Closed Captions are for Everyone

Closed captions can be turned off, so you can see the video behind the captions.

They are also text, so they can be translated into other languages or characters including Braille.

They provide the dialogue, or what is said by one or more speakers.

Life is like
a box of chocolates.

If there is more than one speaker, they inform you of who is speaking.

Mom: Life is like
a box of chocolates.

The captions are short, so you can read them quickly and still see the video.

They provide the music or musical themes for tone or atmosphere.

[Light piano music]

If the song should be known, the title is included.

["Feather Theme"]

If the words should be known, the lyrics display just like the dialogue but with musical symbols. This helps distinguish the music from any dialogue occurring at the same time.

♪ All I'm askin' is for a little respect♪♪

They provide important sound effects. Sound effects help with the storytelling.

[wind breaks between tree limbs]

Sometimes sound effects explain responses from the speakers.

[a tree limb snaps]

The content can be used in loud environments where you cannot hear the audio.

The content can be used in silent environments where you cannot turn on the sound.

The content can be better understood by people hearing and seeing the information.

For example, people who are less fluent in the language spoken can learn the language or translate it to their preferred language.

The content can be read rather than watched, which is easier and quicker for some people to review.

The content in text form, such as caption files and transcripts, can be better indexed by search engines.

Some audio and video providers allow you to jump to a specific spot in the content based on the text you searched for in the transcript.

Is anyone speaking? Having a conversation? Are they singing or acting? Reciting or lecturing? Telling a story through sound effects? If there is audio*, the video should be closed captioned.

* There are other captioning services for videos without audio. Contact your Digital Accessibility Officer or review the captioning services for more information.

Content that is five (5) minutes or less is really easy to closed caption using the editing tools of hosting solutions, like YouTube.

You can start yourself off with the auto-generated captions from YouTube, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams (or recordings saved to Microsoft Stream).

But do not stop there!

Edit the auto-generated captions to fix:

• phone numbers,
• email,
• web addresses,
• names, and
• other words.

Request captions from a professional if the content is too long for you to do on your own.

You can search for "Captioning" in the Service Portal. Or look for "Captioning Services for Audio & Video" in the Service Catalog.

When you submit your request, make sure you gave them everything they need to quickly write up the captions for your content.

Faculty should also review instructional recording guidelines from Digital Learning and Academic Innovations, including FERPA and copyright laws. They provide instructions in the Academic Digital Resource Center (ADRC) in Canvas.

Once you or the professional are done, you can submit the closed captions to your audio or video hosting solution.

If you use a professional, they will send captioning files back to you. You can add or modify them using the captioning instructions for your hosting solution. Once they are added or modified to the content, you can publish or post for everyone to enjoy.

Even if your video is already available, adding the closed captioning benefits everyone returning to your video.