WCAG SC 1.2.3 focuses on helping people who have trouble watching videos or other media that play in sync, like those who are visually impaired or experiencing sort of blindness.
To ensure prerecorded videos with essential visual content are accessible through audio descriptions or full text transcripts.
Use Audio Descriptions: Integrate audio descriptions where possible to provide description of visual content. Provide spoken descriptions of key visual elements during video pauses. This includes actions, scene changes, and on-screen text.
Extended Audio Descriptions: While incorporating spoken descriptions during pauses may pose challenges, extended audio descriptions can address this issue. This can involve creating a second version of the video with extended audio descriptions to ensure that visually-impaired audiences can perceive visual cues not conveyed through the original video's audio.
Provide Text Transcripts: Offer comprehensive text transcripts for videos, detailing all visual context, actions, expressions, non-speech sounds, and dialogues in sequence. This ensures that visually impaired users can interact with the text and convert it to speech using their assistive technology software. If the transcript is located in a separate window, ensure to provide a link with a description.
Exception - Consider Content Type: Videos relying solely on sound, such as interviews or speeches, may not need audio descriptions.
Example: A university creates educational videos for online courses. These videos contain important visual content, such as diagrams, text on screen, and demonstrations.
These online videos created by the university contain important visual content, such as diagrams, text on screen, and demonstrations. Although subtitles are provided, descriptions of emotional expressions, diagrams, and on-screen text are not included in the audio.
The university can resolve it in two ways:
Creating extended audio descriptions for each video can be helpful. Sometimes, it's hard for narrators to give enough details in short pauses. Making a second version of the video with more descriptions can make it easier for blind people to understand the content. The audio description should include specific details about important visual elements. For instance, they might say, "The professor is pointing to a detailed diagram on the board, showing the flow of a chemical reaction with arrows."
Alternatively, the university provides a detailed text transcript for each video, describing all visual elements and non-speech sounds.
The transcript is located below the video element, and including the following:
Scene: Chemistry Lab
Professor: "Today, we'll discuss the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen."
Visual: Professor points to a diagram on the board
Transcript: "The professor points to a diagram of a chemical reaction on the board. The diagram shows the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, with arrows indicating the flow of the reaction."