Do-It-Yourself Video Closed Captioning

The first entry in a new series to help you get started captioning from our own Giovanni Galvez

Working with Captions

For a lot of people, the process for closed captioning videos seems intimidating. After all, closed captioning is a technical process that is becoming increasingly regulated by government agencies with specific guidelines.

But the process can be very simple and, for pre-recorded videos, can be done right on your desktop. Can your captioning project be D.I.Y.? Here are the key questions that need to be answered:

• Do you have a transcript, or can you create one?

  

  • Oftentimes you already have a script available. This can be easily repurposed from a simple text document and formatted for video playback using captioning software such as MacCaption or CaptionMaker. If a script is not available, one can be created using any word processor.
  • Pressed for time? Transcription services can be pretty affordable and can conduct your whole process via email or Internet.
• Is the video file format right for captioning and delivery?
  • When captioning for internet delivery, an .mp4 or .mov is ideal.  For broadcast to TV, you may need to convert your video file to a different format. Software tools like Vantage and Episode are available to create the correct format when needed.
• Do you have what you need for quality-assurance?
  • Recent legislative changes requiring quality closed captioning mean that a show broadcast without captions is a major liability for video producers and broadcasters. Production studios rely on software video players like Switch to verify that captions are present and in sync before delivery.
  • If your video is not in compliance, it may never make it to the broadcaster.It is critical you establish a workflow that includes a layer of captioning quality assurance. Workflows that check for proper caption data let you rest assured that your video will not be rejected by TV stations and broadcast companies.
  • To complete your workflow for delivery to broadcast TV, simply add verification software. Tools like Switch, MacCaption and CaptionMaker are available for both Mac OS X and Windows at low cost and will make yours a successful end-to-end video captioning workflow.

Want to learn more? Sign up for our free DIY Captioning webinar on July 21st!