Audio Describer Training
There are very limited opportunities to get trained as an
audio describer. Training is often held in conjunction with conferences.
Here we list the opportunities that we know about, and we solicit information
from anyone who is offering training opportunities for audio describers
anywhere in the world! Our "flagship" training program is the
Audio Description Institute, but the following
programs are listed in the order of next-scheduled training.
Last Update: Apr 16, 2020
Audio Description Training Retreats
in NC
Audio
Description Training Retreats offers lake-side training in North Carolina.
Their all-inclusive price for retreats covers
4 nights lodging in a waterfront home on Lake James, meals,
and 20 hours of formal classes plus materials. A discount
is available for students willing to share a room. Retreats
are limited to 8 participants to ensure ample practice time and
feedback.
The next Level 2 Training Retreat will be
March 26-30, 2020 (see
Level 2 Brochure). The next Level 1
Retreat will be April 16-20, 2020 (see
Level 1 Brochure).
POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19.
The two
instructors are Jan, an audio describer, and Colleen, a consumer of audio
description. Colleen’s guide dog, Joplin, will also attend.
Transportation to and from the Charlotte, NC (CLT) airport is included,
with arrival Thursday afternoon and departure Monday morning. There
are 20 hours of formal classes on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, including
generous practice time during classes, with informal learning and networking
after hours. Hiking, kayaking, swimming and a boat tour of the
lake are offered each afternoon.
Visit the Audio
Description Training Retreats website and/or contact Jan and
Colleen for more information at adtrainingretreats@gmail.com.
Listen to a podcast which includes a discussion of how the
company came into being and opportunities for blind consumers to
help create and record audio description.
Note: The Training Retreat is not sponsored by the ACB or
the Audio Description Project.
Audio Description Institute (ADI)
ADI is held annually at the ACB's Annual Conference
in JULY each year, plus several other times throughout the year.
The class is taught by Dr. Joel Snyder.
The last class was held
February 22-24 in Alexandria, Virginia, in conjunction with the mid-year
ACB Meeting.
Read the ADI Brochure for more information [reference only,
now].
The next class is TBD, due to
COVID-19.
The following information is generic and applies to
all of the ADI training programs:
Topics:
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:
- Three full days of intensive, interactive
training
- Last day luncheon will be provided
- Registration for the ACB Conference and Convention are included
- Registration for the ADP Conference is available at a discounted rate
Graduates of the February 2017 ADI Class in Virginia
| NOTE! The ADI is taught by the
director of the Audio Description Project, Dr. Joel Snyder, who
has taught audio description all over the world and obtained
his doctorate degree in the subject. In July 2014 he published
a book based on his work with audio description:
The Visual Made Verbal, available for under $20 by clicking
the link. The book is given to each workshop participant. |
Developing Audio Description Skills
(or
a related topic)
This training is held annually at the LEAD Conference,
which is generally held in August. The
mission of the conference is "to explore practical
methods for implementing accessibility in cultural environments [and]
share resources and knowledge, develop best practices, and experience
accessibility in action."
The next conference would have been August 3-7, 2020
in Raleigh, NC, but it has been postponed due to COVID-19. You
can track rescheduling plans at the
Lead Conference Web Site.
The first two days of the Conference are called
Capacity Building Workshops, and a typical class (not
necessarily taught in any given year) would be entitled
An Introduction to Developing Audio Description Skills.
This full day interactive workshop will introduce
the foundation of audio description, the “3 Core Skills” and its application
to live performance and exhibit/museum disciplines. Attendees will experience
the practical application of the core skills through participatory exercises,
lectures, and demonstrations in a shared setting. This workshop is recommended
for those both new to audio description, as well as those looking to
refresh and expand their basic skills.
A second workshop is often held on a different AD topic.
Example: Adapting Audio Description to New Technology.
For reference, in 2019 the following workshop
was
offered:
Back to the Future: Adapting Audio Description to
New Technology
Saturday August 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Registration Fee: $200
New technology affects every part of our
lives, including the process, production, and delivery of audio
description. How do new apps, tools, and approaches impact the way
that description is developed? This 8-hour workshop will cover
different techniques for crafting audio description for different
platforms in cultural arts environments, and provide opportunities
to explore new methods of description.
