Digital accessibility is essential in ensuring that video and multimedia content is available to all users, including those with disabilities. With the rise of digital media as a primary mode of communication, it's crucial that these resources are designed to accommodate diverse needs, promoting equal access and opportunities for participation in the digital world. Following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and providing both captions and transcripts can help meet a broad range of user needs, making content accessible to a wider audience.
Basic accessibility requirements
- Pre-recorded video with audio (multimedia): To meet accessibility standards, this type of content requires both a transcript (a written version of the entire video) and synchronized captions.
- Live video with audio (multimedia): For live video, live captioning is required.
- Video only (or with just music): A transcript or an audio track describing the video is necessary.
- Pre-recorded audio only: A transcript is required.
- Live audio only: Captions are needed for live audio content.
Captions are text that appear on the video screen and change dynamically as the video plays. They can be either open (always visible) or closed (can be hidden). Captions include descriptions of important sounds, making them essential for viewers who are hard of hearing or deaf. The primary audience for captions is individuals who rely on this feature to access video content.
A transcript serves as a written version of the entire video, akin to a screenplay. It includes descriptions of important sounds and visual elements. The primary audiences for transcripts are visually impaired users and viewers with learning or cognitive disabilities.
What makes a good transcript?
A good video transcript for digital accessibility should include a text version of both speech and non-speech audio information, as well as text describing content that is only communicated visually. It's essential to ensure that transcripts are accurate and provide sufficient detail for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or have low vision, as well as for individuals with learning or cognitive disabilities.
How to create a transcript
Starting with auto-generated text is the fastest way to start the process of creating a transcript. You can generate a text file using Microsoft Word for the web. If your video is already posted on YouTube, you can copy and paste the auto-generated captions from there as your starting point. After you have your auto-generated text, a manual review will be required to ensure it fully matches the audio content of the video and to add any content that wasn’t spoken but appears on the screen. It usually takes about 6–8 minutes per 1 minute of video to create a fully edited transcript.
When creating your transcript, follow these formatting standards:
- Do not include timestamps. If your auto-generated file has timestamps, remove them.
- Use regular sentence structure and punctuation.
- Describe any unspoken (visual, text or audio) information that is contextually important, unless the narration within the video already summarizes it.
- Include line breaks at the end of a complete thought or section
- Identify speakersIdentify speakers by full name the first time, then last name only on subsequent references. If the speaker is a physician, follow our AP Style guide.
- If a speaker’s name is not given, refer to them neutrally as Narrator, Interviewer, Speaker, or another term that fits the context of their role in the video.
- Identify a change in speakers by starting a paragraph with the new speaker's name and a colon.
- Spell out any text presented on the screen when it is relevant
- Do not alter wording based on grammar, do edit out “ums”, etc.
- Look for special characters that do not paste correctly from copied content (e.g., quote marks, fractions, etc.)
Your transcript should follow these file type and naming conventions:
- Save your file as a simple text (.txt) file.
- Name your file as follows: youtubeid_TitleOfVideo.txt (e.g., r1d-Vy7mw40_BariatricSurgeryInformationSession.txt)
- Example transcript file
Example video
The video below shows an example of meeting digital accessibility requirements with captions and transcript, including audio descriptions.
