What do Mamma Mia & Back to the Future III have in common?
Oh, 'Mamma Mia', set on a colourful Greek island, a young woman about to be married discovers that any one of three men could be her father. She invites all three to the wedding without telling her mother, Donna, who was once the lead singer of Donna and the Dynamos. Meanwhile, stranded in 1955, Marty McFly receives written word from his friend, Doctor Emmett Brown' Doc', with his DeLorean time machine. Using technology, Marty and Emmett have a way to send the two of them 'Back to the future.
What do they have in common? Both these great movies are accessible with captions, subtitles and audio descriptions! Audio description is not available in all movies.
Near 80% of LinkedIn and Facebook users are watching videos on Silent. I watch Netflix with Captions to turn the volume down late at night.
In understanding the needs of our employees and learners, we are continually getting better at planning and designing with accessibility in mind to ensure better experiences for all.
This Clever Creativity article explores Audio Description & Captions.
So, what is Audio Description (AD)?
Close your eyes and watch a movie, you may hear the dialogue, but you don't know what is visually happening. Audio description is the auditory narration of visual representations.
5 Movies to Watch with Audio Description
Avatar
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Frozen
Finding Nemo
Dumplin
This is one of the best videos explaining Audio Description (AD), a worthwhile 2-minute watch.
When planning your videos, think about Audio Description AD as an option.
"the one argument for accessibility that doesn't get made nearly often enough is how extraordinarily better it makes some people's lives. How many opportunities do we have to dramatically improve people's lives just by doing our job a little better." ― Steve Krug
What is the difference between Closed Captions & Subtitles?
They are called "closed captions (CC)" because they are hidden until you select to show them on the screen. While the terms "subtitles" and "captions" are often used interchangeably, it's worth pointing out the difference.
Closed Captions are intended for viewers who can't hear dialogue and any other relevant audio.
Identify who is speaking
Music descriptions and lyrics
Sound effects descriptions
It's worth mentioning there is 'Open Captions'; this is when the viewer does not have the option to turn off captions, so the text is permanently on the screen. I 'burn in' captions for videos hosted on a platform that can't turn them on/off. For example, playing a video at a conference, you may want to 'burn in' your captions into the video embedded in PowerPoint; this will enable those in the audience that need captions to enjoy the video too.
Subtitles are for viewers who can't understand the spoken language but can hear the sound effects.
Translates spoken dialogue
It does not include sound effects descriptions
What do you need to add Captions or Subtitles?
The most common method is having an 'SRT File' of the audio or using a video editing tool/platform that auto-generates the captions.
SRT (. srt) stands for "SubRip Subtitle" file and is the most common subtitle/caption file format. It's a plain-text file that contains the subtitle information, including start and stops times next to the text.
If approx. 80% of LinkedIn & Facebook users watch videos on Silent; we should be loading our LinkedIn videos with captions unless you are happy with 80% of people guessing what you are saying.
Thanks for reading this blog. I hope by reading this article you are able to pay it forward and educate someone else on what is Audio Description, Closed Captioning to support more Accessible videos and a better experience for all.
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