Captions and accessible video
This page is for creators who want their videos, streams and episodes to work for everyone: people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people who are blind or have low vision, people who watch without sound on a train, and people who follow in a second language. Exponential's administration is built and tested for accessibility (Talking points: accessibility); content about it should meet the same bar. The general rules for slides and images are on Accessible slides and visuals.
Contents
- Captions
- A caption glossary
- Transcripts
- Say what you do
- A readable picture
- Showing accessibility features honestly
- Checklist
Captions
- Correct captions, not only automatic ones. Automatic captions mishear product names and commands. Edit them.
- Every spoken word and every meaningful sound: "[keyboard typing]", "[error sound]" where it matters.
- Commands exactly as typed:
exp:install, not "exp install". - Short lines, in sync: two lines at most on screen at a time.
- Speaker names when more than one person speaks.
- Live streams: use live captions if your platform offers them; correct the recording afterwards.
- Translations: if you add captions in other languages, have a speaker of the language review them.
A caption glossary
Give this list to whoever corrects your captions:
| Write | Not |
|---|---|
| Exponential (or "Exponential CMS" at a first mention) | "exponential" in lower case, "the Exponential", "Exponent" |
| 7x | "seven x", "se7en x" (se7enx and se7enxweb are domain and account names) |
| the Exponential Foundation | "the Exponential foundation" |
| Exponential Velocity | "velocity" alone at first mention |
| Exponential Intelligence | "the AI", "Exponential AI" |
| Exponential Layouts | "layouts plugin" |
| eZ Publish (only as history) | "EZ Publish", "Ezpublish" |
| SQLite, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MariaDB, MySQL | "sequel lite", "Postgres SQL" |
exp:install, exp:velocity, composer install | Spoken forms |
The full naming rules: Brand and naming rules.
Transcripts
- Publish a transcript with every video and podcast episode: in the description, on your site, or as a file.
- Put commands and links in the transcript so people can copy them; nobody can copy from a video frame.
- For a podcast, the transcript is the accessible version of the episode. Put the show notes and sources at its end (Podcast episode outlines).
Say what you do
- Name the button and the place: "I press Send for publishing at the top of the form", not "I click here".
- Read out what appears: "A dialog asks whether to discard the changes."
- Never let information exist only on screen or only in color: "the zone with the red dashed border is linked" should also be "this zone is linked".
- For a demonstration that is mostly visual, such as dragging blocks in the layouts editor, describe the result: "The Title block is now in the main zone, above the full view block."
A readable picture
- Record at a zoom that is readable on a phone; enlarge the part you talk about.
- Light color mode is usually clearer in video; if you show dark mode, say so.
- Keep the pointer slow and visible; consider a highlight around it.
- No flashing content and no fast zooms or cuts.
- Keep important content away from the bottom of the frame, where captions appear.
Showing accessibility features honestly
Exponential has keyboard features you can demonstrate, all documented in Keyboard shortcuts:
| Show | Say |
|---|---|
Reload a page, press Tab once | "Skip to main content appears." |
Press / | "The focus jumps to search." |
| Focus the content tree, use the arrow keys | "The tree works with the keyboard." |
| Switch the interface to Arabic or Hebrew | "The administration turns around for right-to-left languages." |
Say what the sources say, no more: "The admin4 design follows WCAG rules that tests check: color contrast in light and dark mode and targets of at least 24 by 24 pixels" (Who is the Exponential Foundation?, Languages and accessibility). Do not say "fully accessible" or "WCAG compliant" (Claims you must not make).
Checklist
[ ] Captions corrected by a person; product names and commands spelled right
[ ] Transcript published, with commands and links
[ ] Actions said aloud; nothing only on screen or only in color
[ ] Readable zoom; no flashing; captions do not cover important content
[ ] Thumbnails and images have alternative text where the platform allows it
[ ] Accessibility claims limited to what the sources sayRelated pages
- Accessible slides and visuals
- Advocating for accessibility
- Titles, thumbnails and descriptions
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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