Captioning Video for Accessibility

1. Captioning Video for Accessibility • Holly Johnson, MFA • Auxiliary Aids and Services Coordinator • Accessibility Resources • haj2@buffalo.edu • Caryn Sobieski-Vandelinder, EdM • SPHHP Distance Learning Coordinator • sobieski@buffalo.edu Revised November 2, 2011

2. Overview of Captioning Video for Accessibility Why is captioning important? Who benefits? Formats decoded: closed vs. open, web vs. DVD, captions vs. subtitles Synchronizing captions with video Examples of captioning software Transcription services Demo of captioning software

3. What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? Civil rights law enacted by Congress in 1990 The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications Title II requires that State and local governments give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all of their programs, services, and activities (e.g. public education)

4. ADA Mandates “Effective Communication” • What does it mean for communication to be “effective”? Simply put, “effective communication” means that whatever is written or spoken must be as clear and understandable to people with disabilities as it is for people who do not have disabilities. This is important because some people have disabilities that affect how they communicate. • ADA Tool Kit Chapter 3

5. ADA is Different from the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 504 and Section 508 are Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section 504 is designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education Section 508 was passed in 1998. It requires access to the Federal government's electronic and information technology and provides a more specific list of “benchmarks”

6. New York State Information Technology Policy • More and more states are aligning their requirements with Section 508, including New York State • State University system included in Policy • See UB Accessibility Statement, which in turn links to NYS policy NYS-P08-005 • http://www.buffalo.edu/home/accessibility.shtml

7. Section 508 Requires Video Captions According to 508, transcripts may be sufficient for audio-only content, but text "alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation” (section 508 §1194.22 (b)) http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm Imagine watching a foreign film with a printed transcript in hand. Would you understand it all?

8. Who Benefits from Video Captions? • People who are • Deaf or hard of hearing (due to disability or age) • Learning to read • Speakers of foreign languages • Learning disabled or cognitively impaired • Captions increase attention, comprehension and retention • Everyone! • TVs in noisy restaurants, bars, at the airport, etc. • Surprisingly effective use in “literal video” of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart: http://youtu.be/ovEDhFfgdOo • National Captioning Institute (NCI) http://www.ncicap.org/edu.asp

9. Closed vs. Open Captions Open captions always are in view and cannot be turned off Closed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer On TVs, special devices called decoders must be available in order to view closed captions. Since 1993, decoders have been required to be built into TVs 13 inches or larger sold in the United States. When videos are accessed on the internet, they also may have captions that are open or closed. Closed captions appear only when the user agent (e.g., a media viewer player, like Windows Media Player) supports them. http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?50

10. Formats for Different Delivery Systems • Captioning formats vary depending on the delivery system • TV broadcast: Line 21 • Web: formats will vary by the types of media files and players • DVDs may treat captions like subtitles and refer to them as such; can also include Line 21 file

11. Common Closed Captioning Formats SRT – This is the most common subtitle/caption file format. It is a text format that originated in the DVD-ripping software SubRip and stands for “SubRip Subtitle” file. SBV – This is a YouTube caption file format that stands for “SubViewer.” It’s what you get when you download captions from YouTube. It’s a text format that is very similar to SRT. DFXP – This is a common format used for captioning Flash video. It’s a timed-text format that was developed by W3C and stands for “Distribution Format Exchange Profile”. SCC –Popular standard used for encoding closed captions onto DVD. It’s also used for iTunes, iPods, iPhones, Sonic Scenarist, DVD Studio Pro, Encore, Final Cut Pro, and other software. It was developed by Sonic and stands for “Scenarist Closed Caption.” SMI or SAMI – Used for Windows Media video or audio. It was developed by Microsoft and stands for “Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange.” CPT.XML – XML format used for encoding captions into Flash video. It originated in the caption-embedding software Captionate. QT – Caption format used for QuickTime video or audio. It was developed by Apple. RT – RealText captions for RealMedia video or audio. STL – Used for DVD Studio Pro. It was developed by Spruce Technologies and known as “Spruce Subtitle File.” http://www.3playmedia.com/resources/caption-format-converter/

12. Choosing a Caption Format • Decide how you want to deliver your video • On a DVD • Over the Web • In a PowerPoint presentation • What OS will you use? Windows or Mac? • What programs will you use to author your DVD or deliver your video? • What captioning program will you choose? • Ease of use • Cost

13. Synchronizing Captions with Video • The video and the captions are two separate files • The captions are really just a text file • How do you synchronize the caption text with the video? • Time code! • All videos are embedded with a time signature on each frame • Example: hh:mm:ss:ff, where 'hh' stands for 'hours', 'mm' stands for 'minutes', 'ss' for 'seconds', and 'ff' for 'frames‘ • Each caption has an “in” and an “out” point

14. Creating Caption Files from Scratch • Technically, you could type your own caption file in any text editor • File includes a header that identifies the format • Each caption has a start time and formatting options • {QTtext}{font: Arial}{justify: center}{size: 12}{backcolor:0, 0, 0} {timescale: 30}{width: 320}{height: 60}[00:00:00.00] Dorothy: Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore[00:00:04.15] {justify:left}{italic}barking {plain} [00:00:07.04] • http://webaim.org/techniques/captions/quicktime/caption_file

