Joel Snyder, PhD: AUDIO DESCRIPTION - THE VISUAL MADE VERBAL
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Presented by Joel Snyder, PhD
President, Audio Description Associates, LLC (USA)
Founding Director Emeritus, Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind
Audio Description 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.
Audio Description is a translation of images to words — the visual is made verbal — and has been shown to provide access to the wide range of media and arts (television, film, performing arts, museums) that comprise any culture.
Audio Description is useful for anyone who wants to truly notice and appreciate a fuller perspective on any visual event but it is especially helpful as an access tool for people who are blind or have low vision.
Finally, Dr. Snyder will emphasize the importance of accessibility for people with disabilities. Recently, a man who is blind visited a museum with some friends and was asked by a sighted person: “Excuse me, but what you doing in a museum? You can’t see any of the exhibits.” His response? “I’m here for the same reason anyone goes to a museum. I want to learn, I want to know and be a part of our culture.” His inability to see shouldn’t deny him access to culture and our arts institutions must be as inclusive as possible. There is no reason why a person with a visual disability must also be culturally disadvantaged. With more meaningful access to our culture and its resources, people become more informed, more engaged with society and more engaging individuals—thus, more employable.
Dr. Joel Snyder is known internationally as one of the world’s first “audio describers,” a pioneer in the field of Audio Description, a translation of visual images to vivid language for the benefit, primarily, of people who are blind or have a vision impairment: the visual is made verbal—and aural, and oral. Since 1981, he has introduced audio description techniques in over 40 states and 65 countries and has made hundreds of live events, media projects and museums accessible. In 2014, the American Council of the Blind published Dr. Snyder’s book, The Visual Made Verbal – A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description, now available in Braille, as an audio book voiced by Dr. Snyder, in screen reader accessible formats, and in seven languages: English, Polish, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian. Dr. Snyder is the President of Audio Description Associates, LLC and is the Founding Director Emeritus of the Audio Description Project of the American Council of the Blind.
Duration: 60 minutes
Language: English