Ep. 33: Up Close with Nefertiti Matos Olivares, Blind AD Narrator and Writer

We sit down with Nefertiti Matos Olivares, a band audio description narrator, writer, and advocate. She has done live audio description for the Academy Awards for the last two years among other notable projects.

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Transcript

Lee Pugsley
Welcome back to the Dark Room, where two blind cinephiles illuminate the sighted. I'm Lee Pugsley.

Alex Howard
I'm Alex Howard.

Lee Pugsley
And this is a podcast for film lovers of all abilities, hosted by two legally blind guys. And today, we have a very special guest that we are so excited for. And Alex, I will go ahead and pass it to you.

Alex Howard
Yeah. So today, we have Nefertiti Matos Olivares. She is a great audio description narrator and does a lot of different jobs in the audio description space. Recently, she did the live narration for the Oscars and also did the Google Phone commercial for the Super Bowl. So welcome, Nefertiti.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Thank you so much, Lee, Alex. I appreciate your time and your interest. It's nice to be here.

Lee Pugsley
It's such a pleasure to have you. I know that we've been trying to coordinate schedules to get you on the show for a while, and now you're here, which is awesome.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Yeah, absolutely, Lee. It's been a bit absurd how many times it's taken us to work this out, but I'm so happy the moment has finally arrived. Like I was saying before we came on air or started recording, we're all so busy and go around in circles around each other, being in this field, and we hear each other's voices and read each other's publications or what have you. Then finally, to be in the same place at the same time, it's such a treat.

Alex Howard
Nefertiti, I know you identify as blind yourself, which we were very curious as to how that plays into the live AD aspect of things. But before we get into all of that, why don't you tell us just about your blind journey and how all this came together for you?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Sure. Gosh, well, my blind journey has been fraught and also peaceful. It really depends on what point of my life you'd like to focus in on. But I'll say very briefly that my blindness came as a result of a brain tumor when I was a child. I spent many, many years struggling with it at first, not even acknowledging that it was something that set me apart, that meant I needed different ways of learning or navigating the world, to absolutely hating it and hating myself for it, to painstakingly starting to accept it -- if it meant my real independence and actual, I don't know, attainment of some semblance of happiness -- to being at peace with it, accepting it as a point of pride, as a means to show the world that disability isn't necessarily what needs to define me. It may inform my life choices, and it may have an impact on how I'm allowed to interact with the world, but it doesn't need to define me or detract from me and my inherent wholeness as a person. So, yeah, it's been... Journey is a very good word for it.

Lee Pugsley
That's so relatable, and thank you so much for sharing a bit about your journey, Nefertiti. I know that so much of what you just said, I really resonate with, and I'm sure that Alex, there's probably points of that that you can relate to as well. Just that whole idea of being at peace with the visual impairment or blindness and just coming to terms with the fact that it doesn't define you fully, and there's still more to life beyond that, and just becoming confident in that, and like you said, taking pride in that. I love that. And I think that all of the listeners out there, hopefully, will be able to connect with something you just said as well in your story.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Yeah. I hope that most of you all listening are at the peace portion of the process, because [laughs wryly]. It's been very painful and very trying at times. But you can make it to some semblance of acceptance and all of that. I hope that's where you are. And if it isn't yet, please don't give up hope. You can get to the other side. That's not to say that the difficulties won't exist. Ignorance is abundant, and discrimination is a thing. I'm not trying gloss over the real obstacles that exist as a person with visible disabilities. But I also think that as somebody who lives at the intersection of several identities, you know, I'm a woman, I'm Brown, I have chronic illness, something that we all have to work on in our own time. And hopefully, you have the resources and the supports to get you to this point if you're not there yet. Just keep going, is what I always like to say. Keep moving forward.

