Captioning

captioning

Captions help deaf and hard of hearing viewers understand what sounds are included within videos.

What should you include in your captions?

In a nutshell, any relevant auditory content.

Check out this guide from the Described and Captioned Media Project to learn more.

Closed Captions Versus Open Captions

There are two types of captions for videos - closed and open. Open captions are also sometimes referred to as "burned-in" captions.

If a video allows you to turn the captions on and off, then it has closed captions. If the captions are embedded within the video, then they're burned in.

Not every platform allows you to upload closed captions. In cases where you can't add closed captions, then you'll need to create burned-in captions prior to posting.

Platforms that allow closed captions

  • YouTube

  • Twitter

  • Facebook

  • LinkedIn

Platforms that don't allow closed captions

  • Instagram

  • Pinterest

  • TikTok

How to create captions

Alright, let's start off by reviewing what file type you'll need to create closed captions for your social media posts.

Usually, you'll need to create .SRT files for your closed captions.

Using YouTube to create .SRT files

The easiest way to make .SRT files is to use the captioning tools available on YouTube. YouTube allows you to edit the autogenerated captions on your videos.

Once you're satisfied with your edited captions on a video, you can download its .SRT file from YouTube to reuse on other sites where you plan to post the same video.

DIY captions

If that's not an option, no worries! You can also write out the captions by hand using free online resources like Subtitle Horse.

Note: Subtitle Horse does not allow you to upload .MOV files. If your video is saved as a .MOV, you'll need to convert it to a .MP4 first

Adding .SRT Files to other platforms

Creating burned-in captions

There are a few different options for creating burned-in captions. If you already have a .SRT file created for your video, you can resave your video with the captions added using programs like Premiere Pro.

Alternatively, you can write the text directly over your video using the text editor features in iMovie, Canva, or whichever editing tool you plan to use.

If you're on TikTok, you can use the built-in text editor to create your burned-in captions. Check out this blog post to see how to do that.

This video from Rooted in Rights walks you through some tips on how to easily create and upload .SRT files.