Recommendations for videos with audio description
What are the recommendations for videos with audio description? Recommendations for videos are an interesting topic. One of the most effective, and at the same time simplest to implement, ways of creating an accessible video with...
What are the recommendations for videos with audio description?
Recommendations for videos are an interesting topic. One of the most effective, and at the same time simplest to implement, ways of creating an accessible video with audio description is to create a separate, additional audio track and then merge it with the video material. This way, users of streaming platforms can choose between the video without audio description and the video with audio description.
Another way is to embed several audio tracks in the video material. This makes it possible to create several independent audio tracks (including audio description) while keeping to a single file (a popular format is .MKV). Services such as Netflix and HBO GO work on this principle, allowing you to choose the track that suits you without having to reload the film.
An example of a video with audio description – an alternative audio track:
Captions in videos
Besides people with disabilities, captions help people who only partly understand the language being used. Captions are also useful in noisy environments such as airports, in quiet environments such as libraries, and for multimodal learning. All multimedia content with speech should have captions available that are:
- Synchronised to appear at approximately the same time as the corresponding audio.
- Equivalent to the spoken words and other audio information.
- Available or easily accessible to those who need them.
An example of a video with captions:
What is a transcript?
For multimedia, a transcript can also help users who cannot hear the audio or see the video. In addition to the spoken words, a transcript should include descriptions of important audio information (e.g. laughter) and visual information (e.g. someone entering the room). Transcripts help deafblind users interact with content using refreshable braille displays.
Transcripts allow anyone who cannot access audio or video content (or both) to read a text transcript. For most online videos, both captions and a text transcript should be provided. For audio-only content, a transcript is usually sufficient – captions are not necessary for audio-only media such as a podcast.
Transcripts make multimedia content searchable by search engines and users. Screen reader users may also prefer a transcript to real-time audio, as the most proficient screen reader users set their assistive technology to read much faster than natural human speech.