Alex Howard
Thank you for that. I definitely identify with all of that as well. I think I definitely go through phases of acceptance and then questioning and then back to acceptance. It's definitely a journey. But what is your level of sight at this point? Just so that the listeners know.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Sure. I identify as blind because I am somebody who does things non-visually, from being a white cane user to to reading Braille, to utilizing a screen reader, et cetera. But also I do have a little bit of usable vision. My left eye, there's some shape and shadow that isn't exactly helpful, to be 100% honest. But my right eye, I am able to see colors and read text if it's large enough and if I'm in the mood for a headache. I do have some usable vision, but I'm very selective as to what I use it for because to use it does tend to come at a cost to me. And most often, I'm not willing to pay that cost, and so I do things non-visually. I'm also just more efficient non-visually. I've been doing this for so long now and have become quite skilled and adept at it that it's frankly just easier to do things without even having to remember, "Oh, yeah, I can see that. So what? I can still get it done even if I couldn't." Does that answer your question?

Alex Howard
Yes, that's very impressive because I know for me right now, I'm trying to learn Voiceover. I'm taking a Voiceover class, and it's like a foreign language. It's so hard to wrap your mind around working the computer in a different way. It's really a trip. And so I really, I admire that you say it's easier to not do it. That's really admirable.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Yes, but remember, first of all, kudos to you for taking a class and having that initiative to know this is something I want to and need to learn and actually doing something about it. I applaud you for that. But also, I've been doing this for many, many years. I don't necessarily know your journey or Lee's or anybody else's for that matter and how long you've been at it, but do grant yourself some grace along the way. Whether you've been blind your whole life and are just coming now to accept that you have to bone up on some skills or learn a different way of doing things, or if you've gone blind or low vision very recently, it's a very difficult transition for most people. To hear that it sounds like a foreign language to you, I'm not surprised. But just know that it isn't. It isn't. It may feel that way, but it isn't. You will get the hang of it. Stick with it. I have a very extensive background in assistive tech. If you ever need help or a tip, reach out.

Alex Howard
Yeah, thank you.

Lee Pugsley
I think you hit it on the head when you said, "Give yourself grace." I think another keyword that comes to mind with that learning curve is patience. So just for context, I have partial vision on my left eye, no vision on my right eye. And my vision has changed over the years to the point where I've switched over to mainly doing things that don't require vision, even in terms of reading and so on and so forth. I primarily use voiceover. I remember when I was learning any of the Apple devices, which is primarily what I use, I started learning them, and I would just get so frustrated. I'm like, "I hate Voiceover. I hate screen readers. I'm never going to get this." And I would just put my device down for two weeks, and I was like, "I'm done." And then I come back two weeks later and I'm like, "Okay, I can do this. I'm just going to take it one step at a time, and I'm going to be patient." And I did it. And now, at least Voiceover on most of the Apple devices is second nature to me. But it did take a while to get there as well. So, yeah, patience and grace, I think, are really key.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Patience, grace. And also, you showed yourself great compassion, Lee, by putting it down when you needed to and picking it back up when you were ready and saying, "I can do this," right? You kept that confidence about yourself, and you showed yourself a lot of kindness. I really admire you both for having the initiative and for being kind with yourselves.

Alex Howard
Yeah, it definitely gets hard sometimes. Thank you. But we wanted to know also, how did you discover audio description? How did you figure out this is what you wanted to do? How did you find out you had the perfect voice for audio description?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Oh!

