Learn how to create audio description from start to finish

A practical, self-paced course built with the AD team
at the University of Antwerp

In this hands-on course, you'll learn how to analyse visual information, decide what to describe, write effective AD, create and time AD scripts and work with professional AD software.

You'll also practise your skills through quizzes, scripting exercises and a final AD task, while learning from experienced AD professionals from around the world.

What's included in the course

Everything you need to go from your first scene
to a finished, professional AD script

  • 55 lessons

    Short, focused lessons built by trainers who describe for a living and teach it at university level.

  • Practical scripting exercises

    Write your own AD as you go, then check it against a professional’s sample key.

  • 6.5 hours of video

    Watch how it’s actually done, with real examples and step-by-step walkthroughs.

  • Interactive quizzes

    Quick quizzes that check what you’ve taken in and help it stick.

  • Professional software

    Three months’ free access to professional AD software, so you learn on the real tools.

  • Discount to buy AD software

    Finish the course and unlock exclusive deals from professional AD software providers.

  • Social media learning community

    Gain unlimited access to our private Facebook group to engage in discussions with your fellow students

  • One-year course access

    A full year to work through everything at your own pace, counting from the day you buy.

  • Access on any device

    Learn on your computer, tablet or phone, wherever you happen to be.

  • Certificate of Completion

    Something to show clients and employers that you can do the work.

  • 100% money-back guarantee

    Learn nothing new? We’ll refund every penny. See our terms for the details.

What you will learn

  • Analyse what needs to be described

  • Write clear and effective AD

  • Understand the needs of AD users

  • Create and time an AD script

  • Work with professional AD software

  • Apply what you've learnt in practical exercises

Learn by doing, not just watching

  • Scripting exercises

    Write your own AD and practise applying the principles covered in the lessons

  • Professional software

    Get free 3-month access to professional AD software and learn to create timed AD scripts

  • Final AD task

    Put everything together, create your own audio description, and compare it with our sample AD created by a professional

Who is this course for?

Audio description is a real profession, and a growing one. It pulls people in from all over. If you recognise yourself below, you’re in the right place.

  • SUBTITLERS & AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATORS: You already work with subtitles? Add audio description to your skill set and expand the services you can offer.

  • TRANSLATORS, LINGUISTS & WRITERS: You have a strong command of language and an eye for detail? Learn how to turn visual information into clear, engaging AD.

  • COMPLETE BEGINNERS: You’ve never written AD before? Start here. Learn the fundamentals and build your skills step by step.

  • FILM & TV PROFESSIONALS: You work in film or television and want to understand how audio description is created? Learn the principles and practical workflow.

  • ACCESSIBILITY PROFESSIONALS: You work in media accessibility? Get hands-on insight into how AD scripts are written, timed and produced.

  • STUDENTS & RESEARCHERS: Studying audiovisual translation, accessibility or media? Build practical AD skills alongside your academic knowledge.

Made with the University of Antwerp

Your three instructors do AD research and training
at the University of Antwerp’s OPEN Centre

“I’m an associate professor specialising in media accessibility and audio description. My research explores how accessible media are created and experienced, from the language of AD to computer-aided description and access for the arts. I also bring years of hands-on experience as an audio describer and as a trainer for university courses, freelancers and companies.”

Prof. Nina Reviers

“I’m an associate research professor and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Audiovisual Translation. My work focuses on audio description, audiovisual translation and the AD creation process, and I helped develop AudioMovie, an app that delivers AD and audio subtitles in cinemas. Alongside my research I spent over ten years as a freelance describer and have trained translators and describers for more than fifteen years.”

Prof. Anna Jankowska

“I’m a tenure-track professor whose PhD tackled one of AD’s hardest questions: how to choose what actually needs describing. My current research looks at narrative, sound and cognitive load in audio description. With over twenty years’ experience training in media accessibility and translation technology, I also work as a describer myself, which keeps one foot firmly in the industry.”

Prof. Gert Vercauteren

Some of the biggest AD names, on the record

Exclusive interviews you won’t find on YouTube, included in the course

“Joel Snyder is one of the world’s first ‘audio describers’ and a pioneer of the field. Since 1981 he has introduced AD techniques across more than 40 states and 64 countries, making thousands of events, projects and museums accessible, and in 2019 he was named a Fulbright Scholar to train describers in Greece and Ukraine.”

Dr Joel Snyder

“Fern Lulham is a blind communication specialist who studied Radio Broadcast Communication in the UK and North Carolina. As well as narrating audio description for major broadcasters, she has reported, presented and produced for BBC Radio and given a TEDx talk, ‘What Online Dating Looks Like When You’re Blind’. She has recently qualified as a psychotherapist, and spends her downtime watching true crime with her guide dog, Nancy.”

Fern Lulham

“Shak Yousaf has been Audio Description Manager at Iyuno (previously SDI Media) for ten years, coordinating AD projects from start to finish, from costs and timelines to the writing, recording and delivery of productions. He has managed AD projects in 14 languages and continues to hire and train freelancers. He also teaches Audio Description at UCL and Leeds, in courses he designed himself.”

