Aftersight Volunteer Guide and Expectations
This document is designed to guide both new and existing volunteers in embarking on and maintaining their assignments, ensuring continuous adherence to our high standards. Your role is critical in making print content accessible for individuals who are blind or have low vision.
The journey starts with your application and audition, leading to your role an Aftersight Reader. Once you’ve successfully passed the audition, a member of the Aftersight team will provide you with your program details and schedule.
Refer to this handbook for guidance on your first episode, troubleshooting, and a refresher on our required expectations. Your dedication and compliance with these standards are essential to our mission. Thank you for your commitment to excellence in service.
Book a session with us
All volunteers can book virtual time with either the Volunteer Manager or the Podcast Producer.
Basic volunteer expectations
Failure to meet these expectations may result in retraining or dismissal.
- Adhere to guidelines: Abide by the expectations outlined in the tabs on this page.
- Contact information: Maintain current contact details with Aftersight staff.
- Report your hours after each session. Meet your deadlines (Mountain Time Zone)
File Naming and Management
- Correct Naming: Name your audio files as directed.
- Proper Uploading: Upload files to the designated folder in your portal account.
- Security: Do not share your portal login credentials or access others’ accounts.
- File Integrity: Never alter or delete any folders in the portal.
Absences and Substitutions
- Notify of Absences: Inform Aftersight staff promptly about any absences using the online form.
- No Personal Substitutions: Do not find substitutes for your show or use synthetic voices.
- Stay informed: Regularly check announcements on the volunteer portal and emails from Aftersight.
Perform tasks efficiently and independently.
Be open to constructive feedback to enhance your contributions.
Introduction video
Things you will need (If recording from home)
- Decent <5 year old computer with latest software updates, adequate RAM and memory.
- Quality USB or studio microphone.
- Decent internet with a minimal upload speed of 10 mbps (Test internet by clicking here)
- A quiet space to record.
- Recording software.
Download Recording Software
1.Go to Audacity’s website to download the latest version.
- Download Audacity for Windows
- Download Audacity for Mac
2. It should begin installing right away. If it doesn’t, click the version you want to install. The download will save to your computer.
3. Run the installer, follow the prompts for setup.
Setting up your space
Quick tips for home recording
- Record in a closet! (Or somewhere that has minimal hard surfaces to reduce echo).
- Warm up your voice before recording.
- Clear your workspace to minimize accidental bumping and rubbing of objects during recording. Ensure you do not touch the mic nor the mic stand while recording.
- Listen closely – Avoid recording in an area with seemingly small noises such as a refrigerator or fan.
- Listen to your audio files before uploading to ensure they sound good!
File Management
Understanding basic file management is one of the biggest areas that can make or break your success as an Aftersight volunteer or a voiceover professional in general.
There are a variety of ways to manage your files, so find something that is logical to you that makes it easiest for your to track and find your audio files when you export. We’d recommend saving to a designated folder on your computer with a clear name (Ex: My Aftersight Files) and archiving your files in a separate folder.
This will make more sense to you as you begin doing voiceover work and working with many files over long periods of time.
Recording Audio
Our listeners depend on Aftersight for audio that is clear, accurate, timely, and easy to understand. Whether you record in Riverside, Audacity, another digital audio workstation, or in the Aftersight studio, the goal is the same: submit clean, complete audio that is ready for publication.
If you are unsure how you are supposed to record, use this simple guide:
Riverside is used when Aftersight sends you a Riverside recording link.
Audacity or another DAW may be used when you are recording and editing your own audio file.
Transistor is used to submit and schedule your completed MP3 file.
If you are unsure which method applies to your assignment, contact the Volunteer Manager before recording.
Before You Record
Before beginning your full recording, always do a short test recording. Listen back to make sure your microphone is working, your voice is clear, and there is no major background noise, buzzing, popping, or distortion.
Choose a quiet space with as little echo as possible. Turn off fans, televisions, radios, notifications, and anything else that could be heard in the background. If possible, wear headphones while recording so audio does not play back through your speakers.
