A simple guide to captioned videos

You should aim to catch, and keep, your audience’s attention by captioning videos. Not only does adding text make the message clearer, it also increases accessibility and reach.

 

Starting from the nuts and bolts of online captioning, we explore how to include captions as part of your content. Let’s start with the basics.

 

 

Caption or subtitle?

 

For most viewers, captioning and subtitles are pretty similar. There are subtle differences, however, and they are most relevant for those with different needs.

 

Captioning means that the audio component is displayed as text with video or images. They can be either open or closed, meaning they are either displayed all the time, or they can be switched on and off.

 

Captions assumes that viewers might not be able to hear the audio component of video – that is, there may be captions which narrate the type of background sounds. Typically, they are also in the same language as the production.

 

Subtitles are slightly different. While subtitles also display text, they are translations from the original language. They also assume that viewers can hear the audio component of videos.

 

 

How to caption your social media productions

 

Now that it’s clear what captioning is, charities might want to caption videos because it increases accessibility.

 

YouTube offers simple captioning options for uploads. Here are the steps in brief:

1. For individual accounts, sign into the YouTube Studio
2. Upload the video content onto the platform
3. Once uploaded, the left-hand side menu includes an option for ‘Subtitles’
4. Users can manually enter text, or upload captioning and/or subtitles to the video. When adding text, make sure the text and timeline match. Review automatic captioning language, as the narration is AI-generated and may not be as accurate
5. For those uploading the subtitle or caption file, ensure that the file type is supported by YouTube

 

How to add captions to Instagram

 

Instagram’s caption features are relatively new when compared with YouTube’s more advanced ones. However, the benefit of Instagram’s captions is that they can be added directly on your mobile phone. Here are a couple of tips to get captions on Instagram:

1. Record the story or reel on the platform
2. Once you’re happy with the video, click the ‘Stickers’ button
3. Select the captions button. Captions will automatically appear on your story and should be in sync with your video
4. To edit the text, click on the centre rainbow button and amend. Users can also change the font, colour and placement of the text

At the moment, English is the only language available. If you’re posting a Story in another language, make sure you’ve got the caption ready to paste into the video.

 

 

Using captions on LinkedIn

 

LinkedIn has basic functionality for adding captions. However, an SRT (SubRip Subtitle) file needs to accompany the video upload. To add text simply:

1. Click the video icon at the top of the feed page
2. Select or edit a video to share
3. Once you’ve uploaded the video, there is an option to upload an SRT fil
4. Select ‘done’ and post the content

To note, LinkedIn doesn’t yet have features to add captions automatically or manually. Charities who don’t have SRT production capabilities may need to consider a work around.

 

 

Other ways to create video captions

 

Charities may want to use captioned videos more flexibly. Standalone content could be posted on websites or shared internally and may not necessarily be posted on social media.

 

Creating accessible, clear videos can be produced using online digital tools. For charities on a shoestring budget, there are many options.

 

VEED’s video production features offer charities an opportunity to add captions at little cost. The videos can then be uploaded to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and other channels after it’s been edited. To get started, upload the video and manually enter text. Alternatively, the platform also has automatically generated captioning.

 

Our top tip for using VEED is to download the caption file. Charity digital leaders can then check over the text to make sure spelling, names, and grammar are correct before uploading to other platforms.

 

 

Creating your own caption files

 

For the tech whizzes, creating captioning files may be the best way to go. The most common type of captioning and subtitle files are SRT formatted.

 

Being able to create your own files gives charities even more flexibility. There’s no need to use each platform’s bespoke captioning, because one SRT file can be uploaded to every platform.

 

Creating SRT files sounds challenging, but is actually very simple. Using a text editor, you can write your own captions, as long as you’re aware of the time stamp format.

 

With the time stamped at the start and at the end of each caption, content creators can build out the text. Once the file has been completed, save down the file as plain text and amend the file extension to SRT.