Video/animations - audio descriptions

This is a technique for testing:

WCAG 2.0: Guideline 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded): An alternative for time-based media or audio description of the prerecorded video content is provided for synchronized media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such. Understanding Guideline 1.2.3

Overview

"Audio descriptions provide short pieces of spoken information to supplement the existing sound track of a media clip. This spoken information describes important visual events necessary to allow understanding of the media by someone who can only hear it. The number and extent of each individual audio description depends on the complexity of the visual component of the video." Skills for Access.

The checks used for Web2Access sites are very basic and it should be noted they are not ideal. Offering alternatives for multimedia such as animations or rich video films with action but perhaps no explanatory dialogue is not easy to check quickly and a wide variety of scenes can rarely be adequately explained with text descriptions. Videos often have to be watched all the way through to make judgements about the quality of the explanatory notes.

Method

There are really no options but to check manually for alternative representations for multimedia content.  Alternative text for images can be checked automatically when they are included within the code as has been described under Image ALT Attributes.

Videos, animations and Flash content etc require audio descriptions or audio and text descriptions.  The transcript or text description is usually seen below the video or as part of the content. There are times when an audio file is supplied separately and in addition to the text.

Advice