Making a Difference
Where we've been. What we've done.
- Helen Keller Services chose The UniDescription Project for an AccessAbility Award (June 2022): The UniDescription Project was picked for this national award in recognition of our efforts "to support individuals who are DeafBlind, blind or have low vision and make the society more accessible and inclusive through ... services, practices, products and workforce diversity efforts."
- Pearl Harbor memorials (May 2022): In collaboration with the Oahu-based NPS site, we have audio described brochures for:
Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Pearl Harbor National Memorial – USS Arizona,
Pearl Harbor National Memorial – USS Utah,
and the Pearl Harbor National Memorial – USS Oklahoma. - Goldsworthy in the Presidio (March 2022): We have completed the production work on a novel National Endowment for the Arts-funded Audio Description project within the Presidio in San Francisco, on a public- art walk featuring the work of Andy Goldsworthy. Here are the experimental variations:
Goldsworthy in the Presidio – Traditional Version, Machine Voice, Goldsworthy in the Presidio – Traditional Version, Alexa Voice,
Goldsworthy in the Presidio – Traditional Version, Human Voice,
Goldsworthy in the Presidio – Sound Art Version, Machine Voice, Goldsworthy in the Presidio – Sound Art Version, Alexa Voice,
Goldsworthy in the Presidio – Sound Art Version, Human Voice,
Goldsworthy in the Presidio – Sound Art Version, Human Voice (No Screenreader Text),
- Descriptathon 8 (Oct. 26-28, 2021): This event featured more than 100 participants and several new international partners, such as National Parks UK (which manages sites in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales), the Royal National Institute of Blind People (England), Nigeria National Park Service, and the Canadian Council of the Blind. We collaborated once again with our U.S.-based partners in the U.S. National Park Service, and we also brought into the mix The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., one of the nation’s premiere performing arts facilities. In addition, we supported bilingual creation of Audio Description in English, French, Spanish, and Ojibwe. The public places made more accessible in this Descriptathon were:
Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail (Hawaii),
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (Wisconsin),
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site (Kansas), Cave and Basin National Historic Site (Alberta, Canada),
Banff Park Museum National Historic Site (Alberta, Canada), Derwent Dam - Peak District National Park (Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom),
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (Washington),
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site - McLoughlin House (Oregon), Gateway Arch National Park (Missouri),
Indiana Dunes National Park (Indiana), Isle Royale National Park (Michigan),
Kennedy Center Visitors Guide (Washington, D.C.), Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (Washington),
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (Oregon), Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site (Arkansas),
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (California),
South Downs National Park, Ditchling Beacon and The Chattri (West Sussex, England, United Kingdom),
and Whitman Mission National Historic Site (Washington). - Heritage Award, The Best in Heritage (October 2021): The UniDescription Project was chosen this year for an international award, as a “Project of Influence,” at The Best in Heritage conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The Best in Heritage is an annual and global gathering to celebrate award-winning museum, heritage and conservation projects.
- HKNC's Deaf-Blind Immersion Experience (March 2021): The Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults created a print brochure for its Deaf-Blind Immersion Experience (DBIE). They audio described it through UniD, too.
- Academic Research Presented Recently:
Oppegaard, B. (2022, May 26-30).Audio description as auteur placemaking: Addressing accessibility issues in public places through locative sound-art experiments [Paper presentation]. International Communication Association Conference (ICA), Paris, France.
Oppegaard, B., & Rabby, M. (2022, May 26-30). Networked sight: Improving social inclusion by improving audio description research [Paper presentation]. International Communication Association Conference (ICA), Paris, France.
Oppegaard, B., & Conway, T. (2022, February 26 - March 1). What I look like on Zoom: Real-time research into creating great portrait audio description [Workshop presentation]. Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, Honolulu, HI, U.S.
Oppegaard, B., Griesemer, H., Hartley, M., & Rachfal, C. (2021, July 21). Audio description in the out of doors [Panel presentation]. Audio Description Project Conference (ADP), online.
Oppegaard, B. (2021, July 11-15). What does he/she/they look like? Gender-defining audio description in self portraits [Paper presentation]. International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Nairobi, Kenya / online.
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IMAGES: Goldsworthy in the Presidio
IMAGE 1 of 4: Spire
DESCRIPTION:
The top left is the Spire, constructed in 2006. 15" wide at the base and 100' tall, the Spire stands sharply vertical in a forest landscape. Facing towards the sunrise, and in the shadows there is a tall, pointed cone shaped structure in the distance, this is the Spire. The surrounding trees are much shorter than the Spire, showing the enormity of the structure. In the foreground, the view is partially obscured by three, skinny, bare trees.
IMAGE 2 of 4: Wood Line
DESCRIPTION:
Top right is the Wood Line, begun in 2010 and completed a year later. Where Spire is vertical, Wood Line is horizontal. Snaking 1200' through the forest near Lover's Lane, the Wood Line is assembled from eucalyptus trunks. Set in a grove of trees forming an arched tunnel are tree trunks arranged end to end winding back and forth along its entire length. Fog covers the tree lined path partially hiding the far end. Along the forest floor are patches of bright green grass mixed in with fallen, brown leaves.
IMAGE 3 of 4: Tree Fall
DESCRIPTION:
Bottom left is Tree Fall, created in 2013. Installed in a small nearly square powder magazine with an arched ceiling, the piece is a large multi limbed tree trunk suspended overhead and looking like it grows into and back out of the walls. The entire surface of the tree and the inside of the ceiling is covered with a dry, cracked, sand colored clay. This photo shows a closeup looking straight overhead at the center of the room. Two thicker branches enter from the right, split into 4 smaller branches, and wander out of sight. The tree and ceiling beyond all have the same color and texture with the cracks in the clay brushed over them clearly visible.
IMAGE 4 of 4: Earth Wall
DESCRIPTION:
Bottom right is Earth Wall. Centered in the image is a 6' diameter ball of tree trunks and branches embedded in a rammed earth wall. The ball has been dug out and carved from where it was cast into the surrounding wall, with deep gouged tool marks radiating around it. The branches have patches of dark brown to pale red bark exposed from the caked mud that holds them together. The mud of the wall is darker and slightly grayer than the clay used in Tree Fall.
Field Research
These photos show some of the research activities we have done in the field around the world.
Portraits of People in the American Council of the Blind
In this Portrait project, American Council of the Blind members — who are blind or who have low-vision — were invited to have a portrait taken of them, from the shoulders up, on a black background. The images are shot very tightly, as a way to position the viewer to focus on the person's face and humanity. The participants also were guided through the process of making an Audio Description of the portrait. The descriptions provided here are based on what the person in the image wanted to say about themselves, after being guided through a series of prompts about potential topics of interest for their viewers/listeners, including name, gender, age, race/ethnicity, fashion/attire, facial expression, body shape/size, and any other aspects of their appearance they wanted to mention. The people in the portrait also were asked if they wanted to share the description with a first-person or third-person point of view.
Behind-the-Scenes
How do we do what we do? These photos will give you a behind-the-scenes look at our work.
