Audio Description Associates, LLC

04/09/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HxdHtRY9A/

🎓 Audio Description – The Visual Made Verbal 🎓

Want to make media more inclusive and engaging for blind and low-vision audiences? Learn the art and technique of Audio Description—a key accessibility feature for streaming services, TV, and cinema.

We are excited to launch a new course on with Joel Snyder, one of the first audio describers in the world and lifelong advocate for people who are blind or have low vision.

📚 In this course, you will:
✅ Master the Four Fundamentals of Audio Description ©
✅ Work on your visual literacy and storytelling skills
✅ Learn to edit what you observe and craft vivid, engaging descriptions
✅ Gain hands-on experience through practical exercises

Perfect for aspiring describers, media professionals, and anyone passionate about accessibility!

🎧 Enroll now and start making media more inclusive: https://go.ooona.net/4ll5mDM

Ooona

01/30/2025

The following post is not intended to be read as a political statement. Rather as an alert regarding the federal government’s approach to people with disabilities generally and specifically regarding funding for audio description and other accommodations.

Here is an excerpt from the press coverage of President Trump’s press conference earlier today (The Times of London):

“Trump blames workers with ‘intellectual disabilities’ for crash.

“President Trump shared several theories on what could have caused the midair collision, including that the Black Hawk helicopter had inadvertently flown into the path of the American Airlines passenger jet as it came into land.

“He also claimed that diversity, equity and inclusion hiring policies had played a part.

“’The FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems, and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelt out on the agency’s website,’ said Trump.

“He added that the hiring programme allowed for air traffic controller positions to go to people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and ‘dwarfism’.

“’They have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses,’ he said. ‘You can’t have regular people doing their job.’

“Pressed again on the claim, Trump said there was no evidence yet that the collision should be blamed on diversity hires. ‘It just could have been,’ he said.”

Friends—Department of Education funding was instrumental to the development of audio description in media. Without the ADA, there would likely have been no AD produced for movie theaters or by streaming services. Absent the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, it seems unlikely that commercial broadcasters would be offering audio description. The ADA and Titles 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended ensure that AD happens with live performances supported by public funding and in media produced by the government.

I fear that the comments expressed this morning do not bode well for federal funding and legislation/regulations that support audio description. And within the context of a tragic plane crash, they are all the more jarring.

Send a message to learn more

12/29/2024

https://www.ooona.net/ooona-partners-with-audio-description-associates-llc/

Read more about OOONA Partners with Audio Description Associates, LLC in our blog post.

10/21/2024

Mark Your Calendars!

It’s almost time for the fourth annual Audio Description Awards Gala presented by the American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project of the American Council of the Blind! On Thursday, November 14, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, the Awards Gala will recognize outstanding achievement in a dozen media and entertainment categories, as well as announce the People’s Choice Award winners.

Hosts Marilee Talkington and Alie B. Gorrie will welcome celebrity guests like actor Kathy Bates, Paralympics Hall of Famer Trischa Zorn-Hudson, accessible gaming consultant Ross Minor, digital creator and advocate Molly Burke, and author and disability rights advocate Rebecca Alexander, and many more. The Awards Gala will air with captions, audio description, ASL interpretation, and a simultaneous full Spanish translation.

The Awards Gala will be available on multiple platforms:
• ACB Media 1 (English) and ACB Media 8 (Spanish)
https://www.acbmedia.org/home/streams/media1/
https://www.acbmedia.org/home/streams/media8/
• ACB’s YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/
• ACB Community watch party on Zoom and Clubhouse
https://www.acb.org/acb-community-events
• ADAwardsGala.org
https://adawardsgala.org/
• Peacock, courtesy of NBCUniversal (subscription required)
https://www.peacocktv.com/

Mark your calendar and visit ADAwardsGala.org to make a donation; your support helps ACB and the Audio Description Project keep advocating for the audio description you love. (To donate by phone, call the ACB Financial Office at (612) 332-3242.) Join us on the virtual red carpet on November 14!

Welcome to the 2024 Audio Description Awards Gala! Join the American Council of the Blind (ACB) as we celebrate outstanding achievements in audio description in media and expand awareness of its benefits. The 2024 Audio Description Awards Gala will take place virtually on November 14, 2024, at 7:30....

09/06/2024

Illuminating article about AD and dance in the Bay Area -- my wife, Esther Geiger, and I were proud to go to San Francisco to train Jess' company in audio description fundamentals.

Though increasingly common for movies and TV, the practice has yet to become widespread in live performance venues. Gravity Access is trying to change that.

09/01/2024

WANTED: VOICE ACTORS FOR 4 AUDIO DESCRIPTION JOBS FOR TV AND FILM!

As a part of the SOVAS (Society of Voice Arts and Sciences) 2024 That’s VoiceOver event, voice actors are invited to register for the second annual Audio Description Audition Jam!

