Creating Video and Multimedia Products That are Accessible to People With Sensory Benefits Matt Warren

Universal Design Important to create media with Universal Design from the beginning, rather than making media accessible on demand “It is also easier and less costly [to design content universally] than providing accommodations to viewers with sensory impairments once they need to access the media.”

Access for People Who are Deaf Common universal design is captioning Many people who are not deaf use captioning English Language Learners Beginning Readers Individuals With Learning Disabilities People in noisy settings Captioning is more common than sign language Sign language has challenges Different types of captioning Open Captioning Closed Captions Real-time Captions Special Considerations when using Captioning People use captioning to help them read better, I use it at home, watching videos on facebook, etc. Sign language challenges: technical language, not all know sign language, intricate movements on screen distract from programming Caption the exact wording of speakers, including slang and grammatical errors. • Only occasionally edit a few words to facilitate reading speed. • Caption sound effects that contribute to the understanding of the content. • Only occasionally change the location of captions on the screen. • Use a simple sans-serif font, such as Helvetica, and proportional spacing. • Ensure high contrast between the text and background. • Use italics to indicate the narrator, off-screen voices, sound effects, and other vital information presented aurally.

Access for People Who are Blind Visual content has to be in audio or tactile format Audio Description Producers should listen to video content without viewing to see if it is accessible Audio description is done after filming and editing. Description is done in pauses of the content Has to describe everything on scene Truck stop convenience stores sell audio descriptions of movies for over the road drivers

Legal Issues Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 Telecommunication Act of 1996 Section 713 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 508 ADA requires public programs and services to be accessible to people with disabilities unless doing so would result in undue burden. TV Decoder: 13 inches or larger have built in caption decoders Section 713 increases percentage of programming that is captioned. Gradual increase Section 508: fed gov develop, procure maintain and use electronice and information technology that is accessible to people with disabilities, Training and videos that impart an agency’s mission have to include captions Critical visual content must be audio described.

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