{
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    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "508 Accessible Videos – How to Caption Videos |Digital.gov",
    "description": "508 Accessible Videos – How to Caption Videos",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/30/508-accessible-videos-how-to-caption-videos/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"508 Accessible Videos \u0026#8211; How to Caption Videos","summary" : "What are Captions? In a video, captions collect all audio information and describe them using text. They include not only spoken content but also non-speech information such as sound effects, music, laughter, and speaker identification and location (for example, audio spoken off-screen). Captions appear transposed over the visual elements in","date" : "2014-06-30T10:00:22-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"ryan-leisinger" : "Ryan Leisinger","gary-morin" : "Gary Morin","jonathan-rubin" : "Jonathan Rubin"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "multimedia" : "Multimedia",
            "social-media" : "Social media"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2014-06-30-508-accessible-videos-how-to-caption-videos.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2014/06/2014-06-30-508-accessible-videos-how-to-caption-videos.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/06/2014-06-30-508-accessible-videos-how-to-caption-videos.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/06/2014-06-30-508-accessible-videos-how-to-caption-videos.md","slug" : "508-accessible-videos-how-to-caption-videos","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/30/508-accessible-videos-how-to-caption-videos/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/505-x-320-Resource-Accessible-How-to-Caption-Videos-NASA.jpg\"\n    alt=\"505-x-320-Resource-Accessible-How-to-Caption-Videos-NASA\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat are Captions?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a video, captions collect all audio information and describe them using text. They include not only spoken content but also non-speech information such as sound effects, music, laughter, and speaker identification and location (for example, audio spoken off-screen). Captions appear transposed over the visual elements in a video, and are synchronized so they appear at the same time as they are spoken or generated.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCaptioning is necessary for people who are unable to hear the audio in a video. It’s also helpful for people with cognitive impairments, as well as for developing literacy, both in children and adults. Captions include speech and sound effects. They also tell if there’s music or laughter, and identify multiple speakers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are two types of captioning: open captioning and closed captioning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpen captions\u003c/strong\u003e—Words that appear automatically on your video when you hit play; you cannot turn them off.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClosed captions\u003c/strong\u003e—These words don’t appear unless you turn them on. You can also turn them off.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCaptions are different from subtitles. Captions are usually in the same language as the spoken, while subtitles usually translate text into another language, and are common in films. For example, with a bilingual English/Spanish website, we would have clearly labeled captions (for English text) and subtitles (for Spanish text).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow to Create Captions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCreating captions requires five steps:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreate a text (.txt) file that contains your video’s words and describes any noises, music, or other sound effects. You can do this in one of three ways:\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse the video’s script (if you created one). If you used \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_Access_Real-Time_Translation\"\u003eCART\u003c/a\u003e (Computer Assisted Real-time Transcription) or \u003ca href=\"http://www.fedrcc.us/FedRcc/About.aspx\"\u003eRCC\u003c/a\u003e (Relay Conference Caption) for a live presentation, you already have a rough transcript.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=voice-to-speech+recognition+software\u0026amp;ie=utf-8\u0026amp;oe=utf-8\u0026amp;aq=t\u0026amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official\u0026amp;client=firefox-a\"\u003evoice-to-speech recognition software\u003c/a\u003e to get a rough transcript. You can do this with \u003ca href=\"http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm\"\u003eDragon NaturallySpeaking\u003c/a\u003e or \u003ca href=\"https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3038280?hl=en\u0026amp;ref_topic=3014331\"\u003eYouTube’s Beta speech recognition (automatic captions) program\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDo it manually. Watch your video, and write down everything that is said (effective, but tedious). Or pay a vendor to do it. The \u003ca href=\"http://www.dcmp.org/\"\u003eDescribed and Captioned Media Program\u003c/a\u003e (DCMP) provides a screened listing of captioning vendors as well as \u003ca href=\"http://www.dcmp.org/vendor-info#description-vendors\"\u003eaudio-description vendors\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003col start=\"2\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpen your video in a captioning editing program, such as \u003ca href=\"http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines/magpie\"\u003eMAGpie\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http://ncam.wgbh.org/webaccess/captionkeeper/\"\u003eCaptionKeeper\u003c/a\u003e, or just search for \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant\u0026amp;ion=1\u0026amp;espv=2\u0026amp;ie=UTF-8#q=video%20captioning%20programs\u0026amp;safe=active\"\u003evideo captioning programs\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInsert your script into the editor piece-by-piece, so your words appear on screen at the same time as the spoken words. There are two ways to do this:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOption 1\u003c/strong\u003e: Auto-transcription (like on YouTube)—If your video player supports captions (like YouTube), open your video and go to “Add Captions.” Click on the transcript file, and then upload your captions.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/328-x-232-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-Add-Auto-transcription.jpg\"\n    alt=\"328-x-232-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-Add-Auto-transcription\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOption 2\u003c/strong\u003e: Manual transcription—Using your caption editor, insert your script into the editor, a few words at a time, so your words appear on screen at the same time as the spoken words.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003col start=\"4\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWatch your video to make sure your captions are visible. Make sure the text is:\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAt the bottom of the screen and below the image. This prevents the captions from interfering with other visuals, such as speaker’s name, title, and affiliated institution.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCorrectly synchronized to the video.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGenerally more than 9 point type, on a background that contrasts enough to allow the text to be readable in a color that doesn’t conflict with the background or the video.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003col start=\"5\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLastly, for videos with multiple speakers, when speakers change, type in two right-facing arrows “\u0026raquo;” to indicate the change.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"examples-of-correct-and-incorrect-captions\"\u003eExamples of Correct and Incorrect Captions\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"incorrect-caption\"\u003eIncorrect Caption\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1: Text Too Small\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/655-x-373-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-incorrect-caption.jpg\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/600-x-337-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-incorrect-caption.jpg\"\n    alt=\"600-x-337-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-incorrect-caption\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe image above shows a video on a media player that supports captions. The captions are too small to be readable. There is no standard size for captions—they vary based on the size of your video player window. But, make them at least 9 point text: If you must squint to read your captions, the font size is too small.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncorrect Caption 2: Text Illegible\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/665-x-373-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-Illegible-grey-Text-caption.jpg\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/600-x-337-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-Illegible-grey-Text-caption.jpg\"\n    alt=\"600-x-337-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-Illegible-grey-Text-caption\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this image, the captions are larger, but they are grey, which is difficult to read on a dark background. It’s also hard to read white captions on a white background, or black captions on a black background.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstead, use high-contrast color combinations, such as black letters on a solid white background or white letters on a solid black background.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCorrect Caption: Proper Size and Readable\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/665-x-373-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-Proper-Size-and-Readable-caption.jpg\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/600-x-337-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-Proper-Size-and-Readable-caption.jpg\"\n    alt=\"600-x-337-Resource-Accessible-Videos-How-to-Caption-Videos-Proper-Size-and-Readable-caption\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis image has captions that are at least 9 point, and the text color is readable on the background behind it, so reading them is much easier. For more information about captions in a specific player, see \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/30/508-accessible-videos-use-a-508-compliant-video-player/\" title=\"508 Accessible Videos – Use a 508-Compliant Video Player\"\u003eUse a 508-Compliant and Accessible Video Player\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are dozens of captioning tools out there, do a \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/#q=video+captioning+resources\u0026amp;safe=active\" title=\"Google search\"\u003esearch\u003c/a\u003e to find some of them.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}