Fenway Theater has new options for Blind, Hearing-impared
June 23rd, 2007
In the darkness of a movie theater, yellow letters written in reverse shine on a light-emitted diode (LED) display hung next to the projector at the rear of the auditorium. On a Plexiglas rear window I have plugged on my glass holder, I can read the following message: “Welcome to Rear Window. Please adjust your reflector.”
Minutes later, a voice starts talking in the infrared headphones I’m wearing, describing what’s happening on the screen. I close my eyes and listen to the deep and dynamic voice. The details of each scene, from the characters’ movements, to the colors of their clothes, take me into the movie.
© Jeffrey Dunn for WGBH
I’m not sitting in a super IMAX Theater, but at the Regal Fenway 13 on Brookline Avenue. The movie playing in auditorium 8 is Spiderman 3 and I’m testing the MoPix system developed by WGBH Media Access Group for persons with disabilities.
The MoPix system comprises the patented Rear Window Captioning System, a diplay that reverses captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and the DVS Theatrical System, which delivers descriptive narration via infrared listening system, enabling blind and visually impaired movigoers to hear the descriptive narration on headsets between the dialogues in the movie. The reflective panels are portable and adjustable and the headsets work without any wire, enabling the users to sit anywhere in the theater.
© Jeffrey Dunn for WGBH
According to the American Foundation for the Blind 10 million people are blind or visually impaired in the United States; and the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders reports that approximately 28 million Americans have a hearing impairment.
The Media Access Group at WGBH has developed new tools to help that population reach the movie theaters. Since 1970, WGBH has been a pioneer in developing access solutions for mass media. In 1992, they created the MoPix system.
“The Regal Fenway equipped one of its auditoriums with our system something like five years ago,” explains Mary Watkins, the outreach director for the WGBH Media Access Group. Different recent movies play only in auditorium number 8 and you’ll get the equipment for free at the Welcome desk upon demand.
Since late 1997, more than 450 films have been released with both closed captions and descriptions, or with closed captions alone. In 2006, 100 films were released with the MoPix features. Check out the list for the movies working with the MoPix system available this summer at: http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/comingsoon.html
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