Description for Blind and Visually Impaired Audiences

With WGBH Public Television in Boston, I worked as a Writer/Editor for the Media Access Group. Our mission was to make television programs, films, websites, educational videos, museums and theme parks accessible for blind and visually impaired audiences.

Whether describing a science documentary, a children's show or a costume drama, I had to adapt my writing style to fit with the show's tone. In some scenes, there would be room for paragraphs of detailed description. In others, there would be room for a word or two.

Always, the challenge was to paint the scene for the visually impaired audience as accurately and descriptively as possible.

In addition to writing and editing scripts, I also selected and hired freelance narrators and directed the studio recording sessions where the script would be turned into an audio narration track mixed with the program's soundtrack.

Here are some samples of my Descriptive writing for blind and visually impaired audiences:

A scene from the nature program Sea Rescue:

A title appears: SeaWorld presents “Sea Rescue.”

A pelican takes flight. The Rescue team releases a sea turtle into the ocean, and team-members slap triumphant high-fives.

Host Sam Champion, a clean-cut blonde man with blue eyes, stands in the water with a dolphin. Nearby, a sea lion barks. Rescue team members check the pulse of a manatee, and bottle-feed a baby whale.

At the research center, a team-member rubs clear gel over a young loggerhead sea turtle's shell. He places the basketball-sized turtle in a plastic shipping crate, and closes the lid.

Sam and two other rescuers load the crate into a black SUV. Later, the vehicle speeds down a highway to an airport, where dozens of crates the size of suitcases are loaded onto a C-130 plane. The flight crew places rigging over the crates to keep them secure in the cargo hold.

On the beach, Kemp's-Ridley sea turtles with numbers painted on their shells struggle across the sand until they reach the ocean. As they enter the water, they're swallowed up by the waves. One turtle pokes its head above the surface for a moment, then dives under.


A section of description from the short dramatic film “Shoot”:

With a scowl, the bald, dark-skinned man switches off his flashing alarm clock. Bare-chested, he sighs, and rubs both hands over his face.

Later, near his bed, he does a dozen pushups, wearing only white sport briefs. His fists braced on the floor, he rises and falls quickly, pumping intently, his muscles tensing.

In the kitchen, wearing a long-sleeved white t-shirt and faded jeans, the man gulps down milk right from the carton. He stares off, brooding.

He runs his hand over a tabletop, quickly finding his keys and dark sunglasses, then heads out the door.

Outside, he pauses, one eye half-closed. A rueful grin spreads over his face.