Audio and Video

Requirements

UMKC must provide equally effective communication for people with disabilities. To provide equal access, staff, faculty and UMKC constituents should provide accurate captions for all videos.

For requests for student accommodations, contact the ADA coordinator.

  • Captions must be available with pre-recorded and live video content
  • Audio-only content, such as podcasts, must have an accurate text transcript
  • The text transcript must be an accessible document, preferably HTML
  • If you provide a text transcript in other formats, such as a .TXT file, the transcript/link must be under or close to the audio player
  • Autogenerated captions must be reviewed by a human for accuracy
  • Allow viewers to turn off sound that automatically plays for over 3 seconds

Accessible Video and Audio Creation Methods

Captions

Captions are text-based descriptions of the video’s dialogue, including speaker identification and other relevant audio information (e.g., music or sound effects). The text typically appears at the bottom of the screen but may be placed in different locations. Captions are synchronized with the media for people who cannot hear the spoken words. Some captions are machine-generated and require human editing to ensure accessibility compliance.

Captioning tools

Self-generated caption tips

  • Work from a script to make creating a transcript or captions easier
  • Incorporating descriptions of visual information directly into the main audio content is simpler than adding audio descriptions (AD) afterward.

Caption checklist

  • Prerecorded videos (e.g., YouTube, etc.) with spoken words
    • Is there a closed caption (CC) button on the media player to turn captions on?
    • Are there captions when the CC button is on?
    • Are the captions accurate?
      • Autogenerated captions must be reviewed by a human for accuracy
    • Is the equivalent of the spoken words provided?
      • No misspellings and mistakes (spacing, proper names, punctuation, etc.)
    • No timing issues. The captions appear at approximately the same time as the audio is available
  • Does the video have the visual information needed to understand what the video is communicating?
    • If yes, are descriptions of visual information a part of the audio content, or are audio descriptions (AD) present?

Captioning live events

Live captioning your event provides access and supports attendees’ engagement. Captions help everyone, regardless of language fluency or momentary distraction. The cost of captioning is the responsibility of the event organizer. It is best to budget this cost for every event. 

  • Choose a captioning company
    • The companies can answer questions like “How do I?” and “How does it work?” They will tell you their availability, the best fit for the job, the cost and any other details to make your event accessible.
    • It’s unlikely that the captioning company will have to talk to the technical people on this side of the internet connection for large events like commencement. Find out who that person is for your department or event. If you’re having an event in a dedicated event space, confirm that reservations staff or event staff know how to set captioning up and have it ready the day of the event.
  • Display the captions
    • Will you display captions on a screen in a venue? The bigger, the better if it’s a large event. Sightlines are important. You want the audience to see the captions as they watch whatever is happening on stage.
    • Turning their heads to be able to see the captions elsewhere does not provide equal access.
      Captions live stream is an option to consider.
  • Sharing live audio with the captioning company
    • How will the captioning company hear the audio? There are many options for this, so you don’t need a state-of-the-art sound system for a successful event. For example, iPads have great microphones built into them. Most companies use a platform like Skype to get the audio.

Transcripts

Transcripts are a text version of the multimedia (spoken words and visual information). Transcripts help users interact with the media content using assistive technologies such as refreshable Braille devices.

Audio Description

Audio description is an additional audio track or narration that describes and gives context for essential visual information in media and live productions.

Communication Access Real-time Translation

Communication access real-time translation (CART) provides captions of spoken text and sound in real-time. Captions appear on a large screen, via a laptop or mobile device, or streamed to an Internet browser for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions make multimedia accessible to those with vision and hearing impairments and learning disabilities. They also assist people viewing videos in noisy environments, those with difficulty concentrating, textual learners, and individuals not fluent in English. Creating accurate closed captions and transcripts to meet accessibility compliance requires specific knowledge and time. Hiring a professional video captioning service is cost-effective, provides a quick turnaround, and meets compliance. 

Integrated Technologies Closed Captioning

Important Note: Autogenerated caption services may not meet student accommodations requirements. For more information on student accommodations, contact the ADA coordinator.

Panopto

Panopto is a lecture capture and presentation recording tool integrated into Canvas.

Adding closed captioning for Panopto

Zoom

Zoom is an enterprise video communications platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars. Enable Zoom live transcriptions for meeting participants to view live captions and real-time transcripts.

Zoom accessibility 

Contracted Service Providers

The university has contracted vendors that provide human transcription, captioning and Communication access real-time translation (CART) services.

The data classification level (DCL) of the data being captioned, transcribed, or made audible per this contract must be limited to DCL1 (public) and DCL2 (sensitive) data. The university does not approve these services for DCL3 (restricted) or DCL4 (highly restricted) data.

While units are not required to use contracted vendors, it is highly encouraged. By choosing a contracted vendor, you ensure projects will adhere to all university standards and requirements — including the IT compliance standards — and eliminate the need for a formal RFP, significantly expediting your timeline. The purchasing guidelines apply if you do not use one of these vendors.

Resources