Re: Seeking clarity regarding the terminology in Success Criterion 1.2.5 Audio Description

I totally agree about your first point. If they simply add "separate" it 
would clear up a lot of the ambiguity.

The second point still doesn't clarify the fact that the sentence uses 
"added to the soundtrack" and "main soundtrack alone". I interpret that 
as two distinct soundtracks. "narration *added to the soundtrack* to 
describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the 
*main soundtrack alone*". "Main soundtrack *alone*" implies a second 
soundtrack.

Why would that not be stated as something like, "narration added to the 
main soundtrack or a separate soundtrack to describe important visual 
details?

Greg

On 5/17/2022 2:07 PM, Kevin Prince wrote:
>
> Perhaps if the note from Understanding read “/, "For 1.2.3, 1.2.5, and 
> 1.2.7, if all of the information in the video track is already 
> provided in the audio track, no /separate /audio description is 
> necessary."/
>
> But the wording you query does not, to me require a second track but 
> does require audio description /as "//narration added to the 
> soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be 
> understood from the main soundtrack alone".
> /Added is a key word here, if the main soundtrack includes AD then you 
> have AD
>
> *Kevin Prince *
> Product Accessibility & Usability Consultant
> *Foster Moore*
> A Teranet Company
>
> *E* kevin.prince@fostermoore.com
> Christchurch
> *fostermoore.com <http://www.fostermoore.com/>*
>
> *From:*Greg Jellin <greg@gregjellin.com>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, 18 May 2022 8:29 am
> *To:* Wai-Ig <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
> *Subject:* Seeking clarity regarding the terminology in Success 
> Criterion 1.2.5 Audio Description
>
> CAUTION:This email originated from outside of the organization.
>
> Warning, it is a bit challenging to describe my concern so this is a 
> bit verbose.
>
> Success Criterion 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) states, "Audio 
> description is provided for all prerecorded video content in 
> synchronized media."
>
> In the normative part of the SC there are no exceptions, thus my 
> interpretation is that an Audio Description is always required for 
> synchronized media. Where it gets tricky for me is the definition of 
> Audio Description.
>
> When reading the Understanding (non-normative) doc for 1.2.5 the term 
> Audio Description appears to me to be ambiguously defined. I would 
> argue that the term is being used in some parts of the document to 
> mean a separate audio track that augments the integrated (main) audio 
> of the synchronized media to describe visual details, but in other 
> parts to mean a description of visual details that may be in the 
> integrated audio OR a separate audio track.
>
> So which is is it? Is Audio Description defined describing in audio 
> the visual content as separate track? Or, is Audio Description defined 
> as describing in audio the visual content within the integrated (main) 
> audio OR as a separate track.
>
> This is important, because if WCAG defines Audio Description as always 
> being a separate track, then the SC (normative) requires a separate 
> track for all synchronized media.
>
> Some examples of ambiguous language:
>
> /In the Understanding doc (Note section below "Intent") the following 
> is stated, "For 1.2.3, 1.2.5, and 1.2.7, if all of the information in 
> the video track is already provided in the audio track, no audio 
> description is necessary."/
>
> My interpretation of that language is that audio description is a 
> separate track, but is only necessary if the main audio track does not 
> sufficiently describe the visual content. The problem is that this 
> directly conflicts with the SC, "Audio description is provided for ALL..."
>
> /In the Key Terms section audio description is defined as "//narration 
> added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that 
> cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone".
>
> /
>
> Again, this implies that there is a 2nd (separate) soundtrack.
>
> My sense is that the term Audio Description is being used to have two 
> different meanings (ambiguous). In the SC statement it means that the 
> visual content must be described (either in the integrated audio or a 
> separate audio track) and in the Understanding doc it means explicitly 
> a separate audio track.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Greg
>