In addition, many full sessions (included in regular
Conference fee) cover or include audio description.
Examples from 2019:
- Audio Description Revealed
- Audio Description As a Learning Tool For Young Children
- Deep Dive: Diversifying Audio Describers
- 2020 Call to Action Plan: Captioning & Audio
Description Available at Every Performance
- UniD: Creating and Audio Description Platform and
Opportunities for Print Materials With Partners
Note: the LEAD Conference and its Audio Description training is not
sponsored by the ACB or the Audio Description Project.
Audio Describer Training in Raleigh/Durham/RTP
Area of NC
Arts Access
Inc. of Raleigh, NC, holds audio describer training annually and
will conduct special classes for groups, including travelling to their
location, if requested. Participants will learn:
- How to articulate visual details effectively and in the
moment.
- How to enhance the theater and gallery experience through
audio description for an audience of those who are blind or have
low vision.
- Tips for bringing audio description to your own
organization.
The next class will probably be in January 2021. (The
last class was Thursday, January 16th - Friday,
January 17th, 2020, at the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC.
Cost: $425.)
More Information. You may also email
Betsy Ludwig; or call Arts Access at 919-833-9919.
Note: This training program is not sponsored by the ACB or
the Audio Description Project.
Access Virginia
Access Virginia
in Newport News also provides training for audio describers. They will
publish information here the next time it is offered. In the meantime,
you can contact them at
accessvirginia@gmail.com.
Note: This training program is not sponsored by the ACB or
the Audio Description Project.
Educational Description
Here we list pointers to information about audio description in education,
both for training and for acquisition of the end product.
DCMP refers to the
Described and Captioned Media
Program.
Best Practices for the Digital Environment
Academic Articles
The History of Audio Description - Seminal Document Now Available
We are pleased to make available a copy of Gregory Frazier's May 1975
Master's thesis on audio description,
The Autobiography
of Miss Jane Pittman: An All-Audio Adaptation of the Teleplay for the Blind
and Visually Handicapped.
Joel Snyder discusses the document in his book,
The Visual Made Verbal:
A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications
of Audio Description, published by the American Council of the Blind
in 2014. In the book, Dr. Snyder notes that:
"On the U.S.'s west coast: Gregory Frazier, a professor
at San Francisco State University, formally developed the concepts behind
audio description and general guidelines for its use. In its 1996 obituary
of Gregory T. Frazier, the New York Times called Frazier 'a San Francisco
visionary who hit on the idea of providing simultaneous electronic audio
descriptions for the blind so they could enjoy more than the dialogue of
movies, television and theater performances.'
"In the early 1970s, Frazier was relaxing at his home with a friend who
happened to be blind. The evening's entertainment? High Noon with
Gary Cooper, playing on television. The NY Times article relates that 'At
the friend's request, Frazier, speaking rapidly between the lines of dialogue,
provided terse descriptions of the scenes and actions. The friend was so
appreciative that by the time Gary Cooper had shot Frank Miller dead, ripped
the star off his own chest and thrown it to the ground before climbing into
a carriage and driving off with Grace Kelly, Mr. Frazier … was a changed
man.'
"Frazier realized that the concise descriptions he provided for his friend
extemporaneously could be thought-through, edited, recorded and played through
FM radio receivers at movies - or carried over secondary audio channels
on television. Frazier, a graduate of San Francisco State University, returned
to college to obtain a Master's degree in broadcast journalism, developing
a thesis-'television for the blind'- that explored the use of description
to enhance the 1974 television production of The Autobiography of Miss
Jane Pittman.
"In 1991, Mr. Frazier founded the non-profit corporation AudioVision SF
to provide description for the performing arts in San Francisco-area venues.
AudioVision SF still exists, providing description on a regular basis for
theater performances throughout the Bay Area. In 2010, Audio Vision SF and
Gregory Frazier posthumously received the Barry Levine Memorial Lifetime
Achievement Award in Audio Description, presented by the American Council
of the Blind's Audio Description Project."
Other Academic Articles
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