Glossary

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360-Degree Video(also: 360 Video, VR360, Spherical Video)

Video content recorded or rendered to cover the full 360-degree sphere around the viewer, allowing them to look in any direction during playback. When viewed in a virtual reality headset, 360-degree video provides an immersive experience where users can explore the environment…

AI Dubbing(also: AI Voice Generation, Neural TTS Dubbing)

The use of artificial intelligence text-to-speech systems to generate spoken narration and character dialogue for media production. In accessible webtoon and comic production, AI dubbing offers a cost-effective alternative to professional voice actors, enabling scalable…

Anchored Generative Model(also: Anchored Transformation Model)

A constrained AI generation approach where content creators define upper and lower bounds (anchors) of acceptable variation, and a generative model interpolates between these boundaries based on user preferences. In the context of caption customization, anchors are concrete…

Audio Describer(also: Describer, AD Writer)

A professional who writes and sometimes narrates audio descriptions for film, television, live performance, museums, and digital media. Audio describers craft concise verbal narration that conveys essential visual information (actions, settings, facial expressions, on-screen…

Audio Description(also: AD, Descriptive Audio, Audio Narration)

A narration track that describes visual elements of media, exhibitions, performances, or environments for people who are blind or have low vision. In museums, audio descriptions provide verbal accounts of exhibits, artworks, and spatial layouts. While valuable, research shows…

Audio Description Customization(also: Personalized Audio Description, Adaptive AD)

The ability for users to adjust the content and presentation of audio descriptions for video media based on their individual preferences. Customization dimensions may include detail level, emphasis on specific visual elements (such as facial expressions, scene settings, or…

Audio Ducking(also: Volume Ducking, Sidechain Compression)

An audio production technique that automatically reduces the volume of one audio track (such as background music or sound effects) when another track (such as narration or dialogue) is playing, ensuring speech remains intelligible. In accessible media production, audio ducking…

Audio Effect Placement(also: AE Placement, Sound Effect Timing)

The strategic timing of sound effects relative to narration or audio description in accessible media. Three primary placement strategies have been studied: pre-placement (sound effects before narration, which aids comprehension by providing advance context), overlapping…

Auditory Description(also: Audio Description, Spoken Description, Verbal Description)

The practice of providing spoken narration that describes visual information, making content accessible to people who are blind, have low vision, or benefit from auditory reinforcement of visual content. Auditory description has evolved from pre-recorded narration for film and…

Auditory Satisfaction

The overall positive emotional and cognitive response users experience after engaging with audio content, encompassing contentment with auditory features, narration style, and technical quality. In accessible media research, auditory satisfaction is measured across dimensions…

Background Music(also: BGM, Underscore)

Continuous music that plays beneath narration or dialogue to establish mood, atmosphere, and emotional tone in media. In accessible audio production, background music should be distinguished from discrete sound effects: BGM sustains ambience and should continue underneath audio…

Caption Customization(also: Caption Personalization, Adaptive Captioning)

The ability for viewers to adjust caption properties to match their individual preferences and needs. Caption customization can encompass visual attributes like font size, color, and positioning, as well as content-level attributes like level of detail, expressiveness, and sound…

Caption Density

The amount of caption text displayed on screen relative to the available display time and screen space. High caption density—common in fast-paced scenes with many sound events—can overwhelm viewers by requiring rapid reading while also attending to visual content. Caption…

Caption Occlusion(also: Caption Blocking, Subtitle Occlusion)

The phenomenon where captions or subtitles visually block or cover other important information displayed on a video screen. Caption occlusion is a significant accessibility concern for Deaf and Hard of Hearing viewers, who depend on captions for dialogue access but may…

Caption Placement(also: Caption Positioning, Subtitle Placement)

The decision of where captions or subtitles are positioned on a video screen, which significantly affects the viewing experience of Deaf and Hard of Hearing users. Poor caption placement can occlude important visual information such as speakers' faces, onscreen graphics, or news…

Caption Readability

The ease with which viewers can read and process caption text on screen, influenced by factors including font size, display duration, caption density, reading speed requirements, and competition with on-screen visual content. Caption readability is a core accessibility concern…

Captioning Key(also: DCMP Captioning Key)

A set of guidelines and best practices for creating high-quality captions, most notably published by the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP). The Captioning Key covers standards for caption accuracy, consistency, placement, and the representation of non-speech sounds.…

Chroma Key(also: Green Screen, Blue Screen, Chroma Keying)

A video-post-production technique in which a solid, uniformly coloured background (often green or blue) is replaced with another image, video, or transparency using colour-matching software. In accessibility work, chroma key is most often encountered in the production of…

Closed Captioning(also: CC, Closed Captions)

Text displayed on screen that represents dialogue, sound effects, music, and other audio information in video content, which viewers can toggle on or off. Unlike open captions, closed captions are a separate data stream that can be enabled or disabled by the viewer. Closed…

