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Accessible Livestreaming 101

Alyssa Bradley

Media Production Specialist for MSU IT

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Welcome to your crash course in accessible live video experiences

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Pre-Production

Learn about your audience

Utilize a registration form
Know your platform options for streaming
Make yourself available, and allow participants to reach out to you with their needs

“If you have additional needs related to accessibility, or require an additional accommodation, please contact X.”

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Learn about them, and shape an experience around them instead of fitting them into your rigid mold.
Utilize a registration form

Use this to get to know your audience. Aside from gathering the obvious contact information from your participants, also to learn more about their specific needs.
For example, if you stream is only available to registrants, and you ask if the participants need captions or other accommodation, and no one does, then you don’t need to hire a captioner, etc.

Know your platform options and the pros and cons of each. Some platforms like YouTube easily integrate live captions, while Facebook is a lot harder and requires workarounds and third party software. We recommend speaking with a live caption vendor to learn which platforms they provide captions to, and how their processes work.
Be clear in your communication about the event, if you are offering accommodations, what those are. We also like to add this messaging:

Live captions will be provided during the stream. Additionally, a transcript and closed captions will be made available within one week after the event. If you have additional needs related to accessibility, or require an additional accommodation, please contact X.

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Pre-Production

Other considerations

Make sure slides are easy to read.
Live captioners also will want to see any slides before the scheduled event.
Test your equipment and setup

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Production

Real time captions (CART)
Live audio description?
Overall accessibility of the platform you are streaming from

Platforms that support live captions:

Facebook Live (new and a little clunky)
Youtube
Adobe Connect
Twitch
Zoom
Livestream

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Post-Production

Accurate closed captions (within one week of the stream)
Make adjustments to accommodate any special requests that may have been made during the stream (example: volume levels, audio descriptions of slides).

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My advice:

While it might seem like live video is easier than pre-recorded, that’s not always the case. There are so many additional factors that come into play when working with live video. Many of the details in pre-production can be overwhelming for some, and it might seem like the live video isn’t worth it in the end.

My advice though is if you are new to live video, (or you are new to providing accessible live video) and you are not sure if it’s something you can accomplish, JUST DO IT! Live video, and the accommodation tools surrounding it are constantly changing. This is brand new for everyone! There will always be new technology, there will always be factors out of your control, and there will always be things that you miss (especially the first few times). Use those as opportunities to learn. You will learn best by trial and error, by just getting out there and doing it.

Live video is so new, and has so much potential for new ways of interaction, especially for users with disabilities. Start livestreaming, experimenting, and learning, and discover those innovate ways for interaction.

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Resources