SAMANTHA SAULD: So thank you all for joining us today
for this webinar entitled "Intro to Audio Description."
So my name is Samantha, and I'll be presenting today.
I'm a content marketing specialist here at 3Play Media,
and I write on all things accessibility.
If you have any questions we didn't get to during the Q&A,
please feel free to send me an email.
So during this presentation, we'll
cover what is audio description, how to create and publish
descriptions, quality standards, why you should describe,
the legal landscape around accessibility,
and finally, we'll end with integrations
and the 3Play plugin.
So let's start off with defining audio description.
So audio description is an accommodation for blind and low
vision viewers.
It's an audio track that narrates
the relevant visual information that's
contained within a video.
Typically, audio description is represented
[AUDIO OUT] AD icon, similar to the CC
icon for closed captioning.
So now, I'm going to show you an example of audio description.
I'll start by showing you a clip without descriptions.
While I play that, I'd like for you to close your eyes
and think about how much you can understand.
Think about what's happening in the clip
and feel free to share your experience in the chat window.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- Ah, ooh.
Hello.
[LAUGHS]
[SNIFFS]
Ah.
[SNEEZES]
[RATTLING]
[GASPS]
[END PLAYBACK]
SAMANTHA SAULD: All right, so I'm just
going to look in the chat and see
what you guys thought of it.
So what did you guys think?
How was the experience like without watching the screen?
Were you guys able to hear the audio OK?
So someone [AUDIO OUT] that they knew it was from Frozen,
"but I wasn't sure of anything else."
"No idea what was happening."
Yeah, so basically, without audio description,
this clip can be hard to understand
when you can't see what's going on,
especially since there's no dialogue.
Cool.
Yeah, all really great responses.
So the next clip I'm going to play is the same clip,
but instead, this version will have audio description.
So similar to the last example, close your eyes
and think about your experience.
Again, feel free to type anything you felt or noticed
in the chat window.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- From the creators of Tangled and Wreck It Ralph, Disney.
A carrot-nosed [INAUDIBLE] snowman
shuffles up to a purple flower peeping out of deep snow.
- Oh.
Hello.
[LAUGHS]
[SNIFFS]
- He takes a deep sniff.
[SNEEZES]
- His nose lands on a frozen pond.
A reindeer looks up and pants like a dog.
- [GASPS]
- Seeing the reindeer slip on the ice, the snowman--
SAMANTHA SAULD: Great.
So how was that experience like for you guys?
So some of you guys said, way better, much better.
So yeah, it was lot easier to understand,
and you guys can actually get a visual description
of what was going on.
So for me, it was easier to understand the clip
with audio description, and that's
what's so great about it.
It really allows you to get a full picture
of the visual information.
So as you just saw, audio description
narrates the relevant visual information.
It describes the characters, what the scene looks like,
and the actions that are going on.
It really paints an image of the visuals
for those who can't see the screen,
such as blind and low vision viewers.
So audio description has been compared to a sports broadcast.
With captions for a touchdown, it
would read, audience cheering.
However, the audio description would say,
he's passed the 10, 5, touchdown.
You could be in the kitchen with the game on in the living room
and still have a great sense of what's going on.
There are two types of audio description, standard
and extended.
The example that I showed you in the beginning
of the presentation used standard audio description.
And what this means is that the snippets of audio description
are inserted into the clip to fit within the natural pauses
of the original content.
But with a video that doesn't have any natural pauses,
this is where extended audio description would really
be necessary.
So extended audio description allows
you to actually add pauses to the source video
to make room for descriptions as needed.
Extended is really useful for videos
that have a lot of complicated content,
like an advanced physics lecture, which might
have very few natural pauses.
You can see several examples of extended
and standard audio description on our website.
So now, having watched a video with audio description,
you might be wondering how you actually create them.
So audio description is typically and traditionally
expensive, ranging anywhere from $15 to $75 per minute.
The higher cost is because there are
a lot of things that go into creating audio description.
For example, production time, recording, writing descriptions
into time codes, et cetera.
