New podcast focuses on audio described movies for visually impaired viewers

[kestrell]

Have you ever wondered how blind and visually impaired people watch film, television and theater? Are you using audio description but finding it hard to keep up on what’s new in the field? Are you new to the audio description profession or industry and hoping to find one place where you can stay connected with the most current news and developments in the field?

Then, here’s the podcast for you: Picture This – A show about audio description and accessible entertainment. This semimonthly podcast will talk about the world of audio description; discuss the latest technology trends, and interview industry insiders, movers and shakers. We will hear from consumers, personalities, creators, and content producers.

Your co-hosts are Carl Richardson and Brian Charlson, longtime consumers of audio description.

“When I started to lose my vision, I stopped going to the movies and watching television. When I discovered audio description, I got my love of film and television back. Picture This is my opportunity to share my knowledge and love of film and description with others, and to learn about audio description in other forms of entertainment,” said Carl Richardson.

For Brian Charlson, co-host of Picture This “I realized that one of the things people ask themselves about retirement is ‘now what?’ For me, it is Picture This. I can bring my love of audio description, together with my technology background, and do it with a subject and people I respect and enjoy.”

Picture This is now available for download. New episodes will be available on the 15th and 30th of each month. To access the podcast, go to:

https://picturethisaudio.libsyn.com/rss or https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/picture-this/id1518632352

You can also do a search for the title Picture This in iTunes or wherever you download podcasts and subscribe.

To leave feedback, suggestions, or ideas for a future podcast, please get in touch with the Picture This team by emailing your comments to picturethis.audiodescription@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 857-302-2817. We may use your email or voicemail in a future episode.

To learn more about audio description, please visit the American Council of the Blind Audio Description Project’s website at: www.acb.org/adp

Comments

[duskpeterson]

Hey, Kestrell, are you going to the NFB virtual convention? I registered for it but am still waiting to see whether they're going to have any sessions about books and accessibility, which is the topic I'm interested in.

[kestrell]

I don't usually go to the physical conventions, so it completely slipped my mind, so thanks for reminding me! I'll try to remember to register today.
Would you like to talk live soemtime? We could either exchange phone numbers or have a Zoom call. The latter is my preference because I can turn the volume louder than on my iPhone.

[kestrell]

Too bad: registration is already closed. I'll be able to follow some events, but not receive emails and Zoom invites to certain events. Please keep me posted on any details you learn about.

Not NFB but related

[jesse_the_k]

I'm on the DAISY email list, and they pump out weekly ZOOM seminars about making accessible books.

July 1st 1500 UTC will address "World Tour of Inclusive Publishing Initiatives." Presenters are:
- Deborah Nelson, eBOUND Canada
- Hugo Setzer, Manual Moderno and President of the IPA
- Brad Turner, Benetech
- Kirsi Ylänne, NIPI (Nordic Inclusive Publishing Initiative) and Chair of the IFLA LPD Section

It's free, sign up here
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wBcgjEoNQ-SPC-WKNNsc7A

Two weeks ago they presented on best practices in image description; it's free to stream without any signup:
https://daisy.org/news-events/articles/describing-images-in-publications-w/

All the ZOOM seminars this year
https://daisy.org/webinar-series/

(The word "webinar" makes my skin itch.)

Re: Not NFB but related

[kestrell]

I am scheduled to be in an all-day class with a Carroll Center instructor tomorrow. I'm learning Google Docs, how to use Word with Jaws, including that blasted ribbon, and Outlook 365, among many other things.
My brain feels very full.
If you get any handouts, please send them to me. I live for class handouts.
I also despise the term "webinar," as it makes my molars hurt.
I don't think my instructor ever had a student who got as excited by the new Office 365 spellchecker as I did today.

Re: Not NFB but related

[jesse_the_k]

And what exactly was so delightful about the Office 365 spellchecker?

Now we should summon a golem from the nasty mud of Boston Harbor, to offload your itchy molars and my aching skin

The good news about the DAISY stuff is their material is available free for the clicking right now -- the drawback is it's the captions-as-a-transcript, which preserves the informal presentation style of the videos.

Their MS Word to ePub software (Windows only) is
https://daisy.org/activities/software/wordtoepub
the corresponding presentation is
https://daisy.org/news-events/articles/epub-publications-from-word-w/
the third-to-last link is the transcript
https://dl.daisy.org/projects/webinars/4-2020/Transcript_Create_EPUB_from_Word.docx

There's also a PowerPoint (insert standard rant here) that I actually downloaded -- a key item was conveyed only visually!

Since I'm amazed, and you might be curious, here's their confounding use of emoji to indicate four word processor's ability to generate ePubs.

Google Doc and Apple Pages both get slightly smiling face 🙂

Libre Office Writer gets neutral face 😐

MS Word gets a "face with tears of joy," 😂 and I don't know what they meant that to convey!

(I didn't find an explanation in the transcript, either.)

Which just goes to prove that it's really hard to make an accessible presentation, even when it's nominally your job.)

Re: Not NFB but related

[duskpeterson]

Oh, very cool! Thank you!

Re: Not NFB but related

[duskpeterson]

Oh, I'm sorry! I should have mentioned the convention to you when I signed up a couple of weeks ago.