Alex Howard
What's your audio description journey?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Well, first of all, I didn't know I had the perfect voice for it, but thank you. That was very nice of you to say. But gosh, yeah, I feel like I've known about audio description in the periphery for a long time, but I didn't really start paying attention to it as what it is -- an art form, a human right, access to information -- 'till the pandemic came around and I found myself doing a lot of soul searching and feeling very burnt out at the job and in the field I was in, which I'll say again was assistive technology. Having to really decide, I'm at a crossroads here and I'm not happy beyond everybody experiencing pandemic unhappiness and feeling disorientated or disoriented, depending on where you're from. I just felt like I need to do something different. And in researching that and frankly, being inside locked up for so long, just coming to the realization that: One, there's a lot of really crappy audio description. Two, there's a lot of content out there that isn't described at all. And three, I wasn't really hearing anybody who sounded like me or like people whom I know. I've always had this artsy side. Growing up, one of my biggest dreams was to be a triple threat on Broadway, a singer, dancer, actor. And I didn't pursue it because I never saw anybody me. My family are immigrants that put a premium on going to school and working and "get yourself a steady platform from which to make the sacrifices worth it" and all that. It was not explicitly told to me, but I, at some point, must have internalized the ableism that goes with, "You can't do this." And so I never really seriously pursued it. But here we were, pandemic and me trying to to figure out what's next for me, what can make me money, but also bring me joy and keep me healthy and helpful towards others? And I pegged it as audio description. Broadly, to be a voice actress because that taps into my acting, prowess, and singing, and all of that, but more specifically, audio description creation, be that as a QC specialist, a narrator, or very controversially, a blind writer of audio description. And I've been very fortunate that it's really worked out for me. I've been in situations where the right people at the right time, and I had the right skills and talent and courage, frankly, to show up and show out. And it's really panned out nicely for me. Hopefully, that continues for a long time to come.

Alex Howard
That's really amazing that you found this during the pandemic. That wasn't too long ago. That was four years ago. And you're already where you are now describing the Oscars and all of that. That's really amazing.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Yeah. I mean, to be completely honest with you, I started with the Social Audio Description Collective. I ramped up my involvement with the Social Audio Description Collective once I got laid off. I went from working for the New York Public Library as an assistive technology instructor to a small outfit, mostly doing audio description and captioning in Spanish, which was right up my alley. I'm a Latina. My first language is Spanish. And I thought, "Wow, if people think English AD is scarce, imagine in Spanish, it's barely existing compared to the English content that we have access to." And so I thought, this is a great place, a very soft landing from leaving a job, people saying things like, "Well, you left something short to go venture out. As a person with a disability, it's not that easy for us to find jobs, so be grateful for what you got and stick with it." And I railed against that. I was like, "Well, if that's true, then I'd rather find out than stay in a place where I was miserable." Granted, people loved me, and I loved what I was doing for them, but I wasn't being fulfilled anymore. I wasn't learning anymore. I feel like I gave all I was going to give, and I had to explore something else. And so, armed with that and then finding myself laid off, a mere four months after starting that job, I just started to hustle. I have a very driven hustle type mentality of "What's next, what's next, what's next, what can I do? Where do I fit in? Where do I belong?" That thing. And that curiosity took me to just involving myself more with the Social Audio Description Collective and landing gigs with International Digital Center, who gave me my first big break describing or being the narrator for a documentary on Netflix. From that, my now-boss at Descriptive Video Works, where I am the workflow manager for Quality and Inclusion, Rhys Lloyd noticed me, created a position for me. After some negotiating where we were both very happy and satisfied, I began working for DVW, and it's It's been, what, like a year and a half now? With the Social Audio Description Collective, it's been about two years. And before that, doing a little freelance, and if you count the four months I had at Dicapta, I would say that I've only really been doing this for two and a half years. So it's been a wild and wildly successful ride. I did not expect it to be like this. I mean, you always want the best, right? You always want things to go well, but to go exceedingly well in spite of major chronic illness issues and personal issues as well, to dive into a new career and have it actually thrive beyond anything you could have imagined is really affirming.

Alex Howard
And for the listeners who aren't making the connection, Kensuke, who we had on for the movie trailers episode, works at the Social Audio Description Collection. And Liz Gutman, who we also had on the podcast, works at IDC. So Nefertiti has worked with both of those people as well.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
I have. I've narrated Liz Gutman's scripts, which is always an honor. And Kensuke Nakamura is the founder of the Social Audio Description Collection.