These things are time consuming and pretty
difficult to do on your own, although there are a few ways
to do so.
Just take into account that DIY methods are typically more time
consuming and expensive.
So for lectures and educational content,
you can have professors or narrators
narrate the visual information on their slides
or in the background as they're happening.
This is one of the easiest ways to cut costs.
You can create a text-only description,
but note that this will lose much of the cinematic detail
for the viewer.
You can also create a text-only description that is time coded
and fits into the spaces of the video.
If you're using Able Player, you can
set timings and add the description as a WebVTT track.
You can also take it a step further.
So once you've created a text description,
if you have good recording equipment and a video editing
software, you can record voice acted descriptions
and merge it with the source audio
and then output a second video with the description.
So let's talk about quality standards.
If you decided to go ahead and create descriptions
from scratch, you'll definitely want to consider quality.
The DCMP stands for the Described Captioned Media
Program.
It's funded by the US Department of Education
and administered by National Association of the Deaf.
It provides helpful guidelines and standards
to follow for audio description.
From the DCMP, we learn what to describe, when to describe,
and how to describe.
It's a great resource that I recommend everyone reference,
whether you're making your own description or outsourcing.
So let's practice.
I'm going to show you this GIF.
And I'd like everyone to describe it,
making sure to describe visual elements that
are most critical to the viewer's ability
to follow, understand, and appreciate
the context of the scene.
And in case you're not able to view this GIF,
I'll give a description of it in just a minute.
So you can just chat and let us know
how you guys would describe this.
Someone says, "precious corgi skateboarding
toward the camera."
That's great.
Anyone else?
"Corgi on a skateboard going towards the camera."
"A corgi skateboards towards the camera."
"A young pupper smiles at the camera."
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
That's nice.
Yeah, you guys all had really great descriptions.
So the description that I gave this GIF was,
"a brown and white corgi uses his hind legs
to slowly push himself while balancing his two front paws
on a moving skateboard."
So basically, all you have to do is
make sure that you're describing the people, animals,
in this case, or things, describe the visual action
and the movement, use complete sentences,
and most importantly, just tell the visual story of the scene.
So the DCMP has five main measures for quality.
A high quality description must be accurate, prioritized,
equal, appropriate, and consistent.
The DCMP description key is great,
and it's important to consider whether you're
doing your own descriptions or using a third party vendor.
You definitely want to be sure that vendors
follow these same quality standards as well.
So there's still a long way to go for audio description.
Currently, only a handful of platforms support it.
The current video players that support it
are Able Player, OzPlayer, Brightcove, JW Player, Ooyala,
and Kaltura.
Hopefully this list will grow.
But for now, there are some options
you can turn to for publishing audio description.
So how do you publish audio description?
So most players don't support audio description.
And if you're not using any of the platforms
that I just mentioned, then another way to publish
is to link a second version of your video
with the description, like the Frozen trailer example
I showed you earlier.
Second, there are a few players that
support a secondary audio track, where
users can select the audio description audio
for the same video source.
And some support this by swapping in a new source
video with the description.
Another way is that HTML5 natively supports
a WebVTT description track, just like with captions.
However, browser support and player support are lacking.
Additionally, audio description must
be readable by a screen reader.
And right now, Able Player is the only one
that reliably supports this.
Text-only merged transcript and descriptions
are good for deaf-blind viewers, but are not time synchronized.
So this would be like providing a transcript for a video.
And then lastly, 3Play Media has developed a keyboard and screen
reader accessible audio description plugin, which
allows your descriptions to play with the video player
without having to republish the video.
So there are a few ways that you can publish audio description.
So we've covered some of the basics of audio description.
But the next question is, why should we
describe our video content?
And to answer that question, we're
going to cover some of the benefits of audio description.
A lot of people wonder why you should describe
and what the benefits are.
So there are a number of benefits of audio description.
The number one benefit is accessibility, of course.
It's an accommodation for blind and low vision viewers.
And in 2015, the National Health Interview Survey
found that 23.7 million Americans, which is actually
about 10% of the US population, have
trouble seeing to some extent.
