Abstract

Audiovisual products are an important part of contemporary culture, since they are vehicles for a great amount of information and diverse content. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to make these products accessible for everyone, especially children. Visually impaired children need systems such as audio description to be able to consume and enjoy audiovisual content, and these systems have to take into consideration their needs in order to adapt to them.
The main goal of this project is to offer a critical analysis of the different standards and guides that govern filmic audio description in Spain and other countries like the United Kingdom and the United States. Therefore, the present study delves into the recommendations specifically addressed to the audio description of children’s programmes that exist nowadays. In order to do that, the recipients’ main characteristics and specific needs have been studied, as well as the benefits audio description may have for their learning process. Some proposals for the creation of specific guidelines for children’s audio description have also been analysed.
Finally, these standards have been used for the creation of an audio description proposal specifically addressed to children for the short animation film Puppy. The differences between conventional audio description and children’s audio description have been analysed and a justification has been offered for the present proposal, hoping that they serve as a guide for the creation of future children’s audio descriptions.