All are invited to register and audition, (including voice actors from outside the US.) Auditions must be recorded by your own means and submitted as an MP3 file. Final submissions must be uploaded no later than October 5, 2024 at 11:59pm PST. Five (5) finalists will be notified by October 14, 2024, to be confirmed for the final audition round. The final audition round will take place live, onsite at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott before a live audience on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 1:10 PM PST.

Two finalists will be selected as the winners and each will receive two jobs (projects); one for Deluxe and one for Audio Eyes.

See official rules/eligibility requirements for more information and submit your audition at https://sovas.org/audio-description-audition-jam/

Good luck!

JOEL SNYDER, PhD
Author of The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide
to the History and Applications of Audio Description –
now available in seven languages, Braille, and as audio book
Get your copy at: amazon.com - The Visual Made Verbal
President, Audio Description Associates, LLC
“The Visual Made Verbal” TM
TM ADA logo—an eye within an ear
6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912 USA
jsnyder@audiodescribe.com
Tel: 01 301 920-0218; M: 01 301 452-1898; Fax: 01 208 445-0079

For more information about audio description, please visit:
www.audiodescribe.com

Founding Director Emeritus – Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind
https://adp.acb.org

™ ACB logo ™ ADP logo

08/20/2024

Hi all--

It is my pleasure to work with VITAC to provide live, extemporaneous audio description for the Democratic National Convention's airing of their proceedings.

To my knowledge, audio description for the DNC is only available on specific, daily links to the DNC's YouTube site. The broadcast is without any commentators so you can hear all of the presentations with AD but without any news personalities offering their perspectives (ala C-Span).

The links to the broadcasts with audio description are:

Monday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySzrZCmbsbw

Tuesday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llpusMbGvoM

Wednesday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOH44TgG71Y

Thursday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuCO4EedJmM

Thanks all--see you there!

Joel

JOEL SNYDER, PhD
Author of The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide
to the History and Applications of Audio Description –
now available in seven languages, Braille, and as audio book
Get your copy at: amazon.com - The Visual Made Verbal
President, Audio Description Associates, LLC
“The Visual Made Verbal” TM
TM ADA logo—an eye within an ear
6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912 USA
jsnyder@audiodescribe.com
Tel: 01 301 920-0218; M: 01 301 452-1898; Fax: 01 208 445-0079

For more information about audio description, please visit:
www.audiodescribe.com

Founding Director Emeritus – Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind
https://adp.acb.org

Audio Description provides access to the visual elements – action, costumes, settings, gestures, facial expressions and other visually engaging images – of television/film, museum exhibitions, theater and a variety of events. All people can appreciate the added detail and vivid highlights made ...

08/10/2024

Dear friends/audio description enthusiasts—

I need your help!

Blake Lindsay and I have submitted a proposal to present a session on Audio Description at the SXSW 2025 Media Festival, March 7-15, in Austin, TX. The decision to schedule the session rests—to some degree—on votes from the public!

The session will be presented along with the inimitable Blake Lindsay from EnvisionUS in Dallas, TX. Blake, a blind man, is a long-time audio description consumer/advocate and a seasoned, super voice talent.

I would be so grateful if you would consider voting for our session to be included in the SXSW Festival line-up. We believe that it’s critical that a focus on access to media for people who are blind should be featured at the Festival.

The voting period is now open and anyone can vote and comment on a proposal. To vote for a proposal, each individual needs an SXSW account; sign up can be done at https://id.sxsw.com/. After an account has been created, a person can vote once per proposal – selecting “arrow up” for yes or “arrow down” for no.

You can find our proposal page and cast your vote at:

https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/147997

But please act soon—the voting period closes on Sunday, August 18—that’s the last day you can submit a vote.

Thank you so much for your support!

All best,

Joel

JOEL SNYDER, PhD
Author of The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide
to the History and Applications of Audio Description –
now available in seven languages, Braille, and as audio book
Get your copy at: amazon.com - The Visual Made Verbal
President, Audio Description Associates, LLC
“The Visual Made Verbal” TM
TM ADA logo—an eye within an ear
6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912 USA
jsnyder@audiodescribe.com
Tel: 01 301 920-0218; M: 01 301 452-1898; Fax: 01 208 445-0079

For more information about audio description, please visit:
www.audiodescribe.com

Founding Director Emeritus – Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind
jsnyder@acb.org – https://adp.acb.org

™ ACB logo ™ ADP logo

The Audio Description Project (ADP) promotes audio description activity in all media and venues and disseminates information on that work throughout the USA and beyond.