Shak Yousaf

“Eliana Franco is a translator for the visual, audiovisual and performing arts, with a doctorate in Letters from KULeuven. At the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil she coordinated the research group Tramad for ten years. She began in SDH in 2000 and moved into audio description in 2004, becoming one of the pioneers of AD in her country, and now lives mostly in Portugal, working as an AD and SDH trainer and coordinating projects for cinema and theatre.”

Dr Eliana Franco

“Bernd Benecke is Head of Audio Description at Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), one of Germany’s main AD producers for public TV, DVD, VoD and cinema. He started in audio description in 1989, when the first film was described in Germany, working as an author and narrator before building BR’s AD department in 1997. Today he trains authors, revises descriptions and directs the narration and sound mixing, and he co-wrote the German Audio Description guidelines and has led workshops around the world.”

Dr Bernd Benecke

“Wojciech Figiel is an assistant professor at the Institute of Applied Linguistics, a translator and interpreter, and an audio description and accessibility consultant. He has published widely on accessibility, including the accessibility of the translation professions for blind and partially sighted people, the subject of his PhD. He works with museums, media organisations and NGOs to provide audio description and to make apps and physical spaces accessible.”

Dr Wojciech Figiel

Why learn AD now?

AD may be required by law

Accessibility rules are tightening across Europe and beyond. The European Accessibility Act applies from 28 June 2025 and reaches services that provide access to audiovisual media, and audio description sits squarely inside those requirements.

For broadcasters, streamers and the companies serving them, that means more described content, and more demand for people who can actually do it well. Learning AD now means developing a skill that is increasingly important across the accessibility and media industries.

Course curriculum

Follow a step-by-step path from understanding the fundamentals of AD
to creating your own complete AD script

    1. 👋 Welcome!

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. AD software in this course

    3. 👨‍💻️ How to use this course

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. 🎥 What is AD?

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. 🎥 AD as an access service

      FREE PREVIEW

    3. 🎥 AD across the globe

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. 🛠️ Test yourself!

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. 🎥 Who is AD for?

    2. 🎥 Understanding the needs of AD users

    3. 💡 Interview with Fern Lulham

    4. 🛠️ Test yourself!

    1. 🎥 The AD scripting process

    2. 🎥 Understanding the story

    3. 🎥 The who, what, where and how of AD - part 1

    4. 🎥 The who, what, where and how of AD - part 2

    5. 🎥 5 basic AD rules

    6. 🎥 AD styles and genres

    7. 🎥 Do's and don'ts: AD styles

    8. 🛠️ Test yourself!

    9. 🤸‍♂️ Your first scripting exercise!

    10. 🗝️ Key to your first scripting exercise

    1. 🎥 Describing characters

    2. 🎥 Describing actions

    3. 🎥 Describing places

    4. 🎥 Describing time

    5. 📜 Audio description in different languages

    6. 🛠️ Test yourself!

    1. 🎥 Audio introductions

    2. 📜 More resources on audio introductions

    3. 🛠️ Test yourself!

About this course

  • €199,00
  • 74 lessons
  • 7.5 hours of video content

What our students think

Mila Kartina

5 star rating

“As a professional Indonesian AD writer working in a country where AD has not yet become an established industry, I find that information and knowledge about AD are still relatively scarce. Therefore, gaining professional knowledge of AD based on i...”

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“As a professional Indonesian AD writer working in a country where AD has not yet become an established industry, I find that information and knowledge about AD are still relatively scarce. Therefore, gaining professional knowledge of AD based on international standards is something that we should strive for. It was therefore an invaluable experience to have the opportunity to join the "Introduction to Audio Description" course with AVT Masterclass. I gained a great deal of knowledge from the trainers and received tremendous support, especially from Agnieszka, Aga, and Lukasz. Not only are they excellent trainers, but they are also incredibly helpful colleagues and friends with whom I could discuss ideas and challenges. As I progressed through each lesson of the AVT Masterclass, I was always able to discuss anything I did not fully understand, as well as any confusion or doubts that arose in my professional projects. This made the learning experience particularly valuable, as I could immediately connect what I learned in the course with my work as a professional AD writer. Thank you so much, Agnieszka, Aga, and Lukasz. I hope we’ll have many more opportunities to discuss AD and other AVT topics together in the future!”

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Isabelle Pelchat

5 star rating

“What a nice introduction to audio description! This course is very interesting and very instructive. I admit I was a little bit worried when I realized I had to do the audio description of a scene from a "horror" movie (I can't watch horror movies...”

→Read More

“What a nice introduction to audio description! This course is very interesting and very instructive. I admit I was a little bit worried when I realized I had to do the audio description of a scene from a "horror" movie (I can't watch horror movies!), but that was nothing and this audio description end up to be really exciting to do. This course makes me want to learn more about AD. In fact, I just started the course Audio Description Templates.”

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Ilse Stinckens

5 star rating

“I've learned a lot in this course, although it is only an introduction. I mostly realize now that it still takes a lot of practice to get confident in writing my own AD. Thanks a lot for sharing this information! (I know now for example that th...”

