Captioning

Overview

Subtitles, Captions and Transcripts

Definitions

re-speaking

CC in noisy places (airports, bars) and where you need quiet (library)

PACT = Placement, Accuracy, Completeness, and Timing (from FCC 2015)

Tips and Best Practices

  • Captions must not block important information and should identify the speaker

  • User needs to be able to customize caption text (yellow text on Simpsons)

    • Positioning of the text carries meaning (Example: When two people are speaking)

    • Not just the spoken word, but information about sound...

      • use speaker identifiers (who is speaking)

      • 'silence' (especially if lips are moving but nothing being said)

      • 'turns tap off' (the meaning of the sound) rather than 'squeak' (the sound)

Places to Get Started

DCMP Captioning Key (style quidelines) http://www.captioningkey.org/

Accessible Rhetoric [Sean Zdenek's website] http://seanzdenek.com/

General Information

    • The Importance of Captioning [NCSU] (YouTube 1:48) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33krnU_juFE

    • A Rising Tide: How Closed Captions Can Benefit All Students http://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/8/a-rising-tide-how-closed-captions-can-benefit-all-students

    • Video captions improve comprehension, professor finds http://news.sfsu.edu/video-captions-improve-comprehension-professor-finds

    • Video Captions Benefit Everyone http://bit.ly/CCBenefits4All

    • Captioning Key: Quality Captioning http://www.captioningkey.org

    • Starting with the Why: An Introduction to Closed Captioning (from webinar May 2017, Luis Perez) http://bit.ly/WhyCaptioning

      • Webinar recording link = http://aem.cast.org/about/events/2017/05/beginning-with-the-why-an-introduction-to-closed-captioning.html

    • Luis Perez's YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/lfperez72

    • The Nuts & Bolts of Captioning & Describing Online Video (webinar recording 61:31) http://www.3playmedia.com/resources/webinars/05-25-2017-nuts-bolts/

    • QUICK START TO CAPTIONING 03-30-2017 (webinar recording) http://www.3playmedia.com/resources/webinars/qsc-03-30-2017/

    • Quality Captioning (DCMP philosophy) http://www.captioningkey.org/quality_captioning.html

    • 2017 State of Captioning [download report by 3PlayMedia] http://www.3playmedia.com/resources/industry-studies/2017-state-of-captioning/

    • Caption It Yourself – “Basic Guidelines for Busy Teachers, Families, and Others Who Shoot Their Own Video” - dcmp.org/ciy/

  • (webinar recording+) THE FUTURE OF CLOSED CAPTIONING IN HIGHER EDUCATION http://www.3playmedia.com/resources/webinars/future-cc-05-12-2016/

  • Which sounds are significant? Towards a rhetoric of closed captioning [Sean Zdenek] http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/1667/1604

  • Chapter 1: A rhetorical view of captioning [from Zdenek's book Reading Sounds] http://readingsounds.net/chapter1/#contextualize

  • Research into Using Video Subtitles and Closed Captions to Improve Reading and Literacy Skills http://www.zaneeducation.com/video-subtitles-captions/subtitle-and-closed-captions-research.php

  • Autistic spectrum, captions and audio description http://mindfulresearch.co.uk/2011/08/29/autistic-spectrum-captions-and-audio-description/

  • Video captioning [Iowa State University] http://web.iastate.edu/access/video.php

  • Video Captioning: Students in Captioning Project Make Video Content More

  • Accessible to Hearing-Impaired [Texas Tech] https://www.depts.ttu.edu/artsandsciences/news/news-video-captioning.php

  • (webinar recording+)THE FUTURE OF VIDEO CAPTIONING ACCORDING TO GOOGLE http://www.3playmedia.com/2016/03/05/the-future-of-video-captioning-according-to-google/#sthash.DTDgBNc0.dpuf

  • More haste less speed: Edited versus verbatim respoken subtitles (PDF) http://vialjournal.webs.uvigo.es/pdf/Vial-2009-Article6.pdf

    • WEBINAR @ONE CAPTIONING CONSIDERATIONS (YouTube, 1:08:50) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOjOr1ionic&list=PLx-VX3akOUVhMEURX29bFnDhW-lDTnPaf&index=5

The quick points below that describe the difference between subtitles, captions and transcripts are directly from the following presentation. Please see the full presentation for all the details.

