This course is for you if...

  • you want to know the ins and outs of audio description

  • you want to master the art of audio description scriptwriting

  • you’d like to hear from audio description experts around the globe

After completing this course, you will...

  • know what makes a good audio description

  • know how to prepare a timed audio description script

  • understand the audio description creation workflow and your role in it

What you will get from this course

  • Premium learning experience

    Gain access to our full suite of training materials created by experienced audiovisual translation trainers

  • Video lessons and tutorials

    Learn from our engaging video tutorials full of practical examples

  • Interactive quizzes

    With our innovative quizzes you will not only check your knowledge but also learn even more

  • Professional software

    Get a 3-month access to professional software to create your own audio description scripts

  • Social media learning community

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

  • Interviews with experts

    The course features exclusive interviews with experts who share their take on Audio Description

Interviews with AD experts

Get to know the AD experts from around the world!

β€œJoel Snyder is known internationally as one of the world’s first β€œaudio describers,” a pioneer in the field of Audio Description. Since 1981, he has introduced audio description techniques in over 40 states and 64 countries and has made thousands of live events, media projects and museums accessible. Most recently, Joel Snyder was named a Fulbright Scholar to train audio describers in Greece and Ukraine over a four-week period in 2019.”

β€œEliana Franco is a translator for the visual, audiovisual and performing arts, with a doctorate in Letters by KULeuven (2000). She has taught at the Federal University of Bahia, in the city of Salvador, Brazil, where she has coordinated the research group Tramad (Translation, Media and Audio Description) for ten years (2004 – 2014). In 2000, Eliana started her accessibility trajectory as a trainer and researcher in SDH, and in 2004 she gave her first steps into audio description, becoming one of the pioneers in her country. Since 2020 she has lived mostly in Portugal, where she works as an AD and SDH trainer and coordinator of projects for the cinema and the theatre.”

β€œWojciech Figiel is assistant professor at the Institute of Applied Linguistics, interpreter and translator, as well as audio description and accessibility consultant. He published numerous papers on, among other subjects, accessibility of translational professions for the visually impaired persons. That was also the subject of his Ph. D. thesis. He has cooperated with public and private sector institutions (museums, media organisations, NGOs etc.) to ensure access for the visually impaired persons through the provision of audio description, but also by guaranteeing accessible mobile apps and safe physical environments.”

β€œBernd Benecke is the Head of Audio-Description at Bayerischer Rundfunk BR – one of the main producers of Audio-Description in Germany. BR delivers AD for German Public TV, DVDs, VoD and cinema. Bernd Benecke started with Audio Description in 1989 when the first movie was described in Germany. He worked as an Audio Description author and narrator for movie distributors and different TV-stations. In 1997 he built up the AD department at Bayerischer Rundfunk. Today he mainly trains the authors, revises Audio Descriptions and directs the narrating and sound mixing process. He is one of the authors of the German Audio Description guidelines and headed workshops in countries around the world. ”

β€œFern Lulham is a blind communication specialist. She studied for her degree in Radio Broadcast Communication both in the UK and North Carolina, USA. She works as a freelancer and as well as narrating audio description for major broadcasters, her CV includes reporting, presenting and producing for BBC Radio, public speaking, including a TEDx talk entitled "What Online Dating Looks Like When You're Blind" and delivering her accredited Disability Awareness training course. She has also recently qualified as a psychotherapist. When Fern's not working, her favourite leisure activities include watching true crime documentaries and going for walks with her beautiful guide dog, Nancy.”

β€œShak Yousaf is the Audio Description Manager at Iyuno (previously SDI Media), a position he’s held for ten years. He coordinates AD projects from start to finish, from helping colleagues with costs and timelines to supervising the writing, recording and delivery of the productions. Shak has managed AD projects for 14 languages and continues to hire and train freelancers to help him fulfil the company’s projects. In addition to Iyuno, Shak teaches Audio Description at the UK universities UCL and Leeds in courses he created and designed himself from his years of experience and knowledge.”

Course curriculum

    1. πŸŽ₯ Who is AD for?

    2. πŸŽ₯ Understanding the needs of AD users

    3. πŸ’‘ Interview with Fern Lulham

    4. πŸ› οΈ Test yourself!

    1. πŸŽ₯ The AD scripting process

    2. πŸŽ₯ Understanding the story

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

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

    5. πŸŽ₯ 5 basic AD rules

    6. πŸŽ₯ AD styles and genres

    7. πŸŽ₯ Do's and don'ts: AD styles

    8. πŸ› οΈ Test yourself!

    9. πŸ€Έβ€β™‚οΈ Your first scripting exercise!

    10. πŸ—οΈ Key to your first scripting exercise

    1. πŸŽ₯ Describing characters

    2. πŸŽ₯ Describing actions

    3. πŸŽ₯ Describing places

    4. πŸŽ₯ Describing time

    5. πŸ“œ Audio description in different languages

    6. πŸ› οΈ Test yourself!

    1. πŸŽ₯ What is an AD script?

    2. πŸŽ₯ What has software got to do with this?

