Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
72 results found in media accessibility.
- Comprehensibility (Comprehension, Intelligibility)
- The degree to which users can understand and retain the key elements of content, including events, characters, actions, settings, and narrative progression. In audio-described media for visually impai…
- Content Creation Accessibility (Accessible Content Creation, Creator Accessibility)
- The design and provision of tools, platforms, and workflows that enable people with disabilities to create digital content such as videos, images, audio, and text. Unlike content accessibility, which …
- Content Domestication (Media Domestication)
- The process of translating or adapting media content to meet the specific needs of a target audience during production rather than through post-hoc modifications. Originating from media studies and au…
- Customizable Captioning (Personalized Captions, Adaptive Captioning)
- Captioning systems that allow users to modify how captions are displayed, including visual styling, content detail, and the representation of paralinguistic speech features such as emotion, loudness, …
- Descriptive Video Service (DVS, Described Video)
- A service that provides audio descriptions of visual content in television programs, films, and other video media for blind and low-vision viewers. Originally developed by WGBH in Boston in the 1980s,…
- Diegetic Sound (In-World Sound, Source Sound)
- Sound that originates from a source within the narrative world of a game, film, or virtual reality environment — meaning the characters or inhabitants of that world could theoretically hear it. Exampl…
- Digital Comics Accessibility (Comic Accessibility, Graphic Novel Accessibility)
- The practice of making comics, graphic novels, manga, and webtoons accessible to people with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments. Digital comics present unique accessibility chall…
- Digital News Accessibility (Accessible News Media)
- The design and implementation of digital news platforms—including websites, mobile applications, news aggregators, and audio-based services—so that they can be effectively used by people with disabili…
- Embedded Description (Inline Description, Integrated Description)
- A technique for making presentation content accessible where the speaker verbally describes relevant visual information on slides — including text, images, graphics, and other visual aids — as part of…
- Emotional Engagement (Affective Engagement)
- The degree to which a user connects emotionally with content, characters, and narrative, experiencing feelings such as excitement, tension, empathy, humor, or sadness in response to the media. In acce…
- Extended Audio Description (Extended AD, Paused Audio Description)
- A form of audio description in which the video is temporarily paused to allow time for a longer, more detailed description of visual content before resuming playback. Extended AD is used when gaps bet…
- Flexible Media (Object-Based Media)
- A method of producing audiovisual media in which different components of the content (such as audio tracks, video angles, and subtitle layers) are stored as separate elements and assembled at runtime …
- Genre Alignment
- In captioning, the practice of adapting caption style, vocabulary, and tone to match the genre of the media content being captioned. For example, horror content may benefit from captions that emphasiz…
- Graphic Captions (Visual Captions, Animated Captions)
- A captioning approach that uses visual elements such as GIFs, animated stickers, icons, or emojis to represent sounds in audio-visual content, as an alternative or complement to traditional text-based…
- Inclusive Imagery (Inclusive Representation, Disability-Inclusive Media)
- Visual content that authentically and respectfully represents people with disabilities and other marginalized groups. Inclusive imagery goes beyond accessibility (having alternative text) to address h…
- Inline Audio Description (Standard Audio Description, Inline AD)
- The standard form of audio description where narrated descriptions of visual content are inserted into natural pauses in dialogue and sound during video playback, without pausing the media. Inline AD …
- Interpretive Agency (Viewer Agency)
- The capacity of an audience member to form their own independent understanding and emotional response to content, free from imposed interpretations. In the context of media accessibility, interpretive…
- Live Captioning (Real-Time Captioning, Live Captions)
- The process of converting spoken language into text displayed in real time, enabling Deaf and hard of hearing individuals to follow live audio content such as meetings, lectures, broadcasts, and event…
- Live Captioning (Real-Time Captioning, CART)
- The process of creating captions in real time as audio content is being produced, rather than from a pre-existing script. Live captioning is used in television news broadcasts, live events, videoconfe…
- Live Description (Real-Time Description, Live Audio Description)
- The practice of providing descriptions of visual content in real time as events unfold, as opposed to scripted descriptions added during post-production of recorded media. Live description is used in …