Screencast Script Template (WCAG 2.2 Captions, WebVTT)

Screencast Script: [Task or feature shown]

Production script for a technical screencast: a recorded screen walkthrough that shows a real product task step by step. It covers the learning outcome, the recording environment and its reset state, a two-column script of narration against on-screen action, the exact clicks and commands, zoom and callouts, pacing, chapter markers, the captions file, the transcript and audio-description notes. The accessibility deliverables follow the time-based media success criteria 1.2.1 to 1.2.5 of WCAG 2.2 (W3C Recommendation, 2024-12-12) and captions use the WebVTT format (W3C). Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example.

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Revision history

Contents

1. Purpose and learning outcome
2. Production specification
3. Environment setup and reset state
4. Two-column script
5. Exact commands and inputs
6. Zoom, callouts and visual treatment
7. Pacing and timing
8. Chapter markers
9. Captions file
10. Transcript
11. Audio description notes
12. Accessibility conformance check
13. Review, recording and maintenance
14. Glossary and references
15. Standard and licence note

1. Purpose and learning outcome

Example: Viewer is a Corvid Commerce merchant developer with a sandbox account and an existing test payment. Learning outcome: after watching, the viewer can issue a full and a partial refund from the dashboard and confirm the refund through the API. Out of scope: disputes and chargebacks, which have their own video.

Keep one outcome per video. If the outline needs two outcomes, split it into two videos and link them as a series with chapter markers on each.

2. Production specification

Record with system notifications disabled, a clean browser profile, and a neutral desktop. Use a cursor size large enough to follow on a phone and enable click highlighting only if the recording tool does it consistently.

3. Environment setup and reset state

3.1 Environment

3.2 Seed data

3.3 Reset procedure

Run the reset before every take and before re-recording any segment.

# Example reset for the Corvid Commerce sandbox (fictional commands)
corvid sandbox reset --account demo-refunds --confirm
corvid sandbox seed --file seeds/refund-demo.json
corvid sandbox status --account demo-refunds

Reset checklist:

• Reset script completed without errors and status shows the seed objects in the expected states.
• Browser cache, autofill and saved passwords cleared.
• Previous refunds removed, so lists start in the same order.
• Notifications, chat apps and calendar alerts closed or muted.
• Terminal history cleared; prompt shortened to $.
• Window sizes and zoom match section 2.

4. Two-column script

Write narration as it will be spoken: short sentences, second person, present tense, the same terms as the UI labels. Give each segment an ID so reviewers, editors and the captions file can refer to it. Timecodes are targets and are corrected after the edit.

Script rules:

• One beat per row: one instruction, one visible result.
• Name UI elements exactly as labelled, in bold in the right column.
• Say numbers as they will be read aloud; keep the exact value in the action column and the captions.
• Leave a short silent pause after every result the viewer must see, so the edit has room and audio description has a gap (section 11).
• Do not narrate keyboard shortcuts without also showing the menu path.

5. Exact commands and inputs

Rules for commands on screen:

• Use environment variables for every key and token. Never show a secret, even a test one, in full.
• Type commands live at a readable pace or paste them with a visible pause; do not cut away while a command runs unless a caption says so.
• Use a monospace font at a size readable on a phone, and wrap or scroll long commands so nothing runs off screen.
• Every command shown appears in the linked written procedure, word for word.

6. Zoom, callouts and visual treatment

Visual rules:

• Do not convey meaning by colour alone; pair colour with a shape, label or narration.
• Avoid flashing transitions. Keep any flashing within the WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.3.1 limits (three flashes or below threshold).
• Keep text callouts in the same language as the narration and include them in the transcript.

7. Pacing and timing

Example: The Corvid Commerce refund script has 140 spoken words (23, 21, 11, 16, 14, 15, 22 and 18 across SEG-01 to SEG-08). At 140 words per minute that is 1 minute of speech; with eight pauses of about 2 seconds and a 10-second end card the narrated length is about 1 minute 26 seconds. The 3 minute 25 second plan in section 4 therefore leaves about 2 minutes for unnarrated actions such as navigation, dialog steps and typing in SEG-07. Recompute after the edit.

