Video & Audio

Transcripts are text versions of audio or video content. They serve as an alternative to viewing the video or listening to the audio. Transcripts can be provided as a Word document, a link to a SharePoint site, or an accessible PDF. 

For audio presentations such as podcasts, this is the only method used to provide content access for individuals who are unable to hear it.

In contrast, videos should be captioned, ensuring that text is synchronized with the video content. When captions are provided, transcripts are not mandatory.

Transcripts are not required for small or one-on-one internal meetings; only for content intended for the public, a large audience, and online or recorded courses and trainings, or where audio with captions are not available. 

Benefits of Transcripts

• Transcripts serve as an essential resource for individuals who are unable to hear audio presentations, ensuring access to content.

• They offer accessibility to those who are deaf-blind—such as users of Braille devices—where captions may not be sufficient.

• Transcripts also assist those with limited internet bandwidth or technical difficulties that prevent media playback.

• Additionally, transcripts facilitate efficient content retrieval, allowing users to search or scan information rapidly and effectively.

Captions display text for spoken content and important audio cues in sync with video playback. Users can usually turn captions on or off using the CC button in their media player.

Providing captions is essential to ensure that audio content remains accessible for the following groups:

• individuals who are deaf or have hearing deficiencies,
• individuals for whom English is a second language,
• individuals who benefit from multimodal information (audio and text),
• individuals unfamiliar with the terminology used in the video,
• individuals with muted devices, and
• individuals in noisy settings where audio cannot be heard effectively.

Techniques

YouTube

YouTube uses automatic speech recognition to create captions for most videos. Review these captions for accuracy before sharing, and make quick corrections directly in YouTube. Follow the Edit Captions instructions on making minor revisions to captions found on YouTube's help page.

For videos that require substantial editing for accuracy, have a lengthy duration, or involve other relevant factors, it may be more practical in terms of cost or time to utilize a vendor who supplies caption files. The video owner can upload accurate captions by following the Add subtitles & captions steps on YouTube’s help page.

Panopto

By default, Panopto will generate automatic speech recognition (ASR) captions. The captions may need to be edited before sharing. Use this link from Panopto for additional assistance: How to add ASR Captions into a Video (Panopto). Go to aub.ie/panopto to record videos or add captions to videos.

Canvas

In Canvas, upload a Panopto video file directly to your course. 

Additional Resources

• Captioning Key – Provides captioning guidelines
• Panopto for Auburn - record and caption videos

Captions for live online public meetings, events, and classes can be provided in one of two ways:

• Automated Live Captions: Many online meeting platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, offer live captioning of spoken text through automatic speech recognition (ASR). This functionality is recommended for large or public meetings, virtual trainings, and online lectures. If a participant requests captions as an accommodation, human live captioning should be provided, as necessary.

• Human Live Captions: When captions are required to accommodate individuals from the Deaf or Hard of Hearing community, they must be delivered through a captioning service using human transcribers rather than automated systems.

Techniques

Microsoft Teams

For more information about live captions in Teams, review the Microsoft help page: Use live captions in Microsoft Teams meetings. 

Zoom

See Managing Automated Captions as the Host of a Meeting. Captions are not required for one-on-one meetings or small internal meetings. They should be used for meetings with a large audience, intended for the public, and as part of a virtual or recorded academic course or training. 

YouTube

Live stream captions can be added on YouTube. For more information, review the YouTube Live Caption Requirements available on their support page. 

An audio description, also referred to as video description, visual description, descriptive video, or simply description, is a narration track that communicates important visual content not available through audio alone. Producing an effective audio description involves understanding how much information should be provided, choosing precise words, and timing the narration appropriately.

Individuals who are blind can access much of a video's content through its audio. When a video includes visual information (i.e. on-screen text, actions not reflected in the audio), providing descriptions of this content is necessary. This practice assists people who cannot see the video due to blindness or low vision and can also be beneficial for viewers who are visually engaged elsewhere or listening while multitasking.

Not sure how to identify need for a description? Close your eyes (if you're sighted) and listen to the audio in your video. Are there any important details missing? Rate the video's need for an audio description based on this scale:

• High: nothing makes sense with audio alone
• Medium: video is understandable in general, but critical details are lost
• Low: some information is lost, but it isn't critical

Prioritizing Videos for Audio Description

Prioritize audio descriptions for videos with the highest impact where visual information is critical, such as those on public websites and widely used course materials. Give preference to videos likely to be accessed by blind or low vision users, those with high view counts, or recently published content.

How to Avoid an Audio Description

An audio description can be avoided by ensuring all important visual information is communicated verbally. Check out Integrated Described Video (IDV) from Accessible Media, Inc. (AMI), which includes a series of high-quality videos produced to educate on the benefits of integrated description.

Technique

Panopto

Panopto creators have the option to include audio descriptions, which are read aloud by the media player at specific times in the video when a brief description of visual content is provided. If this feature is activated on the media player, only the audio description will be read aloud.

For instructions and additional information, review Panopto’s help page: How to Add Audio Descriptions.

Other Media Platforms

Audio descriptions are not supported natively on many other media platforms. A typical solution is to create an audio-described version separately and offer its link together with the original video.

Additional Information

• Audio Description of Visual Information – a comprehensive guide from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative

• Integrated Described Video (IDV) from Accessible Media, Inc. (AMI) – provides a series of high-quality videos produced to educate on the benefits of integrated description (i.e., scripting and producing video that avoids the need for audio description)