Plan for the audience
before the edit is locked.

A video shows two sample receipts. The host says, “This one is cheaper.” A viewer listening without the picture cannot know which order the host means. Captions reproduce the words, but they do not repair that missing explanation.

That narration gives the listener the comparison. The graphic can still help someone follow the arithmetic. The Hinglish example shows how the same fictional prices can be written for another spoken register.

Begin with the media type: a recorded audio interview, a video with essential graphics and a live conversation need different production arrangements. Record the languages, publication platforms and audience requirements in the brief.

W3C’s media guidance distinguishes captions, transcripts, description of visual information, sign language and accessible media players. Captions carry speech and meaningful non-speech audio. A descriptive transcript can also explain important visual content. These are related deliverables with different jobs.

Give the writer the intended graphics before the shoot. In the receipt example, they need both totals and the 25-rupee difference. The host can say them naturally while the editor shows the comparison.

Other visuals may need a separate description treatment. Decide that with the actual content and audience in view. W3C’s planning resource provides checklists by media type and explains how requirements relate to WCAG levels. Use those checklists to set the project’s requirements.

• Writer and producer: identify essential visual information and agree how it will be communicated.
• Caption editor: correct words, speaker identification and meaningful sounds against the final recording, then check timing and readability.
• Transcript editor: work from the released version and include the visual descriptions agreed for the descriptive transcript.
• Publisher: check the actual uploaded tracks, transcript links and player controls on each destination.

If an edit changes 244 to 249, the correction has several homes. Assign a reviewer to reconcile the spoken amount, graphic, captions and transcript instead of treating each export as finished in isolation.

The editable production plan includes the worked receipt example, owners, acceptance checks and a blank sign-off record. For the receipt example, listen without the picture: can you identify both totals and the difference? Then inspect the captioned version without sound. Test keyboard operation and transcript access on the player people will actually use.

Those checks find practical defects; they do not certify a whole site or film. Record unresolved requirements and bring in specialist review where the team needs it. A later recut or different platform export can require another check.