Captions
Captions display synchronized textual descriptions of all audio within a video. Captions were originally designed to provide equal access to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but are also helpful for people who speak a different language, are watching the video in a noisy environment, or who understand concepts better by visually processing information.
About Captions
Captions display spoken dialogue or narration, including speaker identification, as well as sound effects and music description. Captions are synchronized with the video and are displayed on top of it.
Closed captions are different from subtitles because they include not only dialogue but also sounds that are important to understanding a scene.
Video captions should:
- Appear at the same time as the sound they are captioning;
- Ensure all important audio information has been captured;
- Appear on the screen for enough time for them to be read;
- Ensure the contrast between background and caption text color is sufficient;
- Have no periods without captions; and
- Attribute speech to a particular speaker.
See "DCMP Closed Captioning Standards" (3Play Media) for recommendations and guidelines.
All Videos Require Captions
All video files (prerecorded and live streamed) with sound must be synchronized and include accurate closed captions to meet accessibility standards. This applies to all videos produced or distributed by Texas A&M University, including videos created or used as part of an academic course, shared on social media or posted on a website.
Learn more about accessibility standards
Captioning Videos That You Don’t Own
For multimedia obtained online or elsewhere, check to see if they have a video available that meets the accessibility requirements. If captions are not available, check for copyright information and obtain permission from the copyright holder to caption and/or distribute. It can be as simple as asking, “We’d like to caption this for a class. Is that okay?”
Sometimes it’s not so easy, and complications can arise; you may be unable to contact the copyright holder(s) or they may deny your request.
Many schools and libraries enjoy exemptions from strict interpretation of copyright law, and captioning may or may not be permitted as a result. Additionally, unlicensed use of copyrighted material can be permitted in certain circumstances under Fair Use legal doctrine, especially when the use is for teaching, scholarship or research purposes.
Consulting with The Texas A&M University System General Counsel may be advantageous, depending on the circumstances.
Transcripts
A transcript is the textual version of multimedia audio content. Transcripts are documents that describe audio-only and video-only content, such as podcasts and soundless video in website page headers.
About Transcripts
Transcripts include all dialogue and may contain additional explanations, comments or descriptions — such as auditory action and background noise. A transcript is usually a text document without any time information, but it may also be included on a webpage.
Video transcripts should:
- Identify the name of the speaker.
- Ensure that all speech content is included.
- Include relevant information about the speech.
- Include relevant non-speech audio.
- Include any textual or graphical information shown in the video.
- Be located in close proximity to the media.
- Be provided in an accessible format.
- Indicate the end of the transcript if on the same page as the video.
- Provide a mechanism to return to the video if on another page.
- Pre-recorded Audio-Only, Video-Only Content Requires Transcripts
All pre-recorded audio-only content or video-only content needs to have a transcript available as a text alternative. Transcripts for videos with audio are also helpful but not required; captions can serve as the text alternative.
This applies to all media produced or distributed by Texas A&M University, including media created or used as part of an academic course, shared on social media or posted on a website.
Creating Captions and Transcripts
You can create captions and transcripts yourself when making a video or audio file or hire a vendor to create them.
Review tools and vendors for making accessible videos
Captions and Transcripts Need Human Review
Many tools use AI and speech recognition software to generate transcripts and captions, but these still require manual review and editing. These technologies are getting better at transcribing spoken audio, but are unable to accurately identify speakers and describe other audible information (e.g., “fire alarm sounding”). These tools are also unable to describe silent videos.