Alex Howard
Oh, wow. They left that out.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
They are very modest about that, but that is the truth. They had an idea and they went with it, and they were open to people with disabilities and all sorts of other folks at different intersections and margins and the like, joining them. And you know, we are small but mighty. So yeah, we've come a long way in the last couple of years that I've been part of things.

Alex Howard
That's amazing. Yeah, they left that out that they founded it. That's really great.

Lee Pugsley
I really appreciate the Social Audio Descriptive Collective because this year for the Easter Seals Disability Film Challenge, it was the first year that the finalist films had audio description, which has never happened before. And the Social Audio Description Collective did the audio description for those films. I know you guys had a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time, but kudos to you getting it done and doing it really well.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Thank you so much, Lee, for acknowledging us for that. Yeah, much like the film festival itself, which is sort of on this revved up, supercharged, you have X amount of days to do X amount of things. It was the same thing for us. It was all hands on deck, a full team effort, and we got it done in less than seven days. I'm so glad that you think we did a good job. We're very proud of our involvement, and we're very proud of being on the first year that it was ever done. And we look forward to many more opportunities to collaborate with Nic Novicki and the Easter Seals Disability Film Challenge in the future.

Alex Howard
I had another question, touching on something you said earlier. You said a blind audio description writer. I did not know there were blind audio description writers. Can you explain that a little bit?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Sure. So there are. We are very rare, but there are. Kensuke, actually bringing them back up, one of the first people that I believe they worked with was with Robert Kingett. I don't know if you know of him or if he's been on your podcast, but he's a blind writer. In general, he writes, but audio description as well. He also does a lot of quality control work. There are a couple of more folks, but it is rare, mostly because the understanding as to how it gets done or the belief that it can even get done is not really there. Not just from sighted folks, from blind folks, too. When it came out that I was writing the audio description for a documentary, it was really intense. Again, I expected it from sighted folks, but from blind folks, too, it was a bit of a rude awakening of not just internalized ableism, but also rather than broaching a subject with curiosity and kindness, "How is this done? Wow, how awesome that somebody's out there doing this. I want to know more. Can it be something that I can do?" It was more meant with, "Really? How is that even a thing? How is that possible? I don't know about that." It was a pretty painful experience, and yet one of my most proud experiences, because not only did I write the script, but I wrote it well. My mentor and colleague and friend in all of this narrated the script, Thomas Reid. It was for a documentary all about George Floyd, so very impactful and relevant and timely. So the resistance is real. The doubt is out there, but the talent is also out here, and the ability and capability, the capacity is also out here. So yes, Alex, audio description writing while blind is a thing.

Alex Howard
How does that-- I'm genuinely curious, how does that work?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
There are different methods. You speak to other writers who are blind doing this work, and they might tell you something differently. But what's worked best for me has been to have a QC process in reverse. So whereas I would be the blind quality control specialist to the sighted writer, I am the writer, and the sighted person is my quality control person. As a quick example, we would sit down together, whether that be remotely or in person, watch the content. I'm making notes of where gaps are, keeping track of time codes and the like, having questions. You know, "Can you clarify this? This tells me this about that." And just through a process of asking questions and watching the film together and getting clarification from the sighted support, I craft the script. Then that goes to another blind person. Again, my process, to make sure that this ultimately makes sense because, yes, I'm blind, and yes, I'm writing it, but I'm not the only blind person. I am by no means the representative of all blind people. And so a blind person comes in and does their final QC, and then it moves down the pipeline, right, to narration and mixing, et cetera. So, yeah, that's been my most effective way to do blind, uh, writing AD while blind, incorporating sighted assistance, a skilled sighted assistance.

