How It's Done

Skilled writers watch the program and produce a rough script describing the program's action, settings, on-screen titles, and characters' body language. The writers determine which visual elements are essential to the program and produce a script that can be easily read without interfering with existing audio. Once the script is fine-tuned for style, clarity, and continuity, the writers, who are also professionally trained by voice coaches, record the narrative. These newly recorded descriptions are mixed with the original program audio and laid back to the master, which is placed in the Second Audio Program (SAP) channel of a program. A viewer at home won't hear the description unless the SAP channel is turned on.