Video subtitles and captions

Subtitles and captions are text on the video that is synchronized with the sound. They provide a text version of the spoken dialogue and other sounds. They help visitors who can’t listen to the audio, either permanently or in a specific situation (for example, when the device sound is turned off, unavailable, or inaudible).

What's the difference between captions and subtitles?

When the text conveys only the spoken dialogue, it’s called subtitles. When the text conveys both dialogue and non-speech sounds, it's called captions.

Primary audience

• Captions: People who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Subtitles: People who can hear but don’t understand the spoken language, and people who prefer to watch a video on mute and read the dialogue.

Experience

The app cannot distinguish between captions and subtitles, so the experience is the same either way. Videos include a CC label to indicate the presence of captions or subtitles. In the video player, visitors can tap the Subtitles button to turn on the captions or subtitles. Text is overlaid on top of the video.

For more on the importance of including video captions for accessibility, see W3C: Captions/Subtitles.

Tips for captions and subtitles

• Upload video captions and subtitles as a separate VTT file instead of “burning” the captions into the video.
  • Burned-in captions (also called "open captions") cannot be turned off or resized. Captions that are uploaded as a separate file (“closed captions”) give visitors more control. Visitors can choose whether captions appear and how they appear. For more, see Closed Captions vs. Open Captions: What's the Difference?.
• Captions should provide a text alternative to the audio of the video. They should convey both the spoken dialogue and essential non-dialogue information (for example, laughter, music, and sound effects).

Captions for videos without speech

Captions are important for videos without speech or dialogue. When you note relevant non-speech sounds, like music, nature sounds, or other background sounds, more visitors can enjoy all of your content.

In a caption, you can put non-speech sounds in brackets to separate them from speech. For example, "[background laughter]…[birds chirping]…[car starting]…."

You can indicate the presence of music by referencing the title of the piece or by providing a brief description. For example, "[Song: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony]" or "[Soft classical music coming through an open window]".

Creating captions and subtitles with Rev

Bloomberg Connects has partnered with Rev to offer professional human captioning and subtitling services at no cost to you.

Steps

1. Log in to the Bloomberg Connects Rev.com workspace using the instructions provided by your Bloomberg Connects contact.

   Can’t find the instructions? Reach out at support@bloombergconnects.org.

   
   

2. Click Place New Order, then select Human Captions.

   

3. On the order page, select Upload files from your computer or drag and drop.

   

4. Upload or drag in your files, then click Upload.

   

   The order summary page appears. By default, the order includes captions only in the speaker's original language.

5. To add subtitles, select Add Foreign Language Subtitles, then choose the languages that you need (for example, Korean, Arabic, and French).

   

6. In the Output File Formats field, select WebVTT (.vtt). This is the only file type supported by the CMS.

   

7. Click Checkout. 

   The payment details screen appears.

8. Make sure your order will be billed to the Bloomberg Connects account, then click Order Captions.

   The billing address fills in automatically. However, if you are prompted to add the address manually, use: Bloomberg Philanthropies Support, 25 E 78th St, New York, NY 10075, United States. Save the address for use in future orders.

   

After your captions are complete, you’ll get an email update from Rev. You can then do the following:

1. Open the captions in Rev to check or edit them.

   Tip: You might want to select "Replace US words with UK spelling" from the tools panel in Rev.

2. Download the captions as a VTT file and upload the file into the CMS

For more help using Rev, visit the Rev help center.