ACB Focus: Audio Description

20260718 1230 Innovations in Performing Arts Access Originally Aired on ACB Media Presenters shared new practices in performing arts accessibility using audio description. The session examined strategies for evolving those practices and possibilities for access in live performing arts venues. Panelists: Stasha Boyd, Founder/Executive Director, Audio Description Initiative Foundation, Inc., Orlando, FL; Magan Harms, Director, Audio Description and ADA Coordinator, MindsEye Radio, Belleville, IL; Sam Gould, Co-Founder, Think Outside the VOX, and President, Open Door Theatr

20260717 1530 Overview of the New Audio Description Project Website Originally Aired on ACB Media The session examined the Audio Description Project website, which had been redesigned in 2025 around a modern content management system. Its database brought together information about movies, series, and television programs for visitors. Presenters explained how users could customize visits and make the best use of the website's features. Panelists: Fred Brack, ADP Webmaster, Raleigh, NC; and Dianna Leonard, ACB ADP Coordinator, Virginia Beach, VA

20260717 1700 Film Preview - Brailled It Originally Aired on ACB Media Participants previewed BRAILLED IT, a film in which young braille readers and writers documented their experiences at the Braille Challenge in Los Angeles. The event brought together leading under-18 braille readers and writers from the English-speaking world. By giving participants cameras, the film enabled them to tell their own stories. Their sometimes-disorienting cinematography challenged sighted audiences to follow the action on the young filmmakers' terms, while audio description and binaural sound provided nonvisual cues. Personal and emotional footage conveyed the human drama of the experience and the power of literacy. A panel discussion followed the film. Moderators: Dianna Leonard, ACB Audio Description Project Coordinator, Virginia Beach, VA; and Ricardo Salazar, President, ACB Students, Miami, FL Post Film Panelists: David Grabias, film director, Los Angeles, CA; Lynn Wu (Student), Los Angeles County, CA

20260716 1530 Why Can’t Audio Description Files Always Travel with the Program Originally Aired on ACB Media The session explored why a film or television program could lose access to an existing audio description track when distributed in another setting. Topics included the description file's journey through the broadcast pipeline, copyright issues, file-format conflicts, and other complications. Moderator: Carl Richardson, Co-Chair, ACB Audio Description Project, Brighton, MA Panelists: Mark Francisco, CTO, Infinite Access PBC, Millstone Township, NJ; Rhys Lloyd, Studio Head, Descriptive Video Works, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

20260716 1400 What Is Next Generation TV and What Should I Know to Get Ready Originally Aired on ACB Media Industry experts and consumers discussed Next Generation broadcast television, which combined over-the-air broadcasting with internet technology. The session examined enhanced picture, sound, interactive capabilities, and accessibility, and explained what viewers needed to know to prepare. Moderator: Carl Richardson, Co-Chair, ACB Audio Description Project, Brighton, MA Panelists: Matt Kaplowitz, President, Bridge Multimedia, New York, NY; Renee Arrington-Johnson, ADP Steering Committee Member, Cleveland, OH; Louis Johnson IV, MBA, PMP, CPBE, Cleveland, OH; Timothy Wynn, ADP Media Subcommittee Member, Arlington, VA