NEWSrelease

News from the National Captioning Institute, Inc.

May 18, 2006

"Over the Hedge" – Opening May 19 at Theaters Across the U.S. With Description at Participating Theaters Provided by NCI Described Media

Washington, DC – On May 19, 2006, “Over The Hedge” from DreamWorks Animation SKG will open in movie theaters throughout the United States. Many of these theaters will offer the option of audio description so people who are blind or have low vision will not miss any of the action. This is the second film described by the National Captioning Institute’s Described Media division for first-run release in movie theaters.

Although best known for providing closed captioning for television programming and home entertainment releases for more than 25 years, the National Captioning Institute (NCI) began providing audio description for television programs in 2002 as part of the nonprofit company’s commitment to making video programming accessible to all people. “We are pleased to continue our partnership with DreamWorks Animation to extend NCI’s commitment to access to first-run theatrical releases,” stated Jack Gates, President and CEO, NCI Operations. “Through audio description, people who are blind or have low vision are able to go to movie theaters and fully enjoy films such as ‘Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit,’ the earlier DreamWorks release that we described, and now ‘Over The Hedge.’”

Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, “Over The Hedge” features a forest full of animated characters given voice by Hollywood’s stars including Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, William Shatner, Nick Nolte, Wanda Sykes, Steve Carell, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Allison Janney and Avril Lavigne. Spring has sprung, and Verne (Garry Shandling) and his woodland friends awaken from their long winter's nap to discover that a tall, green "thing" has mysteriously cropped up right through the middle of their home. Enter RJ (Bruce Willis), an opportunistic raccoon, who explains that the world beyond the hedge is the "gateway to the good life" where peculiar creatures called humans live to eat, rather than eat to live. Suspicious and even a little jealous of RJ, the ever-cautious Verne wants to keep his blended family safely on their side of the hedge. But, proving the adage that one man's garbage is another man's--or rather animal's--treasure, the manipulative RJ tries to convince the woodland band that there is little to fear and everything to gain from their over-indulgent new neighbors. Eventually, RJ and Verne form an unlikely friendship as they learn to co-exist with--and even exploit--this strange new world called suburbia. More information is available at www.overthehedgemovie.com.

Audio description provides access to film, television and prerecorded video programming for people who are blind or have low vision, an estimated audience of over 12 million Americans. This detailed process provides concise and vivid descriptions of a program’s visual elements enabling users of the service to "see" colors, costumes, settings, facial expressions, gestures and actions.

Description writers carefully select words that bring lasting images to life that not only enable those who are visually impaired to enjoy film, television or recorded programming, but also enhance the experience for all viewers. Selected descriptions are added during pauses in the dialogue within the program without disrupting the original soundtrack.

In movie theaters offering audio description, the descriptions are heard via a wireless headset provided by each the theater. For television, descriptions can be heard through the Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) or Multi-channel Television Sound (MTS) feature on the television or remote.

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National Captioning Institute
With offices in the Washington, DC metropolitan area (Vienna, VA); Burbank, CA; Dallas, TX; and London, England, the nonprofit National Captioning Institute is the global captioning leader, supplying the highest quality closed captioning, description, and related services for broadcast and cable television, home video and DVD, and government and corporate video programming.

DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG (NYSE-DWA) is devoted to producing high-quality family entertainment through the use of computer-generated (CG) animation. Utilizing world-class creative talent and state-of-the-art technological capabilities, the company is committed to making two computer-animated feature films a year that appeal to a broad movie-going audience.

For More Information:

Contact: Jay Feinberg

703-917-7600 (V/TTY)

703-917-9853 (FAX)

jfeinberg@ncicap.org

 

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