Audio Description

Audio description makes visual information in video available through spoken narration. It identifies important actions, on-screen words, setting changes, or gestures that a person may miss when listening without seeing the image. Description usually fits into natural pauses in dialogue. When those pauses are insufficient, an alternative described version may pause the main program to make space.

Consider a home remodeling company’s before-and-after tour. A presenter discusses the completed bathroom while the camera shows a damaged entryway and a safety railing. A useful audio-described version tells listeners about those visually communicated details without repeating everything the presenter already says. If the original soundtrack already communicates all important visuals, additional description may not be needed.

WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.5 addresses audio description for prerecorded synchronized video at Level AA. At Level A, Criterion 1.2.3 permits an audio description or a media alternative under its conditions; the two levels should not be conflated. Captions reproduce spoken words and important non-speech sounds, while audio description conveys relevant visual information. A written transcript can complement the experience, but it is not automatically a substitute for every audio-description requirement. Test the actual player, timing, and ability to find a described version.