Captioning & Web Video by Mark Gamble SC AT EXPO 3/26/2014

http://scvrd.net/downloads/pdfs/Captioning2014.pdf

Subtitles (See Slide 32) Quick Points:

Translations of audio content for non-native speakers

Assume you can hear sound effects or music cues

Captions (See Slides 34-35) Quick Points:

Assume that the viewer is completely deaf

Include all spoken content, sound effects, music cues and other significant audio

Typically displayed in two lines at the bottom of the screen, which is called a caption frame

Can be done in real time, referred to as CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation), or in post-production, sometimes referred to as offline captioning

Transcripts (See Slide 36) Quick Points:

Displays everything that captions display

Identifies all speakers

For web video, both captions and a text transcript should be provided.

For content that is audio only, a transcript is sufficient.

Guidelines for Captions (See Slides 50-53) Quick Points:

Captions appear on-screen long enough to be read.

Synchronize captions with spoken words, or start slightly before speaker

Identify speakers when more than one person is on-screen or when the speaker is not visible

Write sound effects when they add to understanding.

Preserve use of slang and identify accent

Translating speech to text sometimes requires creative use of punctuation, but always remember the rules of good grammar.

Video/Transcript/Caption Examples (See Slides 37-39)

Ready Houston: Regional Disaster Preparedness RUN.HIDE.FIGHT.

Video: http://www.readyhoustontx.gov/videos.html#rhf

Transcript: http://www.readyhoustontx.gov/trans-runhidefight.html

SCVRD Evaluation Center Promo http://spareroommedia.com/video.php?type=eval_center&title=SCVRD%20Evaluation%20Center%C2%A0Promo&autostart=false

Is there a way to add captions to a video that is already published? http://www.washington.edu/doit/there-way-add-captions-video-already-published

What are some guidelines for creating attractive and functional open or closed captions? http://www.washington.edu/doit/what-are-some-guidelines-creating-attractive-and-functional-open-or-closed-captions

Can captions be generated automatically using speech recognition? http://www.washington.edu/doit/can-captions-be-generated-automatically-using-speech-recognition

(timing on captions) The power of dots and dashes to tell the future http://seanzdenek.com/2012/03/06/the-power-of-dots-and-dashes-to-tell-the-future/

Captioning YouTube Videos

  • How to Caption YouTube Videos by vidiSEO (YouTube (3:47) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbUcv3Bc61g Short. He shows Automatic Caption features and edits the text, but then he also shows how to make it from a text editor.

  • [YouTube] Use Automatic Captioning https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6373554?hl=en

    • Edit or Remove Captions [YouTube] https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734705?hl=en

    • YouTube Help: Add subtitles & closed captions support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en

    • Automatic Captions in YouTube Demo by Google [in 2009] (YouTube 2:34) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTvHIDKLFqc

    • How to edit YouTube automatic subtitles (Sep 2015, 3:41) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au8l88ec2jc" It is easy to download your automatic subtitles and correct them to make your YouTube videos more accessible."

    • How-to Add Automatic Closed Captioning to a YouTube Video (Oct 2017, 1:52) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4yR5mHIa7k

  • [YouTube] Add subtitles and closed captions https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?p=add_captions&rd=1

  • Youtube Tutorial: How to add captions to your Youtube videos (Easy) by Technologyguru77 (YouTube 5:18) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYcj85tBje4 He shows the Automatic Caption tool in YouTube - but then shows you have you have to edit it.

  • How To Add Closed Captions To A YouTube Video by BigNate84 (YouTube 8:08) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K4WJs94FfY He uses the method where you make a text file and upload it to YouTube.