Closed Captioning(also: CC, Closed Captions)

Text displayed on a screen that transcribes spoken dialogue, identifies speakers, and describes relevant sound effects in video content. Unlike open captions which are permanently embedded in the video, closed captions can be toggled on or off by the viewer. Closed captioning is…

Community Sourcing(also: Community-Driven Accessibility)

An approach to creating accessible content by drawing on community members who have domain expertise or vested interest in the content, rather than relying on professional describers or general crowdworkers. Unlike crowdsourcing, which draws from a broad pool of workers who may…

Comprehensibility(also: 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 impaired users, comprehensibility measures how effectively the audio presentation…

Content Creation Accessibility(also: 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 focuses on making finished content consumable by people with disabilities,…

Content Domestication(also: 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 audiovisual translation, content domestication in accessibility involves…

Customizable Captioning(also: 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, and pitch. Unlike standard closed captions that offer only basic font and size…

Descriptive Video Service(also: 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, DVS was one of the earliest systematic efforts to make visual media accessible…

Diegetic Sound(also: 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. Examples include a phone ringing, a dog barking, footsteps, a crackling fire, or a…

Digital Comics Accessibility(also: 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 challenges because they convey narrative through a combination of sequential art,…

Digital News Accessibility(also: 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 disabilities, particularly blind and visually impaired users who rely on screen…

Educational Video(also: Instructional Video, Video Lecture)

Video content created to teach - including talking-head lectures, screencasts, animations, hand-drawn (Khan-style) explanations, recorded classroom sessions, programming/coding demonstrations, interviews, and slide-based presentations. Accessibility of educational video depends…

Embedded Description(also: 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 their narration during the presentation itself. Unlike audio descriptions…

Emotional Engagement(also: 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 accessibility research on audio-described webtoons, emotional engagement is a…

Extended Audio Description(also: 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 between dialogue are too short to convey all essential visual information through…

Flexible Media(also: 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 based on viewer preferences and needs. Flexible media enables individual…

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 emphasize tension and dread, while comedy content may use lighter, more playful…

Graphic Captions(also: 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 bracket notation. Graphic captions can convey additional information about a…

Inclusive Imagery(also: 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 how disability is depicted—avoiding stereotypes, tragedy narratives, and…

Inline Audio Description(also: 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 must fit within available gaps, which limits the amount of detail that can be…

Interpretive Agency(also: 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 agency is a concern when AI-generated or highly expressive captions may impose…

Interpretive Alt Text

Alt text that goes beyond objective, functional description to convey interpretive dimensions of an image such as mood, symbolism, narrative, and aesthetic effect. It is most relevant for images where meaning is carried by formal attributes (composition, color, lighting,…

Live Captioning(also: 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 events. Live captioning may be performed by human stenographers (CART providers),…

Live Captioning(also: 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, videoconferences, and classrooms. It presents unique challenges including a natural…

Live Description(also: 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 contexts such as livestreaming, live theatre, sporting events, and…

Livestream Accessibility(also: Live Video Accessibility)

The practice of making live video broadcasts accessible to people with disabilities, particularly viewers with visual or hearing impairments. Livestreams present unique accessibility challenges because they feature multiple simultaneous visual elements (main video, webcams,…

Media Accessibility(also: Accessible Media)

The practice of ensuring that media content — including images, videos, audio, GIFs, memes, and other multimedia formats — is perceivable and understandable by people with diverse abilities. Media accessibility encompasses providing alternative text for images, captions and…

Mimetic Language(also: Sound Symbolism, Phonomimes, Ideophones)

Words or vocalizations whose sounds imitate or evoke the sensory qualities of what they describe, such as the rustle of leaves, the thud of a drum, or the hiss of escaping air. Mimetic language sits alongside and overlaps with onomatopoeia but extends to non-auditory qualities…

Narrative Immersion(also: Story Immersion, Narrative Presence)

A psychological state in which the audience becomes deeply absorbed in a story world, perceiving the mediated content as if it were an unmediated reality. In accessible media, narrative immersion encompasses spatial presence (feeling present in the story environment), content…

Negotiated Agency

A dynamic model of creative control in collaborative content creation where individuals with disabilities fluidly shift between the roles of director, collaborator, and editor in response to the task at hand, their personal preferences for privacy and autonomy, and the…

News Snacking(also: News Grazing)

A pattern of news consumption characterized by short, dispersed bursts of engagement rather than sustained reading sessions. News snacking typically involves quickly scanning headlines or listening to brief audio updates throughout the day, often during commutes, meals, or…

Non-Speech Captions(also: Non-Speech Sound Captions, Non-Dialogue Captions)

Textual descriptions of non-speech audio elements in media content, including environmental sounds, music, and sound effects, displayed as part of closed or open captions. Non-speech captions are essential for Deaf and Hard of Hearing viewers to access auditory information…