Audio description in Hong Kong. Gauging the needs of the audience

In Hong Kong, the development of audio description is in its infant stage, particularly when compared with the long history of AD services - more than 25 years - established in the UK and the USA. In the absence of media accessibility legislation, AD services in Hong Kong are only offered by local, non governmental organisations. Since 2009, film screening sessions with the provision of AD have been run in the premises of the Hong Kong Society for the Blind. To date, more than 150 sessions have been organised and approximately 7,000 people with visual impairment and their companions have been served. Yet, few studies have been conducted on the actual needs of the target audience.

This paper will present the results of a project, whose main objective is to identify the needs, preferences and expectations of the visually impaired in Hong Kong with regard to the provision of AD services. To collect data, face-to-face interviews have been conducted with a group of visually impaired viewers and the analysis takes both, a quantitative and qualitative approach. The findings presented here will provide not only a detailed insight into the current situation of AD in Hong Kong, but it is also expected that the feedback provided by the real users of AD can be used as a catalyst for the future development of more established AD services in the Chinese world.