Audio Description Resources
A selection of interesting or useful links relating to audio-description.
by Brett Coulstock. .
A selection of high-value, interesting or useful links relating to various aspects of audio-description. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list, just a useful one.
If you feel there is a particularly egregious omission, please feel free to contact me.
Selected Articles on Audio Description
- The people who find the words to describe sex scenes and a cyclops by Kate Jones ()
- Some tips for Blind Audio Description writers by Robert Kingett ()
- Representation Matters: Excellent Audio Description of The Harder They Fall by Empish J. Thomas ().
- What It’s Like to Describe Porn for a Blind Audience By Marissa Martinelli ().
- Design for the Edges: Video for the Blind and Deaf by Katie Hinsen ().
- A Day in the Life of an Audio Describer ().
Interesting Papers
- Cinematic language and the description of film: Keeping AD users in the frame () by Fryer, Louise and Freeman, Jonathan.
- Translating Audio description Scripts: The Way Forward? - Tentative First Stage Project Results () by Juan Francisco López Vera
Auteur Audio Description
- Audio Description Using Auteur Description by Mireia Varón Gallofré.
- Auteur Description: From the Director's Creative Vision to Audio Description by Agnieszka Szarkowska (Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness).
- Staging the Audio Describer: An Exploration of Integrated Audio Description by Louise Fryer (Disability Studies Quarterly).
Podcasts
- The power of audio description By Cath Mahony, on Life Matters (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- Subtitles for the Blind (Unsung Science)
- Audio Description Services: Changing media forever (2GB radio)
- Scriptnotes, Ep 208: How descriptive audio works — Transcript
- Know Your Narrator podcast Audio Description Network Alliance — Talent from Movies and TV Series for Audio Description Audiences.
Education and Training
- Creating Audio Description for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Royal Holloway, University of London.
Explore how to design and create audio descriptions and audio introductions that fully represent a film, play, or TV programme.
- Audio Description Training Retreats
Audio Description Training Retreats (ADTR) is a unique and high-quality education model that was developed by Jan Vulgaropulos and Colleen Connor. ADTR focuses on training participants in all aspects of Audio Description (AD) from the ground up.
Audio Description Guidelines
- Netflix Audio Description Style Guide
- The Audio Description Project - Guidelines for Audio Describers
- American Council of the Blind's Audio Description Project — Audio Description Guidelines and Best Practices (pdf file)
- ITC Guidance on Standards for Audio Description (pdf file, archive.org)
- EBU Handbook for High Quality Audio Description on Screen (Microsoft Word document).
- Ofcom’s Guidelines on the Provision of Television Access Services (pdf file)
Books on Audio Description
- An Introduction to Audio Description - A practical Guide by Louise Fryer
- Audio Description New perspectives by Anna Maszerowska, Anna Matamala, Pilar Orero.
- The Visual Made Verbal Training Manual and Guide by Joel Snyder.
- Researching Audio Description — New Approaches by Anna Matamala, Pilar Orero.
- The Routledge Handbook of Audio Description Edited by Christopher Taylor and Elisa Perego.
Legal Links
- Exceptions to copyright (gov.uk)
Tools
Software Tools
- CADET
CADET is free, downloadable caption-authoring software that enables anyone to produce high-quality caption files that are compatible with any media player that supports the display of captions. CADET can also be used to generate audio-description scripts.
- Describe Align
Combines videos with matching audio files (e.g. audio descriptions). Works by aligning parts of the audio file to matching parts of the video's sound.
- ffmpeg
A complete, cross-platform solution to record, convert and stream audio and video.
- Subtitld
Subtitling software can be used to write audio-description scripts. Subtitld has a waveform, and an organic and flexible way of sizing dialogue gaps. It works on Linux (and Microsoft Windows) and it's what I currently use.
Language and Writing Tools
- Translate UK/US English
-
British vs American Words List
- British vs American Vocabulary
- Adjectives and Describing Words
- Describing Words
Social Media
Communities
- Facebook Audio Description Group
- LinkdIn Audio Description Group
- AD Forward on Mastodon
- Reddit Audio Description Discussion
- Twitter Audio Description Group
Blogs
- Mac The Movie Guy
He just wants his blind community to know what has audio description, is it good, and should you watch it.
- Reid My Mind
Stories & profiles of compelling people impacted by all degrees of blindness and disability. Plus, Reid explores his own experiences in his unique way pairing his words with music and sound design.
Organisations/Companies
See Also
- Audio Description in Art and Museums by Brett Coulstock.
- Audio Introductions for Film, Television, and Theatre by Brett Coulstock.