John, AKA Mac The Movieguy, has a degree in Cinema Studies and has been critiquing movies since the 90s and before he went blind - his YouTube channel has over 1000 videos all about movies and audio description in film.

This week on Outlook we’re speaking with John Stark and getting his movie critic expertise on audio description (AD) in film, including how watching a movie with sighted people is made better by a more accessible movie going experience for all. John, as someone who was sighted and then went blind, is able to offer his perspective from both sides of the issue.

Speaking of multiple sides of things, John shares about his placement and history working at the cinema (as most movie theatre employees unfortunately know very little about AD), more about his first experiences and memories learning what audio description is and how it works, and the struggle to be taken seriously as a film critic who’s blind, but his specialty focusing on AD only makes his videos all the more well rounded and interesting.

What does John look for in a film as far as good quality audio description goes? He answers this question and much more, along with giving examples of shows and films he’s found with it because he’s done the work and knows the lay of the land, putting his thoughts on his Mac The Movieguy Youtube Channel. Plus, he shares his pics for the best paired films with their AD of 2023.

We discuss audio description all the time on this show, as a way of getting listeners familiar with what it is and why it’s important. So check out more on AD and on Stark by visiting his website, YouTube channel, and The Audio Description Project:

https://macthemovieguy.com

https://www.youtube.com/@macthemovieguy

https://adp.acb.org/