This winter, we are happy to announce that we are now offering video captioning services for the deaf and hard of hearing. We think that captioning videos should be an essential part of any video production process to ensure that everyone can enjoy your videos whether they are being broadcast nationally, internationally or on the internet. Here at Transcription City, we believe that everyone should be able to enjoy the content of your videos and that captioning offers a great way to cater to all your viewers needs.
What is Video Captioning?
Video captioning is often confused with subtitling, as both can appear very similar at first glance. However, whilst subtitles offer written commentary of the dialogue spoken on screen (this can be both in a foreign language or the source language), captioning also offers commentary on other important sounds in the video, that are important to understanding the full content of the video. As an example, if you were watching a film where the phone rang or someone knocked at the door, captions would indicate this in writing, so that those with hearing loss would be able to follow the plot perfectly, without wondering why someone picked up the phone or spontaneously opened the door. Essentially, video captioning offers essential, additional information for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
What is Closed Captioning?
Closed captioning is where captions are available to view as and when required and it is law that all nationally broadcast video offers viewers the option of closed captioning. This means that all television programmes will offer the option of turning captions on or off as needed.
What is Open Captioning?
Open captioning is where the captions are always present and cannot be switched on or off. This is because closed captioning uses a method where the words are burned into the video itself (essentially becoming part of the video). Open captioning is not as common as closed captioning, as most people enjoy the freedom of turning captions on and off as required. Open captioning is much more likely to be used when translating a film or video into a different language than the source language spoken.
We hope you have enjoyed learning a little bit about captioning, what it is and why it is used.
If you have a video that requires either open or closed captioning, why not get in touch? Here at Transcription City, we offer open captioning services, closed captioning services, foreign language subtitling services and video transcription services. We are available seven days a week and always happy to help.
