On Thursday, May 4, Descriptive Video Works celebrated its 20th anniversary at the Granville Island Hotel, with a special evening of cocktails, memories, mingling and fun. This milestone event was attended by current and former employees, clients, partners, advisory council members, and accessibility advocates from around the world! 

Elodie Powers, Director at Keywords Studios (DVW’s parent company) started the evening off with a toast to the success of the company, and then expressed how proud she is to have Descriptive Video Works as part of the Keywords Studios family. 

DVW Founder and Senior Advisor, Diane Johnson reflected on the past twenty years, and said that two words came to mind: belief and gratitude. In 2003, Diane was looking for a new career in broadcasting that would make a difference. When she heard that the CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission) had mandated Audio Description in Canada, she thought it would be a great avenue to explore, but it was also a daunting undertaking. One morning Diane woke up and saw a picture on the wall that said, “Belief” and she knew that was her sign. Diane expressed her profound gratitude to everyone who was there at the beginning of this journey, including the writers, narrators, recordists, and the advisory council. Diane then thanked the employees who had been with Descriptive Video Works for more than a decade with gift baskets.

Descriptive Video Works’ Studio Head Rhys Lloyd began his speech by saying that he is very proud of the history of DVW, and the company’s mission to center the experience of the audience it serves. Rhys told the group that he's excited about the future of the company, as DVW continues to diversify its talent pool and make Audio Description more representative of the community and culture. Rhys said that there is so much more to come, as DVW continues to expand its services around the world, increasing access awareness in all media, promoting accessibility in video games, and making more live events accessible with Audio Description. Rhys said that DVW would continue prioritizing a collaborative process with sighted, blind and low vision people all working together to #DescribeEverything. 

Descriptive Video Works 20th anniversary party was a wonderful time to reflect on the past, show appreciation for the people that helped get us here, and look toward the future! 

If you would like more information about Audio Description (Described Video), please email DVW at [email protected]