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F3 Accessible Content Basics

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Lesson 6 of 7 · Video

Video, captions and transcripts

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1 minute 37 seconds. Captions are on. Narrated slides. The narration is a synthesized voice; a recorded voice replaces it later.

Captions for recorded and live video, why automatic captions need a human pass and when a video also needs a transcript or audio description.

Notes

Step 1 of 6

Start here

Public institutions post more video every year: council meetings, public hearings, how-to clips, emergency briefings, social media posts. Video without captions shuts out people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and everyone watching on a phone in a quiet room.

Step 2 of 6

What WCAG 2.1 AA requires

For video with sound, the main requirements are:

  • Captions for prerecorded video. The words spoken, who is speaking when it is not obvious, and meaningful sounds such as "[applause]" or "[siren]."
  • Captions for live video that you stream yourself.
  • Audio description for prerecorded video when important information is only shown, not said. More on that below.

For audio-only content, such as a podcast or a recorded phone message, provide a transcript.

Step 3 of 6

Automatic captions need a human pass

Video platforms generate captions automatically. They are a good start and a poor finish. They misspell names of people, streets and places, get numbers wrong, and drop punctuation that changes meaning.

Before you publish, play the video with captions on and correct:

  • names of officials, staff and speakers,
  • street names, places and programs,
  • numbers: dates, times, dollar amounts, addresses, vote counts,
  • anything a resident would act on.

For long recordings like council meetings, plan the time, or budget for a captioning service. For live meetings, ask your vendor which live captioning options they support.

Step 4 of 6

Say what you show

If a video shows a slide with a new schedule, a map of a road closure, or a phone number on screen, a blind viewer misses it unless it is spoken.

The simplest fix is in the recording: the speaker reads key information aloud. "The new pickup day is Thursday. The number to call is on screen: 555-0100." When that is not possible, provide audio description or put the same information on the page as text.

Step 5 of 6

Transcripts

A transcript is the full text of a video or audio file, posted with it. It helps people who cannot play video, people who are deafblind and read with a braille display, people searching for one moment in a two-hour meeting, and translation tools.

For meetings, approved minutes are not a transcript, but they may be what residents need most. Post both when you have both.

Step 6 of 6

Social media video

The same rules apply to video on your institution's social media accounts. Most platforms support captions; some burn them into the video. Check that they are on and correct before you post.

Sources

Transcript

Synthesized narration; a recorded voice replaces it later.

  1. 0:00Public institutions post more video every year: council meetings, hearings, how-to clips, emergency briefings.
  2. 0:07Video without captions shuts out people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and everyone watching on a phone in a quiet room.
  3. 0:15For video with sound, WCAG 2.1 AA requires captions for prerecorded video, captions for live video you stream yourself, and audio description when important information is only shown, not said.
  4. 0:28For audio only, provide a transcript.
  5. 0:32Automatic captions misspell names of people, streets and places, get numbers wrong, and drop punctuation.
  6. 0:39Before you publish, play the video with captions on and correct them.
  7. 0:44Say what you show.
  8. 0:45If a slide shows a new schedule or a phone number, a blind viewer misses it unless it is spoken.
  9. 0:51The new pickup day is Thursday.
  10. 0:52The number to call is on screen: 555-0100.
  11. 0:58A transcript is the full text of a video, posted with it.
  12. 1:02It helps people who cannot play video, braille readers, people searching a two hour meeting, and translation tools.
  13. 1:09Approved minutes are not a transcript.
  14. 1:11Post both when you have both.
  15. 1:14The same rules apply to video on your social media accounts.
  16. 1:18Check that captions are on and correct before you post.
  17. 1:22Your task.
  18. 1:23Find your most recent video.
  19. 1:25Play it with captions on for two minutes, and note every error.
  20. 1:28Correct them, or send the list to whoever posted it.
  21. 1:31If it shows information nobody reads aloud, add it as text beside the video.

Task

Your task at your institution

Quiz

4 questions. Choose one answer for each, then check them. Each answer shows its reason.

1. You post a recording of last night's council meeting. What does WCAG 2.1 AA require for its audio?
2. Your video platform made automatic captions. Are you done?
3. A video shows a slide with a new trash pickup schedule, and nobody reads it aloud. What is missing?
4. What does a transcript add beyond captions?
Show the answers
  1. B. Captions. Prerecorded video with audio needs captions under WCAG 2.1 (success criterion 1.2.2).
  2. B. No. Review and correct them, especially names and numbers. Automatic captions misspell names, places and numbers. A human review makes them usable.
  3. B. The schedule in the audio, a description, or on the page as text. Information shown only visually is lost to blind viewers. Say it aloud, describe it, or put it on the page.
  4. A. A text version people can read, search and use with a braille display. A transcript works without playing the video, including for people who are deafblind and use braille.