If you are producing a video, it’s important to include captions for all dialogue. This not only helps hearing impaired people but also helps get your message across if the sound is turned off.

As well as captions it’s important to have an accessible or descriptive transcript. This can be accessed by search engines and assistive technologies. An accessible transcript describes in words everything that is not only said but also seen on screen. This additional visual information means that if the transcript paints a richer picture for the reader.

Accessible transcripts are helpful not only for visually or hearing-impaired people but also for people who may not have enough data to stream the video or people who may just prefer to scan a transcript rather than watch a video.

All videos being produced for Government must meet the New Zealand Government Web Standards for accessibility.