At the fall 2020 ACCESS digital accessibility conference hosted by 3 Play Media this week, Jaclyn Leduc kicked off the conference with “The State of Video in 2020” talk.
In her presentation, Leduc discussed current trends in video, how the COVID-19 pandemic has increased video production, and shared video statistics.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fall 2020 ACCESS conference took on a different format, with the event moving online.
The three-day conference included daily courses, on-demand videos, Slack channel for discussions, office hours, and resources.
What I liked about the conference was that the sessions were spread out each day.
Sessions didn’t immediately follow one another, which meant I had time to review my notes as well as take a break before the next session.
Here are my notes from Leduc’s presentation.
The State of Video in 2020
- Did you know 80% of people who use captions aren’t deaf or hard of hearing (PDF: 322K)? Captions benefit people who work in quiet/noisy environments, want clarification, and who can concentrate better when reading captions.
- Benefits of captioning video include equal access, legal compliance, better user experience, improved engagement, and improved marketing and return on investment
- Captioning isn’t the only element of accessible video. There’s also transcripts, audio description, and accessible video players.
- Top reasons for captioning videos include legal compliance, accommodation, better engagement, and enhanced learning
- It’s crucial to demonstrate return on investment for captioning videos to decision makers at your organization. Be prepared to explain the improved SEO, brand value, and improved engagement.
- Top two barriers for captioning videos: cost and resource time.
- 87 percent of people report using more media post-COVID, according to Global Web Index Coronavirus Research: Series 4: Media Consumption and Sport (PDF: 637K)
- According to a study by Click Away Pound, 71 percent of people with disabilities will leave a website immediately if it’s not accessible.
- Video captioning tips for social media: note which platforms support captions: YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter support .srt files (file format used for online video). Provide captions for live-stream social video. At a minimum, provide a transcript.
- Many products and services offer live accessibility and captioning options: Google Doc’s Voice Typing, real-time captioning for Google Meet, Microsoft PowerPoint subtitles, Microsoft Teams captioning as well as real-time captioning for Google Slides
- Tips to improve quality of live captioning: one speaker at a time, good network connection, provide slides ahead of time to captioner, speakers should enunciate words well, reduce background noise (invest in a good microphone!)
Image by 200 Degrees from Pixabay