8. Chapter markers

Publish chapters in the form the player supports: a chapters text track in WebVTT for HTML <track kind="chapters">, or a timestamp list in the video description for platforms that read it. Use the same titles in both and in the transcript headings.

9. Captions file

Deliver captions as a WebVTT file (text/vtt, UTF-8, first line WEBVTT), as defined by the W3C WebVTT specification. Check the current specification status at https://www.w3.org/TR/webvtt1/.

WEBVTT

SEG-01
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.500
In this video, you issue a full refund
and a partial refund

SEG-01b
00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:09.000
in the Corvid Commerce dashboard,
then confirm them through the API.

SEG-04
00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:59.000
Select Refund. Leave the amount
at the full value,

SEG-07-sfx
00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:42.500
[keyboard typing]

Caption rules:

• Verbatim narration, edited only for accuracy of product terms, commands and numbers.
• Two lines at most per cue, about 32 to 42 characters per line, split at natural phrase boundaries.
• Minimum cue duration about 1 second; keep reading speed comfortable.
• Include meaningful non-speech audio in square brackets; omit background music unless it carries meaning.
• When on-screen text is essential and not spoken, either speak it or cover it in the audio description (section 11).
• Use the same cue identifiers as segment IDs where practical, so reviewers can trace a caption to the script.
• Translate captions per the localisation plan; translated captions are subtitles and are reviewed by a fluent reviewer.

10. Transcript

Publish a transcript next to the video on the docs page, or link it directly below the player. A descriptive transcript that covers both audio and meaningful visual information can serve as the media alternative under WCAG 2.2 SC 1.2.3 (Level A) and, for video-only or audio-only content, under SC 1.2.1. It does not replace captions (SC 1.2.2) or, at Level AA, audio description (SC 1.2.5).

Transcript structure:

1. Title, product version and recording date.
2. One heading per chapter from section 8.
3. Narration as paragraphs.
4. On-screen actions and results in brackets or as separate lines, for example "[The status changes to Refunded.]"
5. Every command and value in code formatting, copied from section 5.
6. Links to the written procedure and related videos.

Example extract:

Issue a partial refund. Open the forty-five fifty payment, select Refund, and enter twenty dollars. [The Refund dialog opens. The amount field is cleared and 20.00 is typed. Refund payment is selected. A success message appears and the payment status shows Partially refunded.]

11. Audio description notes

Integrated description is the cheapest route: write the narration so that it already says what changes on screen. Where it does not, plan a description in a natural pause or produce a described version.

Decide the deliverable:

12. Accessibility conformance check

Criteria from WCAG 2.2 guideline 1.2 (Time-based Media) and related criteria. Check the levels against the current Recommendation.

13. Review, recording and maintenance

13.1 Review and recording steps

13.2 Maintenance

• Keep source assets (project file, raw recordings, script, captions, transcript, seed data and reset script) in [repository or drive path], versioned with this document.
• Re-record a segment when the UI label, layout or flow it shows changes, when a command changes, or when the product version shown leaves support. Record the change in the revision history.
• Review every published screencast at each major release and at least every [12] months. Retire videos whose task is no longer supported, and redirect their page.
• Measure usefulness with aggregate, cookieless signals only (for example completion of the linked task or page feedback), honour Global Privacy Control, and never require viewer personal data.

14. Glossary and references

14.1 Glossary

14.2 References

Standard and licence note

Based on the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Recommendation of 2024-12-12, guideline 1.2 Time-based Media and the related criteria listed in section 12, and on the W3C WebVTT specification for the captions and chapters format. Success criterion numbers and short names are cited for mapping; the criteria are paraphrased in original words and no W3C normative text is reproduced. This template is original text written for this collection and is not affiliated with or endorsed by W3C. Check the current official versions of WCAG and WebVTT before use. Template licence: MIT.