ARSAD programme  2025

The programme may be subject to changes.

-Last update 21-11-2024-

DAY 1. Wednesday 19 March 2025 (pre-conference session)

09.00-11.00 ENACT project pre-conference workshop on media accessibility: state of the art and future challenges (free participation for ARSAD attendees)

  • Welcome and overview of ENACT (Veronika Rot, RTV Slovenja, ENACT project coordinator).
  • Audio description and audio subtitling (Elisa Perego, University of Pavia).
  • Subtitling (Carlo Eugeni, University of Leeds). 
  • Sign language interpreting (Robin Nachtrab-Ribback, STXT).
  • Easy-to-understand language (Anna Matamala, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona).
  • Accessibility technologies in public media (radio & television) (Andrej Tomažin, RTV Slovenija).
  • Web and digital accessibility (Carlos Duarte, Universidade de Lisboa).
  • Artificial Intelligence and accessibility (Sabine Braun, Surrey University).
  • Accessibility in virtual reality and virtual worlds (Pilar Orero, UAB).
  • User perspective (Daniel Casas, European Disability Forum).

11.00-11.30 Coffee break

DAY 1. Wednesday 19 March 2025 (ARSAD main conference)

08.30-11.30 Registration

11.30-11.45 Welcome address (Anna Matamala, including short TMC, WEL and AccessCat presentation)

11.45-12.30 Keynote by Sabine Braun (Surrey University)

12.30-13.45 Panel 1A. Technology: industry perspectives. Chair: Mereijn van der Heijden (Earcatch)

  • Robbin Ribback (SWISS TXT AG / SRG / EBU TC). Written Once, Multiple Use (WOMU): Multilingual AD for Swiss Broadcaster Using EuroVOX and EBU Voice Cloning (10’)
  • Matthew Kaplowitz, Wendy Sapp (Bridge Multimedia). Additive Prompting: A Tool for Ai Assisted Audio Description (15’)
  • Joel Snyder (Audio Description Associates). AI and AD: For Good or Ill? (15’)
  • Eveline Ferwerda (Scribit.Pro). Using AI for Audio Description generation (10’)

Discussion: 25 minutes (and continued in panel 1B).

13.45-14.30 Lunch break

14.30-16:15 Panel 1B. Technology: research perspectives. Chair: Estel·la Oncins (UAB).

  • Brett Oppegaard (University of Hawaii at Manoa). A Strange New World. Behind the Scenes of Designing Novel Gen-AI Approaches to Audio Description (15’)
  • Marina Ramos, Purificación Meseguer (Universidad de Murcia). Analysing AD Output. How does AT describe Diversity? (15’)
  • Nicole Lüthi, Alexa Lintner, Lukas Fischer, Martin Kappus, Sarah Ebling (Zurich University of Applied Sciences). An exploratory analysis of LLM-based machine-translated audio description scripts in the French-German language pair (15’)
  • Blanca Serrano Alcaraz, Ana María Rojo López, Marina Ramos (Universidad de Murcia). Exploring the Impact of AI Voices in Erotic Film Audio Description: A Gender-Based Study. (15’)
  • Xiaochun Zhang, Ben Ackland, Thomas Keane (University College London). Making Video Games Accessible for the Visually Impaired with Dynamic AI Audio Description (15’)

Discussion: 30 minutes.

16.15-16.45 Coffee break

16.45-17.30 Panel 2. Describing diversity. Chair: Marie Campbell (Red Bee Media).

  • Bernd Benecke (BR Munich). What can I say? Describing physical aspects of people in times of inclusion and diversity (10’)
  • Amanda Hiu Tung Chow, Jackie Xiu Yan (City University of Hong Kong). Avoiding Sexism, Racism, and Ableism in the Cantonese Audio Description of Still Human (淪落人) (10’)

Discussion: 10 minutes.

17.30-18.30 MOSAIC project workshop (organised by Pilar Orero)

19.00 Social event for panel speakers organised by Bridge Multimedia (event by invitation only, details to follow to panel speakers). 

DAY 2. Thursday 20 March 2025

08.45-09.00 Registration

9.00-10.45 Panel 3. AD processes: looking into the future. Chair: Marina Ramos (Universidad de Murcia).

  • Olga Davis, Dimitris Asimakoulas, Sabine Braun (Surrey University). Modular Audio Description: A Novel Approach to AD Creation and Delivery (15’)
  • Mariana J. López, Gavin Kearney (University of York). Enhanced Audio Description (EAD): Making Documentaries Accessible Through Sound Design (15’)
  • Marie Campbell (Red Bee Media). Storytelling: AD in the Past, Present and Future (15’)
  • Tamara Domínguez Ebitsch (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz). Audio Description Quality Standards, 20 years on: Insights from expert interviews with German-speaking B/VIP users (15’)
  • Elena SV Flys, Antonio Villalba (TAI University Center for the Arts). Live Audio Description During a Film Shooting (15’)

Discussion: 30 minutes.

