Why offline captioning is important for all videos

Offline Captioning is a simple concept, but unfortunately, the vast majority of online videos don’t have them.

We explain what offline captioning is, where it can be used, and why you should always use captions in your videos.

What is offline captioning?

Offline captioning is the simple act of adding captions to a video after the fact, in other words, a video that is not watched live.

Offline captions come in two different forms, subtitles and closed captions.

Subtitles show what’s being said on screen, so either the dialogue between characters or what the narrator is saying in a voiceover. Subtitles are usually found in foreign movies, when the viewer can’t understand the original language, but can still hear the original dialogue and sound effects.

Closed Captions are slightly more encompassing than subtitles. They not only show what is being said on screen, but they will also show other sounds and music that are happening. Closed captions can include the emotion of an actor’s voice, a glass smashing offscreen, or a buildup of tense or dramatic music.

Where can offline captions be used?

Captions can be used on any video footage where there is sound. There doesn’t even have to be dialogue on the video, the noise of animals or machinery is enough to warrant captions for the hard of hearing.

Whether it’s YouTube videos, educational videos, amateur movies, professional documentaries… anything that is watched by an audience can and should have the option of captions.

Why use offline captioning?

The first and most important reason for using captioning is accessibility.

It’s estimated by the World Health Organisation that 1-in-10 people will have disabling hearing loss by 2050, with almost half a billion people suffering at the moment.

That’s a significant portion of the population who are at a disadvantage when it comes to watching videos. It’s essential that captions are used to help those hard of hearing if we want true equality in society.

As well as moral and ethical reasons for captioning on all videos, there is also a practical advantage.

With so much online content now available, video SEO is used to help search engines find videos and rank them in their results page.

The algorithms used to rank videos don’t listen to them, but they do read the text associated with them. Closed captioning and subtitles provide a searchable text which the likes of Google can use to rank your video.

It’s also been proven that people remember better when they see something rather than when they hear it, so reading along with a video helps focus, engagement, and memory, especially important for educational videos.

Call the offline captioning experts

Closed captions and subtitles add greater flexibility and scope, not only for your viewers, but for your company and brand.

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

All our captioning 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 captioning services, then please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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