Captions & Audio Description for Accessibility and Better Experiences

What do Mamma Mia & Back to the Future III have in common? Both are accessible.?

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 the 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, but if you want more extensive accessibility run down, send me a LinkedIn inbox, and we can organise a quick session, I'm happy to help. I should mention, Marina Arshavskiy, an eLearning Instructional Designer who has written a few awesome books and I have started Ignite Digital Learning Program. The program has online courses and live sessions for six months to ask us anything for your current projects or if you want to build your capability in digital learning or Instructional Design. If you or anyone you know is interested, please pass the information on, it's much appreciated.

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.

Here is a screenshot of my Netflix. Check out the different options found on 'some' movies like Mamma Mia and Back to the Future III.

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 stop times next to the text. Here is an example of a short video of mine:

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.?

Before I end this article, it's worth pointing out where to load your SRT file on LinkedIn! When you add a video to your LinkedIn post, it has the option to add SRT file; see?the below image.

If you think it's worth me doing more on captions and 'how to' let me know :)?

Thanks for reading this Clever Creativity Article! I hope by reading this article you are able to pay it forward and educate someone else on what is Audio Description, Closed Captioning, an SRT file and how to add Captions to LinkedIn videos to support more Accessible videos and a better experience for all.

If you are interested in learning more about Digital Learning & eLearning welcome to the Ignite Digital Learning Program, click below to find out more or reach out to my via LinkedIn.