Lee Pugsley
That makes a lot of sense. And truthfully, it's so similar yet different to a process that any sighted writer would go through. There's just different modifications and everything. But I don't know, it's just so interesting because people have these ideas of like, "Oh, that has to be like, vastly different." And once again, respecting your process, you know, there are things about it that may be less conventional in some ways, but it's still the same work is being done, and it's being done really well. And congratulations on the scripts that you've written as well.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Thank you. I mean, they've been few and far between because not a lot of people buy into this, right? But the ones that I have had an opportunity to craft myself have been good, have been well received, and speak for themselves as how this can work. It's only unconventional because it isn't something that's commonly utilized yet. It hasn't been universally accepted or even remotely universally accepted. Because I personally don't think it's unconventional at all. You're just flipping it around like you said, Lee. You have the blind person at the helm and the sighted person as the assistant. And together, I mean, those are my words fitting in the gaps just right. I'm the one with the brain deciding what's really key to describe. I'm the one stringing those words together. I'm the one making sure that the narrative flow, the integrity of the piece is intact in the description itself. It's all of the same skills are in place, whether it's coming from a blind person or a sighted person. And that's what makes for truly quality audio description or anything, anything for that matter.

Alex Howard
That's really amazing. And yeah, thank you for opening our eyes to that. I genuinely didn't know that there were blind audio description writers. That is really cool.

Lee Pugsley
In addition to being a blind audio description writer and narrator, I know that one of the other things that you do is live audio description, which I think is super cool. I'm curious to know, what is your process like for navigating that as a blind live audio description narrator?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Great question because folks are very curious about this, too. I would be, too, if I weren't doing myself. In fact, I've had moments of curiosity of, "How am I going to do this?" So what I'm most known for in the live audio description space, although there have been other opportunities, was being the first blind audio description narrator for the Oscars in 2023. I was asked to do it again this year, 2024, which was quite an honor to have been wanted back. Speaks to the great work that we did. But yes, it's different because in studio, for one thing, you can have as many takes as you need, particularly if you're working remotely, which is how I mostly produce the work that I do in the narration space. I work from home. I have my own little studio at home. But even going to a professional studio, if I have to deliver a line two or three times, there's room for that. When you're live, what you say is what people hear is what there is on record for as long as that content exists. So I would say that's a bit of a challenge, and that definitely differs from working in a more studio-based setting. Also with live, anything can happen at any time. Anything goes, and you have to be on your toes and be able to keep track of that while being there with the audience, but not making it about you either. So that fine line that we straddle at all times as describers, I think, where you don't want to be too detached, but you also don't want to be distracting away from the content that you're describing in any direction. That definitely goes for live as well, particularly for something so exciting like the Oscars, where you might get really emotional along with the actor accepting whatever award, or you might think something's really funny, and you're trying to not crack up necessarily. So that's something. Also, just at its most basic, I'm working on location. So you have to be able to travel. You have to be able to be comfortable in a hotel room setting, navigating a new city, if you will, navigating transportation, flying. I mean, there's a lot of logistical stuff that goes into it even before I'm on a hot mic, even before I get down to crafting the script with my co-writer and narrator, who for the Oscars has been Erin Muroski. She and I get on very well. We understand each other. We vibe in that high-pressure environment, and it's been great. Like I said, we've been asked back, and hopefully, we'll get a chance to do it again next year. But yes, I'm going on so long with this just to illustrate that there are major differences, but I'm very fortunate in that I seem to be skilled at both studio-safe narration work and performance and high-pressure, high-flying live audio description performance.

Alex Howard
We have a good amount of visually impaired listeners, but we also have some sighted listeners, too. I know they're probably wondering, how do you do live audio description not being able to see? If you could just explain that in a way.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
How did I write an audio description script for the projects I've written for without being able to see.

