Obviously, the main function of subtitles and closed captions is for deaf and hard of hearing people to follow what’s happening on screen.
There are, however, many other advantages to having captions on a video.
One of the most surprising of these is a boost in SEO, helping your video, website, and business to all become more visible to the wider world. Read more →
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. Read more →
Did you know over 60 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute? Wow.
How can you maximise the chances that your target audience will a) even find your video and b) watch it?
The answer: closed captioning.
A study by YouTube showed that videos with closed captioning get 4% more views than those without captions. Why is that? Because using closed captioning can improve how high up in search results Google places your video (that’s known as SEO).
Google can’t search the audio file of your videos. So, even if you have content on there that is relevant and useful to your target audience, Google won’t see it, and so won’t show it to your potential audience. That’s a real missed opportunity.
Using closed captioning can help Google find your video, recognise the keywords that describe the content, and then add it to the search results pages it produces when your potential customers ‘Google’ those keywords.
YouTube does already provide an auto-captioning service that’s based on automatic speech recognition. But there are two good reasons not to use it:
1 – Because YouTube’s auto-captions are only 70% accurate, compared to close captioning’s 100% accuracy. After all the time and resources you have invested into creating a professional video, the last thing you want YouTube to do is create something incomprehensible and/or embarrassing like this:
2 – Because Google recognises that auto-captions are inaccurate and ignores them. Google and other search engines will only read files that have been uploaded to the video, like those provided through closed captioning.
Closed captioning isn’t just available in English. Our translation team can provide captions in over 80 different languages. That enables both international and non-native speakers to access your videos. And, just as with closed captioning in English, relevant search engines will read and index the captions. That can prove a big boost to your SEO, as there is less competition for keyword ranking in languages other than English.
At the same time as sourcing closed captioning of your video it makes sense to create an accurate transcript of the film. Add it into the ‘description’ field for your video and you’ll help Google to find it, read it and show it to your potential customers.
To find out more about our subtitling services, contact us.
SDH subtitles are not always seen by TV viewers in the UK; we often get cheaper poor quality respeaking using Dragon voice recognition software. SDH subtitles were recently shown on a British TV channel’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – this was worth a viewing not just for the enhanced cinematography, but for the amazing quality of the subtitles themselves, causing a storm on social media. SDH subtitles are subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are a transcription – they are subtitles in the same language as the spoken dialogue, with added information for those who cannot hear the environmental sounds or lyrics. Such subtitling gives fuller access to the film for deaf and hard of hearing viewers, those who cannot understand the spoken dialogue, or have problems understanding the accents.
The highest standards of SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing will have very close synchronisation of audio and subtitles, with the subtitles showing in different colours for different speakers. This film’s deaf viewers certainly got a wowser of an experience!
The production budget for this movie was $250,000,000 and to add subtitles would not have cost very much at all, less than 0.001% of the overall budget. We believe that subtitles (or closed captions) should be budgeted for from the very start for each movie, and should not be an afterthought or omission. Sir Peter Jackson, the film’s producer, has shown that it can be done.
Well done Sir Peter Jackson. You did a sterling job for 360 million deaf and hard of hearing viewers around the world by ensuring your movie was subtitled properly. We very much enjoyed the subtitling experience and we want more of this! We are very pleased that ITV broadcasted the subtitle track as it was meant to be.
Ahhh – now we have an expert subtitler doing The Hobbit – on ITV – so much you miss at the cinema…. and via DVD – LOVING the add ons… I’m in heaven now. Different colours are working… grammatically correct, background noises are given.. who did this? Thought it was amazing – got so much more than I got from either the cinema or the DVD – that subtitler needs a medal for giving us access to “hidden noises” and umms and ahhs and screams…. it was like you were actually experiencing it in real life – finally! – Viewer
I’m watching it too.. Very good!! – Viewer
I did, really enjoyed it – subtitles were great. – Viewer
Were great x – Viewer
I enjoyed it alot.. it gave me all the sounds effects which sometimes gets missed out – Viewer
I tried watching it before without subtitles but had to give up. Tried again last night and finally got to enjoy it because of the subtitles. – Viewer
Brilliant subtitles – Viewer
I saw all three films at IMAX and for all its wondrous Hi-Fidelity I could hardly understand any of the dialogue – thankfully I read the books as a lad so knew what was going on mostly.
Had to buy the BluRay discs to get the subtitles to really enjoy it.
ITV deserve little praise for the subtitles for the Hobbit – they were supervised and coded by Peter Jackson himself – All ITV had to do was transmit them as provided on the film subtitle track.
What is apparent is how much we all enjoy programmes that meet these high standards.
We should call for this same high standard on EVERY pre-recorded content and work hard to get Live programming to match the best in class.
Automatic transcribing is not good enough – its lazy with a ‘We don’t care’ attitude – it’s all about the numbers we say we subtitle.
Not Good Enough broadcasters!
Could it be time for IBA to levy fines for under-performance? – Martyn Butler
Do let this film’s producer Sir Peter Jackson and ITV know what you think of their SDH subtitles. It’s always nice to receive praise for a job done well. We loved these subtitles and we hope to see more of such outstanding quality.
Subtitling for you in any video format, in over 80 languages, 24 hour turnaround
Find out more about SDH subtitles or contact us
Subtitling services have never been so bad. It seems that everywhere you look, the quality is poor.
Keep an eye out on the area of ATVOD – legislation may be on its way in a few years time for subtitling services / off-line captions.
Broadcasting: Sensory Impairment
Question
Asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve the availability of access services to on-demand broadcasting content for people with sensory loss.[HL3794]
Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con): As noted in the Government’s Connectivity, Content and Consumers: Britain’s digital platform for growth strategy paper published in July, the Government has committed to work with Ofcom and The Authority for Television
On-Demand (ATVoD) over the next three years to look at how the amount of Subtitles and Audio Description (AD) available via non-linear network providers can be improved. Progress will be monitored via ATVOD’s annual survey of its members, that also assess their efforts made on this issue.
The Minister for Communications will be writing to Peter Johnson CEO of ATVoD to let them know that he will be monitoring responses to the 2013 ATVoD survey to review what progress is being made to make online (non-linear) TV and Catch-Up and On-Demand services more accessible to disabled and older consumers. If it is clear that progress isn’t being made in three years’ time – a reasonable timeframe in our view – we will consider legislation.
Source ATVOD
To find out more about our subtitling services, contact us.