What are Audio Descriptions, Captions & Transcripts?

Key Points:

- Good for people with Hearing, Vision & Cognitive disabilities.

- Useful for assistive technologies to access alternative formats of content.

- Spoken words in video content are not accessible to people with hearing and some cognitive issues.

- Non-verbal video scenes are not accessible to people with both vision issues & hearing issues.

- Audio of video content requires captions, transcripts & where possible, non-verbal scenes benefit from audio descriptions.

Introduction

Digital content with sound is normally presented either as an audio file, part of moving image slides, or as part of a video.

Without alternative ways to present the same content, people with difficulty hearing, seeing or processing are often excluded from that content.

By using Audio Descriptions, Captions & Transcripts, we can take a more inclusive approach for everyone by providing access to digital content that has sound.

Audio Descriptions

Audio descriptions provide audio & on screen text for non-verbal content.

People with vision issues benefit from audio description of non-verbal scenes.

For example, the image above shows a video scene that could have the following audio description announced for people with visual issues:

“Surfers crouch low as they are carried in front of the crest of a 4 metre high barrel-shaped wave”.

People with hearing issues would also benefit from on screen text for non-verbal audible sounds.

The image above shows a video scene that could have the following audio description (shown as white text in a lightly shaded box on the screen) timed with the scene sounds for people with hearing issues.

The audio description is timed with the scene to help people with hearing disabilities. The descriptions appears as “Someone is banging loudly on the door”.

Closed Captions

Closed captions provide on screen text for spoken word content as it happens.

The image above shows a video scene with the following closed captions “who wants a coffee?”. The caption is timed with the scene to help people with hearing and/or cognitive disabilities.

Transcripts

Transcripts can provide off screen text for closed captions & audio descriptions combined.

That means there is a full text alternative to the audio content.

Transcripts are especially useful to people with cognitive disabilities and also to people who rely on assistive technologies like refreshable braille keyboards (e.g. people who have both hearing & vision disabilities combined, often use braille).

The image above shows a video scene with a window beside it with a text transcript of all audio sounds, timed with the scene to help people with hearing, vision and/or cognitive disabilities.

To learn more about how our expertise at Nexus Inclusion can help you to achieve more inclusive audio & video content, Sign Up with us today!