To keep things simple in explaining this important project, I’ve listed the bullets from the Open and Closed Project Web site.
1. Write standards for the four fields of accessible media — captioning, audio description, subtitling, and dubbing — based on research and evidence.
2. Conduct research when the existing research or evidence does not exist or is insufficient.
3. Test standards for a year in the real world, make any changes necessary, and publish them.
4. Develop training and certification programs for practitioners.
While all of the above happens, they will also do the following two things:
1. Design and test improved fonts for captioning and subtitling (already underway).
2. Develop and test file formats for the four fields of accessible media.
Joe Clark is looking for supporters to donate small amounts of cash — micropatronage, as he calls it — to start up this project.