15. Captioning Software • Or, you could save your sanity and use a third party software program to create caption files • Examples include • Windows only: MAGpie (Media Access Generator) original free caption-authoring tool from the National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH. Free! • For QuickTime, Real, Windows Media Player, or Flash presentations • http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines/magpie • Mac only: Movie Captionermakes closed captioned movies for YouTube, iPhones, iPods, DVDs, and Broadcasting. $99.95 US • Exports wide range of formats • http://www.synchrimedia.com/#movcaptioner • For YouTube videos: CaptionTube developed by Google. Free! • http://captiontube.appspot.com/

16. Captioning Techniques • National Association of the Deaf • Described and Captioned Media Program Captioning Key • http://www.dcmp.org/captioningkey/index.html • Manual on creating quality captioning, includes • Presentation Rate • Sound Effects • Speaker Identification

17. Transcription Services • Many captioning programs will allow you to upload a text transcript • program will automatically create in and out points based on word count • Accurate transcribing can be time consuming • Transcription services will provide text for fee • A high-quality transcription with a six-day turn-around will cost $1.50 per minute—$90 an hour http://wac.osu.edu/examples/youtube-player-controls/#Getting-the-Transcript

18. Automation and Captions • Transcription can sometimes be accomplished using Dragon Naturally Speaking, a speech recognition program with an audio file • Problem: most speakers train these programs under different conditions than a lecture or video • YouTube offers automatic captioning, but the program is very much in a Beta phase! Try it if you need a laugh!

19. Delivery Options on the Web • Remember that all TVs are required to be Close Caption ready since 1993. The Web however, has been a real set back for the deaf community, since captioning isn’t required • Videos on web pages are embedded in different players, Quicktime, Windows Media, etc. Requires knowledge of HTML coding • Bill Creswell- Captioning the Internet One Video at a TimeHTML5 Video, Players and Captions • http://billcreswell.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/html5-video-players-and-captions/ • YouTube videos can be closed captioned, and then embedded in websites, PowerPoint, etc.

20. Adding Your Own Captions to YouTube • YouTube allows viewers to upload SubViewer (*.SUB) and SubRip (*.SRT) files • http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=100077 • Advantages beyond accessibility • Can be cataloged by web search engines like Google • Will make it easier to subtitle videos for foreign languages using automated translation tools being developed

21. Multimedia Content • YouTube videos can be easily embedded in PowerPoint • Maintains accessibilityof controls on player • Video on YouTube must be captionedalready • Wikihow Tutorial on Embedding YouTube Videos

22. Recommendations for Success • Use captioning program of choice to create caption file • Upload video to YouTube • Use UB Channel to build on University’s visibility, improve content, and drive users to your video • If you prefer to keep content private, YouTube allows you to create Unlisted Videos • Embed YouTube video in webpage or presentation as needed

23. Resource: WebAIM • Web Accessibility in Mind • http://www.webaim.org • Great resources (tutorials, tools, trainings) • Community Blog, Newsletter, Discussion List, RSS • Extensive Library of well-written articles • Lots of info on captioning

24. Resources: Software Tutorials • Magpie Tutorial: http://webaim.org/techniques/captions/magpie/version2/ • MovieCaptioner Tutorial Videos: http://www.synchrimedia.com/tutorials.html • CaptionTube Tutorial: http://captiontube.appspot.com/help/ • Demo of CaptionTube

25. Additional Resources Automatic Captions in YouTube Demohttp://youtu.be/kTvHIDKLFqc National Center for Accessible Mediahttp://ncam.wgbh.org/ Media Access Generator (MAGpie) Version 2.5.1 (Windows) http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines/magpie Captioning with MAGpie 2.0http://webaim.org/techniques/captions/magpie/version2/#downloading MAGpie 2.5 Tutorial on YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnS4eMFlnHQ start at 1:10 - create a transcript jump to 3:16 - saving you transcript jump to 5:45 - add time codes Captioning for Quicktime Introduction to Captioning for Quicktimehttp://webaim.org/techniques/captions/quicktime/#adding Creating the Quicktime Text Trackhttp://webaim.org/techniques/captions/quicktime/text_track

26. Resource: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) • AHEAD is the primary organization of University Accessibility Resources providers in the U.S. and abroad • www.ahead.org • Great source of information and community for educators (especially Special Interest Groups)

27. Positive Impacts of Universal Design Universal Design (UD) emphasizes designing once, for everyone All users potentially benefit from UD Anyone with a baby stroller love curb cuts? Wouldn’t it be great if you could listen to any book on your Kindle?

28. Positive Impacts of UD at UB • Effective communication and accessible teaching help create a more diverse campus • UB is becoming a national leader in UD • Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access http://www.ap.buffalo.edu/idea/ • Building first fully UD dorm

29. Positive Individual Impacts One of our favorite “bad taste” jokes at AR: What do you call someone without a disability? “Temporarily Able-Bodied”! Disabilities affect each of us and the people we care about at some point in our lives Let’s make sure all of UB’s online resources are available to as many people as possible at any given time!

30. Demos and Questions