How I Fuel my TV / Movie Addiction.
I’m a borderline movie and TV addict.
I keep loose track of how much content I consume and last year I watched over 400 films and a couple hundred episodes of various shows. In case that doesn’t hit home, that’s more than one movie a day… Every day. For a year.
But since I’m a responsible adult with a job, a dog to take care of, and a body that needs to get outside once in a while, I’ve had to get creative about my viewing habits.
I realized that if I listened to my movies and shows while driving, working out, walking my dog, or cooking, I could get through so much more. And I can imagine you’re thinking:
“But you’ll miss all the action!”
Enter, Audio Description. Years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act began to require Hollywood studios to create a special audio track that narrates their content so that blind people could enjoy it too. The voiceover describes all of the visuals on the screen, including scenes, facial expressions, battles, and visual gags.
If we think back to when Closed Captions were just hitting the market, they were seen as a solution for the Deaf / Hard of Hearing. Now? The average consumer uses them everyday on YouTube and Netflix. While Audio Description was made with the Blind community in mind, I can absolutely see it going mainstream too.
What’s crazy is that thousands of these tracks have already been produced and I can say with full confidence: They are wonderful.
I’ve listened as Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, I’ve imagined the wildness of Forrest Gump’s beard as he traversed America in his ragged clothing, and I’ve cried as Carl lost his beautiful wife in the first few minutes of Up.
Curious what this actually feels like? Here’s a few clips:
I get in about 2 hours a day and find myself on my couch a lot less often. I spend more time outdoors and chores have become so much less of a bore. Pair these audio tracks with some comfortable bluetooth headphones and I’m set for hours.
I even put together a little site to use from my computer / phone when I’m on the go and called it Audie! (Audio + Movie… Get it?). You can check it out and try it yourself.
In a day and age when every day I get a new recommendation for a show I “HAVE TO WATCH,” it’s so amazing to get away from my screen and still keep up with it all. We’re seeing the rise of audio with Audiobooks and Podcasts, so why not movies for all the fans out there?
Binge-listen is my new binge-watch. And let me know if you have any movie / TV themed trivia nights we can kick ass at sometime.
