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5 Issues with Captioning Your Own Videos

Closed captioning is a great way to make videos more accessible to viewers who are hard of hearing or deaf. Unfortunately, it can often be tricky to implement with your own videos, and there are plenty of issues that you may encounter. This article will discuss 5 of the most common issues associated with captioning your own videos, so you can be better prepared for the task.

Issue 1: Finding the Time to Do It
Closed captioning is a very time-consuming process and it is often difficult to find time to do it in your own schedule. Not only does it take time to actually add the captions, but you also have to watch the video while creating the captions, which can take significantly longer than the actual captioning. It’s a good idea to break the video down into smaller parts, so you can work on it in more manageable chunks, but it still takes a lot of time to get the job done.

Issue 2: Difficulty Reading Audio
Closed captioning requires you to transcribe all the audio in the video, which can be quite challenging if there’s a lot of background noise or the speaker has a thick accent. It can take a long time to get the audio perfectly transcribed, as you have to listen to it multiple times to make sure you get it right. It’s also difficult to put in all the nuances of the speech, like changes in tone and volume.

Issue 3: Accuracy of Captioning
Accuracy is extremely important when it comes to closed captioning, as any errors in the captions can make it difficult for viewers to understand what is being said. You also have to make sure that the captions match the timing of the audio, so they don’t get out of sync. This can be very tricky, as it requires a lot of concentration and attention to detail.

Issue 4: Formatting the Captions
Once you have transcribed the audio, you need to format the captions correctly so they appear correctly on the video. This includes things like setting the font size, font color, the background color and text alignment. This can be a very tedious task, and it takes a lot of time to get it right.

Issue 5: Making the Captions Accessible
Finally, when creating captions for your own videos, it is important to make sure that they are accessible to all viewers, including those who are hard of hearing or deaf. This requires taking some extra steps to ensure the captions are properly formatted and include necessary information. For example, it is important to add sound effects and music, indicate when a speaker changes, use correct punctuation and formatting, use contrasting colours for the text and background, and make sure that the font size is large enough to be easily readable. Additionally, an access statement should be included at the beginning of the video, informing viewers that the video has been captioned and providing instructions on how to enable the captions. Doing this will guarantee that everyone can enjoy your video, no matter their level of hearing. A lack of accessibility can lead to a decrease in viewership, as viewers with disabilities may not be able to access the content. Even in countries with no legal repercussions, it is still important to make sure your content is accessible to ensure everyone can enjoy your video.