What NOT to do when captioning online videos

If your business puts up a lot of videos onto social media platforms, then it’s a good idea to have them captioned. They not only help Google rank your website, but captions on any video boost views, aid comprehension, and help those with hearing issues.

However, if you’re going to caption your online videos, then there are some things you need to be aware of. If you’re going to do something, do it right. With that in mind, here are some pointers on what not to do when captioning social media videos.

Don’t half-ass it

If you’re going to caption your online video, then do it properly. Don’t partially caption it, make sure you subtitle everything. This includes intros, voice-overs and sound effects.

And don’t paraphrase your captions! Write out what people are actually saying. Sometimes it’s easier to paraphrase, especially when there are character limits, but it’s insulting to the reader. Honesty is more important. Their experience should be the same as someone listening.

Don’t use fancy animation

Subtitles aren’t an artistic addition to a video, they are a practical tool for people to use. There’s been a tendency in recent years, especially with the rise of TikTok, to animate the words as they appear, one word at a time. This is not only annoying, but defeats the purpose of subtitles.

Keep your subtitles plain and simple. Two lines of text at the most, with the ideal colour settings being yellow text on a full black/slightly transparent background. Always put a background behind the text, as anything on screen the same colour will make the words invisible.

Don’t censor swear words

People aren’t children. Nothing will happen to them if they read a swear word. If a swear word is spoken in the video, then why would you bleep it out in the text? If you keep a swear word in the audio, but remove it from the subtitles, then you’re changing the experience for the deaf person reading it, and this is the opposite of the desired effect. Captions for Deaf and hard of hearing are supposed to include people, not give them a different version of something.

Don’t make jokes through captions

Captions are an access feature, a tool to help those less fortunate. They are not something to play with for your own amusement. It’s not an additional feature you can use to make your video more ostentatious or flashy. Again, it’s about creating the same experience for those who have trouble hearing as for people listening to the audio.

Let us caption your online videos

If you’re not sure how to caption your online videos, what to put in them, or which software to use, then let us do it for you.

With years of experience and hundreds of satisfied clients, you can rely on us for all your online captioning requirements.

All our captioning and subtitle work is checked and re-checked as part of our commitment to quality, with time-coding, translations, and mastering all available upon request.

We provide subtitles in over 30 document formats, including SBV for YouTube, .STL for DVD Authoring, or XML for Final Cut Pro.

If you would like to know more about our offline captions and how they can help your business, then please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Our friendly and professional staff will be happy to help in any way they can.