Accessibility Resources at UNCG | Make Content Accessible | Making Multimedia & Websites Accessible | Captioning

Captioning

Captions display words as the text equivalent of spoken dialogue or narration. They also include speaker identification, sound effects, and music description.

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Deciding When to Caption

DIY vs Outsourcing Your Captioning

Captioning for Pre-Recorded Events

Captioning for Live Events

Captioning Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

DECIDING WHEN TO CAPTION YOUR MULTIMEDIA

WHEN TO CAPTION YOUR INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND MULTIMEDIA

Best practices suggest to proactively caption video and audio recordings, but it is not always feasible to do so (due to budget and time constraints). Use the following recommendations to determine when to caption your multimedia.

Captioning Recommendations in Order of Priority:

  1. Material for use by students, faculty, or staff with disabilities (this is required; for students, OARS will provide you with notification)
  2. Material used in public-facing courses and/or public-facing web pages (this includes videos posted publicly to YouTube, Vimeo, or other similar platforms)
  3. Material that will be used multiple times, or over an extended period of time (typically used for more than one class or semester)
  4. Material that will be re-used in new courses

WHEN TO CAPTION VIDEOS FOR PUBLIC-FACING WEBSITE

Because they are open to the public (meaning anyone can access them) all videos that are posted on a UNCG public-facing website must be captioned.

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DECIDING TO DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY) OR OUTSOURCE YOUR CAPTIONING

DO-IT-YOURSELF (DIY)

Creating captions for your videos yourself (DIY) may be an option if:

Keep in mind, however, that the time it takes to add captions will be at least 5 to 6 times the length of the actual video (for example, a 3 minute video could take you 15-18 minutes to add captions).

Automated Speech Recognition (ASR), often called automated captions, can be used to make the DIY captioning process much easier. Remember that automated captions must be edited to ensure at least 99% accuracy. Canvas, Panopto, Microsoft Teams, and YouTube all have an automated captioning with editing feature that you can use before you post your recorded video.

OUTSOURCE TO A VENDOR

Outsourcing to a vendor would be more appropriate if:

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CREATING CAPTIONS FOR PRE-RECORDED EVENTS

DO I NEED TO CAPTION EVENTS/CELEBRATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN RECORDED?

Pre-recorded video of events that are shared publicly (via YouTube, Vimeo, UNCG website, social media, or other public platforms) need to have accurate closed captions. Closed captions can be processed manually or can be outsourced to a third-party vendor (vendor expenses will be the responsibility of the academic unit).

Resources

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CREATING CAPTIONS FOR LIVE EVENTS

DO I NEED TO PROVIDE LIVE CAPTIONING OR AN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) INTERPRETER FOR MY LIVE EVENT/CELEBRATION?

Events that are live and occur in real-time need to have live captioning or ASL interpreting services during the event. The following parameters provide more specific guidance on the variation of live event formats:

RESOURCES

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CAPTIONING FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)

Captioning is the process of converting the audio content of a television broadcast, webcast, film, video, CD-ROM, DVD, live event, or other production into text and displaying the text on a screen, monitor, or other visual display system.

Source: National Association of the Deaf

Captions provided for live presentations and events are referred to as real-time captioning. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is a method used to caption live presentations and events, and it is performed on-site or remotely.

Source: National Association of the Deaf

Captions display words as the text equivalent of spoken dialogue or narration. They also include speaker identification, sound effects, and music description. According to the National Association of the Deaf, to be fully accessible, captions must be:

  • Synchronized and appear at approximately the same time as the audio is delivered.
  • Equivalent and equal in content to that of the audio, including speaker identification and sound effects.
  • Accessible and readily available to those who need or want them. Captions must have sufficient size and contrast to ensure readability, and be timely, accurate, complete, and efficient. When displayed, captions must be in the same line of sight as any corresponding visual information, such as a video, speaker, field of play, activity, or exhibition.

Because funding is limited, we cannot guarantee that all requests for captioning pre-recorded media will be funded. However if your request meets the funding criteria, you will likely be approved.

Because captioning funds are limited, priority for approval will be given to courses that are currently in session and are required to accommodate a student as identified by OARS. All other requests for pre-recorded media will be considered for approval based on the availability of funds.

ITS: LT places captioning orders only for pre-recorded captioning requests that are approved for the captioning funding. If your request is not approved or doesn’t meet the eligibility requirements, you can contact one of the university’s approved captioning vendors. If students receive real-time captioning as an approved accommodation, OARS will arrange this service. Contact OARS or follow the steps for Requesting Real-Time (Live) Captioning for more information about this service.

If the requester has already submitted the media files/list of URLs to UTLC, a typical turnaround time would be approximately 4–6 business days. It is possible to submit a rush order, which could reduce the turnaround time to approximately 1–2 business days. (This is a more costly service.)

You (or your department) can request captioning directly from one of UNCG’s approved vendors. Please see the Request Captioning Directly Through an Approved Vendor information.

You can caption your own media, but if you are a beginner, it can take a considerable amount of time. The more you caption, the easier it will be for you. If you have some short audio or video files, it may be worth your while to caption them yourself. There are several DIY captioning modules in the Making Multimedia Accessible section of this website, each providing step-by-step instructions on how to caption media yourself.

This covers a wide range of topics, but primarily any live audio that is essential for learning in the course would be covered. Some examples include but are not limited to:

  • Synchronous class meetings (face-to-face, online, and hybrid courses)
  • Online office hours for instructors teaching an online course
  • Guests invited to speak during class meetings
  • Required attendance at on-campus events

No. If real-time captioning has been approved, OARS will coordinate and pay for the service for all course types. This includes face-to-face, online, and hybrid courses.

While you can consult with OARS about the captioning process, the actual request must come from the student who needs the accommodation. This is because OARS must work with the student to ensure she/he is receiving the most appropriate accommodations and the real-time captioning is set up to best meet the student’s needs. Please encourage students who tell you they will need real-time captioning to contact OARS.

If OARS has approved a student for real-time captioning and it is required for the course, there is no cost incurred by the faculty department. OARS will pay for this service.

You are not required to provide real-time captioning for live events if you do not have a student enrolled in your course who has been approved for this accommodation. Enabling automatic captions as a proactive practice, though, will be extremely helpful to all students.

Some students will use an interpreter instead of real-time captioning as an alternative to accessing audio/sound. Whether a student uses real-time captioning or an interpreter depends on what works best for the student. OARS will work closely with each student to determine which option is best. Closed captioning is the primary accessibility remedy for any pre-recorded audio and is used by students who are not able to access audio/sound.

Once you’ve been notified that a student who needs real-time captioning is enrolled in your course, OARS prefers that requests for this service be submitted 2 weeks prior to the event (i.e., class meeting, assignment, activity, etc. If a request is submitted in fewer than 2 weeks, OARS will make every effort to have real-time captioning in place when it is needed.

Check your course for any activities, assignments, etc. that might require real-time captioning (those that rely on audio). Keep a list of these items and be ready to share it with OARS if you are notified that a student in your class needs real-time captioning.

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