20220625 Self-Description: Too Much or Just Enough - Blind Community Perspectives Originally Aired June 25, 2022, on ACB Media
Sponsored: Audio Description Project
Edited By: Michael Moran
~~Podcasts Related to Audio Description: Attendees met the hosts of five podcasts featuring audio description, and learn how each got started, what they cover, and their plans for the future. Moderator: Kim Charlson, Co-Chair, Audio Description Project, Watertown, MA Podcasts include:
1. Picture This: A Podcast on All Aspects of Audio Description Co-Hosts: Brian Charlson, Watertown, MA; Carl Richardson, Brighton, MA Picturethis. [email protected]
Reid My Mind Podcast Host: Thomas Reid [email protected]
Social Audio Description Podcast Co-Hosts: Kensuke Nakamura and Caitlin Walsh [email protected]
Talk Description to Me Co-Hosts: JJ Hunt, and Christine Malec, Toronto, ONT, Canada [email protected]
The Know Your Narrator Podcast Host: Roy Samuelson, [email protected]
Recorded during the ACB national convention on July 23 2021
~~Audio Description Project Website Overview and Update (acb.org/adp): The number of audio-described videos available has increased dramatically in the past year to the 6,000-plus range. The ADP website is the place to find pointers to them all. The presentation covered how you can best use the website to find what interests you and how to access description resources. Presenter ♥: Fred Brack, ADP Webmaster and Social Media Manager, Raleigh, NC, [email protected] facebook.com/acbadp twitter.com/ADPwebmaster
~~An Evening with ACB: Audio Description and Streaming Services: This industry panel featured representatives from major streaming services to discuss their product’s, programming, services, and offerings. Moderator: Carl Richardson, Co-Chair, ACB Audio Description Project, Brighton, MA Panelists: ♣ Melanie Goodman, Lead Digital Supply Chain Specialist, HULU, Agoura Hills, CA ♣ Martha Heller, Vice President, Government Relations and Regulatory Counsel, Viacom CBS, Paramount+ Washington, DC ♣ Sarah Herrlinger, Director, Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives, Apple, Cupertino, CA ♣ Daniel Kocmarek, Sr., Manager, Prime Video, Seattle, WA ♣ Mirka Pavlikova, Manager, Technical Production, Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, CA ♣ Allison Smith, Globalization Innovation Manager, Netflix, Los Gatos, CA ♣ Andy Larkin, Senior Manager, Accessibility, HBO Max, Chicago, IL ♣ Peacock with Thomas Wlodkowski, Vice President, Accessibility, Comcast, Philadelphia, PA
~~BPI Audio Description: Dragging the Boys of Audio Description Behind the Curtain: Attendees joined BPI Board Member Chris Snyder as he welcomed Roy Samuelson, audio description narrator, Los Angeles, CA, JJ Hunt and Byron Lee as they share behind the scenes stories and walked us through the art of creating audio description.
~~Meet the Author: Attendees met Judy Dixon, Writer, Arlington, VA: Judy has just authored Audio Description: What it is, Where to Find it, and how to Use it, published by National Braille Press. Attendees learned about how she came to write this book, do her research, and asked her questions. Sponsored by: LUA, BRL, and ADP
~~Audio Description in the Outdoors: National Park Service, the UniDescription Project, and the UniD App: This session featured the National Park Service's work to bring audio description and increased access into park settings and highlighted the NPS's collaboration with the University of Hawaii's UniDescription Project to use its UniD app in U.S. and Canadian parks. Moderator: Jo Lynn Bailey-Page, ACB Audio Description Project Coordinator Panelists: ♥ Brett Oppegaard, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Communications, University of Hawaii at Manoa and Principal Investigator of the UniDescription Project, Honolulu, HI ♥ Michele Hartley, Media Accessibility Coordinator, Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service, Harpers Ferry, WV ♥ Holly Griesemer, Management and Program Analyst for the National Park Service Midwest Region: Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance and Accessibility Programs, Omaha, NE ♥ Clark Rachfal, Director, Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, American Council of the Blind (ACB), Alexandria, VA
~~Diversity: Describing Race, Skin Color, Ethnicity, Gender, and Disability within Contemporary Audio Description: Attendees heard a direct and thoughtful discussion by a panel of audio description experts on the importance of diversity within the field, how to describe in today’s diverse world, and reflected on what consumers want to hear in their descriptions. Moderator: Kim Charlson, Audio Description Project Co-Chair, Watertown, MA Panelists: ♦ Dr. Rachel Hutchinson, Project and Community Engagement Manager, Royal Holloway, University of London, Inclusive Description for Equality and Access (IDEA) #InclusiveAD, London, UK ♦ Thomas Reid, Reid My Mind Radio, Stroudsburg, PA ♦ Cheryl Green, Audio Describer/Voicer, Portland, OR ♦ Maria Vicky Diaz, Ph.D., Dicapta Foundation, Oviedo, FL ♦ Renee Arrington-Johnson, Audio Description Consumer, Member, ACB ADP Steering Committee, Lyndhurst, OH Co-sponsored by: ADP and MCAC
~~Audio Description in the Performing Arts: This panel of leading theater access professionals highlighted various ways audio description has been provided in performing arts venues, and how each has evolved to provide virtual description services during a pandemic. Moderator: Joel Snyder, PhD, Founder and Senior Consultant, ACB Audio Description Project, Takoma Park, MD Panelists: ♦ Brenna Nicely, Education and Engagement Director, American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, MA ♦ Mary Hanks, Audio Describer, Houston Grand Opera, Houston, TX ♦ Jess Curtis, Artistic Director, Jess Curtis/Gravity, San Francisco, CA ♦ Alice Shepherd, Artistic Director, Kinetic Light, London, UK