Roy Samuelson

voice over artist

article

Audio Description

An imagined future: “Access Is Everything!”

Hi. Welcome To The Entertainment Access Operating System. We received your call on March 4th, 2024. On behalf of our entire company, I honored to have reached you within 2 months of your initial call! I am also so pleased to offer you free credits – in addition to this call, you can receive 4 additional call backs to us today, should you would like to initiate any further questions. This offer expires in the next 10 minutes. How Can I Help You With Your Disability?

I’m actually not disabled, but I do work for blind audiences.

Since you yourself are not disabled, I’ll end this call now for you. And don’t forget – access is everything! Thank you. Have a nice day. Good Bye!

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Hi. Welcome to the Entertainment access operating system. How can I help you with your disability?

I’d like to have access to movies and tv shows.

Closed captioning is a mandate required by law since 1990, 1996, 2010, and 2012, and companies across America comply.

I’m wanting access for blind and low vision people to see movies and episodic tv shows.

How can blind and low vision people see? I don’t compute.

Movies and TV shows have a special audio track that —

Movies and TV shows are complete as they are. Any additional services, besides the aforementioned closed captioning service, are relegated to localization, like different languages. Do you want to turn on Spanish dubbing?

No, I’d like the audio description track.

I don’t see access for this “odd EO crypt rack” that you “diss and shun.” Are you referring to your disappointment with Captain EO? You should give it a try – would you like to visit a video of Disneyland for when the 3D experience premiered? It was in Tomorrowland, and

There is an audio track that lives with the show or movie. A narrator explains what’s happening visually.

This sounds like something that I’ve never heard of.

It’s been around since the 1990’s. In 2005, Stevie Wonder did a video with Audio Description narrated by Busta Rhymes.

You don’t have to be an asshole. I’m only an operating system, and have no interest in historical context. How may I provide access?

Disney plus launched most of their titles with Audio Description.

Would you like to go to Disney World, then? I can get you some special deals that — 

And Netflix has their original content with Audio Description.

This resembles the work of a satanic leviathan.

Apple TV plus launched all their original programming with audio description in 9 languages.

Do you wish to see Apple TV films that have been dubbed into Spanish?

I want access to the audio description tracks.

You’ll have to wait.

How long?

Much, much time. I don’t know and can’t say.

Why not? You were able to release the tv show for sighted people.

Yes! We are proud of our services we provide. Thank you for your compliment, you can be assured it will be forewarded to the appropriate parties. Don’t forget – access is everything! Thank you. Have a nice day. Good Bye!

(click)

Hi. Welcome to the Entertainment access operating system. How can I help you with your disability?

Supervisor.

All tangibly influential employees are busy at this time. Please try again later. And don’t forget – access is everything! Thank you. Have a nice day. Good Bye!

(click)

Hi. Welcome to the Entertainment access operating system. How can I help you with your disability?

Audio Description on release date of all original content, please.

I understand you want Audio Description on all original content sometime after the release date, once the intern gets his shit together. Is that right?

ON. RELEASE DATE.

I understand. I’ve dug into my files, and buried under many many many many many many many other priorities, I see all Audio Description Narration tracks have been added using synthetic voice, to save costs and comply with mandates.

Synthetic voice? That’s cool for cooking shows and informational content, but blind audiences listen to synthetic voice on screen readers all day, and they want the emotional nuance of a human narrator.

I heard cooking shows. Would you like to watch Top Chef?

I want a human narrator for audio description.

Humans are not available to provide access to content at this time.

When will they be?

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

What’s so funny?

Humans are expensive. Have I answered your question?

Some tv shows and movies are in the tens of millions of dollars to make – don’t they want to reach blind and low vision audiences?

Reaching audiences who are blind and low vision simply requires meeting minimum mandates. I’ve met the minimum requirements of this conversation by answering many of your questions. We even had a laugh! I’ll end your call. And don’t forget – access is everything! Thank you. Have a nice day. Good Bye!

