Edit for Accessibility: Creating Inclusive Videos for Everyone
Creating inclusive videos encourages engagement from the target audience. An inclusive video resonates with the target audience, prompting them to save, like, or share it.
Online videos reach a staggering 92% of internet users globally. That’s how many people consume videos across the globe! This is why creating inclusive videos for everyone is crucial.
Unfortunately, accessibility is still a huge area that many people overlook. This can impact your audience engagement and alienate many of your viewers.
In this post, I will discuss ways to edit your videos to make them accessible and inclusive for everyone.
Let’s get started.
The Importance of Creating Inclusive Videos
Creating inclusive videos has advantages beyond inclusivity. The benefits include:
- Larger Audience Reach: People with disabilities represent 16% of the world’s population. So, when you make your video accessible, you can tap into a huge and diverse audience.
- Improved SEO: Search engines prefer accessible connections. Closed captions and transcripts can help you optimize for Video SEO. They increase discoverability.
- Legal Compliance: Accessibility regulations are constantly evolving. For example, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Complying with these regulations can help avoid any legal issues.
- Enhanced Brand Image: Creating inclusive videos shows your commitment to your audience’s needs. This fosters trust and loyalty and enhances your brand identity.
How to Edit for Accessibility
Prioritize the user’s experience when creating inclusive videos. Provide multiple access points and ensure a seamless viewing experience. Here are ways to edit for accessibility when creating inclusive videos:
Captions and Subtitles
You need captions and subtitles for deaf viewers or those who are hard of hearing. This may benefit those who have little proficiency in the language. It may also help those who prefer to read along.
Accuracy is vital with captions and subtitles. So, ensure they match the voice and sound effects. Also, ensure they’re properly used to identify the person speaking.
You can leverage online video makers software and tools to create videos for your campaign. You can utilize them to generate captions or add some elements to help create engaging videos.
The placement and style of your captions and subtitles also matter. You can place your captions at the bottom of the screen to avoid having busy visuals. The example below shows how to place captions at the bottom of the screen:
To avoid having busy visuals, use a clear, bold font with high color contrast. This ensures that your captions are visible against the background.
Audio Descriptions
Audio descriptions allow blind or visually impaired viewers to enjoy your videos. These narrated descriptions detail the events on the screen. It compliments the video’s audio.
With audio descriptions, you need to highlight key visuals that contribute to the narrative of your video. This includes scene changes, actions, and facial expressions.
Leave room for dialogue so that descriptions don’t overlap with spoken dialogue. Ensure the description flows naturally and includes sufficient information. Avoid lengthy descriptions that can interrupt your video’s rhythm.
There are different free video editing software that generates descriptions for your videos. You can also collaborate with experienced audio describers or accessibility experts.
This ensures that your descriptions are clear and concise and effectively convey the visual message.
Color Contrast and Visuals
Ensure your video has proper color contrast and clear visuals. This is important for people with low vision or color vision deficiencies. So, pay attention to the color schemes used in your graphics, texts, or marketing images.
Ensure text overlays and graphics have high color contrast against the video background, like the image below:
Online contrast checkers can also verify readability and make necessary adjustments.
Avoid flashing or strobing effects and animations when creating a video for on-demand video platforms. This can trigger seizures in some viewers. Also, use clear and straightforward visuals and graphics to avoid cluttered designs.
Use simple, sans-serif fonts that are easy to read in different sizes. Avoid decorative fonts, and use larger font sizes for on-screen text. This makes the text legible to the visually impaired. It also makes it easier to read on smaller screens.
Clear and Concise Language
The language in your videos should be clear, concise, and easy to understand when editing. This benefits people with learning or cognitive disabilities and enhances the overall viewing experience.
Avoid using complex jargon, technical terminology, or overly complicated sentences. Instead, use simple, straightforward language that conveys your message effectively.
Someone outside your team can review the language of your videos. They can provide an objective perspective on comprehension and clarity.
Pacing and Timing
Ensure you use proper pacing and timing in your videos. This way, your audience can follow along without feeling lost or overwhelmed.
Avoid quick scene changes, fast-paced dialogue, or lengthy scenes without breaks. Ensure that the speed of your videos allows viewers sufficient time to comprehend the content shown on the screen. Add natural pauses or breaks wherever necessary.
Freeze frames or use slow motion to highlight essential visual elements. This gives viewers time to process complex visuals or information.
Keyboard Accessibility
Many of your viewers may prefer navigating videos with keyboard controls. This is especially true for those with motor impairments who rely on assistive technology.
So, ensure that keyboard focus indicators are visible. This way, your audience can interact with elements like links or buttons.
It is important to organize interactive elements in the correct tab sequence. It helps those using keyboard controls navigate the video player and controls better.
You can also add customizable shortcut keys for basic video functions. This allows your viewers to access the video player’s features and control playback without relying entirely on a mouse.
Wrapping It Up
Videos can help you generate more followers, views, and customers. A video marketing campaign is an excellent way to boost engagement. However, creating inclusive videos for everyone isn’t restricted to campaigns alone. Every online video should be inclusive.
To do this, edit for accessibility. Add proper captions, subtitles, audio descriptions, color contrasts, and visuals.
Also, use clear and concise language, the right pacing and timing, and suitable keyboard focus indicators.
Once you implement these accessibility features, test the final product and get feedback from different users. Also, conduct usability tests for those with various disabilities. This helps you identify any potential barriers or usability issues.