Featured Articles
Biden Inauguration With Audio Description
The Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
(Wednesday, January 20, 11 am ET); Featuring:
Swearing-In Ceremony, Pass In Review, Arlington National
Cemetery Wreath Laying Ceremony, Presidential Escort, Parade
Across America
Audio Description:
https://youtu.be/cctCd8jI0e8.
Celebrating
America (Wednesday, January 20 at 8:30 pm
ET)
Audio Description: https://youtu.be/tm33Axg0TIY.
(Posted Jan 21)
Bridging the Gap: Media Accessibility and AD
The Sundance Film Festival is sponsoring a panel discussion entitled
“Bridging the Gap” – Media Accessibility & Audio Description. The
discussion will take place via Zoom on Sunday, January 31, at 2:30 pm Eastern
time (11:30 am Pacific), and enrollment (via the link above) is free.
Moderated by Michele Spitz (Woman of Her Word voiceover artist and
philanthropist), six panelists will participate. Their titles include
writer, director, head audio description writer, voiceover artist, post
production manager, and AD enthusiast. Join them! If you can't
make it, check the site later for a recording. (Posted Jan 19)
AD Service Providers Now Categorized
Due to the growth in the number of providers (now approaching 100), the
AD Services page has been revised to categorize
each service provider (vendor) and to allow visitors to narrow in on exactly
what they are looking for by selecting the category to display. In
addition, buttons on the page now allow for simplified new submissions or
updates to existing entries. Categories include: Writing, Voicing,
Audio Engineering, Full Service (all 3 previous services), Quality Control and
Consulting, Training, and Local AD Providers (e.g., local live theatre).
Existing providers may wish to verify our choice of categorization, and those
not already listed are welcome to submit new listings. (Posted Jan 19)
Deadline Extended to March 15th!
Enter the 2021
BADIE Contest
Time
was running out (but the deadline was just extended!) for school-age children to submit their
reviews of audio described videos and potentially
be rewarded with prizes. The 2021
Benefits of Audio Description
In Education (BADIE, rhymes with lady) contest is open for submissions from children aged 7 to 21.
Read about the BADIE Submission
Process. The new deadline for entries is March 15.
(Updated Jan 15)
ACB/ADP Achievement Award Nominations
It's time again (the 13th time, to be exact) to nominate an individual or
organization for an ADP Achievement Award. This year
the categories have been restructured a bit to allow separate nomination for
individuals and organizations for Media, Performing Arts, and Museums.
Read the full nomination criteria and options for submitting a nomination at
2021 ADP Achievement Award Nominations. You can also see previous
winners in The Audio Description Honor Roll.
(Posted Jan 12)
ADP Website Year-End 2020 Report
During 2020, I tried to find ways to make the ADP website more informative and usable. Here are some of the updates that occurred during the year, in no particular order, in case you missed a few:
Read the rest of the Website YE 2020 Report.
(Reposted in shortened form Jan 12)
Next
Audio Describer Training
The next Audio Description
Institute, sponsored by the ADP, will be held virtually via Zoom March
1-5. Details can be found in the
Virtual Audio Description Institute brochure. (Updated Jan
5)
Q&A on Audio Description With Dr. Joel Snyder
ADP Project Director and President of Audio Description Associates Dr. Joel
Snyder was recently interviewed by Equal Entry Services, a company whose
primary focus is on how people with disabilities actually use technology.
"[T]here is simply no good reason why a person with a physical disability must
also be culturally disadvantaged." Read the
Q&A on Audio Description With Dr. Joel Snyder. (Posted Dec 22)
Lost in Translation:
Audio Description Needed in
Commercials!
If you are blind, you can relate to this experience had by Sumaira Latif,
Leader, Company Accessibility, Procter & Gamble, as she previewed a company
commercial for the "Flash" brand : "Everyone in the room kept laughing
when it started playing, but all I could hear was the song ‘Flash’ by Queen.
What I didn’t know was that it was a dog singing the song, and that the
creativity and humour embedded throughout the advert was intended to make
consumers smile." Read:
Lost in translation: Why audio description must go onto the accessibility
agenda; or
view the Flash commercial with AD.
You may also wish to read this excellent article,
‘The voice of blind people hasn't been heard’: inside the fight for
audio-described ads, which covers the same story but goes further,
showing additional described advertisements and discussing the challenges
associated with getting them published. "P&G has proven its
campaigning power in the UK market, American broadcasters may soon follow.
