With the world around us changing ever so fast, it is the need of the hour to be in close connectivity with the world. One of the easiest ways to be connected to the world is through videos. And for a video to be more accessible, be done by making videos more engaging and add closed captions.
Importance of adding closed captions in a video
It has become an essential aspect to make a video more engaging and far more outreach. Closed captions in a video help people to understand the video if the video is in a different language.
It also helps people who are hard of hearing and allows people to watch a video in a sound-sensitive environment. Captions also help to understand a video much better if the video could be clearer. Captions are used almost everywhere, for movies, t.v shows, youtube videos, youtube vlogs, etc. A study conducted by Captioning Key in 2013 found that 98% of respondents agreed that closed captions are essential for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
With the rise in video popularity and changing technology, captioning has become far more prevalent than ever. Adding a subtitle to your video can help you understand videos with strong accents which cannot be heard or understood by a non-native person. Adding subtitles in more than one language can help the videos to reach a wider audience.
But the problem arises regarding how to add closed captions to a video. Adding closed captions to a video requires a whole process. Many tools are there to add a caption or a subtitle to a video.
Steps to add closed captions in a video
Closed Captions refer to the text on the screen that provides audio descriptions for the deaf and hard of hearing. Closed captions used to include all the sounds, for instance- screaming, knocking at the door, telephone ring, etc. Closed captions give a feel to specially-abled people.
Closed Captions enable the viewer to understand the audio content of a video without relying on sound. Some of the cloud-based companies are Ooona, Limecraft, etc.
Ooona:
It is a professional online tool for subtitling and captioning. Ooona provides end-to-end, secure, tested, online solutions for any media localization project. It is a cloud-based platform that allows users to create, edit, and manage subtitles and captions for videos. It also supports multiple languages and allows collaboration between team members.
Limecraft:
Limecraft is a cloud-based platform that offers a wide range of tools for creating and editing captions and subtitles. It is fully customizable to your specific requirements of localization, captioning, and subtitling. It reaches larger audiences with broadcast-quality captions in any language.
Aegis:
Aegis is a caption and subtitle creation software that allows you to create and edit captions and subtitles for videos. It is compatible with Windows and Mac.
Subtitle edit:
Subtitle edit is a beginner-friendly subtitle editor. Subtitle Edit is a free subtitle editor for creating, and editing subtitles for the video. It is compatible with Microsoft OS.
Other Cloud-based platforms for creating and editing captions and subtitles are Subtitle Horse, Happy Scribe, Kapwing, etc.
Steps in creating closed captioning for current standard formats:
1. Creating a time-enciphered template using available Srt tools like subtitle edit or another applicable platform while creating timestamps. In this step, a time- enciphered template tool is used to measure and time audio or visual content.
2. Transcribing video text. It is an important step because it’s great for SEO. By transcribing video to text, we are giving search engine bots the text content they are looking for. Transcribing video to text makes the content more accessible to users, including people who can’t hear the audio or see the video.
3. Creating Srt or suitable file format following cpl and cps limits. SRTs are plain – text files that contain subtitle information. They include start and stop times next to subtitle text, which ensures they will be displayed at exactly the right moment in your video.
Cps(Characters per second) measures the speed at which text is displayed in a script or subtitle. Cps is considered important because it ensures that observers can both read the subtitles/captions and follow the content. The ideal number of characters per second is 20 is largely recommended.
Cpl(Characters per line) means 37-40 characters including spaces and beaks per line. A subtitle should have no further than 2 lines. This is done to make sure that the subtitles are not too long and cover the frame. Uploading SRT files for your videos gets further engagement and higher viewer retention rates.
4. Captions and subtitles are always created following TTSG Guidelines.TTSG guidelines are to be followed i.e., the need to take care of character per second, and frame rate, and these have to be as platform requirements. Both cps and frame rate are important factors in determining overall quality.
Frame rate refers to the number of individual frames displayed per second in a videotape.Netflix TTSG is followed for a better experience.
Government norms of various countries to create closed captions
Many countries have different norms by which they abide to create closed captions. Like in the United Kingdom online editorial guidelines published in 2009 are followed by BBC, which have instructions, even specifics on how the language should be written or reduced in captions.
In Canada, In 2007, the Canadian Radio-Television and Communications Commission brought about a policy that all programs, not including promotions and commercials, had to be captioned and instructed the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to establish working groups for English and French languages.
In France, The standards for captions on French television are in the Charte relative à la qualité du sous-titrage à destination des personnes sourdes ou malentendantes (‘Charter relating to the quality of subtitling addressed to the deaf or hard of hearing’). This document was released by France’s audiovisual regulator, the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel, in December 2011.
In Germany, Germany doesn’t have regulated captioning standards or requirements that apply to all channels, but public broadcasters ZDF and ARD have voluntary standards. ZDF’s word speed for adult programs is 15 characters per second, and ARD’s is 12 characters per second. The average word length in German is 6.26 characters, so this works out to be 147 wpm and 115 wpm, respectively.
For children’s programs, the standard for ZDF is 12 characters per second (115 wpm), and for ARD, eight characters per second (77 wpm). Other norms covered in the document include coloring, positioning, identifying speakers, music, sound effects, and fine details of punctuation.
Why is NAARG the best agency for closed captioning services?
Naarg media is known for its outstanding translation services. It produces exceptional results for its clients in various domains. Naarg media has worked with 150+ languages for captioning and subtitling videos. It provides exceptional services in various domains such as closed captioning, subtitling, and content writing. Many translation services are also available such as document translation, medical translation, legal translation, technical translation, financial translation, book translation, etc.
Naarg media provides closed captioning services in various file formats such as DFXP, SRT, SCC, Realtext, SBV, JSON, XML, HTML, Text, etc. Naarg also secures the privacy and time of clients. It works with leading entertainment companies such as Netflix, Amazon, etc. So, Naarg media is a great platform for closed captioning services as it is also beneficial in the entertainment industry by providing them their services in different domains.
In the ever-changing world of technology, Naarg media emerges as a boon to the entertainment industry and people with similar interests.
In conclusion, captions in a video have made content accessible to a wider range of audience. It is helpful for non-native speakers to easily understand a video that is not in their language. Captioning a video is also suitable for people watching in a sound-sensitive environment.
A video that is captioned or subtitled is also helpful for people who are hard of hearing or deaf. People with hearing problems can enjoy a video just as a normal person with the help of captions or subtitles in a video. Hence, it enhances the overall experience for people all around the world.
Looking for closed captioning services. All your cc needs are fulfilled here. To know more reach us at info@naargmedia.com