Creating Accessible Multimedia: Captioning and Audio Description Standards (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Creating Accessible Multimedia Files Chapter 1 Rules for Captioning and Audio Descriptions This training video is produced by the Accessibility and Policy Unit of the California Department of Social Services. To meet accessibility standards, most videos must provide two things. Captions for the spoken content of videos, and, very rarely, audio descriptions for parts of the video which important content is being provided non-verbally. First, let's discuss captions and the standards they must meet in order to be deemed accessible. Captions must match the spoken words in the dialogue, in their original language, to the fullest extent possible. The Federal Communications Commission requires that captions must meet a verbatim accuracy percentage of at least 98.6%. Captions must include all words spoken in the order spoken, that is, no paraphrasing. Captions must use proper spelling, spacing, capitalization, and punctuation. Captions of non-verbal information such as sound effects, background music, audience reactions, or who is speaking must also be provided to be considered accurate. Captions must be synchronous, meaning they must coincide with their corresponding spoken words and sounds to the greatest extent possible. Captions must also occur at a speed that can be read by viewers. So it is always a good idea to ensure your presenters speak more slowly and clearly than they may in real life. Captions should not block other important visual content on the screen including, but not limited to, character faces, featured text, and other information that is essential to understanding a program's content. Captions cannot run off the edge of the screen and they must be sized appropriately for legibility. Captions must be complete, meaning simply that captions must run from the beginning to the end of the program. Captions must also conform with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCRG, Standard for Minimum Contrast. Adding a dark background for the captions is recommended to ensure the caption's text will meet minimum contrast standards at all times during the video. Failing to add a dark background to your captions puts you at risk for losing an accessible contrast ratio as the background color changes on the video. This is demonstrated in the image below, when the orange caption text is against the orange dress. The contrast ratio for the captions is reduced to 1.7 to 1. And again when the white caption text is backed by a light skin tone. And again when the white caption text is backed by a light skin tone. The contrast ratio for the caption text is reduced even further to 1.2 to 1. Now let's briefly talk about audio descriptions. Audio descriptions are provided in either the original audio track, heard by everyone, or in a separate audio track, which can be turned on or off by persons playing the multimedia file. Audio descriptions provide crucial details about what is happening in the video when there are no spoken words to describe it. Depicted below is an image from the movie, The Quiet Place. The actors speak no lines in this scene which is several minutes long, so the plot is only moved along by their actions. An audio descriptions track would be essential in this case to tell a person with visual disabilities what is happening. Captions provide the part of the content available via the audio track. Captions not only include dialogue, but identify who is speaking and include non-speech information conveyed through sound, including meaningful sound effects. It is extremely rare for audio descriptions to be used to describe a person's actions. Audio descriptions are provided in either the original audio track, heard by everyone, or in a separate audio track, which can be turned on or off by persons playing It is extremely rare for audio descriptions to be needed for multimedia files produced by our department. Almost all important content is spoken by a presenter, or is presented as a conversation between two or more people. When planning and producing your multimedia projects always keep in mind how all important information will be conveyed to your audience. For more information about this topic, or any of the topics in our series, contact the Accessibility and Policy Unit at accessibilitypolicyunit at dss.ca.gov