GUIDE · FOR ONLINE LEARNING AND ACCESSIBILITY TEAMS
Lecture capture or produced lessons: what remastering each one involves
How to tell which kind of course video you have, what work each one needs to meet WCAG 2.1 AA, where the audio description load really sits, and what it costs per finished minute.
Lecture capture is mostly a frame, slide and description job: the teaching is fine, but the speaker points at things the audio never names, so description carries most of the work. Produced lessons are mostly a graphics and timing job: narration is tighter and better, but on-screen text and diagrams still need describing, often with little room in the audio. In both, the faculty's words stay, and captions and audio description get built in.
Which one do you have?
Most catalogs hold both. The difference decides where the work goes, so sort a few videos before you price anything.
| Signal | Lecture capture | Produced lesson |
|---|---|---|
| How it was made | A room camera, a screen recording of slides, or both, recorded during or instead of a live class | Scripted or outlined, recorded in segments, edited with graphics |
| Length and shape | One long take, often 40 to 90 minutes | Short segments, usually under 15 minutes each |
| Frame | Often 4:3 or a small slide window, sometimes interlaced | Usually 16:9 with designed graphics |
| Narration | Spoken off the cuff: "as you can see here," "this one over here" | Written or rehearsed, names most of what is on screen |
| Captions today | Auto-captions or none | Sometimes a caption file from the original vendor |
What remastering lecture capture involves
The teaching usually holds up. The packaging doesn't. These are the steps we run, in order:
- Transcript first. A human-corrected transcript of the audio. It becomes the captions and the base for the description script.
- New frame. A 16:9 sequence with the 4:3 source placed in a designed layout, not stretched and not boxed in black bars. Deinterlace if the source needs it.
- Rebuild the slides. Retype or rebuild the slide and whiteboard content as clean graphics, from the original deck when faculty can share it. This is what makes a lecture readable on a phone.
- Clean the audio. Reduce room noise, level the loudness, remove clicks. Cut nothing the instructor said unless faculty ask for it.
- Write the description. Every "as you can see" becomes a short described line that says what is on the screen. Faculty approve the script before it is voiced.
- Deliver for your LMS. The remastered video, a caption file (.vtt or .srt) and the described version.
Lecture capture carries the heaviest description load, because the speaker points instead of naming. W3C's guidance for success criterion 1.2.5 says description is needed only for visual information the main audio doesn't already convey, so a lecture where the instructor reads out the chart needs little. Live teaching tends to point rather than name, so plan for description on most lecture capture.
Source: W3C, Understanding 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded).
What remastering produced lessons involves
Produced lessons look better and age differently. The issues are low-resolution graphics, on-screen text the narrator never reads, and narration so tight there is no gap to describe anything in.
- Check the caption file. If one exists, check it for accuracy against the audio rather than starting over. Fix names, terms and formulas first.
- Rebuild the graphics. Re-render charts, labels and titles at full resolution so they read on a phone and so the description can refer to them cleanly.
- Find the description gaps. List every on-screen element the narration doesn't name: text callouts, diagram labels, demonstrations.
- Fit the description. Standard description sits in the natural pauses. When there are no pauses, there are two honest options: add a spoken line to the narration with faculty approval, or produce an extended version that pauses the picture while the description plays.
- Deliver for your LMS. Same three files as above.
One point that saves money: extended audio description is WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.7, which is Level AAA. Level AA asks for audio description (1.2.5), not the extended format. Extended is the tool for when the audio has no room, not a requirement in itself.
Source: W3C, WCAG 2.1 (1.2.5 Level AA; 1.2.7 Level AAA).
Side by side
| Work | Lecture capture | Produced lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Frame | New 16:9 layout around the 4:3 source | Usually fine; re-export at current resolution |
| Slides and graphics | Rebuild from the deck or the frame | Re-render low-resolution graphics |
| Audio | Room noise and level, the main fix | Light level check |
| Captions | New, human-corrected | Check and correct the existing file |
| Description load | High: the speaker points instead of naming | Medium: on-screen text and diagrams |
| Room for description | Usually plenty of natural pauses | Often tight; may need a narration line or an extended version |
| Faculty time | Approve the description script | Approve the script and any added narration line |
A 10-minute self-check
Pick three videos you'll still use after April 2027: your highest-enrollment lesson, your oldest, and one with the most diagrams. For each one:
- Mute it and watch two minutes. Write down what you'd miss with no picture. That list is your description script, roughly.
- Listen with your eyes closed for two minutes. Count "as you can see," "this," "here" and pointing. Each one is a description cue.
- Check the frame. 4:3, a tiny slide window, or text you can't read on a phone means a remaster is worth pricing.
- Check the captions. Read 30 seconds of them against the audio, especially names, numbers and terms.
- Note the length. Finished minutes drive the price, so total the minutes for the course.
If two of the three videos need a new frame, price a remaster. If the picture is fine and the gaps are description and captions, price audio description on its own. The ADA Title II course video guide has the full remediate, remaster or retire method and a free scope checklist.
What it costs
Our published prices, the same ones on the courses page:
| Option | Price | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Free sample | Free | 60 seconds of your own lecture, remastered, to judge the work |
| Audio description only | $8 a minute standard, $12 extended, $250 minimum | The picture is fine; captions and description are the gap |
| Pilot module | $2,500 | One module, up to 20 finished minutes, before you commit to a course |
| Full remaster | $125 a finished minute, $99 over 300 minutes | New frame, graphics, audio, captions and standard description included |
Worked example: a 45-minute lecture capture remastered is 45 × $125 = $5,625. Audio description alone on the same 45 minutes, if the picture is fine, is 45 × $8 = $360. Faculty approve every script in both cases.
Frequently asked questions
Does lecture capture need more audio description than produced lessons?
Usually. Instructors in lecture capture point at slides instead of naming what is on them, and WCAG 1.2.5 requires description of visual information the audio doesn't convey. Produced lessons tend to narrate more, though on-screen text still needs covering.
Is extended audio description required for WCAG 2.1 AA?
No. Extended audio description is success criterion 1.2.7, Level AAA. Level AA requires audio description (1.2.5). Extended is a way to fit description when the audio has no pauses.
Can we keep the original length of our lectures?
Yes. A remaster keeps the course, the faculty and the length unless you ask for shorter segments.
Do we have to re-record our faculty?
No. A remaster works from the existing recording. Faculty review and approve the description script.
What does remastering lecture capture cost?
$125 per finished minute at Donarus, $99 per minute over 300 minutes, with captions and standard audio description included. Audio description on its own is $8 a minute standard or $12 extended, with a $250 minimum.
Send us 60 seconds of one lecture, or point us to a public one, and we'll remaster it free with captions and audio description. Ask for a free sample.