  • How to add closed captions (CC) to a YoutTube Video by Sterling Teaches (YouTube 3:57) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3IVyQQ5mlw&index=18&list=PLD9B72A13AEEAF86F

  • YouTube Captioning - Resources for Developers and Publishers https://www.google.com/accessibility/for-developers.html#youtube

  • (archive) Captioning with Youtube (Lara Fathauer, EASI Webinar April 2016) http://easi.cc/archive/youtube2016/recording/index.htm

Captioning Tools and Services

  • IBM AbilityLab Media Captioner and Editor http://www-03.ibm.com/able/accessibility_research_projects/captionereditor.html

    • Clips [Mac app] - captures live text (captions) as you speak - https://www.apple.com/clips/

      • Download https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clips/id1212699939?v0=www-us-clips-app

      • 10 tips and tricks for Apple's new Clips app https://www.cnet.com/how-to/tips-and-tricks-for-apples-new-clips-app/

      • Kelli Suding: I LOVE CLIPS!! [Twitter vido :20] https://twitter.com/ksuding/status/858045704798957568

      • Getting started with Apple’s Clips app [Video] https://9to5mac.com/2017/04/07/getting-started-apples-clips-app/

      • How to use Apple’s new Clips app http://www.computerworld.com/article/3188387/apple-ios/how-to-use-apple-s-new-clips-app.html

      • How to use Clips app http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/iosapps/how-to-use-apple-clips-app-3656448/

      • Apple’s Clips app is social video editing that’s simple to a fault https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/06/apples-clips-app-is-social-video-editing-thats-simple-to-a-fault/

      • Apple’s Clips app is iMovie for the next generation https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/6/15183118/apple-clips-app-social-video-editing-mobile-imovie-filters

    • SSBART live captioner

      • SSB Webinars - Moderator: http://www.acscaptions.com

      • https://www.levelaccess.com/compliance-resources/access-insights/

CADET (free)

Caption And Description Editing Tool (CADET) [from NCAM/WGBH] http://ncamftp.wgbh.org/cadet/

    • "CADET is free, downloadable caption-authoring software that enables anyone to produce high-quality caption files that are compatible with any media player that supports the display of captions. CADET can also be used to generate audio-description scripts."

    • CADET Documentation http://ncamftp.wgbh.org/cadet/help/

    • CADET Webinar [EASI October 2017] (recording and presentation) http://easi.cc/archive/cadet2017/resources.htm

MAGpie (free)

Media Access Generator (MAGpie) by National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)MAGpie is a free captioning tool that has been used in the accessibility community for many years.

  • MAGpie Home http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines/magpie

  • MAGpie2 Help Contents http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines/magpie2helpcontents

Commercial Products and Services

  • MovieCaptioner ($) https://www.synchrimedia.com/

  • ($) Camtasia – Tool to create screen recordings, add captions, and edit videos www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html

  • ($) Dragon Speech Recognition Software www.nuance.com/dragon - This only helps you create the text; it does not create captions or caption files

    • Amara Communities https://amara.org/en/community

    • HTML5 Video Caption Maker http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Graphics/CaptionMaker/It says it's a demo to "create simple video caption files. Start by loading a video in a format your browser can play. Then alternately play and pause the video, entering a caption for each segment." If you have a draft of your caption (in WebVTT or TTML format) you can upload it and edit it here, too.

Captioning in Other Tools

Adding Alt Text and Caption to an Image in Haiku (Haiku Deck) [YouTube 5:07 by Mary Kraus (USC Ed Tech graduate)] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1vq0briJE4

Uploading and Captioning Your Screencast into YouTube (Screencast-O-Matic) [YouTube 7:12 by Mary Kraus (USC Ed Tech graduate)]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn0qOm7zJCQ

Copyright, Fair Use and Other Legal Issues Specific to Captioning

Additional Information

Caption Fail

    • The 25 Funniest Closed Caption Fails In TV History http://www.worldwideinterweb.com/5240-funniest-tv-closed-caption-fails-ever/