10:45-11:15 AD pitches I (5 minutes each) Chair: Anna Matamala (UAB).

  • Sarah Barron, Janice Rieger (Griffith University). Co-designing artwork audio description in Australia.
  • Monika Zabrocka, (Jagiellonian University in Krakow), Grzegorz Kata (WSEI University in Lublin). Accessible and attractive? On bringing audiovisual content closer to blind viewers.
  • Ana-Julia Perrotti-Garcia (Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais). Audio description of one of the world’s largest street parades: translating Brazilian carnival into words.
  • Vanessa Gumier (Universitat Jaume I). The voice of the Valencian ninots: A reflection on neutrality.
  • José-Luis Castillo-Flores (Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria). Testing Clipchamp as an Automated Text-to-Speech Recognition Software for Audio Description Research.
  • Zi Ye (University of Bristol). Exploring the audio description of humour: A multimodal corpus study in the Chinese context.

11:15-11-45 Coffee break

11:45-13:15 Panel 4. Audio description research. Chair: Iwona Mazur (Adam Mickiewicz University).

  • Roger Johansson, Maja Rudling, Johan Martesson, Jana Holsanova (Lund University). Mind the Boundaries: Neurocognitive and AI-Driven Insights into Event Perception in Audio-Described Films (15’)
  • Jessica Beale (University of Westminster). Findings from a linguistic experiment suggest that multisensory language in audio description helps listeners to generate more vivid mental imagery (15’)
  • Harun Dalli, Anna Jankowska, Iris Schrijver (University of Antwerp). Audio Description Expertise and Quality: Unraveling A Conceptual Yardstick (15’)
  • Inma Pedregosa (University of Westminster). Audio Descriptive Commentary in Football (15’)
  • Alejandro Romero (Universitat Jaume I). The Heartbeat of Creativity in Audio Description: A Pilot Heart Rate Study on Multimodal Objectivity and Subjectivity (10’)

Discussion: 30 minutes.

13:15-14:15 Lunch

14.15-16.15 Panel 5. An accessibility trip around the globe. Chair: Monika Zabrocka (Jagiellonian University).

  • Blanca Arias-Badia (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Katixa Agirre-Miguelez (University of the Basque Country), Antía María López-Gómez (University of Santiago de Compostela), Naiara Larrakoetxea-Salgado (Basque Federation of Associations of Deaf People and Spanish Confederation of Deaf People), Marijo Deogracias-Horrillo (University of the Basque Country), Josu Amezaga-Albizu (University of the Basque Country). Audio description on streaming platforms: A snapshot of the present language offer (10’)
  • Marta Żaczkiewicz, Anna Jankowska (University of Anwerp). Assessing the Accessibility of Multimedia Content in Polish and EU public Institutions (10’)
  • Marzieh Izadi (University of Anwerp). A study on the availability and reception of audio description in Iran (15’)
  • Mike Kent (Curtin University). Policy, Politics, and Money- The challenge of Audio Description and Accessible Television (15’)
  • Dongxue Han (Shanghai Yier Information Co.), Yuchen Liu (Shanghai International Studies University). The Commercialization of Audio Description in China: Present and Future Prospects through the Case Study of the Yier Company (15’)
  • Suely Maciel, Guilherme Ferreira de Oliveira, Guilherme Mori Magalhaes (São Paulo State University). Audio Description of Spaces and Landscapes for the “SIGA – Accessible Guide of the City” App (15’)
  • Federico Spoletti (SUB-TI), Annalisa Sandrelli (Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma). INCinema: An Accessible Film Festival (15’)

Discussion: 25 minutes.

16.15-18.30 Screening of the film “Radiance/Hikari”, by Naomi Kawase, with audio description. Social event organized by SUB-TI. All ARSAD attendees are invited and registration is not needed (same room as the conference).

18.45-19.45 Informal cocktail dinner at the venue cloister.

DAY 3. FRIDAY 21ST MARCH 2025

08.45-09.00 Registration

09.00-10.45 Panel 6. Building filmic experiences. Chair:  Sarah McDonagh (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

  • Enrique Pérez-Montero (Instituto Andaluz de Astrofísica), Celia Barnés-Castaño (Universidad de Granada), Celia Navas Martín (Instituto Andaluz de Astrofísica), Emilio García Gómez-Caro (Instituto Andaluz de Astrofísica). The Sky is the Limit: Breaking Barriers in Science Communication with the Descriptive Video Series “The Universe in Words” (15’)
  • María José García-Vizcaíno (Montclair State University). Crowdsourcing in Audio Description: The Blue Description Project (15’)
  • Iwona Mazur, Julia Kaźmierczak (Adam Mickiewicz University). Experimental Audio description as a Means of Enhancing the Cinematic Experience of Sighted Viewers (15’)
  • Gert Vercauteren (University of Antwerp). No Sound but the AD… How does Audio Description Alter Filmic Narratives? The Case of the Flemish TV Series Nachtwacht (15’)
  • Marcella Wiffler (University of Campinas). Creativity in audio description of the horror genre: a reception research (15’)

Discussion: 30 minutes.

