Event details
The Centre for Culture and Technology (CCAT) would like to invite you to the 2024 Audio Description Symposium. This symposium brings together audio describers, academics, advocates, and members of the broader ‘AD community’ to discuss the policies and standards for AD in Australia, with an emphasis on how they have evolved, what international contexts have informed this and what the future of AD may look like.
We’ll be joined by Polly Goodwin, Frances Mathey, Dr Karen Seeley, and many more…
Lunch will be provided.
If you can’t make it in person, you can join us online. Please note a link to stream the event will be sent to you via email closer to the date.
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Call out for papers is now open!
CCAT is inviting participants to explore the policies and standards that have been developed and implemented for Audio Description (AD) in Australia, with an emphasis on how they have evolved, what international contexts have informed this and what the future of AD may look like.
We hope to capture the often unpublished histories, policies or approaches that have informed the practice of AD. We further encourage participants to reflect on the different ways AD has been developed across multiple medias and industries – from live AD in theatre productions, to AD on television, to the more recent inclusion of AD in the gaming industry. While our focus is on the Australian, we invite participants to also reflect on international examples and the ways in which these have, or may in the future, informed the practice of AD in Australia.
Presenters are invited to attend in person or via Zoom.
Who should apply?
We welcome proposals from anyone from the broad ‘AD industry’ – from professional audio describers, accessibility experts, members of the blind and low vision community and arts organisation representatives. We further extend the invitation to researchers and academics working in the field of audio description and accessibility studies.
Session formats and presentation guidelines
Our symposium will be divided into two core sessions – past and present/future. Each session will comprise of approximately three speakers, each delivering their paper for a maximum of 15 minutes, allowing for an extra five minutes of questions/answers with the audience.
For further questions regarding presentations, please contact the convenors at audiodescription@curtin.edu.au
What do you need to apply?
Please submit an abstract of your paper by 1 September 2024 and include the following:
- Your name and affiliation
- Your contact details
- The title of your paper
- Proposed paper abstract (approximately 200 words)
- A brief biography
To apply, please read the instructions and submit your proposal to audiodescription@curtin.edu.au
The abstract submission deadline is 1 September 2024.
Date
Friday 18 October 2024
Time
9.00am – 2.00pm
Location
The Lantern, TL Robertson Library
B105.701
Curtin University
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Or online
Speakers
Polly Goodwin
Polly Goodwin is a trained, practicing audio describer with nearly 15 years of experience. She runs the Australian chapter of the Benefits of Audio Description in Education initiative, has created an accredited unit on using AD aimed at young people.
She is involved with Professor Xiaochun Zhang’s AD4Games project and has written a chapter exploring the videogame ‘Perception’ for an upcoming title (‘Women who Write our Worlds’, Intellect Books).
Polly is a member of the Curtin Audio Description Advisory Board.
Fran Mathey
Fran Mathey is an AD scripter and narrator with almost 20 years of experience. She was trained by UK AD expert Dr Louise Fryer as part of the first Australian Government-funded AD pilot project to add AD to DVD releases in 2005.
Since then, Fran has engaged in further professional development and training at Red Bee Media UK, and completed the University of London/VocalEyes course ‘Creating Audio Description: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ in 2021. Fran is continually learning on the job, particularly through interaction and correspondence with blind and low-vision AD users and practitioners, and by keeping abreast of international trends and developments.
Fran is member of the Curtin Audio Description Advisory Board.
Dr Karen Seeley
Karen Seeley is an Adjunct Fellow in the School of Humanities at The University of Adelaide, where she obtained all of her university qualifications – a BA in Politics and International Studies, a BA (Hons) First Class in Media, and a PhD in AD.
She trained as a professional Audio Describer in both Australia and the United States of America and has been working as a freelance audio describer since 2014, describing live performances, conferences, fine arts exhibitions, cultural events, and digital media content.