    • 38 Wonderful Moments In Closed-Captioning History https://www.buzzfeed.com/mrloganrhoades/38-wonderful-moments-in-closed-caption-history?utm_term=.bnZ4kl64G#.inlPgwkPO

    • 19 Closed Captioning Fails (PHOTOS) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/18/19-closed-captioning-fails_n_2670089.html

    • 61 Hilarious Closed Caption FAILs http://www.ranker.com/list/funny-closed-caption-subtitles-from-tv-and-movies/robert-wabash?var=6&utm_expid=16418821-201.EEIZkBszS3O1rZiBcoCRjg.3&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

    • 19 Epic Closed Captioning Fails. These Are So Wrong and So Funny. http://offbeat.topix.com/slideshow/12526

    • 17 Closed Caption Fails http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/photos/17-closed-caption-fails

    • YouTube Automatic Caption FAIL http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/youtube-automatic-caption-fail

Clean Read

"Most people/customers prefer what we call a “clean read.” This is the case where we cut out the stutters and unneccessary filler words. The most important part here is to preserve the meaning of every single sentence."

(from ON ACCURACY, PART 2: WHAT DOES ACCURATE EVEN MEAN? http://www.3playmedia.com/2009/06/11/on-accuracy-part-2-what-does-accurate-even-mean/ - There is no part one...)

Resources to Explore Further

New links that I find but have not yet looked at closely enough to add to my lists.

MAGPie Demonstration by Geoff Freed (YouTube 35:55) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnbQjqqodVI

--CAPTIONING---

HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE CONTENT FOR CAPTIONING? http://www.3playmedia.com/2016/02/08/how-do-you-prioritize-content-for-captioning/

VERTICAL CAPTION PLACEMENT http://www.3playmedia.com/services-features/tools/vertical-caption-placement/

WHY A TRANSCRIPT IS NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR VIDEOS COMPLIANT WITH ACCESSIBILITY LAW http://www.3playmedia.com/2016/02/01/why-a-transcript-is-not-enough-to-make-your-videos-compliant-with-accessibility-law/

HOW TO DO CLOSED CAPTIONING RIGHT http://www.3playmedia.com/2015/10/30/how-to-do-closed-captioning-right/

3 REASONS WHY YOU NEED VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION http://www.3playmedia.com/2015/02/03/3-reasons-why-you-need-video-transcription/

THE 4 BIGGEST QUESTIONS ABOUT ADA CLOSED CAPTIONING LAWSUITS http://www.3playmedia.com/2015/10/07/the-4-biggest-questions-about-ada-closed-captioning-lawsuits/

Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions

http://webaim.org/techniques/captions/

(w3c) Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL, pronounced "smile") http://www.w3.org/AudioVideo/#Getting

Great Hack for Creating Closed Captioning http://us9.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d040c99dbc71dfd778ed40647&id=781821bb54

Includes:

** Recording #93 [How I Create Closed Captions using Google Speech to Text and YouTube ] by Dale Drees (YouTube 1:11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsNBYpw7x_Y

* Captions for Videos Overview (YouTube 2:11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdy5c8TMsME

Searching Video Captions [in Hulu] http://www.juliesharma.com/teaching/searchingvideocaptions

YOUTUBEíS VIDEO ACCESSIBILITY INNOVATION http://www.3playmedia.com/2015/04/29/youtubes-video-accessibility-innovation/

YOUTUBE COPYRIGHT RULES: IS IT LEGAL TO CAPTION PUBLIC YOUTUBE VIDEOS? http://www.3playmedia.com/2016/02/09/youtube-copyright-rules-is-it-legal-to-caption-public-youtube-videos/

YouTube: Add subtitles & closed captions https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en

(video + captionining tools)

(accessMOOC) Tools for Captions

AMARA

Amara https://www.amara.org/en/

Captioning with Amara.org (YouTube 6:14) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcp2Kzch5FM