10.45-11.15 AD pitches II (5 minutes each). Chair: Anna Matamala (UAB).

  • Catarina Xavier (Universidade de Lisboa), Cláudia Martins (Instituto Politécnico de Bragança). Professional vs Trainee Translators and Audio Description: An Exploratory Study on Taboo Images Audio Described into Portuguese.
  • Theodora Psoma (Aristotle Univeristy of Thessaloniki), Theodora Sazo (University of Macedonia), Christina Fragkou (University of Macedonia), Kleoniki Nerantzoglou (University of Macedonia). What (more) can we do with words: An interdisciplinary workshop on creating Museum Audio Descriptions with the use of Generative AI.
  • Jackie Xiu Yan, Su Lin (City University of Hong Kong). Audio Description in the Era of AI: Challenges and Future Development
  • Adriana da Paixao Santos, Yara Luana Ionen (Fundação Universidade Regional de Blumenau). The Linguistic Aspects of Accessibility: The Easy Language in the Transdisciplinary Study of the Audio Description Scripts of Old Portuguese tile Panels.
  • Gilherme Mori Magalhães, Suely Maciel (University of São Paulo). Characters, Scenarios and Objects Audio Description in Games: a study with Mortal Kombat 1

11.15-11.45 Coffee break

11.45-13.20 Panel 7. Museum and art audio description. Chair: Elisa Perego (University of Pavia)

  • Martina Maggi (University of Turin, University of Genoa). Accessibility for All and Artificial Intelligence in Museums: Applying Technology to Audio Description (15’)
  • María Isabel Rivas Ginel (Dublin City University), Martin Kappus (Zurich University of Applied Sciences), Alexa Lintner (Zurich University of Applied Sciences), Joss Morkens (Dublin City University), Will Noonan (Université de Bourgogne), Lucía Pintado-Gutiérrez (Dublin City University). A multilingual exploratory study of generative AI usage for museum audio description (15’)
  • Weronika Magdalena Kostyra (University of Warsaw). Large Language Models as a Potential Source for Automatic Audio Description of Art in Polish. The Case of the Be My AI Tool powered by GPT-4 and GPT-4º (15’)
  • M. Olalla Luque Colmenero (Universidad de Granada). Guidelines for the subjective: a comprehensive methodology to enhance creativity in art audio description (15’)
  • Samar Ehteshami (Allameh Tabataba’i University).Museum Audio Description in Iran: Current Status (15’)

Discussion: 20 minutes.

13:20-14:00 Panel 8. Dance AD. Chair: Karen Seeley (The University of Adelaide).

  • María Luján, Marina Ramos Caro, Ana María Rojo López (Universidad de Murcia). Hearing Dance: Poetic or Neutral AD? (15’)
    Arianna Carloni, Sabine Braun, Dimitris Asimakoulas (University of Surrey). Watching and Listening to Dance (15’)

Discussion: 10 minutes

14.00-15.00 Lunch break

15.00-16:30 Panel 9. Training and certification. Chair: Brett Oppeggard (University of Hawai’i at Manoa).

  • Wendy Sapp (Bridge Multimedia), Joel Snyder (Audio Description Associates). Developing Certification for Audio Description Specialists (15’)
  • Karen Seeley (The University of Adelaide). AD in Australia: describer accreditation (10’)
  • Floriane Bardini, Eva Espasa (Universitat de Vic). Audio description: a transversal training tool for minoritized language education (15’)
  • Caroline Martin, Santiago Hidalgo (Montreal University). Film students and audio description: results of a francophone inclusive media training pilot project in Québec, Canada (15’)
  • Anna Jankowska, Nina Reviers, Gert Vercauteren (University of Antwerp). ‘Accessibility is Like Air – Everyone Needs it to Stay Alive’ – The Impact of Accessibility Training on Awareness Levels (10’)

Discussion:  25 minutes.

16.30-17:30 Panel 10. Cognitive accessibility and AD. Chair: Gert Vercauteren (University of Antwerp)

  • Francesca Carpenedo, Federico Spoletti (SUB-TI). Accessible Screenings for the Elderly: Enhancing Cognitive Stimulation and Social Well-being through the FAIR Project (15’)
  • Maria Andreea Deleanu, Constantin Orasan, Sabine Braun (University of Surrey). Repurposing Audio Description, Audio Narrative and integrated subtitles: trialling ‘Accessible Cues’ with cognitively diverse audiences in the UK (15’)
  • Elisa Perego (University of Pavia). On some linguistic features of the English art AD and its (artificial and human) simplification (15’)

Discussion: 15 minutes.

17.30-18.00 Final remarks

You can check the programme of previous editions under Past Seminars.