Speak clearly, at a steady pace, and keep a consistent distance from the microphone. Avoid tapping the desk, shuffling papers near the microphone, touching the microphone, or moving around while recording.
Sample of the audio quality we expect:
Recording in Riverside
Use Riverside only when Aftersight sends you a Riverside recording link.
To record in Riverside:
- Open the Riverside link sent to you by Aftersight.
- Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge whenever possible.
- Allow Riverside to access your microphone when prompted.
- Select the correct microphone before recording.
- Complete a short test before recording your full assignment.
- Stay on the Riverside page until your recording is finished and any upload or processing steps are complete.
- Contact the Volunteer Manager if Riverside will not load, cannot access your microphone, or does not appear to save your recording properly.
Important: Do not clear your browser cache immediately after recording in Riverside if your recording has not finished uploading or processing.
Recording in Audacity or Another DAW
You may use Audacity or another digital audio workstation if you are responsible for recording and exporting your own completed MP3 file.
A DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation, is the software used to record, edit, and export audio. Examples include Audacity, Reaper, Hindenburg, Adobe Audition, GarageBand, and similar programs.
When recording in Audacity or another DAW:
- Select the correct microphone before you begin.
- Record in a quiet space.
- Do a short test recording first.
- Listen back before recording your full assignment.
- Remove mistakes, long pauses, false starts, and unnecessary background noise if you are responsible for editing.
- Make sure the finished audio matches the expected running time for your assignment.
- Export the finished file as an MP3 unless Aftersight gives you different instructions.
Audio Quality Expectations
Your finished recording should be:
- Clear and easy to understand.
- Consistent in volume and sound.
- Free from major background noise, buzzing, popping, distortion, shuffling, or interruptions.
- Complete from beginning to end.
- Edited appropriately, if editing is part of your assignment.
- Submitted on time according to the instructions for your program.
A good rule of thumb: if the audio would distract a listener from understanding the information, it should be corrected before submission.
File Format for Completed Recordings
Unless Aftersight gives you different instructions, completed recordings should be submitted as an MP3 file.
Recommended export settings:
- MP3 format.
- Constant Bit Rate, also called CBR.
- 192 kbps.
- 44.1 kHz or 44100 Hz.
- Mono, unless Aftersight gives you different instructions.
Use the file name or episode title instructions provided for your assignment. Transistor controls the scheduled publication date, so future episodes no longer need file names like program2.mp3 or program3.mp3 to determine airing order.
Before uploading, double-check that you are submitting the correct MP3 file.
Submitting Your Finished Audio
When your recording is finished and exported as an MP3, submit it through Transistor unless Aftersight gives you different instructions.
In Transistor, create a new episode, upload the MP3 file, and schedule it for the correct publication date at 5:00 PM, unless you were told to use a different time. Transistor will default 5:00 PM to Aftersight’s time zone, regardless of where you are located.
Do not publish immediately unless Aftersight staff specifically tells you to do so.
After your recording has been submitted and scheduled, remember to log your volunteer hours.
If Something Goes Wrong
If you run into a problem with recording, exporting, uploading, or scheduling, contact the Volunteer Manager as soon as possible.
When asking for help, include:
- The program or assignment name.
- The publication date.
- Whether you recorded in Riverside, Audacity, or another DAW.
- What step is not working.
- Whether the file has already been uploaded to Transistor.
It is always better to ask early than to wait until the episode is late or missing.
How to use Audacity
FAQs
Common audio issue tips
Recording FAQs
Reading and Presentation requirements
Our goal is to ensure that our content is presented clearly and authentically, respecting the original material while making it accessible and user friendly to our blind and low vision audience. This page aims to empowering you to produce engaging and high-quality audio content that meets the needs of our community.
Basics:
- Reading Order: Transform the newspaper into an accessible format by following the publication’s intended order, much like chapters of a book. Start with the main page articles, then proceed to other sections like editorials, obituaries, etc., as time permits.