    3. πŸ“š OOONA AD Tutorial - Creating AD script

    4. πŸŽ₯ Audio introductions

    5. πŸ“œ More resources on audio introductions

    6. πŸŽ₯ Audio subtitling

    7. πŸ› οΈ Test yourself!

    8. πŸ€Έβ€β™‚οΈ Exercise 1 - Where Memory Ends

    9. πŸ—οΈ Exercise 1 - KEY

    10. πŸ€Έβ€β™‚οΈ Exercise 2 - Where Memory Ends

    11. πŸ—οΈ Exercise 2 - KEY

    12. πŸ€Έβ€β™‚οΈ Exercise 3 - Where Memory Ends

    13. πŸ—οΈ Exercise 3 - KEY

About this course

  • €199,00
  • 51 lessons
  • 6.5 hours of video content

Get access to OOONA AD!

Professional software for completing your AD tasks

Meet the course instructors!

Experts in accessibility and audiovisual translation

Anna Jankowska is a researcher in audiovisual translation and media accessibility. She now works at the University of Antwerp, where she co-manages the OPEN Expertise Centre for Accessible Media and Culture. Before that, she was a visiting scholar with the TransMedia Calatonia research group at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and worked at the Chair for Translation at the Jagiellonian University in KrakΓ³w. Defended at the Jagiellonian University in KrakΓ³w (Poland), Anna's doctoral dissertation focused on using translation to produce audio description scripts in multiple languages. Within her research work, she collaborated in developing the AudioMovie app, which provides audio description and audio subtitles in cinemas via mobile devices. She is a member of the European Society for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST) and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Audiovisual Translation. Anna combines her academic experience with practice in the audiovisual translation and media accessibility industry. She worked as a freelance audiovisual translator and audio described for over 10 years and co-founded and co-managed the Seventh Sense Foundation - an NGO that provides accessibility services, training, and consultancy. In her work, she collaborated with local clients and international localization services providers and, most importantly, with users of various accessibility services. She has 15 years of experience in training in audiovisual translation and media accessibility, both at university-level courses and running training programs for companies and institutions.

Anna Jankowska

Meet the course instructors!

Experts in accessibility and audiovisual translation

Nina Reviers is a tenure-track professor in Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility at the University of Antwerp, where she co-manages the OPEN Expertise Centre for Accessible Media and Culture. She defended her Phd at the University of Antwerp in 2018. It focused on the linguistic profiling of the language of audio description in Dutch, and it was awarded the EST Young Scholar Prize in 2019. Her research addresses linguistic and multimodal aspects of audio description, (computer-aided translation) of audio description, integrated access for the (scenic) arts and technology for access. She is a member of the European Society for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST) and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Audiovisual Translation. Nina combines her academic experience with practice in media accessibility. She fosters a close collaboration with stakeholders as a key factor in her research and teaching activities. She has 10 years of experience as a trainer in subtitling and audio description, for university courses as well as courses for professional development for freelancers, companies and institutions.

Nina Reviers

Meet the course instructors!

Experts in accessibility and audiovisual translation

Gert Vercauteren is a tenure track professor at the University of Antwerp, where he co-manages the OPEN Expertise Centre for Accessible Media and Culture. Defended at the University of Antwerp (2016) his PhD focuses on audio description and, more specifically, on selecting relevant information to be described. His current research centres on narratology in audio description with a particular focus on sound and cognitive load in/and audio description. He has over 20 years of experience as a trainer, and during this time, he taught media accessibility, translation technology, and audiovisual translation and communication. He also works as an audio describer, maintaining a close link with the audiovisual translation industry.

Gert Vercauteren

What our students think

Isabelle Pelchat

5 star rating

β€œWhat 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...”

β†’Read More

β€œWhat 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.”

β†’Read Less

Ilse Stinckens

5 star rating

β€œI'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...”

β†’Read More

β€œI'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. ;-) )”

β†’Read Less

Learn from the convenience of your home

Introduction to Audio Description

Our courses are engaging and innovative and can be fully completed online. Learn the intricacies of Audio Description without having to leave your home.
Young woman with curly hair sitting in front of her laptop, typing

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

Want to learn about audio description templates too?

Learn to create AD for multilingual workflows

  • Audio Description Templates

    This course will teach you how to create audio description templates! It comes packed with video tutorials, quizzes, exercises, and downloadable handouts. Access to software is also guaranteed.

    €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 almost 30 euros!

    €249,00

    Buy now!

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 β€œTerms of use” for details.]
We offer 100% money-back guarantee.

You need to learn
subtitling as well?

Try our courses

  • Subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH)

    This course will teach you how to create subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing/ closed captioning. It comes packed with video tutorials, quizzes, exercises, and downloadable handouts!

    €299,00

    Start learning now!
  • Beginner's guide to subtitling

    By choosing the bundle, you will get access to two courses: the Fundamentals of Subtitling and Timing Subtitles 101, which include hands-on exercises and discounts on professional subtitling software OOONA and EZTitles.

    €299,00

    Choose our bundle
    and save money!

FAQ

Any questions?

  • 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.

  • 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, Twitter or send us an e-mail at [email protected].

  • Do I need any software?

    Yes, 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.