Captioning

About

Captions are text representations of the audio content of multimedia and video, including narration, dialogue, sound effects, and other audio information that are displayed in sync with the audio track. Captioning content is a means of providing access to multimedia and video that individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing may otherwise not have access to. Captions may also benefit individuals who are learning English as a second language, and provide increased comprehension and retention of material for all users.

Captioning Services	Description	Recommended User Examples
Remote Real-Time Captioning (Text Interpreting)	Can be provided in any environment that has an Internet connection. Our captionists will listen to your live event or class remotely and provide access for your client(s) or student(s) by real-time text interpreting of the spoken information. Text Interpreting is a meaning-based or summarized account of the spoken message. It includes significant information delivered by the speaker, without all of the extraneous nuances of spoken language, which may sometimes be difficult to understand by those with hearing loss or language-based disabilities. Notes of the session are sent to the student/recipient as an RTF document within 24 hours of the event.	Clients, students, trainees, or employees who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, have language-based learning disabilities, or ESL individuals
Remote Real-Time CART	Can be provided in any environment that has an Internet connection. Our captionists will listen to your live event or class remotely and provide access for your client(s) or student(s) in real-time. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided remotely when access to every single word is necessary. CART is a verbatim account of everything that is spoken. CART is most effective for providing access to late-deafened adults who are accustomed to hearing all the elements of spoken language or ESL individuals. Transcripts of the session are sent to the student/recipient as an RTF document within 24 hours of the event.	Clients, students, trainees, or employees who are late-deafened and accustomed to hearing all the elements of spoken language, or ESL individuals

Audio Products	Description	Reccomended User Examples
Captioned Media	AMAC-added captions to movies, podcasts, or clips created from your courses or programs. Captioned media is provided in the following formats: .wmv, .mov, .mpeg, or DVD (additional cost).	Users accessing your website or courses that may not have access to hearing the audio portions due to disability, environmental or technical limitations.
Transcripts	Written transcripts of audio only recordings (not fully accessible for video applications). Transcripts are provided in the following formats: .doc, PDF, .txt, RTF.	Users accessing your website or courses that may not have access to hearing the audio portions due to disability, environmental or technical limitations.
Professional Minute Writing	Provides a professional transcript of your event or meeting when the dialogue needs to be archived or made accessible for a later date. This product is provided only when you record your event or by remote internet connection. Minutes are provided in the following formats: .doc, PDF, .txt, RTF. Telephone connections are not possible.	Companies, organizations, or institutions desiring minutes of your meetings or events.

Principles

The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act was passed by Congress to update telecommunications protections for people with disabilities, specifically to ensure that accessibility laws keep pace with broadband technologies.  FCC.gov

Captions can be integrated into multimedia as a user-selectable option (closed) or permanently recorded along with the main audio or video (open). Closed captions may be toggled on and off by the user in a preferences or settings menu or with a button on the player interface. Open captions are always on and cannot be turned off.

Techniques

• Plan the inclusion of captions during the scripting and production of the video or multimedia.
• Follow accepted captioning guidelines, see DCMP Captioning Key
• Use a supported markup format such as SMIL or SAMI to integrate captions into multimedia presentations and videos posted on websites.

Resources

Twenty First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act

NCAM Multimedia Guidelines

National Association for the Deaf

WebAIM Real-time Captioning

NCAM Captioning Resources

Twenty First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act

Recommendations

Recommendations and suggestions from the AccessIT Community