Amara Support Center https://support.amara.org/support/multilingual/solutions

Zencoder

http://zencoder.com/en/captions

Movie Captioner

http://www.synchrimedia.com/

Adding Closed Captioning Using Compressor

Using Compressor, you can insert a closed caption track into a movie file being encoded by choosing either a Scenarist file (identifiable by the .scc file extension) or a QuickTime file with a closed caption track. These options are available in the Additional Information tab of the Inspector window and let you include closed captioning in the following formats:

For QuickTime output: Compressor can add a closed caption file as a CEA-608 closed caption track within the QuickTime output file. Closed captions can be viewed using QuickTime Player (version 7.2 or later).

--from https://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutstudio/workflows/index.html#chapter=6%26section=4%26tasks=true

Adding Closed Captioning Using Third-Party Utilities and Hardware

There are third-party applications, such as MacCaption from CPC, that provide the means to import transcripts, edit them with timing information, encode closed captioning data in the necessary format, and insert the closed captioning data into a QuickTime file in preparation for tape output or DVD encoding.

--from https://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutstudio/workflows/index.html#chapter=6%26section=4%26tasks=true

Adding Text Tracks to QuickTime Movies

QuickTime supports dedicated text tracks that can be turned on and off by the viewer within QuickTime Player. These text tracks are useful for programs intended for Internet distribution. The QuickTime format supports multiple text tracks that users can switch among, and individual text tracks can be identified as one of a standardized list of languages, to provide international support. Additionally, text in QuickTime text tracks can be extensively formatted using a variety of descriptors for font, size, color, background, justification, aliasing, and so on. These options make QuickTime text tracks extremely versatile for multimedia use.

Text tracks can be formatted by hand in any text editor and then inserted into a QuickTime movie using QuickTime Player. For more information, go to http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/texttracks.html. You can also use one of several third-party utilities to create and format text tracks in a more structured fashion.

--from https://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutstudio/workflows/index.html#chapter=6%26section=4%26tasks=true

QuickTime: Adding Captions to Videos http://accessibility.psu.edu/quicktime

MAGPie Demonstration by Geoff Freed (YouTube 35:55) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnbQjqqodVI

[from AccessMOOC:) What are captions?

Captions are ìtext versions of the spoken word presented within multimediaî (WebAIM, "Captions, Transcripts, and Audio Descriptions"). If there are any background noises that play important roles in conveying meaning in the multimedia then identify those noises in the captions as they appear. Captions are similar to subtitles in that what is stated in the captions should be a direct copy of what is heard in the multimedia and should be synchronized with the audio. The two words ("captions" and "subtitles") are often used as synonyms on some websites; however, the word "subtitles" is more often used to refer to text on the screen used to translate audio into different languages. The word "captions" is almost exclusively used to refer to text on the screen that is in the same language as the audio and is provided primarily for people with auditory disabilities.

Include non-speech audio in brackets or parenthesis when that information is needed to fully understand the video. For example, it may be neccessary to include sound effects such as, ìfire alarmî, ìbaby cryingî, ìmusicî or ìcar horn honking.î Some captioning tools provide icons that symbolize certain non-speech audio; for example, there may be the option to add music note icons before and after music lyrics in captions.

When a new person begins speaking in a video, add the name of the speaker and that speaker's title (if available) in the caption of their first line of dialogue. There are a couple different formats.

>> Name of Speaker

Name of Speaker:

[Name of speaker]

As long as it is the same person speaking, it is unnecessary to put their name and title on every line. Also, it is best practice to avoid having dialogue from multiple speakers on the screen at the same time unless they are speaking simultaneously.

Most websites and software place the captions at the bottom center of the video screen. The only time to put them elsewhere is if the captions conceal important visual information. In that case, adjust the location. Only include one to three lines on the screen at a time. Make sure the captions are on the screen long enough that people of varying reading speeds can read them.

Make sure the text is as readable as possible by putting the text in a common sans serif typeface and in a color that does not blend into the background of the video. The text color and the background color should have a high contrast.

.