Subtitles on GW videos: captions and web accessibility

[Aramis K]

I've just written to GW to complain about the lack of optional subtitles on their video content. Especially the guides.

 

I'd be interested to hear other Fraeters experience around the accessibility of GW content.

 

Web content should be for everyone. Access needs are often situational - For example I can hear but I don't always have headphones.

 

 

The email I sent:

 

 

 

GW has been producing fantastic video content for a few years now.

 

But none of your videos meet basic web accessibility standards. This is a huge shame.

 

There are never subtitles on your videos.

 

I was especially disappointed to see nothing in the great new Citadel Colour app had subtitles.

 

I strongly encourage you to look at adding them and being a more inclusive publisher. There are many many reasons people can struggle with accessing digital content, from disability to situational issues like lacking headphones on a train. You're missing part of your market.

 

Modern video players support optional captioning. Please use it.

 

Here are some assets you may find useful:

 

UK GOV accessible design posters:

https://accessibility.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/02/dos-and-donts-on-designing-for-accessibility/

 

W3C accessibility standards:

https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/

 

Creating accessible videos:

https://www.washington.edu/accessibility/videos/

 

The world wide web: This is for everyone.

 

 

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this.

[battle captain corpus]

It’s fair enough, quite often I’ll be watching a video in public and don’t want the sound to be intrusive.

I imagine for hobbyists with hearing impairment etc it would be even more challenging.

 

BCC

[The Yncarne]

Thanks for your work on this topic. It has been on my mind professionally as I evangelize making content accessible to all.

 

I agree that GW has a long way to go on this topic. Actions like yours and others (hint hint) will help nudge them in the right direction. Accessible and usable content is a journey, not a destination.

[Aramis K]

I had a nice acknowledgement from GW:

 

"I can absolutely understand your concerns, and I am passing this on to all the relevant teams of ours dealing with such content to take this into consideration.

...

"I sadly cannot promise if any direct changes will be coming, or in what form, but this is certainly something we will be looking into!"

[apologist]

Subtitles are something I've requested from GW before. Again, not from disability; I just vastly prefer to read.

[N1SB]

Brother Aramis, outstanding job, you're doing the Omnissiah's work.  I also really like the way you provided resources in the spirit of being helpful like the W3C link.  You made a very compelling case that you're not asking anything out of the ordinary; it's just web standards.  Very reasonable.

 

Edit - they also have Warhammer Studios set up now, which they didn't before i.e. they likely have resources and manpower for this ask now.

 

I will support you and all others who could make use of subtitles.  Which email address did you use please?  Was it just the Warhammer Community one?

Edited June 14, 2019 by N1SB

[Marshal Rohr]

GW videos already have subtitles. Watched a painting video this am, the whole thing had subtitles. 

Edited June 14, 2019 by Marshal Rohr

[Aramis K]

GW videos already have subtitles. Watched a painting video this am, the whole thing had subtitles.

I've never seen it on the Community site or on YouTube, and I can't find any examples that have subtitles now, looking on both the YouTube app and website.

 

Great if there are some examples (do you have a link?) but it doesn't seem to be standard for them. I know YouTube are testing speech recognition to do automated subtitles, but again I've never seen it on any GW video. I'd be happy to be wrong about this.

 

@N1SB - I emailed uk.custserv@gwplc.com

[Marshal Rohr]

 

GW videos already have subtitles. Watched a painting video this am, the whole thing had subtitles.

I've never seen it on the Community site or on YouTube, and I can't find any examples that have subtitles now, looking on both the YouTube app and website.

 

Great if there are some examples (do you have a link?) but it doesn't seem to be standard for them. I know YouTube are testing speech recognition to do automated subtitles, but again I've never seen it on any GW video. I'd be happy to be wrong about this.

 

@N1SB - I emailed uk.custserv@gwplc.com

 

 

I'll try to grab a screen shot on my phone at lunch. 

[Knight of the Raven]

I've certainly seen no subtitles on the website created specifically for the Siege of Terra, although I was entirely surprised they had even translated that same website in my language to begin with. In contrast, Warhammer Community is exclusively English as far as I can tell, when in the past someone who knew nothing about that language could still get some news from the old website.

That's my point: English isn't the only language in the world.

I'm not asking the folks over at Games Workshop to start learning other languages or hiring translators and foreign voice actors, that'd be unfair and entitled all at once. But just because I can read Betrayer in its original language and understand everything in that book doesn't mean I can decipher what the hell this guy with the red and black checkered shirt is saying on the website I mentioned.

Subtitles would have helped there.

[Marshal Rohr]

I've certainly seen no subtitles on the website created specifically for the Siege of Terra, although I was entirely surprised they had even translated that same website in my language to begin with. In contrast, Warhammer Community is exclusively English as far as I can tell, when in the past someone who knew nothing about that language could still get some news from the old website.

 

That's my point: English isn't the only language in the world.

 

I'm not asking the folks over at Games Workshop to start learning other languages or hiring translators and foreign voice actors, that'd be unfair and entitled all at once. But just because I can read Betrayer in its original language and understand everything in that book doesn't mean I can decipher what the hell this guy with the red and black checkered shirt is saying on the website I mentioned.

 

Subtitles would have helped there.

 

To be fair, I only speak English and can't understand it without subtitles. C'est la vie.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Marshal Rohr

[Knight of the Raven]

Precisely. There are several ways someone can be hard to understand when they speak, from several different accents spanning the globe to mumbling, from talking too fast to slips of the tongue. Subtitles would help with that because spelling is more 'centralized,' so to speak.

They won't help someone who's dyslexic, that much is true, but that's where articulating one's words clearly helps instead.