Audio Descriptions

Audio descriptions provide a verbal depiction of the key visual elements in a video presentation. For individuals who are blind, low-vision, or unable to view the video directly, audio descriptions communicate the important information relevant to understanding the video content. For example, a video may display a speaker’s name and title or specific instructions to follow. If this information is not included as part of the spoken dialogue, then it needs to be communicated as part of a separate audio description.

The Description Key from the Described and Captioned Media Program provides guidance for how to produce audio descriptions, including what to describe and how to describe on-screen information:

• What to describe
• How to describe visual content

Because audio descriptions exist as a separate track in the video presentation, it can be challenging to include these descriptions once the video is complete. A simpler way is to plan your script to describe any relevant on-screen information.

Examples

Here are a few examples of videos with audio description enabled.