Episode 108 - From George Lucas to Clingan, A Conversation With Dr. Joel Snyder About Audio Description

It's an all new That Real Blind Tech show. Kicking off the New Year, Brian and Ed welcome in Dr. Joel Snyder, from Audio Description associates and the Founder of the Audio Description Project.   We start the interview  finding out how Joel started working in audio description. Joel explains what the early days of audio description was like including how difficult it was to convey what audio description actually was when people had no clue what it was.   We find out that a certain somebody who the Force is strong in is aware of audio description.   Joel walks us through some of the work he has done with museums to make the museums an accessible experience to the blind.   We then discuss how the initial work flows to deciding what would and would not work for audio description came about, and how audio description has changed over the past several decades. We discuss what audio description was like in the VHS and DVD days.   We then find out what Joel's goals were when he founded the Audio Description Project.   we discuss how different describing a museum tour is compared to film and TV, and how different describing a live event is compared to pre-recorded. We then discuss how amazing most Audio Described content is on the streaming services.    We then discuss Joel's book Audio Description, The Visual Made Verbal.   The conversation then moves to the networks, Congress requiring a minimum number of described hours, and the job the networks are currently doing with audio description.    It would not be an interview about audio description if we did not discuss the controversial topic of text to speech audio description. Which then turns us to the topic of when content switches from one streaming platform to another, why doesn't the audio described tracks follow with it.   We wrap up discussing methods of streaming audio described content to your phone and Spectrum Access.   To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at [email protected], join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , or leave us an old school phone message at 929-367-1005.