Captions and Descriptions Decision Trees

Status: This is an incomplete, unapproved draft. The current draft is at wai-media-guide.netlify.com/

Captions

  • Does the media contain only audio and no video?
    • Yes:
      • … and the audio contains dialog or narration. Provide an alternative that presents equivalent information (e.g., captions or a transcript). See SC 1.2.1.
      • … and the audio does not contain dialog or narration but does contain other non-speech audio elements. Provide an alternative that presents equivalent information (e.g., captions or a transcript that reflects the non-speech content, such as sound effects). See SC 1.2.1.
      • … and the media is an audio-only clip. Provide captions or a complete transcript. See production options for captions or transcript concepts and examples.
      • … and there is already text on the screen that accurately reflects the audio. Do not provide additional captions.
    • No:
      • Continue.
  • Does the media contain only video and no audio?
    • Yes:
      • … and there is already informative text on the screen. An alternative is not required.
      • … and the audio does not contain dialog or narration but does contain other non-speech audio elements. Provide an alternative that presents equivalent information (e.g., captions or a transcript that reflects the non-speech content, such as sound effects). See SC 1.2.1.
      • … and the media is an audio-only clip. Provide captions or a complete transcript. See production options for captions or transcript concepts and examples.
      • … and there is already text on the screen that accurately reflects the audio. Do not provide additional captions.
    • No:
      • Continue.
  • Does the media contain video with synchronized audio?
    • Yes:
      • … and the audio contains dialog or narration. Provide captions for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media. See SC 1.2.2.
      • … and the audio does not contain dialog or narration but does contain other non-speech audio elements. Provide a synchronized alternative that presents equivalent information (e.g., captions that reflect the non-speech content, such as sound effects). See SC 1.2.2.
      • … and there is already text on the screen that accurately reflects the audio (including both speech and non-speech elements). An alternative is not required.
    • No:
      • Continue.
  • If the media does not contain dialog, narration or non-speech audio elements, captions are not necessary.

Audio descriptions

  • Does the media contain visual elements but no audio?
    • Yes:
      • … and the visual elements (e.g., moving or static images; text) are critical for understanding on-screen action. Provide an alternative such as synchronized audio descriptions or a text-based alternative. See SC 1.2.3.
    • No:
      • Continue.
  • Does the media contain visual elements with synchronized audio?
    • Yes:
      • … and the visual elements (e.g., moving or static images; text) are critical for understanding on-screen action. Provide audio descriptions for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media. See SC 1.2.5.
      • … and the audio does not provide sufficient information about important visual elements. Provide audio descriptions where necessary. See SC 1.2.5.
      • … and pauses in the dialog or narration are available but insufficient to accommodate complete descriptions, or no pauses are available. Provide extended descriptions. See SC 1.2.7. Or provide a pre-description; see production options for descriptions.
    • No:
      • Continue.
  • If there are no important visual elements in the media, descriptions are not necessary.