Alex Howard
Yeah, I know. That's true.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
It's the same process. No, I'm not trying to be cheeky or cast any aspersions on your question. I literally asked this of people, "Well, if I did this, how can I do that?" So we get to Hollywood a few days ahead of time, and we sit there and we observe the rehearsals, and we try to glean as much as possible from from scripts that are handed out every day. So much of this stuff that you see, as flawless and as seamless as it seems on the night of, it takes so much preparation behind the scenes, y'all. Alex, you probably know about this, Lee. I'm not so sure about you, so by all means, jump in. But given the festivals you've been to and all the movies that you watch and all of this, I imagine you have an idea that there is a lot of prep work that goes into all of this, an immense amount. And that's no different for audio description. We are there minimal of two or three days ahead of time, trying to glean, taking notes, asking questions, making sure that the audio is good, all sorts of things. And so Erin and I, like I said, we have a very good flow between us where we'll watch things, we'll craft things together. I'll ask a question if I'm not clear on what's going on. She'll look to me, "Does this make sense, does this sound right? Well, this is happening, and I think this is how I want to say it. What do you think?" And I can come in and make some notes. Think about it as a collaborative effort where we're both writing and quality controlling our work as we craft it together. And on the night of, depending on any shenanigans that, again, the audience has no idea about, and yet we, behind the scenes, know, "Hey, that wasn't the run of show just five minutes ago. What happened?" And you have to scramble for your script or find new words to describe something that was totally unplanned. It's a very challenging thing. But I think that we have a very well-developed process, and it works. We do a really good job. Does that answer your question?

Alex Howard
Yes. Yeah. It did. Did the Will Smith thing... Was that 2023 or 2022?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
I think that was '22, certainly before my time.

Lee Pugsley
That was '22.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Yeah. Certainly before my time.

Alex Howard
Okay. I was going to say, that'd be real interesting to hear the AD on that.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
I would be interested to hear it, too. I've not found it.

Lee Pugsley
I mean, I think the thing, too, that I take away from everything you're saying with live audio descriptions, like any creative process that it's collaborative. I think that's really key. And it's also just you've established a level of trust with Erin, who you're collaborating with. And I think that goes a long way to know how to navigate those unpredicted and unexpected moments, too.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
I agree. It's trust from on my part, on my behalf towards her, but it's also trust on her behalf towards me, that I can do the job, that she can trust me to represent well, and that we can work together. If there's a tense moment, we can figure it out. We've got each other's backs. So trust is a huge part of it. Also, the belief in that we're both bringing our best and that our best is pretty darn good. We deserve to be there. We've earned our being there and such. That's really important, just having each other's backs and being secure in the knowledge that we are where we are because we've earned it. We're going to give... At the end of the day, it's all about the audience, the blind and low vision community or anybody else who benefits from audio description. It's about them, and we're here to serve them by giving them the best we have.

Alex Howard
What are some of the projects that you've worked on that you would say you're most proud of? Whether it's something like a show that you watched that you were able to do the AD on or just a specific audio description track that you think you did really well.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Gosh, I'm going to be that cheesy person and say, "They're all my favorite."

Alex Howard
Yeah.

Lee Pugsley
[laughs]

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
No, and they are, y'all, because it's always something different from describing these amazing structures in Bilbao, Spain, to doing a documentary on Jennifer Lopez, who, as a Hispanic Latina woman, was so meaningful to me. It was also my first big Netflix project. To describing a multi-series on Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and that mess. It takes me to so many different areas, so many different experiences that I otherwise would not live for myself. I learned so much, and in so doing, I learn more about the world and the people who inhabit it, the things that they've done, how far they've come, how far they've fallen in some cases. And I get to do it all from the standpoint of, I am a blind person doing a job that was made for us by us. Right? Audio description as an art form, as a human right, as access to information. It was something created by blind people for blind people. Here I am, a blind person who dared to say, "I can do this. I want to do this. And here I am to do it." And people taking me seriously and giving me a chance to glow, grow, go, all these things. And then other blind people out there, like, "Holy moly, this is a thing? This happens? This person is blind doing this? So it's not just some charity service of, I'm grateful to get any breadcrumb I can through audio description? Oh, no, there's actually quality involved? There's a human in the loop, and that human is blind like me?" I mean, that can be hugely inspirational. I hate to use that word because a lot of people bristle at it, right, like "I don't want to be your inspiration. I don't want to be the fodder for your feel good moment." And I get that, and I've definitely have felt that way. But I also think that we need leaders. We need examples. We need guideposts to give us the awareness that we can do this, too. Even if it's not in your wheelhouse to do, at least you know that it can be done, period. There is space for us, and there are people out here who are making that space, literally. Just showing up and making that space. And I am beyond grateful to be able to say that I am one of those people, and I hope that more people follow suit because we have an immense pool of talent in the blind community. But you do have to be skilled as well. I tell people all the time who get in touch, "Oh, I want to do audio description." I say, "Oh, that's great." "People say, I have a great voice." "Yeah, sure. But let's talk about what all goes into it and what it's really like and what it may really mean for you." You know? Being in a position where I can do that through my work distinctly at Descriptive Video Works is hugely empowering to me as well because, again, it gives me an outlet to do lots of help and raise awareness of what's possible, what's being done, what needs to be done better. And yeah, I'm rambling. See, I warned you. [laughs]

