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UWM LibGuide Editor Training

An internal resource page used for training and getting started with LibGuides at the UWM Libraries.

Captions, Subtitles, and Transcriptions

Video Accessibility

To ensure all users are able to understand your media content with speech, videos should include a textual component. 

Type

 Definition and Use Case
Captions

Definition: Text versions of speech and other important audio content

Use Case: An instruction video with captions on the bottom of the screen for students to watch without audio
Subtitles

Definition: Text version of speech translated from another language

Use Case: A video for a foreign language class in Spanish with English translation subtitles
Transcripts

Definition: A written record of the speech from the video available to read outside of the audiovisual player. Screen readers may prefer a transcript to a captioned video. Helpful for those who cannot watch the video.

Use Case: An instruction video with a separate document of the spoken words to be reviewed alongside or separate from the video. Transcripts can also be used to create captions using video captioning software.

Before publishing: 

  • Ensure your videos and multimedia content is accessible to all users
  • We recommend using captions for your videos

Video Captioning Options

UWM Libraries preferred method: Editing YouTube captions

YouTube will generate captions for any video you upload, but these captions need to be edited to make them truly accessible. When you've finished recording a video either

  • Upload to a personal YouTube account OR
  • Contact Heidi (hanoszko@uwm.edu) to add your video to the Libraries' Youtube Channel

Follow these instructions for editing auto-generated captions in YouTube Studio.

Tips Editing Captions in YouTube:

  • It may take up to 24 hours for YouTube to generate captions for your video.

  • You can then edit the captions for grammar, flow, capitalization
  • Anything over 15 minutes will require an authentication of your account
  • Your video can be "unlisted" meaning only those with the link will be able to find it

Creating Transcripts

If you would like to avoid using captions, you can investigate these free transcription options. You can use a transcript to upload alongside your video in LibGuides or use it to create captions in another application.

oTranscribe

  • Create your own transcript. All controls can be managed through your keyboard. 
  • No account needed

Google Docs

  • Use your Google account and Google Docs to create a text-to-speech transcript. 
  • Have GoogleDocs open with text-to-speech running in the background as you record your video.

Microsoft PowerPoint

  • PowerPoint can be a simple effective tool for creating and recording videos without video editing software. Include your script in the notes field of each slide so that it aligns with the on-screen content AND matches your narration exactly. 
  • Use the in-app accessibility check tools to make sure your slides and notes are accessible, then upload the PowerPoint as a document along side your video. 

Additional Resources

Licensing

The contents of the Accessibility Tutorial may be reused with attribution. Please copy the following into new works based on the Accessibility Tutorial
Creative Commons LicenseAccessibility Tutorial by Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.