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Roy Samuelson

Roy Samuelson

voice over artist

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News

AFB Leadership 2022

April 2022, I was honored to share the stage with Melody Goodspeed and Satauna Howery, discussing the inclusion opportunities in audio description, and how it relates to inclusion of disabled professionals. Here’s the text from my portion of the “Championing access and Inclusion in Hollywood” panel. (I still have hope I’m not the only one to ever say the word “shitty” during an accessibility talk – but I got Satauna and Melody’s approval.)

I’m a tall white man with medium short hair, with a plaid shirt under a leather looking shirt jacket. Or jacket shirt. 

I’ve had the privilege of working with and within the Blind and low vision community for more than 10 years now, and count Melody and Satauna as two particularly treasured colleagues. They occupy and enrich their areas of expertise with confidence and integrity, and it’s always a pleasure to join them – be it on any particular project or initiative, or here today.

Yesterday, Stephanae McCoy of Bold Blind Beauty talked about modeling for inclusion. Hollywood has been – with a few painful exceptions – an admirable trendsetter, when it comes to adopting social initiatives that open up more possibilities for us all to connect. Connection is what drives my own value.

As DEI secures an ever stronger foothold in corporate strategy, the entertainment industry continues to model how easy and appropriate opportunities for diversity, equity, and inclusion actually are. Now that we have a glimpse into the world of AD from an employment view, some questions remain: what opportunities actually exist today, which are in an unmistakable state of development, and what still needs to be created?

We’re going to talk about some of the “wins” that bring change and opportunities for blind and disabled professionals in this art form.

As Satauna and Melody already touched upon, a proven benefit, both economic and social, is the removal of noise and friction: when production organizations create better workflows, every part of the value chain benefits. The same applies with AD: refining and evolving the AD workflow connects professionals and audiences more rewardingly to the content, and to each other.

How do I know this? As a Voice Over talent of more than 20 years standing, I have observed and experienced the best and the worst of production, both in my particular corner of content creation, and in the larger media and entertainment ecosystem.

What sighted audiences expect by default is not yet granted to blind and visually impaired audiences, and there are simply too many in this community to continue accepting absent or sub-par AD, when it comes to their content experience. That’s why I created the ADNA, and why Kevin’s Way exists.

As a production and parity consultant, I’ve found gaps in many areas – specifically in series and film. (now AD is a part of many visual experiences and content; but the microfocus on TV and Film can spill over to other areas.) And this kind of entertainment AD is more than just information. It’s the immersion. And sadly the only consistent blind audience entertainment deliverable to-date? has been *unreliable* quality of experience. 

For more than a decade – through meetings, professional collaborations, studies, and through social media engagement – I strategically shifted the message away from cheap AD to great AD, illustrating to audiences and organizations the value of quality, and what that means.

While audiences were advocating justifiably for “more AD”, a growing group of my colleagues were joining me in demanding “better AD”.

As Satauna mentioned, credits matter. Several years ago, I established The ADNA as a database of audio description professionals – strategically beginning with voice talents, as this role is the easiest to get on board with. We’ve expanded to more roles. It helps hinge the conversations around which talents are doing things that work or don’t work for our audiences (writing, voicing, editing, and more).

I created the ADNA Presents podcast, interviewing over 150 professionals, sighted and blind, who share the nuanced approach of what quality and excellence means.

Earlier this year, the kindle book, “The ADNA Presents: Volume 1” was released, featuring a collection of insightful interviews with top voice over talent, exploring the potential of, and need, for this sector.

During my Keynote address at the 2020 ACB banquet, I introduced our audiences to what quality and excellence means, beyond simply “having AD”. I shared the results of years of study, experimentation, work, and discoveries. Most organizations hadn’t tactically parsed the many roles in AD, let alone considered including blind professionals in the work. Since my presentation, some AD companies are now publicly talking about hiring blind professionals.

