Techniques for Creating Accessible, Closed Captioned Web-Based Video California State University - Northridge 21st Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference Los Angeles, California March 22, David Klein K. Fritz Thompson

Captioning Definitions Closed captions Closed captions Captions can be turned on/off by user Captions can be turned on/off by user Separate track in video Separate track in video Often, outside video area Often, outside video area TV and Web different TV and Web different Open captions Open captions Captions always present Captions always present Embedded in video Embedded in video Subtitles Subtitles In UK, used synonymously for closed or open captioning In UK, used synonymously for closed or open captioning In U.S. refers to language translation In U.S. refers to language translation Transcription Transcription Text rendering of the audible portion of an event Text rendering of the audible portion of an event Audio Description Audio Description Verbal description of the salient visual parts of a video Verbal description of the salient visual parts of a video

Process - Transcribing Audio or Video High quality audio makes better movies and better transcripts High quality audio makes better movies and better transcripts Transcribe Transcribe Speaker identification Speaker identification Nonverbal elements: [Laughter], [Inaudible] Nonverbal elements: [Laughter], [Inaudible] Transcript saved in text format Transcript saved in text format Plain.txt for caption file Plain.txt for caption file Turn off smart quotes, other autocorrect options (Word) Turn off smart quotes, other autocorrect options (Word) Smart quotes, Smart quotes, Curly apostrophes Curly apostrophes Em dash Em dash En dash – En dash –

Process - Precaptioning Steps Text is broken up into caption-sized chunks Text is broken up into caption-sized chunks Based on Captioned Media Program guidelines (but note that these are for TV) Based on Captioned Media Program guidelines (but note that these are for TV) Caption timing software (MAGpie, HiCaption, or text editor) Caption timing software (MAGpie, HiCaption, or text editor)MAGpie HiCaptionMAGpie HiCaption Transcribe directly or import prepared text files Transcribe directly or import prepared text files Attach time codes to text Attach time codes to text Export Export Plain text Plain text SAMI SAMI QuickTime SMIL QuickTime SMIL RealPlayer SMIL RealPlayer SMIL

Captioning with MAGpie – Activity Part 1 Handout: MAGpie Part 1 - Attach Time Codes Handout: MAGpie Part 1 - Attach Time Codes Objective: Modify a transcript to become caption text. Objective: Modify a transcript to become caption text.

Captioning with MAGpie – Activity Part 2 Export caption files Export caption files Objective: Based on the caption text created in the last activity, generate three files that will be used to caption movies in further activities. Objective: Based on the caption text created in the last activity, generate three files that will be used to caption movies in further activities.

Caption File Contents Caption text Caption text Time codes for synchronization with video Time codes for synchronization with video Text formatting Text formatting Font and font size Font and font size Carriage returns Carriage returns Bolding, colors, etc. Bolding, colors, etc. Speakers Speakers Language support Language support

Caption File – QuickTime Open your QuickTime caption file (csun2006_captions.txt) Open your QuickTime caption file (csun2006_captions.txt) Note use of curly brackets Note use of curly brackets Heading Heading {QuickTime Text} {QuickTime Text} Timescale Timescale Font/font size Font/font size Background and text color Background and text color Justification Justification Time codes Time codes QuickTime Standards HH:MM:SS.DD QuickTime Standards HH:MM:SS.DD Caption text Caption text

Caption File – SAMI Open your SAMI caption file (csun2006.smi) Open your SAMI caption file (csun2006.smi) XML XML Header Header Style tags Style tags Fonts Fonts Colors Colors Text alignment Text alignment Margins Margins Body Body Time codes (SYNC tags) Time codes (SYNC tags) Speakers Speakers Language Language Captions Captions

Break? Take 15 minutes