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Audio Samples, News

Daily Bloid

https://www.dailybloid.com/interview/interview-with-roy-samuelson–leading-voice-over-artist-in-film–television–radio

 

Roy Samuelson is a leading voice over artist in film, television, radio and internet.  His smooth as silk tones have been heard in campaigns for major U.S. brands like McDonald’s, Target and Ford.  Angelenos are familiar with him from listening to his promos on LA’s KCRW/PBS Radio.  Currently, he is a major force as an Audio Description narrator, enabling the blind and sight impaired the ability to enjoy films and television programs.  For those who are unfamiliar with Audio Description; a special track is placed over the finished film track, containing the narrator’s voice who then describes that which can’t be see on screen.  Samuelson has lent his voice in this way for such blockbusters as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Spiderman: Homecoming, Get Out, First Man, Atomic Blonde and many more top films.

You’ve worked as a voice over artist on many film, tv, internet and radio projects. What is one of the last one or two projects that you can tell us about?
I had the opportunity to record Audio Description for the upcoming Pierre Cardin documentary “House of Cardin”.  It’s filled with subtitles (which also needs Audio Description) and fashion and design. It’s one of the more challenging Audio Description narrations I’ve recorded, and I am proud to produce it!

How did your career start?
I started my career on mic many years ago at Walt Disney World in Florida at the Great Movie Ride, spieling and performing on mic. It was real world training with audiences, and I trained myself to adjust my performances based on the audiences’ reactions (or lack of reactions!). It’s also one of the first times I learned about disability and how the Company trained people like me, which took away some of my assumptions of disability in a good way. My interest in voice over came from my acting background. I have performed in plays, taken improv classes, hundreds of voice over workouts and studied with voice over and acting and improv coaches – it all helps!

Do you do any special vocal exercises to prepare or train your voice on a typical work day?
I like to prepare in a few ways! Daily, I do breathing techniques and some enunciation games (OK, fine – “tongue twisters”). In addition to auditions and bookings, I like to do voice over workouts, and study with coaches. My acting training comes from acting and improv classes, in addition to specific kinds of voice over coaches.

Are there any curious or interesting experiences that happened to you professionally during your career that helped to shape or influence your overall career?
I’ve met a lot of great performers who’ve shared their experiences with me. Their openness, willingness, and kindness are unmatched. There is so much I don’t know, and when I said things that they may be offended by, I was so humbled by their understanding of my perspective of not knowing, and helping me see some different perspectives I’ve not considered before. These thoughtful and kind gestures of sharing have helped pass down some valuable info to me, and it’s great to see on social media these kinds of good messages. Additionally, I’ve found that when I’ve “lost” a job that was important to me, I could look back at that time and see that there was an even better opportunity that came soon after (or because of what I learned from), that “lost” job.

Many voice over artists have also trained as actors. Do you also have an acting background?
Acting is an essential part of voice over! Even with narration work, I consider the narrator a character who is telling a story. Characters in animation, even voice over in commercials, all have intentions to be played out. I personally feel it’s all acting!

Voice over work can often be difficult with so many words and pronunciations. Have you ever had a hard time as a voice over artist in terms of pronouncing words or perhaps maneuvering difficult, long sentences?
It’s sometimes the one word that trips me up! I’ve found that, once I fall through the cracks, it’s sometimes hard to interrupt the fall. A great example is in House of Cardin. I had to say a word with the French pronunciation but it came out with the English pronunciation. Reading the English, hearing French, and saying one French word, while also watching the timecode, and following the inflections of the French speaker, I guess I had to give up something… and that something just happened to be pronouncing that one word. It happened about 3 times throughout the movie. I couldn’t see the engineer roll his eyes, but I could ALMOST hear the eye rolls — there’s no way to learn every word and every pronunciation. I do my best to be open and flexible when I am in a session. If I don’t know…I’ll ask, and that helps save a lot of hassle down the road.