What Is Audio Description?

Direct definition

Audio description (AD) is spoken narration that explains important visual information during pauses in the dialogue, for viewers who are blind or have low vision. It is a separate access service from captions.

The sections below explain how audio description is used in transcription and subtitle work, what people often mix up, and which VideoText workflow applies when the next step is a file or review pass.

Key takeaways

• AD describes images; captions represent audio.
• Ofcom reports AD on a far smaller share of on-demand hours than subtitles.
• Audio description is a spoken access service; it is not a caption file or a transcript.

How AD is produced

A writer scripts what to say, when it fits, and how to say it. Extended AD pauses the program when there is no gap. Standard AD fits existing pauses.

Related terms

• caption accessibility
• WCAG
• closed captions
• All glossary terms

Sources

1. W3C WAI: Audio Description
2. Ofcom: Access services reports