Taking Media Production Global with Subtitling while Championing Accessibility Standards

Over the past years, the need for companies and services to connect with new audiences on and off the web while guaranteeing accessibility for disabled people has increased. Hearing loss affects just under five percent of the world's population. Public access to information is a human right, and subtitling videos is an action toward ensuring individuals and students with any hearing disability get access to this information. As businesses and services expand globally, it is in their best interests to ensure that video material, even on a website or in games, has an accessible design that caters to all people, be it students, those learning or working, and those with impairments.

Subtitles are our secret weapon for making this happen. As managers of media libraries, you don't just add subtitles to connect with people from different linguistic backgrounds; you also need to take accessibility standards into account. Enter Happy Scribe, the all-in-one solution to this scenario. So, let's dive in and see the usability of subtitles and how they can help us engage with new audiences and stay on top of accessibility regulations.

The Concept Of Digital Accessibility

Making your content digitally accessible implies making it available to everyone, on and off the web. The concept is that nobody should lack digital content. Anything people can consume on electronic technology is considered a digital medium. This includes such modalities as video and audio.

However, it can also incorporate static formats like digital articles and photographs. This concept explains why any business or service in media production should raise the blazing torch of accessibility high. There are numerous strategies for these platforms to improve the digital accessibility of your information and, in turn, put it on a global pedestal.

To begin with, a meaningful way to make this happen is by including subtitles for video content and audio transcriptions. They can also have alternative text for any photos and incorporate video or audio descriptions. Media production can also go global with improved usability and readability by using moderately large readers with good color contrast. Distribution of written content in screen reader-friendly formats such as Word documents is also handy here.

Subtitling: Your Ticket to Global Audiences

Subtitles can be an extremely effective channel for learning, global media production, and making digital material accessible to individuals with any hearing disability. They are often text overlaid into the video and represent spoken words or dialogue.

Subtitles are typically found at the bottom of the screen to minimize any impact on the movie. It's also synchronized with the audio, allowing viewers to follow along in real-time. In light of this, below are ways subtitles attract global audiences:

Breaking Language Barriers

WHO revealed around 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from hearing loss. And the number is just growing. You may miss out on a community of significant audiences if you do not use subtitles. This might result in considerable revenue losses for businesses.

Subtitles are our passports to linguistic freedom. They translate the discourse into videos, ensuring that our message is received by people worldwide. This allows consumers to enjoy video and audio content in multiple languages, allowing your work to reach hundreds, if not billions, of people. This is an effective channel for businesses and services looking to enter the foreign market since it will enable them to connect with local audiences.

A Cultural Handshake

However, subtitles are more than just verbatim translations. They enable us to adjust the material to the local culture and context, making a stronger connection with our audience. This has the potential to increase the quality of our material significantly.

Better Engagement

Subtitles can significantly increase your content's viewership. This is particularly true on social media or with web content, where many users watch videos without sound. 69% of individuals say they enjoy watching movies without sound. If you don't have subtitles, they'll probably miss what's going on and go on.

The design of subtitles not only keeps the scroll going, and keeps people engaged for extended periods. When subtitles appear, viewers are likelier to watch the entire video.

Diversity Inclusion

The absence of subtitles effectively excludes a large portion of the population. Trying to incorporate captions and other accessibility features communicates that you want your material to cater to a community of people with any hearing disability.

Because of this, you'll be able to attract a community with a more inclusive audience. This is particularly useful if your content sparks debate or conversation. This diverse input spectrum can help you develop improved video and audio content.

A conscious effort to prioritize accessibility is recognized, and it reflects on you as a creator or company. Even individuals who do not require special needs will regard your content as more friendly and inclusive than that of a business that does.

Accessibility Rules: It's Not Just Necessary, It's The Right Thing To Do

Voices for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Subtitles aren't just words on a screen; they're a channel for people who are deaf or disabled hearing-wise. This widens our viewer base and shows our dedication to inclusivity.

A Legal Must-Do

Certain countries' governments have laws that make subtitles a must-have in videos to ensure everyone can enjoy them. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States and the Equality Act in the UK refrain from following these rules to avoid facing legal action and a hit to our reputation.

Happy Scribe: The Swiss Army Knife of Subtitling

Speaking Your Language

Happy Scribe's ability to work with over 119 languages ​​makes it a veritable polyglot in subtitling. This broad language support lets us connect with a community of different people across the globe.

Precision and Personalization

Thanks to Happy Scribe's advanced design and speech-to-text magic, we get highly accurate transcripts, essential for creating spot-on subtitles. Plus, the service lets people tweak the subtitles to match the look and feel of our videos.

Smooth Sailing Workflow

With a user-friendly design and compatibility based on a range of content management systems, Happy Scribe slides smoothly into our workflow. This service guarantees a friction-free subtitling process, a godsend for teams handling extensive media libraries.

Standing Up for Accessibility

Happy Scribe has a design that has accessibility at its core. It helps companies meet legal requirements by producing precise subtitles that tick all the boxes in accessibility guidelines.

For media and content teams who need to spread their wings and connect with new audiences, subtitling is necessary. It's also critical to stand up for accessibility standards, meeting both legal necessities and social commitments. Endorsed by Forbes and BBC, Happy Scribe shines as a comprehensive subtitling service equipped to help with linguistic expansion while guaranteeing cultural relevance and compliance with accessibility rules. Services like Happy Scribe are vital to a company's pledge to inclusivity and global reach as our world evolves.