Mastering Difficult Audio Description – Channel 4’s ‘Naked Attraction’

 

New challenges come up all the time in Audio Description. As content-makers innovate, we are forced to rethink how we convey what’s on screen to our blind and partially sighted audiences. In order to keep up with this ever-changing landscape, we always have to be agile and adapt our editorial guidelines as required.

 

‘Naked Attraction’ is a British game show about dating, broadcast on Channel 4. A fully clothed person is faced with six naked people, who are initially hidden in booths. Over successive rounds, their bodies and faces are gradually revealed from the feet up. At each round, the chooser eliminates one naked person until only two are left, at which point the chooser also takes off their clothes to make the final choice.

"We want to make sure our programmes are inclusive and can be enjoyed by as many different audiences as possible, which is why we are dedicated to improving the quality of Access Services on Channel 4 shows. For Naked Attraction, we’ve made the Audio Description a feature and made it more immersive to fit in with the tone of the programme. We were delighted that the resulting AD went down so well with our service users and wider audiences.”

Jonathan Penny Access Services Manager, Channel 4

The Challenge

Describing nudity in great detail, while remaining objective.

 

  • Channel 4’s dating show, Naked Attraction, was a great editorial challenge for describers, as it required them to describe full-blown and up-close nudity in detail, while remaining objective and not clashing with the show’s good-natured humour.
  • Notorious for its explicit, almost biological, examination of people’s genitals, the show elicits in audiences both great amusement and acute embarrassment. Describers had a real challenge on their hands to reflect this same experience for blind and partially sighted viewers.

The Solution

Our flexible and adaptable Audio Description service with very experienced scripters

 

  • Working closely with Channel 4, the Red Bee Audio Description team workshopped various approaches to arrive at a solution.
  • Experimenting outside the usual “rules” of Audio Description, where describers aim to be unintrusive in their description style, the team decided to make the AD a talking point for the audiences by using funny terms and euphemisms that matched and complemented the funny-but-kind tone of the show.

The Result

Very high level of audience engagement with the programme’s AD becoming a trending topic on social media.

 

  • Audience reaction to the Audio Description was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Twitter users across the UK encouraged sighted viewers to turn on the AD so they could share in the experience.
  • One of the most popular radio shows in the UK played out the AD on primetime radio over several weeks and even arranged special voicing sessions to produce an AD version of the show.
  • The publicity resulted in even the programme itself giving a shoutout to its own Audio Description.