- Content Authenticity: Read exactly as written, do not add personal commentary or summarization.
- Speech Clarity: Focus on clear speech, proper enunciation, and correct pronunciation in your readings.
- Author Attribution: Credit the publications and the authors of articles.
- Advertisements: Currently, there is no need to read the advertisements. (Please note: This policy may change soon!)
- Intro/Closing Script: Use the script assigned to your program at the beginning and end of your recordings.
Scripts:
- Dated content is content that is time-sensitive and tied to specific dates. This includes news, current events, announcements, and anything that loses relevance over time. Examples: Daily news broadcasts, event announcements, updates on specific happenings.
- Non-dated content is content that remains informative, educational, or entertaining regardless of when it is accessed. This type of content is not tied to current events or specific dates, making it perpetually relevant. Examples: Literature readings, educational pieces, timeless stories, how-to guides, and informational content.
If you have any questions about the content type or the appropriate scripts to use, please reach out to the Aftersight staff for guidance.
English
Spanish
Performance
- Handling Mistakes: Correct mistakes verbally by saying “Let me try that again” or “correction”. No need to edit the audio; inexperienced editors should avoid editing.
- Time Management: Stay within your programs time frame. If you run short on time in the middle of an article, conclude with “We are running out of time, so we’ll wrap up the article here” and proceed with the closing script.
- Content Management: If you have insufficient content to fill the time, here are some tips:
- Ensure you are reading all of the articles in the e-edition, including the obituaries, weather, event listings, calendars, opinion, etc.
- See if the publication’s website has some newer articles or additional content that isn’t in the e-edition.
- Ask Aftersight Staff about describing images – we’ll train you how! This can take up some time and add value to your reading. (Note: Please don’t attempt this without our specialized training)
- Still not enough content? Email alex@Aftersight.org and we can look at some other options.
- Note: Never supplement content from other sources without permission from Aftersight staff.
- Quality Expectations: We aim for authenticity, not perfection. A typical 26-minute audio file should take about 45 minutes to create; a 56-minute file, about 1.5 hours.
Information Equity and Ethical Reading Practices
Information equity is central to our mission. It’s vital that all of our listeners, who are blind or have low vision, receive the same full, accurate, and uncensored information as everyone else. This means ensuring that volunteers follow strict guidelines for reading only from approved sources and presenting content fully and accurately, and in the order intended by the publication or as instructed by staff.
We are strict about these guidelines for several key reasons:
- Maintaining Information Equity: Our listeners deserve full and unbiased access to the same information that sighted audiences receive.
- Preventing Censorship: Skipping or altering content based on personal preferences or discomfort is a form of censorship and violates our mission.
- Preserving Content Authenticity: The original message must remain intact to avoid misrepresentation.
- Ensuring Unbiased Reporting: Cherry-picking content introduces bias and results in an unbalanced narrative.
- Respecting Listener Autonomy: Our audience must have the full content to form their own opinions.
- Trust and Credibility: Our service depends on providing consistent, accurate, and reliable information.
- Avoiding Harmful Stereotypes: Making assumptions about what the audience finds relevant reduces the diversity of information shared.
- Adherence to Ethical Standards: We are committed to maintaining strict ethical standards, which prohibits any form of manipulation of content.
- Promoting Professionalism: Volunteers are held to high standards to ensure the accurate and fair delivery of content.
We expect our volunteers to avoid cherry-picking content, which includes skipping material that feels uncomfortable, seems boring, or conflicts with personal beliefs. The following actions undermine Information Equity and are not allowed. Violations may result in mandatory retraining or dismissal for censorship:
- Skipping Sensitive Topics: Avoiding uncomfortable subjects denies listeners full access to information.
- Bias in Content Selection: Skipping sections or assuming what interests the audience leads to bias and an unbalanced narrative.
- Adding Personal Commentary: Injecting personal opinions compromises neutrality and risks misrepresentation.
- Summarizing Instead of Verbatim Reading: Paraphrasing distorts the original message and harms content integrity.
