Voice Qualities in Audio Subtitles : Opportunities and Challenges in Voice Design for accessibility and beyond

Sammanfattning: This paper explores novel experiential qualities of the voice in Audio Subtitles through research through design. Audio subtitles is an accessibility service for users who have trouble comprehending subtitles in audiovisual content and has been newly developed for video on demand platforms such as SVT Play. In order to explore possibilities in its voice design, short video clips of films and TV series with different types of audio subtitles were produced, presented to and discussed with a small number of potential users of audio subtitles that included people with dyslexia, cognitive difficulties and autism. Results indicated that applied voices that did not support the user’s expectations, low and high pitches as well as low-quality speech synthesis, made for uncomfortable experiences, which could prove to be useful for provoking reflection and challenging norms. The paper also discusses how voice design for this service has the potential to match the filmmakers intentions by translating more than semantic information, as well as how audio subtitles could potentially be produced by professional sound designers and filmmakers instead of video on demand services. Finally, challenges such as misgendering and insensitive choices of voice in voice design for audio subtitles are considered, underscoring how ethics can’t be avoided when working with the voice modality.