Closed captions, live captions, audio descriptions, and transcripts are five primary tools video creators can use to make their videos more accessible and compliant.
- Captions that are closed
Closed captioning is a written representation of a video's audio. They're great for the deaf and hard-of-hearing because they anticipate viewers won't be able to hear the audio.
They are mostly comprised of speech, but they also include non-speech features like speaker identifications and sound effects — all of which are essential to understanding the plot of any video!
- Captions in Real-Time
Closed captions are similar to live captions, except they are used for real-time media such as a live webinar or meeting, a fitness class, or a virtual school.
They ensure that your live events are accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing people and that they are more interesting.
Automatic speech recognition (ASR) or a human stenographer can be used to make live captions.
- Descriptive audio
Then there's the audio description. It's an audio track that narrates the video's key visual information in a straightforward and concise manner. It's an excellent option for viewers who are blind or have low vision.
Audio description, unlike captions, implies that the audience cannot see the video. As a result, it describes the most crucial visual information required to comprehend the video.
Standard and extended audio descriptions are the two forms of audio descriptions. Standard audio description inserts descriptions into a video's natural pauses. On the other hand, extended audio description purposefully stops the original movie to add descriptions.
- Written transcripts
The process of converting speech or audio into a written text is known as transcription.
Transcripts are merely the text with no time information, whereas closed captions are time-coded to coincide with a video.
They're especially beneficial for audio-only content, such as podcasts, but they can also be used to supplement captioning.
While transcription is a terrific way to make films more accessible, it isn't sufficient in and of itself... As a result, it should not be used in place of captions.
- Video Player That Is Easy To Use
Last but not least, you'll want to choose a video player that's easy to use.
This means that video accessibility features such as captions, transcripts, and audio explanations should be supported by the video platform.
Accessibility capabilities such as keyboard navigation, speech recognition, and so on should be included in the video player.
Zoom is an accessible video platform that includes features such as captioning, keyboard navigation, and more.
Why Should Video Creators Be Concerned About Accessibility
There are numerous reasons why video creators should be concerned about accessibility. Although accessibility is a significant issue in and of itself, there are additional compelling advantages that may impact your selection.
Extend your reach
Making your movies accessible has the potential to increase the number of people who see them. There are nearly 1 billion disabled people on the planet. This is the number of people you are excluding from your video content every single day.
It's a frequent assumption that individuals with disabilities don't appreciate or want to engage with video content, but this couldn't be further from the truth – they do! Unfortunately, if a website is inaccessible, 71% of persons with disabilities will abandon it right away. When videos are made more accessible, more people will be able to enjoy your material.
The greater the number of people who engage with your material, the more likely they are to become customers. After-tax disposable income for disabled working-age Americans is expected to be $490 billion.
Improve video SEO:
Including video accessibility aids such as captions and transcripts has been shown to improve SEO. Because search engines are unable to view video, subtitles assist search bots in crawling the text in order to find certain keywords.
According to a survey by Digital Discovery Networks, captioned YouTube videos received 13.48 per cent more views in the first two weeks.
Increase Brand Awareness:
According to Hubspot, 54% of consumers want to see videos from brands they like. Brand recognition has increased by 54 per cent for companies that use video.
Consumers want to support brands that value inclusion and accessibility now more than ever, making accessibility another tool to make your brand stand out.
Offer a Better User Experience:
Video accessibility allows viewers to choose how they want to consume content, whether it's in a sound-sensitive environment, while multitasking, or because they have different learning styles.
Video Accessibility is the Future:
As our society becomes more dependant on technology, the video will continue to be an important element of how we communicate and share information.
Make sure that whatever form of video material you develop is available to all viewers!