- Altering Sensitive Language: Changing or softening language compromises authenticity.
- Ignoring Advertisements (if Required): Omitting required ads denies listeners the full experience.
- Ignoring Publication Order: Reading out of order misrepresents the intended structure of the content.
- Inserting Filler Content: Adding unapproved material introduces unauthorized content.
This practice is not just discouraged—it is considered unethical. Our commitment to presenting authentic, unbiased information means we must avoid any form of manipulation, whether intentional or not. Our audience deserves access to all parts of the publication, just as it was meant to be consumed.
By reading articles verbatim, in the correct order, and without personal input, we maintain the integrity of the content, which is critical for providing transparent and equitable access to information.
To highlight the importance of these policies, here’s a message from Penn – a member of the blind community:
“As somebody who relies on the Audio editions, I want you to know that it is extremely important to me that I get to make my own decisions about what I listen to or don’t listen to. People who are sighted can look at a magazine and decide to read or not read, a specific article or an ad. It is extremely frustrating to me that sighted people are choosing what I as a blind person have access to. The reason that Aftersight has changed their policies is because people like me want to have the same choices that people who are sighted have. You may think it is a fluff article or information that would be irrelevant is your opinion. However, to truly have information equity we need our volunteers to read everything regardless of their opinions. I hope you understand where I am coming from. Our volunteers should not be making choices for our listeners. If our listeners find an ad or a story inappropriate, they need to make the choice on their own to contact that particular media outlet directly. This is true for sighted people. We do not want our volunteers censoring information for our listeners.” – Penn Street
If a volunteer is uncomfortable with certain material, they can approach the situation in a few ways:
- Using phrases like “quote” and “end quote” around sensitive content.
- Including an Aftersight-approved disclaimer to distance themselves from the views expressed in the content.
- Spelling out uncomfortable words instead of saying them aloud.
If the material is too uncomfortable to read, volunteers are encouraged to contact Aftersight staff for an alternative assignment, and if necessary, we will evaluate whether the publication is a good fit for our services. We value the integrity of the news and your comfort as a volunteer. Your adherence to these ethical standards ensures that Aftersight’s service remains trustworthy, transparent, and accessible to all.
Technical
- Image Description: While not required, you can describe images if it adds value to the story; however, it’s a specialized skill that you must receive training on before including it in your readings. Reach out to Aftersight staff if you are interested.
- Typos/poor grammar: For obvious errors, correct them on the fly if you can. If not, you can verbally put them in quotes by saying “quote” “end quote” before and after the section. Let Aftersight staff know if it’s just too ridiculous to handle.
- Pronunciation Accuracy: Use resources like YouTube or www.howtopronounce.com for pronunciation. If unsure, maintain consistency in your reading.
- Links: If the link is relatively short and easy to say, go ahead and read it out as ” www.linkedsite.com/relevant page” — If it is a long or complex link, just say the name of the website.
- Voice Authenticity and Computer Generated Voices: Use only your own voice for recordings. We value the human connection and authenticity a real voice brings to our listeners.
FAQ’s and Resources
- YouGlish: Gives you fast, unbiased pronunciations by real people and in context.
- Guidelines for Creating Image Descriptions
- Anti Racist Audio Description
Submitting Your MP3 File Through Transistor
These instructions are for active volunteers submitting their regular program assignment. If you are submitting an audition, please follow the instructions in your audition email.
Aftersight now uses Transistor for submitting completed MP3 recordings. Volunteers should no longer upload regular program assignments through the old Volunteer Portal unless Aftersight staff specifically asks them to.
To submit your recording:
- Log in to Transistor using the access provided by Aftersight.
- Select the correct show or program.
- Create a new episode.
- Enter the episode information requested for your program.
- Upload your completed MP3 file.
- Confirm that the correct file uploaded successfully. If possible, play the beginning of the file to make sure it is the right recording and that the audio starts correctly.
- Schedule the episode for the correct publication date at 5:00 PM, unless Aftersight has given you different instructions. Transistor will default this to Aftersight’s time zone, regardless of where you are located.
