Access to the silver screen

But how can you find out when and where such films are on? The website and information service yourlocalcinema.com is a 'one stop shop' for accessible cinema information. It is primarily staffed by freelancers, about half of whom are deaf or hard or hearing, whilst a number of visually impaired people continue to help develop the access features of the site's audio description section.

Via an email Q&A, Ouch spoke to the editor of yourlocalcinema.com, Derek Brandon (who is also hearing impaired), to get the lowdown on access to the movies.

It was actually quite easy, as they realised that making their cinemas and films accessible to disabled people was 'the right thing to do'. We reminded them that the technology was becoming available and there was a new audience out there who would make use of it. We made it clear that it was unlikely to ever be a profitable venture, but suggested that they look at it as they do disabled ramps, toilets and loop systems. These services are there to ensure that people with disabilities - in this case, visual or hearing impairments - have access to their products.

We began operating in July 2000, soon after my 9 year old son, Dean, who is deaf, saw Chicken Run, which was the first film specifically subtitled for deaf and hard of hearing people. Afterwards, he asked: "Why can't all cinema films be subtitled?" So we decided to look into it. Back then, the process of producing subtitled films was antiquated and expensive, but a new digital system was in development in the US, which produced subtitles and audio description. So we started an internet campaign to create awareness of it and to highlight the lack of access to cinemas for disabled people. We campaigned for nationwide subtitled and described shows, and then publicised them as best we could. The aim was to ensure that the shows had good attendances, therefore proving to the cinema industry that there was a market for accessible cinema.

To cut a long story short, the new digital system was eventually trialled, and in 2004 the UK Film Council and the cinema industry joined forces to install subtitle and audio description systems in 130 cinemas. Having started on a voluntary basis, our website and information service is now sponsored by the groups that worked together to make this happen - including the UK Film Council and various organisations representing people with visual or hearing impairments.

All the majors and many of the smaller distributors ensure that the majority of their films are accessible, and inform us of upcoming titles. In fact, Warner Bros ensure that all their releases are accessible, as well as some trailers. Around a quarter of UK cinemas have installed the access equipment necessary to screen these films. The films are distributed to the cinemas when available, and every week we are automatically notified of any subtitled or described shows. It's all very organised.

Ninety-five per cent of our correspondence with the public is via email, as most of our users are deaf or hard of hearing film fans with access to a computer. Many people print off their local subtitled listings for friends who don't have internet access, or put notices on the walls of deaf clubs, hearing units, etc. The info spreads nationwide surprisingly quickly.

For visually impaired people, we provide a manned UK call centre, a 'web-over-phone' service (where you call a number and an automated voice reads the listings over the phone), and a 'talking' website, which is especially useful to people who don't have expensive screen reader software installed, or who access our website from internet cafés, friends' houses or workplaces.

Almost all of the multiplex cinemas publicise the shows themselves on their own websites, and on their foyer posters and leaflets. Some of the smaller cinemas do too. But they all realise that most people don't have the time to check five different websites just to find one or two accessible shows in their area, so cinemas also depend on our service to spread the word. That's why they sponsor us, as we send the info to interested individuals every week, increasing the chance of people knowing about and attending the shows in their area.

It's not really down to the cinemas, as they can only screen films that are available to them. Unfortunately, the DDA is not strong enough to force distributors to make all of their films accessible. I would imagine that every UK distributor is aware of the DDA, as well as the recent changes in technology that have considerably reduced the cost of an accessible release, yet still some films are released without access features.

The UK Film Council has been very pro-active in this area, and they now insist on access features being included for any film that they fund or part fund. Smaller distributors can apply for various UK Film Council grants to help with costs. The big distributors are usually very good, but even now a major movie can sometimes slip through the net. Recent releases that have not been accessible include Million Dollar Baby, Blade Trinity and Phantom of the Opera. Money can't be an issue here, so maybe some distributors still need educating ...

We insist on people double checking because there have been occasions where the subtitle/description disc, which contains the necessary files, has not been delivered to the cinema in time for the scheduled show. We actually advise cinemas to avoid scheduling subtitled/described shows for a film's opening weekend, to prevent this problem occurring.

Sometimes a cinema will only receive a film print on the day before the first screening. A subtitle/description producer may get the print a few days before, but the process of producing and delivering the access files can sometimes take a week. Film distributors have yet to take that into account when deciding release dates.

Another reason for double checking before you set off to a show is that sometimes subtitled films have been scheduled, but as they're still quite a novelty in many cinemas, they may not be included in the cinema's booking system. So as far as some of the cinema staff are concerned, these films don't even exist! Hopefully, problems like this will be ironed out as accessible shows become a more regular part of the weekly schedule.

Many of our visually impaired users simply can't 'read' the vast majority of movie websites, as they are often made using Flash. We had been working with the film company behind Ray, the Ray Charles biopic, for some time, and we thought that the subject matter made it an ideal showcase for the different movie access technologies available. We knew it would be audio described in cinemas, which was a great start, but we thought that the website should ideally be accessible too, that it should inform people of accessible shows, and that the online trailer should be audio described. So we put an accessible package together, they liked it and now it's out there on the net, linked directly from the official Ray UK website. We're talking to other distributors and hope that more can be done in this area.

Yes, we still campaign vigorously, and are known within the industry as an irritating bunch who hassle a lot. But that's our job! We can't be too nasty as we are sponsored by the cinema and film industries, but we try to ensure that access issues are kept on the agenda at all times. There's still a long way to go, though: many people still can't catch subtitled shows as there's simply not enough at suitable times. The industry is working to improve this.

Well, three years ago there was zero attendance because there were no shows. Today there are hundreds of subtitled and audio described shows every week across the UK, and whilst many still have poor attendance, some have been extremely popular. Some central London shows have had turnouts of over 300 people. Others, in less populated areas, have less than five regular people attending.

It can be difficult for cinemas to strike a balance with the number of subtlted shows they put on. The more subtitled showings in a cinema, the less people turn up for each one, as there are only so many deaf people and their families in each cinema's catchment area.

Audio described shows don't have this problem as the system can be 'on' all of the time, without the need for special shows. Only the wearer of the supplied wireless headphones can hear the audio feed, so every show can be audio described. But blind and partially sighted people still don't go to the cinema in droves. Subtitles have been around for years, on TV, video and DVD, and everyone knows what they are, but mainstream audio description is still quite new and many people simply don't know enough about it.

This year, the network of accessible cinemas is set to expand by another 150. If all goes to plan, almost half the cinemas in the UK will have subtitle and audio description facilities by the end of 2005. Also, there are a few companies working on personal subtitle devices - small hand-held panels with scrolling subtitles. A system like this already exists in the US, and it enables a deaf or hard of hearing person to attend any show, any day, in one of the accessible cinemas (as long as the film playing is available with subtitles). It was briefly trialled in the UK a few years ago, but it was decided that the technology wasn't yet good enough; some say that it's difficult to look at the cinema screen and subtitles on a separate panel. But it works for many deaf people.

My favourites are films like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, any Jim Carrey comedy, a couple of Tarantino films, and most of the Pixar movies. But my all-time top film is It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World. Coming up this year, I'm really looking forward to Star Wars Episode III and King Kong.