So audio description is a critical accommodation
for these viewers.
Another reason is to give flexibility
to view videos in eyes-free environments,
like the example of focusing on cooking while you're
watching something.
Audio description also helps auditory learners.
So about 20% to 30% of students retain information
best through sound.
Another benefit is that it helps with inattentional blindness,
which is when the viewer fails to recognize
visual cues in plain sight.
Audio description also helps with language development,
and of course, legal compliance.
And another benefit that's not mentioned on this slide
is that it assists those with autism
better understand emotional and social cues.
So now, I'm going to briefly cover some accessibility laws.
So Section 504 is a broad anti-discrimination law.
It applies to federal programs or agencies and programs
receiving federal funding, such as public libraries
and universities.
So per legal requirement, any covered entity
must make itself accessible, including
providing captioned videos for deaf or hard-of-hearing
individuals.
Section 508 was introduced in 1998
to require federal communications and information
technology be accessible.
So this law applies to federal programs or agencies,
but it's also applied to federally funded programs.
So audio description is a requirement
that is written into Section 508, which was recently
refreshed to include language from the WCAG 2.0 Level AA
guidelines.
The WCAG 2.0 Level AA guidelines are
from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines,
otherwise known as WCAG.
And this is the international standard for web accessibility.
There are three levels of WCAG, which are A, AA, and AAA,
which is the highest accessibility standard.
So because Section 508 references WCAG 2.0,
audio description is required for pre-recorded synchronized
video media.
WCAG also provides success criteria
for how to meet these requirements.
And it does allow for no audio description
if the visual information is articulated
in the audio of the source video.
Then please note that WCAG 2.1 is the most recent update,
and it's an extension of WCAG 2.0.
Audio description has gradually been
phased into television programs as part
of 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.
The requirement to describe TV programs
extends to the top 60 TV markets.
And the goal is to have 100% of TV described by this year.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or the ADA,
has five sections.
It's a broad anti-discrimination law
and prohibits disability discrimination.
It requires effective communication,
which means providing assistive technology
and services for content.
Title II specifically covers government entities
and the services, activities, and programs they provide.
These things must be accessible so as
to not discriminate against people with disabilities.
Title III applies to places of public accommodation,
such as restaurants, hotels, and schools,
but it has been extended and tested
against online businesses through several lawsuits,
mainly having to do with captioning.
There has been more and more action
in audio description for online video as well.
So there have been several lawsuits
tied to audio description.
Some notable ones are lawsuits against Netflix and Hamilton,
the musical.
Both were sued for not providing audio description
and not complying with accessibility laws.
Netflix now offers audio description for nearly all
of its original titles and select movies and TV shows,
which they license.
So they really stepped it up.
Hamilton the musical suit is still going on.
And although there has been talk of a settlement
where Hamilton would potentially agree
to describe their live shows, it's not completely
resolved [AUDIO OUT].
All right, so in this section, I'll
cover some of the audio description
integrations and our audio description process
here at 3Play.
So our goal is to make accessible video easy.
We have a number of different search plugins, integrations
that help simplify the process of creating accessible video.
And we also have an easy-to-use online account system,
where you can manage everything from one place.
But really, what we're working toward
is a one-stop shop for all your accessibility needs.
We're really innovating with audio description.
The cost and process of traditional audio description
can be insurmountable for many institutions,
but technology is helping to innovate the process.
So one place that we're really beginning
to change up the process is with the 3Play plugin,
which helps alleviate the difficulty of publishing
audio description.
And I'll get into that demo shortly.
So our audio description process at 3Play
consists of three steps.
First, we start with the time-coded transcript, which
would be used for captions.
From there, human describers go in and create descriptions
based on the content.
And then it's made into time-coded descriptions
using synthesized speech.
Now let's talk a little bit about the 3Play plugin.
The audio description embed portion of the 3Play plugin
allows you to add audio description to videos
without having to republish your audio or video files.
So it works with YouTube, Vimeo, Brightcove,
and several other video platforms.