- Do not publish the episode immediately unless Aftersight staff has specifically instructed you to do so.
- Log your volunteer hours after your recording has been submitted and scheduled.
Important: If you record for more than one program, make sure you are creating the episode inside the correct show before uploading your file. It is much easier to check first than to fix a misplaced episode later.
FAQ
Episode Checklist
Use this checklist before submitting your completed recording. This list covers the basic expectations, but your assignment email may include additional instructions.
✔ Read the required intro and outro scripts, if they are provided for your program.
✔ Verbally credit the author, publication, or source when required by your assignment.
✔ Record clean, clear audio with no distracting background noise, popping, clipping, buzzing, echo, or interruptions.
✔ Do a short test recording before recording the full assignment.
✔ Make sure your audio is the correct length for your assignment. (minimum of 15 Minutes)
✔ If recording in Riverside, make sure your recording is complete and saved before leaving the Riverside session.
✔ If editing in Riverside, you may use Magic Audio when needed, but the recording should still start as clean as possible.
✔ If exporting your own file from Audacity or another DAW, export as an MP3 at 192 kbps or higher.
✔ Make sure the finished file is an MP3, unless Aftersight gives you different instructions.
✔ Listen to the beginning of the finished file before uploading to make sure it is the correct recording.
✔ Upload the completed MP3 to the correct show or program in Transistor.
✔ Create a separate Transistor episode for each recording. Do not upload multiple recordings into one episode.
✔ Schedule the episode for the correct publication date at 5:00 PM, unless Aftersight gives you different instructions. Transistor will default this to Aftersight’s time zone, regardless of where you are located.
✔ Do not publish immediately unless Aftersight staff specifically tells you to do so.
✔ Double-check the episode title, audio file, show/program, date, and scheduled time before leaving Transistor.
✔ Submit your volunteer hours after your recording has been uploaded and scheduled.
✔ If something goes wrong, contact the Volunteer Manager as soon as possible.
What happens after you submit your episode?
NOTE: Video data is from 2020 and may be outdated.
Step 1: Turn in episode
You upload your completed mp3 episode into the Volunteer Portal.
Step 2: Queued for airing
Our automated system grabs it 30 minutes before airtime and puts it in the queue.
Step 3: Aired and published
Your episode is aired on broadcast, and converted into a podcast.
Step 4: Distribution
Your episode is published on Apple podcasts, Aftersight website, and more.
Step 5: People listen
Episode is repeated on broadcast and available as podcast until the next episode.
Volunteer Learning and Support
Being an Aftersight reader comes with support. We want volunteers to feel confident, prepared, and equipped to create clear, professional audio for our listeners.
Need One-on-One Help?
Volunteers can book one-on-one time with Jonathan Price, Podcast and Program Producer, for help with recording, voice-over, audio quality, Riverside, Audacity, Transistor, or general workflow questions.
Make an appointment with our Producer
Recording and Voice-Over Support
If you want to improve your reading, microphone technique, pacing, audio quality, or confidence behind the mic, one-on-one support is available. These sessions can help with both your Aftersight readings and your own personal audio goals.
Riverside, Audacity, and Transistor Help
If you are unsure how to record in Riverside, export from Audacity, use another DAW, or submit your completed MP3 through Transistor, book a time with Jonathan before submitting your file.
Studio Orientation
Volunteers who want to record from the Aftersight studio may complete studio orientation. This training helps you learn how to use the studio equipment properly and confidently.
After completing the orientation, eligible volunteers may book studio time for Aftersight readings when available.
Additional Training Opportunities
Aftersight may offer additional volunteer training, voice-over support, or education sessions throughout the year. Watch for updates from Aftersight staff about upcoming learning opportunities.
For questions about volunteer training, recording help, or studio access, contact the Volunteer Manager or book time with our Podcast and Program Producer using the link above.
Need help troubleshooting?
After searching for your answer in this documentation, please submit a help ticket so we can best assist you.