Audio description in cinemas

The narration is recorded by the distributor and shipped inside the DCP as its own audio channel, commonly labelled VI-N (visually impaired narrative). It is not mixed into the main soundtrack. The cinema's sound processor routes that channel to a transmitter, and the patron hears it on a headset alongside the normal film sound in the room.

Because it is a separate channel, nothing about audio description changes the showing for anyone else. That is why, unlike open captions, it can be offered at every showing of a title that carries it rather than at special screenings.

Almost never in the equipment, and almost always at the edges: the headset is not charged, the staff member on the counter does not know where the devices are kept, or the website gives no sign that the title carries description at all. A blind patron planning a trip needs to know before leaving home.

Treat it as a ticket attribute rather than as a piece of kit: mark it in the listing, make it filterable, and prompt the front-of-house team from the booking itself.