Podcast:  Subtitles for the Blind

Want to hear a great podcast, very professionally produced?  David Pogue has produced a 49 minute podcast covering the history of audio description, lots of samples, problems and solutions, and a nice pointer back to this website!   Well worth your time.  Listen to Subtitles for the Blind.  (Posted Jan 14)

Deadline for BADIE 2022 Contest Extended!

Once again, the Audio Description Project and the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) are co-sponsoring an exciting opportunity for blind and visually impaired young people, ages 7 to 21:  the Benefits of Audio Description In Education (BADIE) contest.  Young people choose an audio-described film or video from the more than 6,000 educational titles available through DCMP - visit www.dcmp.org.  They watch the film, then write an evaluation of its audio description, commenting on the extent to which the description enhanced or detracted from their experience with the film.

Contest winners receive first, second, and third place prizes, and the grand prize winner is awarded an iPad Mini and the chance to read his/her winning essay at the ACB's National Conference and Convention. Teachers of first place winners also receive prizes.

To register for the contest, find guidelines and prize information, learn how audio description is created, and get tips for writing a good review, visit www.badiecontest.org.  The deadline for contest entries is February 21, 2022, and winners will be notified in late March of 2022.  (Updated Jan 11)

Year-End 2021 Webmaster Report

The number of audio described titles we list on the ADP website grew dramatically during 2021.  In January, we hit 5000; and now at the end of December, we have almost reached 7000, a nearly 40% increase!  The key reasons for the increase were:

• The addition of two new streaming services with AD:  HBO Max and Peacock
• The addition of titles from the Google Play Store
• The conversion of CBS All Access to Paramount+, and their increase in described titles
• With cinemas reopening, those titles added to the list also
• Prime Video added 500 new titles for predominantly older movies and series all at once, though the fact that they had their description voiced via Text-To-Speech was not without controversy.

During the year, 129 movies with AD made it to cinemas as they reopened.   42% of the 106 now out of the cinemas made it to DVD, though some more may come in 2022.

125 DVDs with AD tracks were released.  Disney and its subsidiaries described 100% of their 16 major DVDs this year.  Universal did well with 81% of their 37 DVDs, while Warner Bros and Shout! Factory described about 60% of theirs.  Sony and Paramount hit 40%, while Lionsgate brought up the rear as usual with 13% of their 70 DVDs (the highest number of total DVDs by far for all studios).  On the other hand, RLJ Entertainment dba Image Entertainment released 25 DVDs, none of which had AD.

New user options were added to the website during the year:

• USA AD Service Providers were made available by categories, plus Search by name
• A search of titles on the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) website was added to our own Search page for described titles
• Weekly updates of all new AD offerings by service were mailed to the ADP Email Discussion List and made available online, sorted by service
• We added a page of older (pre-2000) movies with AD, sortable by Vendor or Decade
• Several streaming service listings were updated to include year of release and to allow users to display titles by year
• Listings were updated to allow the user to display Series and Movies separately (that was a user suggestion)
• The TV By Network page was enhanced to include more information, like shows currently active, last seen dates, and comments
• New TV Networks were added to both the Daily and By Network page:  E!, Hallmark, and TLC.
• We started posting Website Tips.

Internal website work included the move to new servers, which changed our external URL; some color and white space changes to align better with the ACB website; working with several streaming vendors to get weekly listings directly from them rather than having to search on our own; and eliminating over 50 separately maintained pages by automating programming and using a common web page to display results.

What's ahead for next year? We'll see what the proposed merger of HBO Max and discovery+ brings; and we have heard that two more streaming services will be adding audio described titles. The ACB is approaching a third service to urge them to add AD titles, too.

Finally, I would like to thank my associates who contribute to the website:

• Vicki Vogt from Perkins Library, who supplies the weekly Cinema data
• Timothy Wynn, who curates the daily TV listings (that's a LOT of work!)
• Serina Gilbert, who has taken over as Social Media Coordinator, promoting all new website content

Fred Brack, ADP Webmaster, 12/31/21