As a member of the TV Academy, home of the primetime Emmy awards, I served on the executive committee of the Performers’ Peer Group. Last year, after pushing for a number of years, I succeeded in securing eligibility for AD narrators to join the prestigious organization, using their AD TV credits. As blind professionals do this work, it opens more space for what normally is a near-impossible qualification for disabled talent.

More producers still need to be exposed to this work. So, I produced “How Blind People Watch TV”: an event, featuring Melody, Sara Herrlinger of Apple, and other colleagues to help producers and others understand this work. This important and dare I say entertaining discussion is now just a video link away, on the TV Academy’s website.

I am a Voice-Over talent, and a producer, and an ally. Just as I expect to be properly remunerated for my professional work, and properly credited for my accomplishments, I understand that we each have a tireless obligation to lift one another up, especially where representation is not in evidence.

As a member of SAG-AFTRA, I collaborated with the Guild’s Performers with Disabilities Committee and SAG Awards to bring live AD to the show for the first time ever. I further insisted on not only including but crediting blind talent as AD announcers. I asked for a press release to promote the Guild’s requirement that all digital screeners include AD. I brought Proctor and Gamble in as a sponsor, a visionary brand that took advantage of the connection to feature a Tide commercial with AD during the show. While some of the objectives we set for this pioneering accomplishment were not able to be fully leveraged (through no fault of SAG Awards or the voice talents who announced), the victories we *were* able to realize led to establishing AD as a truly enriching part of this organization’s celebration.

Last year, I produced AD for an Oscar-nominated documentary with an all-blind audio description team of leaders, literally modeling blind representation in every role of AD. While we faced concerns from both sighted and blind audiences and organizations, wondering “how a blind person writes AD.” feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and created more curiosity, in the best way possible.

Over 3 years ago, I founded the Audio Description discussion group on Facebook along with my dear friend Kevin – with over 2100 lively members and their active engagements, the focus of quality and excellence in AD remains a guiding force in audio description.

I also coach blind and sighted voice talents in Audio Description, focusing on the nuance of the performance, and the need to recognize that … the creative intent expressed by the writer of the film or series, marshalled by the producer, guided by the director, and realized by the actors, must no less be manifest in every single role of Audio Description. Otherwise, the result is compromised.

Parity inc. was created to address the potholes and speedbumps in AD, to smooth the ride for opportunity on audiences by specifically highlighting the benefits of hiring blind pros. Through this venture, I developed a reliable workflow, as well as a mark that quality is indeed guaranteed. SPI introduced Kevin’s Way: a new measure of excellence for previously marginalized content users. This provides an immediate indication that the AD experience will be in parity to sighted audiences, and of course includes blind professional talents in the adjudication.

With these relationships, connections, and introductions, AD has grown. And much of the focus is on inclusion of blind talents, as well as quality. We now have a system that works; that can guarantee, with accountability, that the quality of AD can match the intent (creatively) of original content creators.

This isn’t charity, nor is it compliance. The advertising side of this equation is even more important, from an economic perspective, when you consider how Blind audiences commit to brands.


When discovering a streaming channel or studio or production company putting out product wherein the entertainment and AD content match in quality, our audiences lock themselves in. With all the inconsistencies, it’s a relief! It is far easier to secure blind and low vision audience loyalty, and hard to shake off. For sighted audiences, it remains an expensive and elusive goal to secure the attention, let alone loyalty. That said, if you put out crap, anyone will bail. Our audio description discussion group has regularly shared this inescapable truism.

So with AD – vo talents, writers, engineers, editors, quality control professionals, and distributors can share – and be compensated for – their best work. And this … leads to the immersive experiences our audiences absolutely deserve.

To be clear, as talents are brought in, the quality of output for our blind audiences will meet the standard that each production has already established.

And if I could be so bold, if any aspect of the AD is any less than the elements of production, that … is … lack of access. It is yet another form of discrimination. And blind talents in all aspects of AD is an essential aspect of matching these production elements.

