Three kinds of text
Caption files
SRT or VTT files you upload with the episode, so viewers can turn captions on or off.
Burned-in captions
Captions set into the picture of a clip, styled in your fonts and colors.
Transcripts
A readable text version of the episode, with speaker names and light cleanup.
Checked by a person
Automatic captions get you most of the way. They also misspell names, mishear industry terms and drop words when two people talk at once. We start from a machine transcript, then a person reads it against the audio and fixes the errors. A list of names, companies and terms from your show helps a lot, so add one to the brief if you can.
Caption style
Caption files follow a few rules that make them easy to read: short lines, no more than two at a time, and timing that matches when the words are spoken. Burned-in captions for clips are bigger and bolder, with a highlight on the current word if you want one. Tell us whether you prefer captions to keep filler words like "um" and "you know" or to drop them. Both are common.
Transcripts and show notes
A transcript can go on your website under the episode, which gives search engines and readers the full text. We label speakers, remove false starts and break long answers into paragraphs. If you want show notes written from the transcript, such as a short summary and a list of topics with times, we can add them.
Accessibility
Captions help people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people watching in a quiet office, and anyone following in a second language. If your organization has accessibility rules for published video, send them with the brief and we'll follow them.
Questions
Can you caption in other languages?
Ask in your brief. It depends on the language and on whether you need a translation or captions in the language spoken on the show.
Do you need the video to caption it?
Not for caption files or transcripts. The audio is enough. For burned-in captions we need the video.
Episode recorded and waiting? Tell us how many cameras you ran, how long the episode is, and what you want back: the full show, clips or both.
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