Total Eclipse Audio Description

Audio Description to Allow the Blind To “See” the Total Eclipse

WASHINGTON, August 10, 2017 — The Audio Description Project, an initiative of the American Council of the Blind (ACB), along with the Mid-Tennessee Council of the Blind, the Tennessee School for the Blind and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, announces an opportunity for blind people world-wide to experience the upcoming total eclipse of the sun.

On Monday afternoon, August 21, at exactly 1:27 p.m. (CDT), the Sun above Nashville, TN will disappear from view. The sky will go completely dark. But through the use of succinct, imaginative and vivid language – audio description –the event will be accessible to the millions of people who are blind or have low vision, or anyone who wishes to experience a verbal version of the visual.

Between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. (CDT) on August 21, Dr. Joel Snyder will host “A Total Eclipse — Audio Described!” on ACB Radio.  Snyder, the director of ACB’s Audio Description Project, will present an hour of songs (“Ain’t Got No Sunshine,” “Here Comes the Sun,” “Blinded by the Light,” “When The Sun Goes Down,” etc.), interviews and special guests — with the main event being described live from the Tennessee School for the Blind between 1:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. (CDT). Trained audio describer, Nashville-based Julia Cawthon, will describe the eclipse as it happens and provide a vivid “translation” of the visual event into words for the benefit of anyone who tunes in.

“Audio description uses the spoken word to provide access to visual images that would otherwise not be accessible to people who are blind or have low vision,” stated Kim Charlson, president of the American Council of the Blind. “Audio describers help make so many aspects of our culture accessible.  We’re delighted to sponsor this program on August 21 and help people experience this important event.”

How to access the broadcast: Go to http://www.acbradio.org/interactive and select “Click Here to Play.” Then be sure to select the link that opens the player that you use to listen to music or stream internet radio stations. You can also listen on any telephone by dialing (605) 475-8130 and select option 4. If you are using an iOS device such as an iPad or iPhone, install “ACB Link”; open the app, select the radio tab and then tap on the menu button. Select “live streams” and “ACB Radio Interactive,” select the play button and the stream will launch.

Additional information about ACB’s Audio Description Project is available at:
www.acb.org/adp.

About the American Council of the Blind

The American Council of the Blind is a national membership organization. Its members are blind, visually impaired, and fully sighted individuals who are concerned about the dignity and well-being of blind people throughout the nation.

Formed in 1961, the ACB is one of the largest organizations of blind people in the world, with more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates and a nationwide network of chapters and members spanning the globe.

For more information about the American Council of the Blind, contact: Eric Bridges, Executive Director, American Council of the Blind, 1703 N. Beauregard S., Suite 420, Alexandria, VA 22311; phone (202) 467-5081 or toll-free, 1-800-424-8666; or visit the web site, www.acb.org.

JOEL SNYDER, Ph.D.
Director, Audio Description Project
(202) 467-5083
Author of The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and
Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description -
get your copy at thevisualmadeverbal.net
President, Audio Description Associates, LLC 

"The Visual Made Verbal"
6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD  20912
jsnyder@audiodescribe.com
Tel: 301 920-0218; Fax: 208 445-0079

For more information about audio description, please visit:
www.audiodescribe.com 

Director, Audio Description Project
American Council of the Blind
jsnyder@acb.org -- 202 467-5083
www.acb.org/adp
cblogoscan002™ ACB logo id:image004.jpg@01CBED4F.9FF9D220 ADP logo


Donna Wolke
MTSU Physics & Astronomy
Box 71, WPS 220
1301 East Main Street
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Phone 615-898-2130
Fax 615-898-5303
Donna.Wolke@mtsu.edu