I’ve been lucky and privileged to have accomplished much in my career, and I’m grateful for my successes. There is so much more that can be done, though. Alone, we can certainly go so far. Together, we can go further than ever imagined before. It’s time for us to work together.

I’m eager to sit down with production and studios to explain and explore in mutually beneficial fashion. These innovations are paving the way for more professionals who absolutely must contribute to this AD work. And as we’ve heard countless times, particularly yesterday and today: this inclusion drives innovation in AD and all workspaces.

But back to AD specifically. The goal is dual – requiring AD *is* essential, but also ensuring AD is recognized in the film industry and business, which leads to economic justification and value. (Again, I’m eager to explore offline). In the choice of quality vs shitty vs nothing, let’s choose quality.

Original Publishing: AFB Leadership 2022

News

Break Down Walls Interview

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/brandon-cole/episodes/Episode-9-Circus-Ninjas-and-Dudes-Named-Roy-e4v8el/a-aktc3g <iframe src=”https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/brandon-cole/embed/episodes/Episode-9-Circus-Ninjas-and-Dudes-Named-Roy-e4v8el/a-aktc3g” height=”102px” width=”400px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe>

Clients, Featured Client, News

Earphones Award: FALLOUT

Audio File Magazine

(Book cover is a plane taking off with angular diagonal lines, a human figure in shadow below it.)

audiobook, award, awards, book, narration

News

ACB’S Audio Description Project Individual Acheivement Award Acceptance Speech

Thank you! I’m particularly honored, as this award comes from the audio description project, one of my most reliable resources and partners for years.

When I started the audio description discussion Facebook group with Kevin, I had an agenda and an admirable partner in crime: We sought to develop an accessible library of lively conversations about the nuances and strengths of audio description quality and excellence.

In the last year alone, I’ve interviewed over 100 audio description blind and sighted professionals on the “Know Your Narrator” podcast. Growth has been manifesting on all sorts of exciting fronts:

Visionaries such as Bold Blind Beauty‘s Stephanae McCoy work with my firm to produce Audio Description Awareness Day. We’re looking forward to our 3rd successful annual celebration in just 10 months time!

After 3 years and many hours of work, I can report that the premiere voice over awards SOVAS now includes 3 categories exclusively for audio description.

After hundreds of hours of meetings and proposals, most recently with the Board of Governors at the Television Academy, I’m proud to share that Audio Description Narrators are at last fully eligible for Active Voting Membership in one of the entertainment industry’s most respected bodies, the home of the Primetime Emmy Awards. And with this formal recognition of our creative contribution, we have a seat at another important table, where we can advocate for increasingly enriching diversity.

All these are the reasons why I developed Kevin’s Way: a process that will ensure all productions can guarantee a standard of Audio Description excellence upon which audiences may confidently rely.

My partners and I know that the work we have put into these initiativesis not simply to put statues on shelves. Now more than ever, diversity and inclusion are both social imperatives and business opportunities, which means there are no excuses anymore. These new opportunities for recognition strengthen both our blind community and the entertainment industry as a whole. And assuring that blind professionals are in a leadership position – this is what makes “nothing about us without us” true.

This award encourages me to continue making noise about the merits of Audio Description, and I invite you to raise your voices with me. Together we can help an industry tap into an underserved and undervalued constituency, not by treating it as an afterthought, but by respecting its creative, social, and economic value, and by demanding parity and equity on behalf of the nearly 37 Million blind and low vision Americans who deserve nothing less than the same level of creative immersion that is presently enjoyed by their sighted brothers and sisters.

Thank you again, and don’t forget to alt text any images you post. For this moment, that would be “sighted tall white guy with a black t-shirt that reads in braille “What the f….

Recipient of the 2021 ACB’s Audio Description Project Individual Achievement Award

News

Weakest Link

Shout out to all of you professionals in audio description.


Excellent quality Audio Description can’t have any weak links.

