Accessible Media files
Imagine trying to watch a new movie in a busy coffee shop. The background noise drowns out the dialogue, making it hard to understand what’s happening.
Now picture that same movie with subtitles. And just like that, you’re back in the story, catching every word without missing a beat, no matter how noisy it gets.
Video How to add & write captions for YouTube videos
Why YouTube Captions Matter
[Music]People rely on captions when watching videos on mute or trying to understand the content better. Captioned videos can also increase view time since everyone benefits from them and they can improve SEO.
In short, captions help all users and can help your video perform better.
In this video, we’ll review the four different ways to add captions to your YouTube videos, plus tips for writing good captions.
Navigate to YouTube captions/subtitles
Let’s get started. First, you can add captions to existing and new videos. We’ll start from an existing video but these options are also available when uploading new videos.I’m in my YouTube Studio. I’ll start by selecting Subtitles in the left navigation. Next, select the video you want to add subtitles to. This takes you to the Video Subtitles page. By default, the page has two subtitle languages. The first is the video’s default language. On my screen, it says English (video language). If you haven’t published any subtitles or edited the automatic captions, this won’t have any published subtitles under the Subtitle column.
The next is the automatic captions, which publish automatically. To add captions in the video’s default language, hover over the Subtitles column for the video’s default language subtitle file that already exists.
Then, select the Add pencil icon that appears. There are three ways to add captions. I can Upload a file, Auto sync, or type manually.
Upload Caption File
Let’s start with Upload a file. To do this option, you need a caption file. The most common type of caption file is .SRT. If you’re not familiar with captioning or you’re not using a professional captioning service, we’d suggest doing one of the other options to add your captions. If you do have a caption file, select Upload a file, with timing, Continue, and then select your caption file. This adds the captions to YouTube’s caption editor. Now, select Publish.Auto-sync
I’m going back to the caption options. This time, I’ll select Auto-sync. Auto-sync is great if you already have a transcript. We suggest starting videos by writing a transcript because it speeds up the captioning process. All I need to do is copy my transcript and paste it into the caption text editor and select Publish.YouTube automatically makes the time stamps and then publishes the captions once they’re ready.
Type Captions Manually
I’ll go back to the caption options and select Type manually. If you don't have a transcript, using YouTube's Type manually option is helpful because it has some built-in options that make typing the captions easier. You can select the Pause while typing checkbox and use the Settings in the player controls to slow down the video’s speed.There are also keyboard shortcuts and YouTube automatically sets the caption timing meaning you don’t need to type out the timestamps. To type manually, make sure you’re on the text editor - not the timing editor. If it says Edit as text at the top, select it to go to the text editor. Now, play the video and start typing the captions. When you’re done, select Publish.
Automatic Captions
The last type of captions we’ll go over is YouTube’s automatic captions. I’ll go back to our Video Subtitles page where we have the English (video language) subtitle option and the English (automatic captions) subtitle file.YouTube automatically generates captions in the video’s default language. Automatic captions are only available in some languages. If you don't have a transcript, starting with automatic captions can help speed up the process. Hover over the Subtitles column for the automatic captions. Then, select the Duplicate and Edit pencil icon that appears. Now, you can edit the captions and select Edit timing to adjust the timings. When you’re done, select Publish.
This doesn’t update the video’s automatic captions file. It does publish or update my English (video language) subtitle file. You can delete the automatic captions if you don't want them as an option. Hover over the Subtitles column for the automatic captions and select the Delete trash can icon. Then, select Delete Captions.
Caption Tips
When writing captions or editing automatic captions there are some tips to make your captions easier to read.First, add typical writing conventions like punctuation and capitalization.
Second, if the speaker changes include the speaker names.
Third, include music or sound effects.
And lastly, captions should be 1-3 lines of text, most are 2 lines, and stay on the screen for 3-7 seconds. Oftentimes, YouTube automatically does this with their automatic timings.
You're ready to add captions to your own YouTube videos.
[Music]
Best practices for accessible media:
Video Captions
Provide accurate, time-synced captions and/or audio descriptions for all videos. YouTube makes it very easy to add and edit captions.
Transcripts
Include full transcripts for audio and video files. Offers an SEO boost by giving search engines more text to index.
No Auto Play
Don’t have videos auto-playing. If you do, make sure the video is muted.
Media Controls
The video or audio player needs controls to play and pause the video.
Be careful: if you use software to auto add captions to videos make sure to check them for accuracy and fix any errors).
Fun Fact:
80% of people who use captions do not have a hearing impairment.
In Summary: Accessible media enhances user experience by including captions, transcripts, and control options, benefiting users with disabilities and those in noisy (and quiet) environments.