From us, you'll either get an iframe or JavaScript
embed, which you can then host right on the website.
And finally, I just want to quickly show you
how simple our audio description plugin is.
I won't be able to play it currently,
but as you can see from this image,
you are allowed to change the volume.
OK, perfect.
We're just going to get this video up and running.
So basically, you're able to change the volume,
turn the captions off or on.
And it's just a really easy, intuitive interface
for any of your viewers.
So the audio is not playing, but you can see the captions here.
And then, in the brackets, that's
where the audio descriptions would be.
Cool.
Some things to keep in mind about publishing
with the 3Play plugin is that you
can publish this on YouTube videos
without any need to publish the second track.
And you can also directly publish on the web page
through a simple embed code.
And before we move on to the Q&A,
I just want to talk a little bit about our video accessibility
certification.
So later on this month, we're going to be rolling out
a certification course.
And it's basically to help anyone
who wants to learn more about video accessibility
and become certified in it gain the helpful information
that they need to do so.
So we'll have exclusive content.
We'll have a network of other enthusiasts along the way.
And just stay tuned.
And if you want more information on this,
you can visit www.3playmedia.c om/certification.
Like I said, it's not up and running yet,
but we'll send you an email with any updates.
So now we can move on to Q&A. Does anyone have any questions?
So the first question is, "what is the cost
for using the 3Play service?"
And can you use audio description
without using 3Play?"
Right now, you do have to have your files captioned
or transcribed in order to use audio description
because that's just a part of our process.
So as far as cost, we do have more information
on our website.
But like I mentioned, using technology,
we've been able to bring down the costs down
to $9 per minute for a standard audio description and about $14
per minute for extended audio description.
And as I mentioned during the presentation,
traditional audio description costs can run from $15 to $75
per minute.
So with our process, we've been able to really bring down
this cost quite significantly.
The next question is, "are there any legal requirements
or recommendations for voice type?"
So there are no legal requirements or recommendations
for voice type.
However, it is suggested that audio description should
be distinguishable from other voices,
but not jarring or distracting.
So for example, you may want to use a male voice
if you have other female voices in the source content or maybe
an older sounding voice if you have a younger sounding voice
in the source content as well.
The next question is, "would it confuse people
if there is also audio playing during the description?"
So yeah, that is possible.
And this is why there are standards and a prioritization
to alleviate any confusion.
So this helps to understand where
to place audio description and what voice to use.
So it must be distinguishable, and like I mentioned, not
jarring.
Another thing to note is that it's typically best practice
to use language or vocabulary that
is at the same level as the source content.
Someone is asking if the plugin is
compatible with the Canvas LMS.
And yes, it is.
With the 3Play plugin and the audio description feature
of this plugin, you can easily embed this in a web page
or in any LMS system, including Canvas.
So absolutely, you can add audio description to your LMS system.
Next question is, "how does 3Play hire audio describers?"
So if you're familiar with our captioning service, all of our
describers our trained and go through a rigorous process.
We do use the DCMP description key standards
and make sure that all of our describers
understand best practices, quality, and rules
for prioritizing what to describe, how to describe,
and when to describe.
So we do have a very strict policy and training
to make sure that we have the best descriptions possible.
"Is the plugin accessible with screen readers?"
Yes, it's keyboard and screen reader accessible.
Next one is, "can you turn the audio description off
and on so when you embed on a web page
it doesn't show immediately?"
Yes.
So with the 3Play plugin, the user
has the control to use the AD icon.
And they can even control the volume of the audio description
as well.
The final question I have for you guys is,
"is audio description and captioning
of videos required in WCAG 2.1?"
So yes.
WCAG 2.1 encompasses everything within WCAG 2.0 and then
plus a couple of new requirements
that talk about mobile and user experience as well.
So we'll take actually just one more question.
So the next one is, "do you require the CC file in order
to produce the AD?"
Yes.
So the initial captioning transcript
lets our describers know where the pauses are, so it's easier
to create the descriptions.
OK, that's all I have for you guys today.
If you guys have any more questions,
please feel free to send us an email.