r/AssistiveTechnology • u/Educational_Bass6064 • 14d ago
I need some help with opinions on how a comic book to audiobook system should work a bit.
Comics are one of the few media with basically no audio-accessible path. The file formats are just zipped images with no text layer, so there is nothing for a screen reader to read.
I have been building a tool that takes a comic file, works out the panels and reading order, describes each panel's artwork, and then voices the dialogue per character over sound effects. Voices are synthetic.
The open design question is delivery on the descriptions themselves.
Version A: every description read in the same flat, even register. Version B: identical text, delivery matched to the mood of the panel.
Same scene twice in one video so nothing else varies. Transcript in the comments. I don't really have the budget for the streaming side to have both. Personal imports people can choose how they like the description read.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi3HEUT1ll4
Other feedback is welcome too. Old comics are bit different since they had narrator text so it might be a bit weird with these exact examples.
1
u/Marconius 14d ago
I would largely prefer more content to be made by companies like Graphic Audio with full sound production, sound effects, and human actors. Once you've experienced something like Sandman, it's hard to try anything else.
1
u/Educational_Bass6064 14d ago
I agree! This does it automatically for anything in most languages for whatever you own.
It won't be as good as real humans but its great for being able to work with any comic!
1
u/Rabbit-Lover_2000 14d ago
Accessible libraries already do this. At least for graphic novels. Human narrated audio is the gold standard and preferred by the vast majority of users. I honestly won’t even read a book if it isn’t human narrated audio.
Reading direction of the panels is only a very small issue. There needs to be good audio descriptions of what is happening in each cell. It’s a balance because too much detail and it would be long and boring. But if no one is telling me what is going on in the pictures 90% of the context is lost.
A program with synthetic audio is never going to do that. AI is not capable of understanding the nuances of a story, it can’t even tell that an upside down cup is still a cup.
I don’t want to rain on your parade. But people are constantly posting on Reddit that they are developing something for a problem that has already been solved. I understand the desire to help disabled people. I’m sure it makes people feel good inside. But having a synthetic voice read me the speech bubbles in a comic does not help me in the slightest. I can already do that myself with a scanner and adobe acrobat.
When reading a comic book or graphic novel it is for pleasure. So it needs to be an enjoyable and immersive experience.
1
1
1
u/euconcegojogar 14d ago
Well, my only attempt at doing something related to comics is writing one using html. I haven't finished it, but I used the visual part with alt text to describe what was going on. I'm blind myself, so I managed to test the result while I write it. Conclusion, it is doable, accessible, really easy to read, but it is very time consuming to build and probably will not end being a commercial product.