; audiodescription; audiovisual accessibility
