Audio Description (AD) makes visual images accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Using words that are succinct, vivid and imaginative, description translates the visual image into an aural form that is accessible to these individuals. In the performing arts (theater, dance, opera), and media (television, movies and DVD), description inserts this narrative into the natural pauses in dialogue or between critical sound elements.

1. Audio Description for Media and
Live Performance
Martin Wilde
Audio Description Writer and Voicer
Chicago Digital Accessibility and Inclusive Design Meetup
July 21, 2015

2. Audio Description
• Definition
• Names / Logos
• Audience
• Why?

3. Bigger Picture
• Translation
• Rules
• Live Performance Use Cases
– Theatre
– Dance
– Corporate Functions
– Social Gatherings
– Conferences
– Lectures / Webinars
– Architectural Tours

4. Bigger Picture (cont’d)
• Media Use Cases
– TV Shows
– Movies
– Cultural Institutions
• Art Exhibits
• Natural History Museums
• Science Museums
• Botanical Gardens
– National Park Sites
– Local Park sites
– Kiosks
– Information panels
• Personal Describer

5. Audio Description Standards
• Describe what you see
• Be objective
• Dialog is paramount
• Trust listener comprehension
• Don’t censor
• Use consistent language
• Race, ethnicity and nationality
• Listeners’ perspective

6. DEMOS

7. Other Topics
• Universal Design
• Regulatory
– Section 508
– ADA
– 21st Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act (CVAA)
• Activities
– ADA25Chicago
– Meetups

8. Resources
• Standards for Audio Description
– http://www.audiodescriptioncoalition.org/index.html
• Audio Description for People with Vision Loss – Performing Arts
Guide
– http://www.kennedy-
center.org/accessibility/education/lead/2013KC_AudioDescripGuide.p
df
• FCC Consumer Guide to the 21st Century Communications and
Video Accessibility Act (CVAA)
– https://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/CVAA-access-act.pdf
• Facts and Figures on Adults with Vision Loss
– http://www.afb.org/info/blindness-statistics/adults/facts-and-
figures/235#demographics
• CDC National Health Interview Survey
– http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm

9. Thank You!
AD page: http://wildemouth.com/category/ad/