Accessibility: Audio Description

Why Is This Important?
  • Ensure people with visual impairments can fully experience videos, moves, presentations and live performances.
  • Ensure understanding of content through learning and comprehension.
  • Supports universal design.
When To Use It

Use audio description whenever important information is communicated visually and not spoken. These may not be necessary when everything visual is already explained aloud or the visuals are purely decorative and add no meaning.

How To Use It
  • Describe essential visual information such as:
    • Actions, 
    • Facial expressions or body language that convey meaning,
    • Scene or setting changes,
    • On-screen text,
    • Graphs and charts.
  • Chose the right format, such as:
    • Recorded audio description,
    • Live audio description,
    • integrated descriptions.
  • Ensure you are:
    • Objective,
    • Clear and concise,
    • Timed well,
    • Accurate.
Description Options

When possible, it's best to verbally identify and describe visual information in the original audio track. This can be accomplished in a video interview by having each speaker introduce themselves and before they launch into the Q&A.

Audio descriptions may not be necessary for a video that is simply text on a background where the narrator is already reading the text verbatim.

Integrated Description
  • Content is integrated in the main audio.
  • Best for most training videos, such as presentations and instructional videos.
Separate Described Version
  • Voiced by a different speaker to distinguish description from the main audio content.
  • One audio track.
  • Use when the description of the visual information cannot be smoothly handled by the speakers in the main video.
  • For short descriptions, plan space in the audio to add the description.
  • For longer descriptions, build extra time in the scene to accommodate the description without having to pause the scene.
Separate Audio Track
  • Description is in a timed text file or synched audio file.
  • This feature may not be supported by all media players.
    • Supported on Panopto and YouTube.
    • Facebook is working on rolling out this feature.

Audio Description Tips

  • No overexplaining. No need to describe lots of visual information, many people have mental models of how things should look.
  • Use short descriptions. Make sure descriptions do not distract from the video and are short in length. One to two sentences is usually plenty.
  • Have great sound quality with no background noise or static on the microphone.
  • Describe the visual elements that are important to understand what the video is communicating. Imagine that you are describing the video to someone who cannot see it — what do you say? You don’t need to describe every detail or things that are apparent from the audio.
  • Describe objectively, without interpretation, censorship or comment.
  • Write description in present tense, active voice and third-person narrative style.
  • Listen and validate.
    • Do you get all the same visual information, or does it feel like the viewer is missing out on something?
    • Is the audio easy to understand and follow?
    • Do the descriptions make sense?
Creating and Adding Audio Descriptions
Creating in Adobe Creative Cloud
  • Create a project in Adobe Premiere Pro (or open an existing video project).
  • Put the video that you are creating an audio description for in the timeline.
  • Under the audio section of your timeline, click the voice-over record button.
  • Record your audio description (use an external microphone, headphones with a microphone, etc.).
    • Use our tips to write your own audio description script to record.
    • Avoid overlapping audio descriptions with dialogue.
  • Edit your audio description to match the timing of the video, deleting areas where the description is not needed.
  • Export the audio description and video audio together as an .mp3.
Creating in Panopto
  • .
    • Note: Must have creator status.
  • .
    • Note: Play the audio description by clicking the AD button in the lower right corner.
Add Audio Descriptions on YouTube
  • .
    • Note: you may not have access to audio descriptions. Update your YouTube Studio settings to allow automatic dubbing if you do not see the languages menu option.
  • .
    • This feature is only available to advanced users at this time, but continues to be rolled out by YouTube.

  • .

    • Note: Play the audio description by clicking the gear icon on the video, select the audio track to play as English descriptive.

    Sample Audio Description Script:

    Matthew speaks directly to the camera on the basketball court with a large Jackrabbit.

    Matthew plays during a basketball game against Oral Roberts University where he shoots and joins teammates in huddles.

    The Brookings community gathers for the annual Hobo Day parade with several spectators.

    Associate professor Bryan Romsa teaches Matthew in class.

    Matthew uses his laptop in class.

    ÈÕ±¾avÊÓƵ logo appears with a website url s-d-state-dot-e-d-u.

Trainings and Resources
Articles