Notes on Blindness - Storyville

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Peter Middleton

James Spinney

Storyville: Notes on Blindness

Notes on Blindness

16/02/2017

BBC Four - Storyville, Notes on Blindness

A university professor documents his experiences after becoming blind.

A Storyville documentary. Moving and inspiring account of university professor's sight loss, his rebirth and renewal. Available with audio description or a heightened soundtrack.

This Bafta-nominated film is a moving and inspiring account of loss, rebirth and renewal - and the discovery of 'a world beyond sight'. In 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, John Hull, a professor at the University of Birmingham, became totally blind. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audio cassette. Over three years he recorded over sixteen hours of material. 
 
This beautifully crafted documentary takes John's original recordings as the template for the film, incorporating lip-syncing by actors in evocative reconstructions. The technique allows the viewer to immerse themselves in John's world as he comes to terms with his deteriorating sight, and learns to experience the world in different ways. As John explains about his redemptive journey: 'I knew that if I didn't understand blindness, it would destroy me.'
 
A Storyville documentary that is available in two versions, with audio description or with a heightened soundtrack.
 
This audio-described version is read by Stephen Mangan and aims to provide blind and partially sighted audiences with an alternative to the standard AD track. 
 
The heightened soundtrack uses more original narration from John and Marilyn, with extra sound design and music, to guide the audience through the story of how John coped with his sight loss.

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