The 2010 Audio Description Project Conference
Summary

The 2nd annual ADP Conference and separate Describer Training are now over.  We had representatives of 12 states and the District of Columbia, plus 12 countries, either as attendees or speakers, some of whom were remotely hooked in via computer -- 49 people in all.

Congratulations to all the award winners announced at the conference:  their names are now posted on our Conference page, and we have uploaded audio transcripts of most of the sessions, as well as written summaries of key points.  You'll find all the details on the ...

ADP Conference Page
( August 10)

Audio Description Training Opportunities

Want to become a describer or brush up on skills?  Here are training opportunities we know about:

• Online Course at Fractured Atlas (ongoing, free)
• Montgomery College (9/20-11/29)

 Audio Description Samples

View and Read a Sample of Audio Description
Bringing Light to the Dark: Audio description
Decent Work for People With Disabilities:  Count Us In!
More Samples ...

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Audio Described DVD Update

Oops, we missed one!  Dear John, released in May, has description.  The complete list of 24 audio described DVDs released so far in 2010 follows:  Death at a Funeral, Repo Men, The Bounty Hunter, The Lightning Thief, Green Zone, The Wolfman, Dear John, Alice in Wonderland,  Legion, Tooth Fairy, Leap Year, It's Complicated,  Avatar (Blu-ray only), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 (multiple packaging options), Planet 51, The Fourth Kind, Disney's The Princess and the Frog, 2012, Cirque du Freak: the Vampire's Assistant, Couple's Retreat, Love Happens, and Zombieland.  ( August 29)

New Zealanders to Get Audio Description on TV

Funding was made available this month to pilot a year of audio description on NZ On Air.  TVNZ will build the service into their infrastructure, and a limited amount of TV One programming will be described.  After NZ On Air and TVNZ evaluate the success of the pilot, and depending on available funding, it is expected the service will roll out more broadly. 

Audio Description will be provided on the digital Freeview service for TVNZ.  New set top boxes and Freeview-integrated televisions available in 2011 will include the necessary software to enable viewers to turn on the AD track.  Viewers with existing set top boxes and integrated televisions will require a software upgrade to access the service.  Press Release.  (August 23)

HR 3101 Passes the House,
S 3304 Passes the Senate!

HR 3101 (Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009) passed the House on July 26, and the companion bill, S 3304 (Equal Access to 21st Century Communications Act) passed the Senate late on August 5!  The House now has to consider the Senate version of the bill before it becomes law.  (As of August 9th, it has not yet been passed to the House.)

Compromises were made in the Senate bill to pick up some of the better parts of the House bill.  One of the key provisions is to authorize the FCC to require 7 hours per week of video description on the top 4 network channels and top 5 cable channels nationwide, but this has yet to be fully clarified.  Read the details.

Thanks to Rosaline Crawford and all the members of COAT for pushing these bills to a vote.  The ACB and its rep Eric Bridges were instrumental in pushing technical details.  You can follow the progress of the bill at GovTrack as follows:  HR3101 and S3304.  (Updated Aug 10)