Any of these could be dealbreakers:
Audio description script word choice.
Placement of those words.
Rate of words (how many words, how fast).
Emphasis of words (is it “she ate the red * APPLE * , or she ate the * RED * apple? Is it the fruit or the color of the apple?)
Intention of words (this is where the voice talent brings her skills to the table. Some call this emotion – but it’s intention – a performance craft that is active.)
Clarity of words.
Support of the story.
Casting of the voice.
The voice’s professional and ongoing training.
The placement of the audio cues.
The mix of the audio (how loud or soft it is in your ear)
How it aligns with production.
The quality control – consistency of words.
How the audio description fits in the mind of the audience.
The necessary elements of the story.
Not stepping on or interrupting the emotional silences.
Then it’s gotta travel from “cinema to streaming.”

Then it’s gotta be accessible.

So there are just 18 elements right there, and the countless of hours of training and experience and ability to deliver this on deadline.

There are more elements than these 18!

But in this example, if 17 are spectacular, and if even one of them isn’t great,


it can negatively affect your entire Audio Description experience.


Thank you to all the professionals who put in the time and care to do their part to not be the weakest link.

Audio Description, News

Audio Description Narration included in the home of the Primetime Emmys, the Television Academy

I’ve been an Active member of The Television Academy for a decade or so. For the last few years I’ve also been a member of their Performers Peer Group Executive Committee. Lobbying for inclusion of audio description narration has been a passion and an advocacy of mine for years. Thanks to strategic guidance from the peer group Governors, I’m so happy to share that the home of the Primetime Emmys, The Television Academy, now includes television work in audio description narration as qualifying credits for membership in The Performers Peer Group along with other performing credits, such as on-camera comedy and drama, hosting, commercials, animation and narration voiceover, etc.

https://www.emmys.com/academy/organization/peer-groups/performers

Audio description was created by blind people for blind people. And as more blind professional talents contribute to this work, the work gets better. And as more of the entertainment industry recognizes this work, the more our audiences can have an experience similar to the quality television experiences of sighted audiences.

This precedent of inclusion of television audio description narrators for membership in the Television Academy isn’t an end, but a start in recognizing the entire industry, importance and need for audio description professionals.

audio description, emmys, membership, narration, television academy

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Listen to Samples of Roy’s Work

Girls face with the hands of a witch above her

The Turning

The title front and center a couple on the right pictured sideways and a mother daughter on the left pictured sideways

The Third Day

Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman embracing with a double image of Nicole above the title

The Undoing

Regina King as Sister Night in front of a large yellow clock with title in front

Watchmen

Cast members sitting in the living room over the title

Years and Years

A woman's eye with her holding a pill between her finger and thumb

The Dropout

Cast members above the title

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete

A Hand over the City of Los Angeles

City of Angels, City of Death

Holy Mother of Russia sitting on a throne with a man sitting underneath her with a stick in front of the title

The Great – Seasons 1-2

Legs in the sand one foot is a skelton the other has flesh below the title

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Amplifying #AudioDescription excellence and quality, to be in parity to sighted audiences' experience, through #KevinsWay #BlindPeopleWatchMovies

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Avatar Roy Samuelson @roysamuelson ·
21 Mar

This is what http://theADNA.org was created for: showcasing contributions, and craft, of pros. @aprilwattsvo was "featured on the NPR Money Matters Podcast talking about my role as an AD Narrator. Yep, they confirmed they found me on the ADNA" more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theadnashowcase/permalink/1949763615388977/

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Avatar Roy Samuelson @roysamuelson ·
27 Feb

Kudos to @jonbrockett & @SAGAwards for a wonderfully produced evening of celebration, entertainment, unity, and advocacy! To learn more about what it takes to put on an inclusive global event, listen to my interview with the Show’s Executive Producer here: https://theadna.libsyn.com/the-adna-presents-progress-to-celebrate-and-john-brocket

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