It's been nearly two decades since I attended an NFB convention. My best friend from college took me there; she's blind. I remember seeing information there about a planned braille display that would only cost $100. It would only have one cell; the finger would stay in one place, while the cell changed underneath it. I wonder what happened to that project.

I don't know yet whether I'll be attending any sessions at the convention, but if I do, I'll certainly let you know about them.

Regarding phoning: Would you be interested in e-mail correspondence instead? I have a severe phone phobia (and video call phobia) that I'm still working to overcome. So for now, I'm foussing on socializing with people through e-mail.

If you're interested, my e-mail address is at my website, here: http://duskpeterson.com/#contact.

Re: Not NFB but related

[duskpeterson]

Sorry, I don't know why my iPad decided to start a new comment thread with this. The above comment is my reply to your previous comments to me, Kestrell.

Re: Not NFB but related

[kestrell]

No need to apologize--I get a dozen different blindness-related newsletters and announcements, and my brain just skipped over the NFB convention info, without taking in that it would be virtual this year. I have an ambivalent relationship with the NFB at times. The one state convention I went to had all this printed materials that we were reminded to distribute to sighted people, and there was a chant and a song we were supposed to do together. It was way too close to cult behavior for me to feel comfortable. But attending from a distance I can handle.
I completely understand about the phone: there are about four people I will voluntarily talk to on the phone. I will email you soon. Be well.

Re: Not NFB but related

[duskpeterson]

I just looked through the convention agenda. The only one I was interested in was the NLS session on Tuesday. But then I found an article from November's Braille Monitor that consisted of a speech by the director of the NLS, covering the exact same topics that the convention panel is supposed to cover.

https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm19/bm1910/bm191014.htm

So it looks as though I won't be going to the convention after all. I'm very excited, though, to learn about the the upcoming program at NLS to lend Orbit Reader 20 machines to library members.

(Also, I had my usual feeling of "I am a total imposter in the blind community because my only visual impairment is print impairment!" Then I reminded myself that I'm excited over braille equipment, and I felt better.)

Dusk, bemused by the propaganda distribution

Re: Not NFB but related

[kestrell]

In my universe, there is no such thing as "just a print impairment," because any obstacle which prevents a person from access to the books they need is a life-threatening situation. Some people think that is an exaggeration, but books have saved my life, and many other people feel the same.

Thanks for teh link to the article! I've gotten back into using NLS freqeuntly since discovering that they are providing some of their audiobooks from commercial sources.

Also, I realized that my enjoyment of SF and fantasy improves with a human reader, because my piece of shit Humanware Booksense has such a crap TTS that it mangles many commonly used words, let alone made-up SF or fantasy words.

Re: Not NFB but related

[duskpeterson]

Hurrah about the commercial audiobooks at NLS!

One interesting thing I discovered when I used a screenreader in 2002-2003 was that my ability to fully understand the spoken word is much slower than the average rate of human speech. The screenreader's voice settings presented that information to me in a quantifiable fashion. It was like discovering as a young kid that you're doing poorly in school because you can't see the blackboard; nobody else has understood what your problem is because everyone else can see the blackboard.

I'm pretty sure now that I have audio processing disorder. That's why learning braille was a blessing for me; I was struggling to follow the storyline in audiobooks. These days, when reading by text to speech, I just dial down the words-per-minute rate of the TTS voice I use. I wish I could do the same with the speech of people I talk with.

I'm in complete agreement with you concerning books being lifegiving. :)

Re: Not NFB but related

[kestrell]

Ha! I have the opposite problem: sometimes when I'm listening to someone who is speaking very slowly, my hand keeps going for the Jaws "speed up" keys, and I've met other blind people who do this, also. Still, I listen to Jaws only somewhat faster than normal human speech, but I guess it still sounds too fast for most sighted people.
Also, apologies for my spelling: I've been awake since 2:30 this morning, and I think I need to go do something less mentally taxing.

Re: Not NFB but related

[duskpeterson]

Before you go: I just discovered that ACB is having a virtual convention this weekend. They say that pre-registration is closed now (you can still register by calling them), but that the sessions will be publicly livestreamed on ACB Radio and will be available later as podcasts. Here's the links.

Convention site: https://acbconvention.org.

Convention schedule: https://acbconvention.org/?p=48.

ACB Radio: http://acbradio.org. There's also an app for ACB Radio.

It looks as though there will be lots of interesting sessions. Here's the sessions I plan to listen to. They're all on Thursday, July 9.

1:30 pm - 2:45 pm. BRL Program: The Future of Braille. A panel will explore the future of paper and paperless braille. What concerns must we combat? What specific steps can our organization take to assure the survival and growth of our primary medium of communication as people who are blind?

3:00 pm - 4:15 pm. BRL Program: The National Braille Press. What is it doing and how can we help? Brian McDonald, Boston Massachusetts, will tell us what NBP is doing and respond to questions from us.

6:00 pm - 7:15 pm Bookshare Office Hours at ACB! The latest Bookshare updates; answers to your Bookshare questions.

Re: Not NFB but related

[kestrell]

Oo, thanks, these all look great!