The world’s largest advertiser is now audio-describing all of its ads in the
US, as well as in the UK and Spain..."
We
have finally found some audio described commercials and are pleased to
present this new page of Commercials With Audio
Description! (Updated Dec 22)
Audio Description News
Audio Described DVDs and Blu-ray Discs
2 DVDs with Audio Description were released on January 19: Dreamland;
The Climb. 3 DVDs with Audio Description were released on January 12:
Jungleland;
Lupin III: The First;
Spell. 1 DVD was released
on January 5:
Love and Monsters.


Next Week January 26: Come Play.
2021 USA Described DVDs:
Dreamland;
The Climb;
Jungleland; Lupin III: The First;
Spell;
Love and Monsters. 2020
Titles
Honest Thief;
Kajillionaire;
Infidel;
Tenet;
The Wolf of Snow Hollow;
Coming to America (4K);
Made in Italy;
The Rental;
Relic;
Summerland;
The Broken Hearts Gallery;
more...
USA Described DVDs:
2021 | 2020 | All
Since 1997 | For Children
Join us on Facebook or Twitter (links below) to receive new described
DVD notifications.
New
Audio Described TV Shows
Call Your
Mother, Wednesdays at 10:30pm ;
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Thursdays at 8pm;
The Chase,
Thursdays at 9pm;
The Hustler
Thursdays at 10pm.
Jan 15
Name That Tune,
Mondays at 9pm; Call Me Kat
Thursdays at 9pm;
The Great
North coming Feb 14th.
Jan 12
Help! I Wrecked My House, Thursdays at 10am;
Ty Breaker,
various times.
Jan 12
Mr. Mayor,
Thursdays at 8pm;
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Tuesdays at 8pm.
Jan 12
The Go-Big
Show, Thursdays at 9pm (also on TBS).
Jan 12
View: TV Shows
by Network or
TV Shows by Day.
Google Play Store Audio Described Titles
Google
appears to offer audio described titles for sale or rent in their Google Play
Store. They seem to have 26 movies, and possibly 23 TV series
(but beware the "More Movie Results" heading on the same page). Once we figure out a way to get a regularly updated listing, we
will formally list them on our site. For now, you can click our
Other Media link in the navigation bar where
you will find a link to Google's listing. Basically, you go to the
Google Play Store,
select "Movies & TV," then search for "audio description." Or just click
here for
Google Play Store AD titles! (Posted Jan 19)
Audio Description for Horror Films
If you like horror films, you may be interested in joining a new Facebook
group:
Audio Description Horror Films. The founder, Jaye Adams, is an
"upcoming independent horror filmmaker" who pledges his films will be
"inclusive of AD"; and he will use the FB group "to collaboratively help shape
these films." He urges sharing of information about the best described
horror films, including comments about description quality.
By the way, we track described films by genre for several streaming
services. If you are interested in the horror genre,
check out our iTunes
list,
Netflix list,
and Prime Video list.
(Posted Jan 15)
Foreign Films Released in the USA Need AD!
Read
Lack of Dubbing or Audio Description Tracks on Foreign Films Create a
“Hundred-Foot Concrete Wall” for People with Low Vision.. (Posted Dec
25)
The Mandalorian’s Audio Description is Truly “The Way"
If you are a fan of Disney's The Mandalorian, then you will "get"
the title of this article. The audio description of The Mandalorian
has received a lot of praise from viewers, and this article goes into detail
as to why. "First of all, the descriptive language they use is
impressive ... clear, concise, and graceful as if the words came from a book."
While the language is the choice of the audio description writer, how that
language is expressed verbally is equally important. "[Nicole]
Zanzarella’s voice fits perfectly into the show. She is never hard to
understand, and the narration is entirely seamless. She also does a great job
of not filling every moment of silence with narration. Instead, she gives the
audience enough time to enjoy the fantastic soundtrack that accompanies the
space western."
Read The Mandalorian article! (Posted Dec 18)
Feature Your Organization Here
What do YOU do for audio description? Do you provide services professionally?
Are you a non-profit which has been providing description for local
theaters for years? An independent? A theatre or museum
which provides description? We'd like to hear from you. Send us a write-up about your
work, and we'll consider it for publication here! Use the
Webmaster link at the bottom of the page.