Overview
This article helps students, faculty, and staff understand the meaning, purpose, and best practices of captions and transcripts on video and audio to help meet digital accessibility standards in their content. It provides tips and more resources. Always refer to ADA digital accessibility standards for the most up-to-date compliance requirements.
What Are Captions, Audio Descriptions, and Transcripts?
Captions display dialogue, music, and sound effects in written format on videos. Audio descriptions add spoken explanations of important visual details, helping clarify what is happening on screen. Transcripts provide a text version of the media content, making it easy to review, search, or use materials in text based formats. These tools make audio and video content accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.
Best Practices
Source: Section508.gov – Captions and Transcripts
Captions
- Captions must be 95%+ accurate. Unedited captions don’t meet digital accessibility standards.
- Synchronize captions with the audio so text appears at the same time as speech or sounds.
- Use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Include all dialogue and important sounds.
- Keep captions on screen long enough for viewers to read.
- Remove captions when no meaningful sounds occur.
- Use a consistent style for identifying speakers, sound effects, and music.
Audio Descriptions
- Explain important things viewers need to know but cannot hear.
- Describe actions, scene changes, and text shown on screen.
- Add descriptions during pauses in speech when possible. Provide extended audio descriptions with a separate track when needed.
- Use clear, simple, and accurate language.
- Do not repeat information that is already explained through audio.
- Make sure descriptions match what is happening on screen.
- Provide audio descriptions in a way that is easy to turn on or access.
Transcripts
- For audio-only content such as podcasts, include all dialogue and important sounds.
- For video content, describe important visual elements.
- Make transcripts available in the same location as the original content.
- Provide transcripts in an accessible format.
How to Create Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Description
Kaltura Mediaspace is the recommended video platform for all students, faculty, and staff. It automatically generates captions and transcripts (which must be edited for accuracy) and includes built‑in tools for trimming and editing. You can also order professional captions and audio descriptions.
Still Need Help?
IT Solutions primarily supports digital accessibility for academic and course-related materials including document accessibility, captioning and transcription services. Support for other content may be available if time allows, with costs applying to non-course materials. Submit a ticket to request IT Solutions services