Captions for Video

Captions are a text equivalent of audio, shown at the same time as the audio (usually a few lines at a time).

Captions make video accessible by providing a text version of spoken dialog and meaningful sound for people who can't hear or process the original sound. They usually include:

  • Speech
  • Music
  • Sound effects
  • Speaker identifications
  • Any important information that is conveyed in sound

Captions are used by people who are D/deaf, have hearing loss, are less familiar with the language or topic, process text better than audio, or are in a noisy environment. 

Captions are required for video, whether live-streamed or pre-recorded, by digital accessibility standards, as described in Success Criterion 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) and 1.2.4 Captions (Live).  

Best Practices

Videos require quality captions to provide equitable access for people who rely on captions. Quality captions are:

Accurate

Captions should correctly represent audio information without errors in wording, spelling, or punctuation.

In general, the goal is to work towards error-free captions, so people who rely on captions get the same information, and equitable access.

Consistent

Understandable and predictable captions, with consistent language and visual presentation, are easier to use.

The goal is to avoid unexpected changes or confusion. For example, captions should use the same speaker identification throughout, not start with “Ono” and change to “President.”

Complete

Captions must include all the meaningful information in the audio, from the beginning to end. This includes:

  • Speaker identifications
  • Non-speech information (such as laughter, applause, music, and more)

Captions should not summarize, censor, or change the original content, unless necessary to make them readable (for example, to make the text fit on the screen).

Usable

Captions must be readable for the people who need them. This means that captions are:

  • displayed with enough time to be read completely
  • in sync with the audio
  • not blocked by (and not blocking) the visual content, including text on screen

In general, closed captions (that can be turned on or off, and adjusted for size and display) are more usable than open captions (burned into the video’s visual image). Open captions should be used only when people cannot control the media player, such as digital signage.

Create Captions

Captions can be created by several different methods. 

Automatic Captions with Human Review

Use automatic captions, check them, and edit for accuracy.

Video hosting platforms (MiVideo, Zoom Cloud, YouTube), use an algorithm to turn spoken audio into text and create captions. In general, automatic captions must be reviewed and improved by a human.

Automatic captions will be generated when new content is uploaded to MiVideo. You can edit these captions on MiVideo by following instructions to edit Captions in Canvas and MiVideo Mediaspace.

Learn how to edit captions on other media platforms.

Professional Captions

Vendors can create captions for you, for a fee. Professional caption services cost from $1.00 to $3.00 per minute for general videos, and more for highly specialized or complex videos.

Your department can order professional captions directly from MiVideo.

Text File into Captions

Use an existing script or text to create captions. If you have a text version of the words spoken in the video, you can turn that text into captions.

Do this on MiVideo by uploading the text file and syncing it to create captions.

More Resources

  • Captioning Key, Described and Captioned Media Project (DCMP) - industry standard guidance on how to make good quality captions
  • Closed Captioning on Television, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - legal requirements for captions on television, these requirements also provide guidance on the goals of best captioning practices
  • Reading Sounds, Sean Zdenek - media studies approach to understanding the meanings of captions, this book and accompanying website also suggest captioning practices that you may consider
  • U-M Library Accessibility Remediation Program Style Guide - internal style guide on captions, transcripts, and descriptions