Lee Pugsley
Well, I think one of the things that I love about what you just said, too, is that it's empowering for you, but because of the wealth of experience that you've had now in learning that, "Hey, I can do this and do this well," you have the gift of that knowledge and that experience and that training to pass on to other blind or low vision individuals who may want to do the same thing. And you can be like, "Yes, there is a way to get it done and let me help empower you now."

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Absolutely.

Lee Pugsley
So I think that's a really cool thing.

Alex Howard
Yeah.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Thank you. Yes. It definitely feels like a full circle moment to come into this as somebody who was like, "I want to try this, and I've got what it takes, and let me show you." And then others allowing me to show them, really hearing me, really seeing me, really giving me that opportunity, and I can turn around and now help forge a path so that others may follow. Because I don't want to be a unicorn. Yeah, the notoriety is great. I love being known for what I do and for doing it well and for being brave and all these great things that are said about me, which are true. [laughs]

Alex Howard
[laughs]

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
But it's also true that there are others. The fact that I am in a position, I've been given the great position to help those others uplift and reach new heights in whatever it is that they want to do specific to audio description, even if it's just representing, advocating. I'm a huge advocate for audio description. I run two groups for audio description. For anybody who's out there, if you're on X, if you're on LinkedIn, join us. Because, again, I want this, and this field deserves nothing other than us being part of it. I can't stress enough: For us, by us. And we need to be part of it, and we can be more to the point.

Alex Howard
Yeah. Nothing about us without us. Yeah.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
That's right.

Alex Howard
So I always tell guests we have on who, especially who voice audio description, that you guys are kind of celebrities to us in the blind community, because we're watching these movies and we hear your voices over and over, and it's like you're helping us understand what's going on on screen, and it's amazing. So for people who are listening and they're like, "I've heard her voice from somewhere. Where was it?" What would you say if you had an IMDb page, your four 'known for' projects would be?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Oh, wow. That's a great question. Interesting. I would say definitely the Oscars. I've had a lot of buzz around that. I would say anything on Netflix or Peacock. I've done a few Disney projects, a lot of independent work through the Social Audio Description Collective, independent films that people have maybe heard of or not. It's hard to say because like with your question earlier, what's my favorite project? I don't really know what people have heard or what people watch, but I'd like to think that whatever you may have heard me on, you've liked. Hopefully. That is the goal, to grant you information, but also to be part of the entertainment for you and with you as a viewer and a listener.

