Accessibility

Video

Creating a Fully Accessible Video

Accessible video meets the needs of numerous groups of people and benefits everyone. These groups of people and situations include:

Deaf/hard of hearing
Visually impaired
Cognitive impairment
In a noisy environment
Non-native speakers
Using a device with poor sound quality and/or small screen
Recovering from a surgery or experiencing a temporary disability

Where are videos used?

Website
Social media
Embeded in email
Online course material

Note: Your fully accessible video will take time—plan ahead.

What goes into an accessible video?

Thoughtful Planning Plan for accessibility before you begin production.

Script: Plan for audio descriptions by having narrators or on-screen talent naturally describe key visual, actions, and on-screen text.
Visuals: Ensure high contrast between text/graphics and the background (minimum 4.5:1 ratio). Avoid using color as the only way to convey information. Film your video with proper lighting (natural light can be key).
Hazards: Do not use content that flashes more than three times per second to prevent seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy.

Subtitles and Captions

Subtitles are a written alternative to the speech/dialogue of a video, and captions describe any sounds or music required to understand the context of a video. These are often combined onto one textual narrative for the video.

The Basics:

The user must have the option to turn captions on/off based on their needs.
Identify all speakers.
Do not use burned-in captions.

Timing and Formatting:

No more than 3 lines of text, viewable for 3 to 7 seconds per frame.
Do not exceed 32 characters per line.
Set off non-speech sounds in brackets.
Position at the bottom-center of screen.
Users must be able to resize text up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
Use high-contrast colors (minimum 4:5:1) for on-screen text, titles, and graphics.

Accuracy:

Do not rely on auto-generated captions; always edit for accuracy.
- "St. Cloud State University" is often mispelled
- Correct spelling of people's names
Captions must be accurate and sync with the audio.
Spelling and grammar must be 99 percent accurate.
Use an easy-to-read sans serif font.
Do not paraphrase.

Audio description (AD) AD is additional voice-over (narration/commentary) that explains what is happening on screen. It should describe body language, expressions and movements; basically anything that's happening in the film, for those who cannot see it.

AD is required if the information is not presented in existing audio.
Currently, YouTube does not allow the option to add a second audio track so a second version of the video would need to be made and include the extra information via AD track.

Transcript

Provide a text transcript of the entire video, including dialogue and audio/visual elements.

Place the transcript near the video player so it is easily found.

Accessible Video Player Accessible video players offer the following:

Keyboard navigation - fully operable by keyboard
Screen reader compatibility
Autoplay can be disabled

The following players/platforms offer these features:

Kaltura (official video platform off Minnesota State)
YouTube

Testing Before you share out your video, test the following:

Do all the buttons work with just a keyboard? (play, pause, volume, etc.)
Are voices clear and volume consistent?
Can you toggle the captions on and off?

Video Example

As an informational video about a program, this Communication Sciences and Disorders video sets a good example:

Captions are edited to match what the speaker is saying when they are saying it
Captions are placed at the bottom-center of the screen
Captions can be turned on or off
A video transcript is available
The person in the video is speaking clearly and at a consistent volume
The person is clearly visible without too much background distraction

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