The 21st Audio Description Institute will be held virtually from Monday, February 20 to Friday, February 24, 2023 at 1pm - 5pm Eastern each day.
Audio Description (AD) makes visual images accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Using words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative, media describers convey the visual image from television and film that is not fully accessible to a significant segment of the population (more than 32 million Americans experience significant vision loss).
The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act has spawned a virtual cottage industry for the development of description for broadcast television. Be a part of it!
About the Audio Description Institute
Attendees May Include
- Freelance description writers for broadcast television
- Describers in local performing arts programs
- Describers for visual art exhibitions and/or
- Experienced audio describers desiring an updated refresher course
Topics
- Audio description history and theory
- The "Four Fundamentals of Audio Description" ©
- Active seeing/visual literacy-developing skills in concentration and observation
- The art of "editing" what you see
- Vivid language: "The Visual Made Verbal"™
- "Speak the speech, I pray you"-using the spoken word to make meaning
Program
- Five afternoons of intensive, interactive training
- Each registrant will receive a PDF copy of Dr. Joel Snyder's ACB-published The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description.
The interactive sessions (limited use of lecture, questions/discussion throughout, generous use of media, and individual and group writing exercises) are designed to provide immediate feedback and "give and take," allowing for adaptation according to a sense of participants' grasp of the material. In addition, experienced users of description are a part of the Institute's faculty, providing an important perspective throughout the sessions.
This Institute will begin at 1pm Eastern on Monday, February 20, 2023, and conclude Friday, February 24, 2023 at 5pm. Participation is strictly limited.
ACB-sponsored certificates will be issued to all successful participants confirming completion of this professional description training program.
NOTE: Freelance writers for broadcast television projects can often be based anywhere in the world—computer equipment capable of accommodating high-speed downloads is a must.
Registration
Institute registration is $550 (registration is limited). Registration will close on February 13, 2023, and the invitation to attend the institute will be emailed on February 15, 2023, to the email address provided on the form. Register for the 2023 Audio Description Institute here.
Agenda
Access the 2023 Audio Description Institute Agenda here.
Scholarships
Two full scholarships are available; priority will be given to people with disabilities. To be considered for a scholarship, please send an email outlining how and why you are a strong candidate and include your reason for needing financial assistance at this time. Please send an email requesting consideration to [email protected] by January 30, 2023. The scholarship awardees will be notified by February 10, 2023.
Scholarships are courtesy of Michele Spitz-Woman of Her Word.
Institute Director
Joel Snyder, Ph.D.
One of the first audio describers, Dr. Snyder began describing theater events and media in 1981; he is the President of Audio Description Associates, LLC with clients world-wide and Founder/Senior Consultant of ACB's Audio Description Project an initiative he founded in 2009. For six years, he led a staff that produced description for feature films and nationally broadcast series including "Sesame Street" broadcasts and DVDs. Snyder has worked with description and trained describers in more than 40 states and in over 60 countries.
Faculty
Joyce Adams
Joyce has been producing/writing AD scripts for media and museum tours since 2002. She supervised AD script writers for the Described Media program at the National Captioning Institute, is the author of audio described tours for National Park Service visitor centers throughout the U.S. and regularly pens description for promotional videos produced by Microsoft. Both Ms. Adams and Dr. Snyder serve on the ACVREP Subject Matter Expert Committee developing a certification program for audio describers.
Elisa Jansen
Elisa is a graduate of the ADP Audio Description Institute. She has written audio description for network and Internet broadcast, such as NBC, CBS, Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix—and for the classic film, Citizen Kane. Her work on promotional content includes Walmart, Kimberly-Clark, and over 700 Microsoft videos. Elisa has provided audio description for museum tours and exhibits, including the Smithsonian, the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.
Audio Description Consumer Consultants
In addition, audio description enthusiasts who are blind or have low vision will offer their perspectives:
Susan Glass
Susan Glass is a free-lance writer and poet whose forthcoming chapbook The Wild Language of Deer, will be released by Slate Roof Press later this spring. A retired English professor from San Jose State University and West Valley Community College, Susan taught English Composition, American Multicultural Literature, Creative Writing, and interdisciplinary courses with a Disability Studies emphasis. An active member of the American Council of the Blind since 2013, she advocates passionately for audio description, especially in live venues such as theaters, museums, and parks. She loves hiking with her guide dog Omni and riding her horse, Travis.
Chris Snyder
Chris has been in the video description industry for over 12 years and is the chief engineer at Audio Eyes. He has produced hundreds of hours of description for network television, cinema, DVDs and independent film. He is also an award-winning producer of audio drama including Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "The Halloween Tree". As a voiceover artist, he has voiced many hours of description and he is also a character voice actor for audio dramas and animation.