Alex Howard
That's really great. And I know having the ad for the Super Bowl was really, really big, too. I know they didn't air it with AD like we thought they would. But just the fact that... I mean, the ad is available on YouTube with the AD, but that ad made me want to get that phone. It was really great.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Wow. Yeah, the Google Super Bowl ad was an amazing opportunity. It is on YouTube. It has I don't even know how many views at this point. And I've worked on Google spots before, but this has certainly been the biggest one, has had the most buzz, and it's a really nice one. It does have all the feel good moments. And yes, there was some controversy about not being aired on the night of with open audio description, and what a wasted opportunity that was on Google's part. But. Here's hoping that it will get better, that through raising awareness and hearing from the community and hearing from me as well, after the fact, behind the scenes. Again, a lot of advocacy goes on behind the scenes, y'all. A lot of stuff that nobody will ever really know about, except for those of us in the trenches, because we're mired under the muck of NDA, under NDA, under NDA and the like. And progress can be so slow. But it is being made. You have people like me, and there are others in this space doing the work as well. Alex, you are one of those people. Lee, you are one of those people. John Stark, movie critic who I believe Alex, you are good friends with, is doing that work.

Alex Howard
Yeah, we had him on the show.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Excellent. So yes, we are seen as celebrities. And honestly, sometimes I am treated like one. And I'm not going to lie, it feels good to be known for doing something that I kept myself from doing for such a long time. And that for me is using my voice to perpetuate access and positivity and setting an example and leading by example. I'm finally in a position in a career that I love and that allows me to do so much of that and more. Being recognized for that is hugely important. But also, again, I can say I'm a consumer first, and it's about the consumers first and foremost. We might be celebrities to you, but really, folks like me anyway, I know that for some, it's just a job, just like anything else. But for folks like me who are really passionate about this stuff and who genuinely care, it's a calling and it's a real privilege. So thank you so much.

Alex Howard
Yeah. Thank you for being on the podcast. This was a really great talk. Did you have anything that you want to plug or anything before we let you go?

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Well, if anybody would like to to keep up with me, I am on LinkedIn. I'm Nefertiti Matos Olivares, N-E-F-E-R-T-I-T-I, M-A-T-O-S, O-L-I-V-A-R-E-S. And there are also the audio description LinkedIn groups and audio description X community that I talked about earlier, you can find us on LinkedIn and X. Thank you all for listening. I hope this leaves you with something, if nothing else, than that blind people people are in this and are doing this and want more of us to be part of it. Yeah, whatever you might be pursuing, keep it going. Look at Alex and Lee. They're perfect examples of that. Alex with your Voiceover class and Lee with now you're using Voiceover on all your devices and the like, and a pro at it, I'm sure. So, you know, really good examples here of we three, of people who who are putting in the work and hopefully reaping the rewards of that.

Lee Pugsley
Well said, and thank you so much. For those listeners out there who want to connect with the Dark Room, you can reach us at DarkRoomFilmCast@gmail.com. Once again, that's DarkRoomFilmCast@gmail.com. If you have any questions or comments on any conversation topic that was discussed today, feel free to reach out to us. You can also find us on Instagram and YouTube @DarkRoomFilmCast as well.

Alex Howard
Yeah, go check out our YouTube page. I've done a few shorts about audio description on physical media on there, and our last short actually got a thousand views, so I didn't even realize. It was 15 seconds long. So we're going to be doing a couple more of those. If you guys want to check in on our YouTube, there'll be some bonus content on there. And thank you so much for Matt Lauterbach and All Senses Go for making transcripts of this episode possible.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Oh, my goodness. Can I just shout out Matt? He is so fun to work with. I'm working with him on something I can't talk about. But I'm so glad.

Alex Howard
I think we might be working on that with you, too.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Oh, yeah? It's such a small... I love it.

Alex Howard
Oh, awesome. Yeah. Thank you so much. Perfect.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Thank you both. This was a really wonderful opportunity. And again, thank you for your patience working with my schedule and your busy schedules, too. I'm so glad this went as well as I knew it would. So I appreciate you both.

Lee Pugsley
So wonderful to have you on.

Nefertiti Matos Olivares
Keep up the great work. Keep up the great work. Seriously.

Alex Howard
Thank you.

Lee Pugsley
Well, thank you. So wonderful to have you on. And for all the listeners out there, thank you so much for listening. We'll see you back here next time on The Dark Room.