→Read More

“I've learned a lot in this course, although it is only an introduction. I mostly realize now that it still takes a lot of practice to get confident in writing my own AD. Thanks a lot for sharing this information! (I know now for example that this short review text is a bad example when it comes to writing AD, since I've used "a lot" three times and "example" twice. ;-) )”

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Ayşegül Kardeş

5 star rating

“The Introduction to Audio Description course by AVT Masterclass is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in this field. The course is well-structured, easy to follow, and provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of audio d...”

→Read More

“The Introduction to Audio Description course by AVT Masterclass is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in this field. The course is well-structured, easy to follow, and provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of audio description. Despite having prior knowledge from my Master's degree, I found the content engaging and informative. What stands out most is its accessibility—whether you're a complete beginner or someone with experience in audiovisual translation, the course offers valuable insights. The explanations are clear, and the examples help reinforce key concepts effectively. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to understand audio description from the ground up.”

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Julita Hille

5 star rating

“The course surprised me, as I didn't expect it to include so much knowledge in just a few units. First, there is a lot of information about what AD actually is, with emphasis on its users, and then you are introduced, step by step, to the world of...”

→Read More

“The course surprised me, as I didn't expect it to include so much knowledge in just a few units. First, there is a lot of information about what AD actually is, with emphasis on its users, and then you are introduced, step by step, to the world of creating AD. I would recommend it to everyone who is considering dipping their toes in this craft. As always, well done, AVT Masterclass.”

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Ineke Wellens

5 star rating

“A very interesting course, that begins from the start: who is audio description intended for and how. The course is logically constructed and well structured. It combines theory and exercises. The key to the exercises is always given, which gives...”

→Read More

“A very interesting course, that begins from the start: who is audio description intended for and how. The course is logically constructed and well structured. It combines theory and exercises. The key to the exercises is always given, which gives you the opportunity to check your work yourself. The interviews with AD users and writers are also very relevant. They illustrate that there is not one way of writing AD. They also stress that it is important to work together with AD users to achieve the best results, which I find very comforting. ”

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Mehnaaz Ahmed

5 star rating

“A great introduction to audio description. It was helpful and necessary to hear from all the AD experts who've shaped the field. The hands-on experience with tools that are actually used by companies today to create AD was very helpful too. The ta...”

→Read More

“A great introduction to audio description. It was helpful and necessary to hear from all the AD experts who've shaped the field. The hands-on experience with tools that are actually used by companies today to create AD was very helpful too. The tasks were challenging and interesting, but receiving feedback on our work for these tasks would make this course more instructive.”

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Showcase your skills

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Once you complete the course, you'll receive a Certificate of Completion. Certificates are a great way to document your learning! You can share them on social media and use them with clients, employers or colleagues.
A man holding a university diploma

Our guarantee

We are confident in the quality of our courses, which has been confirmed by many satisfied students. That’s why we are able to offer a 100% money-back guarantee.

If you buy the course and find that you did not learn anything new or that you think the course is not in line with its description or syllabus, we will refund you 100% of what you paid. [See “Terms of use” for details.]
We offer 100% money-back guarantee.

Want to learn about
audio description templates too?

Learn to create AD for multilingual workflows

  • Audio Description Templates

    Ready to take your AD skills further?
    Learn to create AD templates for multilingual workflows

    €99,00

    Start learning now!

  • Audio Description Bundle

    Get access to TWO courses
    on Audio Description:
    Introduction to Audio Description
    and Audio Description Templates! Save €49!

    €249,00

    Buy now!

FAQ

Any questions?

  • Is this course suitable for complete beginners?

    Yes, this course is for beginners. If you already have some AD experience, we recommend doing the "AD Templates" course.

  • How long does it take to complete the course?

    Usually the students take a few days to complete this course. But it's up to you - the duration of the course depends on your individual needs, previous knowledge and the time you have. If you like, you can even do it all in one intensive day! Please remember that by signing up, you get a one-year access to the course and lifetime access to our social media learning community.

  • How long do I have access to the course?

    You will have access to the course for one year.

  • Will I get feedback on my exercises?

    No, this is a self-paced course with pre-recorded content. We provide sample answer keys to all exercises, but your AD scripts won't be marked.

  • Will I have to attend regular online classes?

    No, this course is self-paced, which means you can do as much as you want at a time. You're in full control of your learning process. Join our private Facebook group to network with your fellow students. If you're not a fan of Facebook, you can follow us on LinkedIn, or send us an e-mail at [email protected].

  • Do I need any software?

    This course comes equipped with access to the state-of-the-art software that will enable you to create audio description. You will get access to the software for 3 months.

  • Can I get an invoice for the course with my company/organization details?

    Sure! All you need to do is send us your organization details (name, address, VAT number) at [email protected]. Our accounting team will be back with the invoice.

  • Do you offer bulk pricing for LSPs?

    If you want to purchase licenses for your team or make this course available internally within your organization, reach out to us at [email protected] and we'll be happy to send you an offer. At AVT Masterclass, we're experienced in delivering live and online trainings as well as developing custom-made training materials for large organizations.