07/30/2024

Hi all--
Please see the recently released notice regarding the Fall 2024 Audio Description Institute sponsored by the American Council of the Blind--it follows:
The ACB, Audio Description, and the ADP logos
JULY 29, 2024
REGISTER HERE: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E144393&id=94
REGISTRATION OPENS ON
MONDAY, July 29, 2024
(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 twenty-fourth
AUDIO DESCRIPTION INSTITUTE
September 9-13, 2024
(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
museum 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, September 9, 2024 and conclude at 5:00 pm
on Friday, September 13, 2024.
(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 the Founding Director Emeritus of ACB's Audio Description Project (https://adp.acb.org) an initiative he founded with ACB 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, most recently as a Fulbright Specialist in Greece, Malta, and Ukraine.
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 thousands of 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:
Susan Glass--Susan Glass is a free lance writer and poet whose chapbook The Wild Language of Deer, was recently released by Slate Roof Press. 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.
Tristan Snyder--Tristan Snyder is a totally blind, multi- award-winning voice-actor and proud member of SAG-AFTRA. He has been in the entertainment industry for over twenty years. He was the chief engineer for Audio Eyes, (an audio description production company.) He currently runs a small audio production company, Ear2Ear Sound, where he and his team create audio description for television, film, educational media and illustrated books. He has narrated, edited and mixed thousands of hours of audio description for network television, streaming services, cinema, DVD’s, and independent films. He advocates for and practices the hiring and inclusion of blind and visually impaired talent in the audio production industry.
Institute registration is $550.
(registration is limited)
Registration will close at 5:00 pm EST on Monday, September 2, 2024 and the invitation to attend the Institute will be emailed later that week. Your invitation to attend the Institute (along with the ZOOM link to the sessions) 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 Dr. Tabitha Kenlon at tkenlon@acb.org by August 25, 2024. The scholarship awardees will be notified by August 30, 2024.
The agenda for the September 2024 VIRTUAL Audio Description Institute can be found below.

AGENDA
September 2024 ACB-Audio Description Project
VIRTUAL AUDIO DESCRIPTION INSTITUTE
September 9-13, 2024
each day - 1:00 pm-5:00 pm Eastern
DAY I - Monday, September 9, 2024
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
- Q and A throughout -
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, September 10, 2024
1:00 pm-2:00 pm:
Opening Workshop (conclusion)
2:00 pm-3:00 pm:
- Special session on Voicing AD with
Tris Snyder
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm: break
3:15 pm-5:00 pm:
- Viewing / analysis of audio described excerpts
Day 3 - Wednesday, September 11, 2024
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm:
- Audio Description practicum—Individual description sessions with selected video scenes
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm: break
3:15 pm - 5:00 pm:
- Audio Description practicum—Individual description sessions with selected video scenes
Day 4 - Thursday, September 12, 2024
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm:
- Audio Description practicum—Individual description sessions with selected video scenes
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm: break
3:15 pm - 5:00 pm:
- Audio Description practicum—Individual description sessions with selected video scenes
Day 5 - Friday, September 13, 2024
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm:
- Audio Description practicum—Individual description sessions with selected video scenes
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm: break
3:15 pm - 5:00 pm:
- Audio Description in the U.S. and around the world
- The Mechanics of Audio Description
- Audio Description Writing Software
- Audio Description Producers
- How to Get Work as a Describer
- Review / Discussion
Graduation!
For questions or additional information, contact
JOEL SNYDER, PhD
Founding Director Emeritus,
Audio Description Project of the
American Council of the Blind
jsnyder@audiodescribe.com
For more information about audio description, please visit:
https://adp.acb.org
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.comJOEL SNYDER, PhD
Author of The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide
to the History and Applications of Audio Description –
now available in seven languages, Braille, and as audio book
Get your copy at: amazon.com - The Visual Made Verbal
resident, Audio Description Associates, LLC
“The Visual Made Verbal” TM
TM ADA logo—an eye within an ear
6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912 USA
jsnyder@audiodescribe.com
Tel: 01 301 920-0218; M: 01 301 452-1898; Fax: 01 208 445-0079
For more information about audio description, please visit:
www.audiodescribe.com
Founding Director Emeritus – Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind
jsnyder@acb.org – https://adp.acb.org
™ ACB logo ™ ADP logo

The Audio Description Project (ADP) promotes audio description activity in all media and venues and disseminates information on that work throughout the USA and beyond.

07/27/2024

For those in NYC this weekend, I'll join celebrated actor, George Ashiotis, a blind man and founding member of Theatre by the Blind, for a session on audio description at BroadwayCon: The Audio Describer As Cast Member: Live Audio Description At Every Performance. On Sunday July 28, 2024 from 1:15pm - 2:15pm EDT in Regent/Sutton South at the New York Hilton Midtown, our session will review "The current practice of offering audio description at one or two performances in the run of a show was established over 40 years ago; but it has never represented equity for audience members who are blind or have vision loss. Our assertion is that access is not simply an add-on; it can be practiced by professionals who are as committed to the success of every performance as each formal cast member. A more expansive audio description arrangement could have an audio describer at rehearsals for each production, meeting with the stage director, actors, the designers (scenic, costumes, lighting, sound) and developing an audio description script throughout the rehearsal period."

06/15/2024

In November 2023, I attended AUDECON in Rome, Italy to announce the publication of my book "The Visual Made Verbal" in Italian and present a session on audio description. So take a look and a listen knowing that it's 20 minutes of your life that you'll never get back! My presentation is at: