The American Council of the Blind / Audio Description Project March 2021 VIRTUAL Audio Description Institute

The ACB, Audio Description, and the ADP logos

December 20, 2020

CORRECTION: Please note the corrected email address for delivery of scholarship requests - kim.charlson@perkins.org (see below)

http://weblink.donorperfect.com/2021AudioDescriptionInstitute

(Note: You’ll be asked to create a login for the ACB database and continue to register for the Institute.)

The American Council of the Blind's

Audio Description Project Announces Its Seventeenth

AUDIO DESCRIPTION INSTITUTE

March 1-5, 2021

(Monday through Friday)

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm Eastern each day

- ALL VIRTUAL -

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 implementation of 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!

Who Should Attend

Anyone interested in:

- working as freelance description writers for broadcast television

- working as a describer in a

local performing arts program

- working as a describer for

visual art exhibitions

and

- experienced audio describers desiring an updated refresher course.

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.

Topics Include--

1) audio description history and theory

2) the "Four Fundamentals of Audio Description" ©

3) active seeing/visual literacy-developing skills in concentration and observation

4) the art of "editing" what you see

5) vivid language: "The Visual Made Verbal"™

6) "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 1:00 pm Eastern on Monday, March 1, 2020 and conclude at 5:00 pm

on Friday, March 5, 2020.

(detailed agenda below).

Participation is strictly limited. The Institute will issue ACB-sponsored certificates to all successful participants confirming completion of this professional description training program.

Institute Director/Staff

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 (see www.audiodescribe.com for more information) and Director of ACB's Audio Description Project (www.acb.org/adp) an initiative he founded in 2009. For six years, he led a staff that produced description for nationally broadcast films and network 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 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.

In addition, audio description consumer consultants (audio description enthusiasts who are blind or have low vision) will offer their perspectives.

Institute registration is $400.

(registration is limited)

Registration will close on February 24, 2021 and the invitation to attend the institute will be emailed on February 26, 2021. Your invitation to attend the institute will be sent to the email address provided on the form.

NOTE: 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 kim.charlson@perkins.org before February 6, 2021. The scholarship awardees will be notified February 15, 2021.

Scholarships are courtesy of

Michele Spitz-Woman of Her Word.

www.womanofherword.com

http://weblink.donorperfect.com/2021AudioDescriptionInstitute

(Note: You’ll be asked to create a login for the ACB database and continue to register for the Institute.)

The agenda for the March 2021 VIRTUAL Audio Description Institute can be found below.

For questions or additional information, contact

JOEL SNYDER, PhD

Director, Audio Description Project

American Council of the Blind

jsnyder@acb.org -- 202 467-5083

For more information about audio description, please visit:

www.acb.org/adp

President, Audio Description Associates, LLC

"The Visual Made Verbal" ™

™ ADA logo--an eye within an ear

6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912

jsnyder@audiodescribe.com -- 301 920-0218

www.audiodescribe.com

AGENDA

2021 ACB-Audio Description Project

VIRTUAL AUDIO DESCRIPTION INSTITUTE

March 1-5, 2021

each day - 1:00 pm-5:00 pm Eastern

DAY I - Monday, March 1, 2021

1:00 pm-3:00 pm: Opening Workshop

- The visually impaired user

- Audio description history and theory

- Overview of fundamentals of audio description

Concentration/observation

Editing what you see

Language

Vocal skills: speech and oral interpretation fundamentals

3:00 pm - 3:15 pm: break

3:15 pm-5:00 pm: Opening Workshop (continued)

- Viewing / analysis of audio described excerpts

Day 2 - Tuesday, March 2, 2021

1:00 pm-3:00 pm:

- Viewing / analysis of audio described excerpts

3:00 pm - 3:15 pm: break

3:15 pm-5:00 pm:

- Viewing / analysis of audio described excerpts

Day 3 - Wednesday, March 3, 2021

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm: