Audio Description Project
Audio Description Project
IntroductionSince 2016, the Audio Description Project (ADP) has held an annual Conference in conjunction with the ACB Convention. In 2020 and 2021, the ADP Conferences were entirely virtual, and in 2022-23, sessions were held virtually, in-person, and in hybrid format. Panels offer a range of topics related to audio description, including scholarly research, national parks, streaming services, and even the circus.
Oct' 23The 2024 ACB Convention (which is anticipated to be hybrid again) will be held at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida. The ADP will, as usual, have Conference sessions on 3 consecutive days during that period. To be informed of Convention details (if you are not already on the list), send a blank email to acbconvention-subscribe@acblists.org.
Panel discussions featured subject matter experts, practitioners, and industry representatives providing details on best practices and how you can help create and advocate for more and better audio description – a key to accessibility and inclusion for people who are blind, have low vision, or benefit from additional aural information.
Recordings from the ADP conference are now available and links have been provided below. Just the ADP Conference links are shown on this page, but you may also view the Complete List of ACB Conference Session Podcasts. 
Oct '23
The ADP Conference Schedule (Note: All times are Central)
Thursday, June 22
11:30 AM to 12:45 PM (CDT)
ACB Media 3
The CVTA Explained
Moderator: Kim Charlson, Co-Chair, ACB Audio Description Project Steering Committee, and Co-Chair, FCC Disability Advisory Committee
Panelists: Blake E. Reid, Clinical Professor, Colorado Law, Counsel to TDI; Karen Peltz Strauss, National Disability Advocate and Historian, Communication Service for the Deaf; and Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs
The Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA) would update existing regulations to ensure better and easier access to a variety of technology for people who are blind, low vision, or DeafBlind. Panelists will discuss the writing of the bill and what improvements it promises.
2:30 PM – 5:15 PM (CDT)
ACB Media 3
More from the Streaming Services
Moderator: Carl Richardson, Co-Chair, ACB Audio Description Project
Invited Streaming Services include: Apple+, Disney+, HULU, HBO Max, Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount+, and Showtime
Back by popular demand! Representatives from major streaming services will discuss how their organizations make their programming accessible now and what they've got planned for the future.
Listen to More from the Streaming Services
Friday, June 23
1:00 PM – 2:15 PM (CDT)
ACB Media 4
ACVREP Certified Audio Description Specialist (CAUDES) Update
Moderator: Kim Charlson, Chair, ACVREP Certification Subject Matter Expert Committee
Panelists: Kathie Zeider, ACVREP Executive Director; Joel Snyder, ACB Audio Description Project Founder and Senior Consultant; and Martin Wilde, Vice-Chair, ACVREP Certification Subject Matter Expert Committee
Presenters will provide background details and an update on the progress of the work to create a certification process for audio description professionals.
Listen to Certified AD Specialist
4:00 PM – 5:15 PM (CDT)
ACB Media 4
AD Across the Arts
(Co-Sponsor: ACB Friends in Art)
Moderator: Dr. Tabitha Kenlon, ACB Audio Description Project Coordinator
Panelists: Leigh Jackson, Director, IDEA Programming, People's Light; Lisa B. Lewis, Founder, Executive Director, Omnium: A Bold New Circus; and Mark Osborne, Director, Visitor and Volunteer Services, Holocaust Museum Houston
While film and tv might be the most well-known audio described art form, many arts and entertainment venues use AD as well. Live theatre and dance performances, museums, parks, and even the circus provide AD to increase accessibility. Panelists will share some of the challenges and the excitement of bringing all the arts to life for people who are blind or have low vision.
Saturday, June 24
10:00 AM – 11:15 AM (CDT)
ACB Media 5
Audio Description Research
Moderator: Dr. Joel Snyder, ACB Audio Description Project Founder and Senior Consultant
Panelists: Pilar Orero, PhD, Professor, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona; Rosiana Natalie, PhD Student, Singapore Management University; and Joselia Neves, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
The academic community has embraced audio description (AD) as a form of audiovisual translation and within other disciplines, particularly in countries outside the U.S. Join us to learn the latest in efforts to examine AD through survey-based research as well as lessons learned from professional practice.
11:30 AM – 12:45 PM (CDT)
ACB Media 5
Audio Description for Kids
Moderators: Carl Richardson, Co-Chair, ACB Audio Description Project, and Dr. Tabitha Kenlon, ACB Audio Description Project Coordinator
Panelists: Jason Stark, CEO, Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP); Jamie Aznive, Audience Services Manager, Wheelock Family Theatre at Boston University; Matt Kaplowitz, President, Bridge Multimedia; and Sam Gould Esq., Open Door Theater and Founder, Think Outside the Vox
Whether kids are relaxing with a book or movie or doing a homework assignment, audio description provides vital opportunities for engagement with the world of ideas. Panelists will discuss resources to help parents and teachers integrate audio described content into the lives of their children and students.
2:30 PM – 3:45 PM (CDT)
ACB Media 5
Audio Description Across the Globe
(Co-sponsor: ACB International Relations Committee)
Moderator: Dr. Joel Snyder, ACB Audio Description Project Founder and Senior Consultant
Panelists: Martine Abel Williamson, Audio Description Advocate and President, World Blind Union; Jonathan Marshall, Research Assistant, Royal National Institute of Blind People; and Shakila Maharaj, Audio Description Producer and Consumer Advocate, Shazacin
Several years ago, ACB collaborated with the World Blind Union in a survey of audio description practice worldwide. This panel will highlight AD activity in New Zealand/Australia, South Africa, and in the UK.
Wednesday, July 5
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM (CDT) Hybrid; part of the General Session
ACB Media 1
ADP Awards and BADIE Announce the 2023 Winners
The ADP Awards honor the people and organizations who make outstanding contributions to the quality, availability, and understanding of audio description. The awards recognize achievement in AD in the performing arts, museums and visual arts, visitor centers, the public sector and government agencies, research and development, and career achievement. BADIE (Benefits of Audio Description in Education) encourages young people ages 7–21 to write brief critiques of the audio description for a film or series - tune in to hear the grand prize winner read her essay.
In-Person ADP Activities at the ACB Conference and Convention in Schaumburg, Ill.:
Monday, July 3
4:00 PM – 5:15 PM (CDT) In-person only
Film Screening: One Step at a Time: A Journey of Hope, Commitment and Resiliency.
Blind Filmmaker Michael McCulloch will set the stage for his documentary and answer questions after the viewing. One Step at a Time chronicles McCulloch's trek of the 26-mile Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The film premiered in February 2021 at the ReelAbilities Houston Film and Arts Festival and won the Best Cinematography Award at the Sports, Fitness and Recreation Festival in Toronto in August 2022.
Wednesday, July 5
7:00 PM – 11:30 PM (CDT) In-person only
Double Feature with the 2021 and 2022 Oscar-Winning Best Pictures
7:00 PM: Coda (2021)
9:00 PM: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
In-Person ADP Activities in Schaumburg:
Monday, July 3
4:00 PM – 5:15 PM (CDT)
Film Screening: One Step at a Time: A Journey of Hope, Commitment and Resiliency.
Blind Filmmaker Michael McCulloch, Houston, TX, will set the stage for his documentary and answer questions after the viewing. One Step at a Time chronicles McCulloch's trek of the 26-mile Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The film premiered in February 2021 at the ReelAbilities Houston Film and Arts Festival and won the Best Cinematography Award at the Sports, Fitness and Recreation Festival in Toronto in August 2022.
Wednesday, July 5
7:00 PM – 11:30 PM (CDT)
Double Feature with the 2021 and 2022 Oscar-Winning Best Pictures!
7:00 PM: Coda (2021)
Length: 1 hour, 51 minutes - PG13
As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
9:00 PM: Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Length: 2 hours, 19 minutes, - R
With her laundromat teetering on the brink of failure and her marriage to wimpy husband, Waymond, on the rocks, overworked, Evelyn Wang, struggles to cope with everything, including tattered relationships with her judgmental father, Gong Gong and her daughter, Joy. She must also brace herself for an unpleasant meeting with an impersonal bureaucrat: Deirdre, the shabbily-dressed IRS auditor. However, as the stern agent loses patience, an inexplicable multiverse rift becomes an eye-opening exploration of parallel realities. Will Evelyn jump down the rabbit hole? How many stars are in the universe? Can weary Evelyn fathom the irrepressible force of possibilities, tap into newfound powers, and prevent an evil entity from destroying the thin, countless layers of the unseen world?
