MUNCIE, Ind. -- A viewer need not know Russian to enjoy “The Hunt for Red October,” but having sight definitely helps.

Leah Vickery, adaptive computer technology coordinator for Ball State University's Computing Services, had that dilemma on first encountering the Sean Connery thriller.

“I nearly fell asleep through it because I couldn't follow it,” said Vickery, who has been blind the past 12 years.

Audio Description recently allowed Vickery to fully experience the chase for the rogue Soviet vessel.

“I was on the edge of my chair,” Vickery said. “I was able to experience the entire movie.”

Vickery is vice president of Audio Description International, an organization formed last month at Ohio State University after nearly three years of planning. The advocacy group describes Audio Description as “the art of turning what is seen into what is heard.”

“Audio Description is to the blind what closed captioning is to the deaf,” Vickery said. “It fills in the blanks by giving the visual aspects sighted people take for granted.”

The Nostalgia cable television channel airs movies with Audio Description and a few national movie rental chains, such as Blockbuster, have such movies available.

“Describers are well-trained to be as concise as possible and to use breaks in dialogue,” Vickery said. “They should be subtle and unobtrusive.”

Vickery tells of a student with sight who wrote a paper on the film “Dead Poets Society” after seeing an Audio Description version of the Robin Williams hit.

“She said it was like seeing a whole other movie,” she said. “Audio Description brought out things she never noticed before.”

Patrons of live theater receive Audio Description services, including playbill information, through FM transmitters and receivers.

“It's not as disruptive as having someone sit by you and describe everything,” Vickery said.

Museums also use Audio Description to bring their exhibits to life. But Vickery sees other possible uses.

“Many people perceive it as being strictly for the blind and visually impaired, but it can also help in teaching people with learning disabilities who have difficulty processing information visually,” she said.

Vickery hopes to expand Audio Description services at Ball State, already recognized as a national leader in technology services for students with disabilities.

“The people at Columbus were amazed Ball State has a copy of every audio-described movie available in its Instructional Services area,” Vickery said.