Editing Audio description (section)

{{Short description|Audio tracks for partially sighted viewers}}
{{For|those not intended for the [[visually impaired]]|Audio commentary}}
[[File:Steamboat Willie (1928) by Walt Disney (Audio Described).webm|thumb|225px|Example of audio description with ''[[Steamboat Willie]]'']]
'''Audio description''' (AD), also referred to as a '''video description''', '''described video''', or '''visual description''', is a form of [[narration]] used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a [[film]] or [[television program]], or [[Theatre|theatrical performance]]) for the benefit of [[blindness|blind]] and [[visually impaired]] consumers. These narrations are typically placed during natural pauses in the audio, and sometimes overlap dialogue if deemed necessary.<ref name="definition">{{cite web|url=http://www.dcmp.org/descriptionkey/|title=Description Key for Educational Media|publisher=The Described and Captioned Media Program|date=November 4, 2008|access-date=September 7, 2009}}</ref> Occasionally when a film briefly has subtitled dialogue in a different language, such as [[Greedo]]'s confrontation with [[Han Solo]] in the 1977 film ''[[Star Wars: A New Hope]]'', the narrator will read out the dialogue in character.

In [[museums]] or visual art exhibitions, audio described tours (or universally designed tours that include description or the augmentation of existing recorded programs on audio- or videotape), are used to provide access to visitors who are blind or have low vision. Docents or tour guides can be trained to employ audio description in their presentations.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-06-17|title=From visual to auditory – audio descriptions with the tour guide system|url=https://www.bmsaudio.com/markets/public-sector-mobile-speakers/audio-description-with-the-tour-guide-system.html|access-date=2020-06-20|website=BMS Audio}}</ref>

In film and television, description is typically delivered via a secondary audio track. In North America, [[Second audio program]] (SAP) is typically used to deliver audio description by television broadcasters. To promote [[accessibility]], broadcast regulations in some countries have implemented requirements for broadcasters to air specific quotas of programming containing audio description.