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How to add audio description to a video
There are three common ways to publish audio description: a separate described version of the video, a selectable description audio track, or a text description track that a player or screen reader voices.
Step 1: create the description
Write short, objective descriptions of the visual information the soundtrack does not cover, timed to the pauses. Voice them with a narrator or a quality text-to-speech voice. If the pauses are too short, make an extended version that pauses the picture. Our AI audio description generator does all of this and exports every format below.
Option A: publish a described version
Export a second copy of the video with the descriptions mixed in and publish it next to the original, labeled "Audio described version." This works on every platform, including those without multiple audio tracks, and is the usual way to publish extended description.
Option B: YouTube descriptive audio track
YouTube Studio lets creators who have access to multi-language audio add a descriptive audio track:
- Open YouTube Studio and go to Languages.
- Select the video and the language.
- Click Add next to Descriptive audio.
- Upload an audio-only file that is roughly the same length as the video, then publish.
The original audio track for that language must already exist. Not every channel has this option yet; if you do not see it, publish a described version instead. Source: YouTube Help, Add audio descriptions.
Option C: HTML5 description track
On your own site you can add a WebVTT description file with <track kind="descriptions" src="descriptions.vtt" srclang="en">. Browser support for voicing description tracks is limited, so pair it with an accessible player that reads them aloud, or offer a described version as well.
Check your work
- Play the video with your eyes closed. Can you follow it?
- Are on-screen names, numbers and text read out?
- Do descriptions ever talk over important speech?
- Is the described version easy to find?