Experimenting with characters. An empirical approach to the audio description of fictional characters

One of the most challenging aspects of audiovisual translation (AVT) is to make audiovisual media accessible to all. In achieving this aim, audio description (AD) plays an essential role, and comprehensive research in this area should be carried out. Currently, most AD research focuses largely on relevance, that is, the question that deals with what should be featured in the audio description. However, there are other important aspects still to be covered. This contribution presents a cognitive approach to the AD of fictional characters in films. In order to shed some light on the way in which we understand characters, the results of a simple empirical experiment based on viewers' recall will be presented. Finally, the possibility of applying such a perspective to AD will be discussed.