The pipeline makes it affordable.
Our own AI stack handles transcription, speaker separation, visual indexing and first-draft description. That's how description fits inside one per-minute price.
216
days to April 26, 2027
ADA Title II · WCAG 2.1 AA · Public higher ed
Captioned and described by April 26, 2027.
Captions are the volume problem. Audio description is the one most vendors quietly decline. We do both on an AI-accelerated pipeline, with a human editor and a producer signing off every asset before it ships.
Sample lecture / BIO 201 · Lecture 7
00:14:22:00
Audio
Captions
Description
Switch treatments above. Description lives in the pauses, a second narration track timed to fit around the lecturer.SRT · VTT · burned-in · described track
Large public entities
April 26, 2027
Public universities in jurisdictions of 50,000+ must meet WCAG 2.1 AA on web and app content, video included.
Smaller entities
April 26, 2028
Smaller public entities and special districts follow a year later, under the DOJ's April 2026 interim final rule.
Not a pause
The extension is runway
Existing ADA obligations still apply today, and a back catalog takes months to clear, not weeks.
WCAG 1.2.5 · Audio description
Where captioning stops, description starts.
A lecture full of slides is the hardest content on campus to make compliant, and the one most programs underestimate.
Captions carry the audio. They do nothing for a chart, a formula, a diagram or the text an instructor points at and never reads aloud. For a student who can't see the screen, the most important minute of the lecture is silent.
WCAG 2.1 AA closes that gap with audio description, a second narration track written to fit the natural pauses and then recorded. That means scripting, timing, voice and mix. It's production work, not transcription, which is why caption vendors price it as an exception or turn it down.
For us it's the core business. The same house that cuts broadcast work writes, times and records your description track.
Most caption houses bill description on top, or decline it. We price it in.
| Criterion | Requirement | Transcription desk | OCM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2.2 | Captions, prerecordedLevel A · accuracy, speakers, sound | Core | Included |
| 1.2.4 | Captions, liveLevel AA | Varies | On request |
| 1.2.5 | Audio description, prerecordedLevel AA · the one that breaks vendors | Extra or declined | Included |
Title II web rule, 28 CFR part 35, subpart H, adopting WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Description is written into the silences.
One minute of lecture · 00:14:00 – 00:15:00
Lecturer speaking, captioned
Description, written and recorded to fit the pause
How we run it
Automation for the volume. People for the parts that get audited.
Transcription, speaker separation, visual indexing and first-draft description run on our own stack. Then an editor and a producer sign off, on every asset, no exceptions.
1
Producer
Intake & triage
Send a folder or a Panopto, Kaltura or YouTube link. We inventory it, flag what needs description, and lock a schedule.
2
AI pass
Transcript, speakers, visual index
The pipeline drafts the transcript, separates speakers and indexes on-screen visuals in minutes.
Nothing ships from this stage.
3
Editor
Human review to 99%+
Editors correct terminology, names and course vocabulary. Every asset.
4
AI draftProducer
Description script & VO
AI drafts from the visual index; a producer writes and times the final pass, then records it, in a studio voice or a licensed AI voice for library-wide consistency.
5
QA
Compliance layer & sign-off
Speaker IDs, non-speech audio, reading rate, sync, placement. A second-pass audit, then delivery back into your platform.
48–72 hours
Per asset, from intake to a captioned, described file back in your platform, against a written SLA.
Programs
One price per finished minute. Description included.
Choose by risk. Internal training can run lighter; anything public-facing or instructional should be Compliance Ready at minimum.
Tier 1
Standard Captions
For low-risk internal content.
- AI transcription with human QC to 95%+
- Basic speaker labeling
- Fast turnaround
Internal use
Tier 2
Compliance Ready
Captions to full WCAG 2.1 AA.
- 99%+ accuracy
- Speaker IDs and non-speech audio
- Formatting, sync and reading-rate control
- QA audit on every asset
Meets 1.2.2 · no description track
Tier 3Recommended
Full Accessibility
Everything in Compliance Ready, plus the part that's hardest to get.
- Audio description for slides, charts and on-screen text
- AI-drafted, producer-written, recorded VO
- Accessibility audit per library
- Everything in Compliance Ready
Meets 1.2.2 + 1.2.5
The number that matters is description. Caption vendors typically bill it on top at $8–15 a minute, so captions plus description elsewhere lands well above what you budgeted for captions alone. With Full Accessibility it's one price.
Volume pricing at 100, 500 and 1,000 hours a year. Reduced archive rate for back-catalog rework. Rush available. A campus-wide framework once a standard is set.
The pilot
One department. 50 hours. 30 days.
Pick the department with the largest slide-heavy back catalog, where description actually matters. We caption and describe it at a fixed pilot rate against a written SLA. You get a measured cost per hour, a quality benchmark on the hard content, and a compliance record you can show counsel, before anyone commits to a campus-wide number.
Scope
25–50 hrs
One department
Timeline
30 days
One semester window
Turnaround
48–72 hrs
Per asset, SLA-backed
Price
Fixed
Captions only, or with description
Semester 1
Pilot department
Captioned and described. Cost per hour benchmarked on the hard content.
Semester 2
One campus standard
A single standard, priced by volume instead of negotiated department by department.
Year 2
System-wide
The same framework across your system, with your campus as the reference.
Why One Circle
A production company, not a transcription desk.
We've spent twenty years making video for networks, studios and the companies below. Accessibility is the same craft with a stricter spec.
People make it defensible.
Description scripting, voice and mix happen in the same house that makes broadcast work. An editor and a producer sign off on every asset.
We build capability, not dependency.
We've stood up in-house studios and trained client crews. If you want this in-house by 2028, we hand you the workflow.
Emmy-winning.Cannes Silver Lion.New York, since 2004.
KPMGAmazonAudibleEYMorgan StanleyNasdaqNHLAMC NetworksiCapitalWPP Media
Questions we hear
Before the first call.
The deadline moved. Can we wait?
The DOJ's April 2026 interim final rule moved large public entities to April 26, 2027 and smaller ones to April 26, 2028. That's more time to reach WCAG 2.1 AA, not a pause on the ADA obligations you already have.
A departmental back catalog takes months to inventory, caption and describe. Starting with a pilot now gives you a real cost per hour before budgets lock.
Aren't auto-captions good enough?
They're a good first draft, and they're our first draft too. On their own they mishear course vocabulary and names, don't identify speakers, and skip sound cues. They also do nothing for what's on screen. Nothing leaves our AI pass without human review.
What is audio description, and do we need it?
A narrated track that describes important visual information the audio doesn't cover: slides, charts, equations, on-screen text. WCAG 2.1 AA requires it for prerecorded video (success criterion 1.2.5). Slide-heavy lectures almost always need it.
Which platforms and formats do you work with?
Panopto, Kaltura, YouTube, or a shared folder. We deliver SRT, VTT, burned-in captions and a described audio track, back into your platform.
Can we bring this in-house later?
Yes. We've built in-house creative teams for clients before. If your goal is an internal accessibility team, we'll document the workflow, train your people and stay on as overflow.
Compliance dates as published by ADA.gov. This site is general information, not legal advice.
Scope a pilot
Tell us about the backlog.
A rough number of hours and where it lives is enough. We'll come back with a pilot scope, a fixed price and a start date.
Or write directly
one@onecirclemedia.com
John Brancaccio, Founder & CEO