Writing Extended Audio Descriptions for Video
Writing Extended Audio Descriptions for Video records a distinct W3C-supported accessibility writing task while keeping implementation mechanics outside the writing guidance.
Use extended audio description when necessary visual information cannot fit into the existing pauses; write only the added description needed to convey the video’s meaning.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
Use extended description only when standard description cannot fit without losing needed meaning; do not lengthen content merely to narrate incidental visual detail.
Further guidance
Content
Write the additional description needed to convey the sense of the video when normal pauses do not provide enough time, preserving the essential sequence and meaning of the visual content.
Practical Application
Reserve extended description for visual information that is necessary but cannot fit into natural pauses. Write the additional narration around the essential action, sequence, text, or setting rather than incidental detail.
Purpose
Extended description gives enough time for necessary visual information that cannot fit into the original dialogue gaps.
Reader Check
Would standard audio description omit necessary meaning because there is not enough time between dialogue or other important audio?
Worked Example
If a silent montage contains several essential steps but the normal pauses are too short to describe them, an extended version can pause playback and narrate those steps in order.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Description of Visual Information (opens in a new tab)World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) · W3C WAI guidance for writing descriptions of visual information needed to understand video.