Basics of Multimedia Accessibility Considerations for Creating More

Basics of Multimedia Accessibility Considerations for Creating More Accessible Digital Multimedia on the Web

CONCEPTS The Fundamentals

Audio and Video • Same use by everyone • Considerations • Transcription/captioning • Audio description • Embedded player accessibility

Transcript • • Exact text that is spoken Includes things like speaker identification, important action from video Most time and resource intensive piece Necessary for audio only • Demo!

Captions • • Transcript plus timing information for video Ideally, a separate track from video Includes spoken content and things like speaker identification Includes text describing important sounds

Open and Closed • Closed captions • Separate track from the video • Can be turned on and off • Resulting caption file can be basis for searchable, indexed file • Open captions • Embedded in the video itself • Cannot be turned off

Audio Description • • Describes visual elements in video Separate track from video Required for pre-recorded content Can be integrated into script or spoken content • Demo!

Live Captioning • Requirement for web video, etc. • Vendor provided service • Done remotely

Embedded Players • Must be accessible • • Controls usable from keyboard, including volume sliders, etc. Controls announced correctly by screen readers Visual keyboard focus indicator Good visual design such as color use and color contrast

CAPTIONING Tools and Techniques

Transcription Approaches • • Do it yourself (DIY) Outsource Automatic Hybrid

DIY • Lots of tools available • Free • MAGpie • You. Tube • Online • Caption. Tube • Paid, installed • Mac. Caption • Caption. Maker

DIY: Re-voicing • Create initial transcript with local speech recognition • Dragon Naturally Speaking • Operating system based speech recognition • Steps • Listen • Dictate • Cleanup

Weighing Re-voicing • Advantages • Speed • Relative accuracy • Efficiency • Disadvantages • Still labor intensive • Still requires cleanup • Learning curve with speech recognition software

Outsourcing • May be best way for you, or part of your solution • Advantages • Guaranteed turnaround, accuracy • Possibility for volume discounts • Disadvantages • Potential expense • More expensive to rush

Automatic Captions • Speech recognition technology drives automatic transcription • Challenges • Inaccuracy • Poor audio • Multiple speakers • Accents • Time to repair vs. starting from scratch

You. Tube Automatic Captioning • Can do from scratch • Can type text, have it add timing • Can upload existing caption file • Demo!

Hybrid Approaches • Caption creation • Outsource transcript, sync with You. Tube or platform • Outsource transcript, sync manually

Captioning Best Practices • • • Synchronized with video Accuracy 99% or higher 1 -2 lines Do not cover up graphics or important visual content Use mixed case letters Break at natural pauses if possible Don’t correct grammar of speaker End caption at end punctuation Include unspoken information, like music, sound effects, speaker identification

Overall Strategy and Thoughts • • Volume discount through statewide managed contract Prioritize media Add to budget over time Consider purpose and length of multimedia • Don’t shorten anything “because of accessibility” • Remember: captions do not replace sign interpretation

Questions? Ask away!