Creating closed captions for video productions is necessary to make them inclusive and accessible to all audiences. That’s why it is important to understand the best practices for creating closed captions.

Closed captioning best practices require that you keep a variety of factors in mind. Let’s look at these today so that you can walk away with a better understanding of what you are getting into.

How Does Closed Captioning Work?

Closed captions are useful for offering written details of what is happening on screen. This is useful for the hearing impaired and anyone watching a program without access to the audio for that program. It is necessary to think about how writing subtitles can help anyone viewing your program.

Subtitle Guidelines to Live By

When writing subtitles for closed captioning, ensure you know some rules of thumb necessary to get it right. A few of the top rules that you ought to think about include the following:

• Captions should never be more than 30 characters in length
• Do not have more than two lines on the screen at any given time
• Ensure that proper grammar and spelling are used throughout
• Make sure the closed captions follow along with the pace of the programming

All of these things are important to get just right. If you fail to do so, the people who read your closed captions may become upset by their inability to easily follow along with the program you are presenting them with.

What to Write About With Closed Captioning

There are certain elements of the program that should always be covered via closed captioning and other parts that don’t matter as much. You will always want to verify that you have closed captioning for the following elements of your program:

• Sound Effects – The sound effects in a visual medium play a big role in how the story is told. Those viewing that material without access to the audio should be able to tell what is going on via closed captioning. Use descriptive words and always ensure that you explain what is making the sound when writing closed captions for sound effects.
• Dialogue – Perhaps the most obvious thing that needs to be covered via closed captions is the program’s dialogue. The closed captions should fully describe what is said and by which characters. That will make it easier for the viewer to follow the program.
• Background Noise or Music – It is essential to provide information about the program’s background noise and/or music. This allows the viewer to keep up with exactly what is going on, even with some of the more subtle elements of the story.

Make certain that you provide closed captions for all of these elements to give the viewer everything they need to understand the value of the story they are watching unfold on their screen.

At first glance, writing closed captioning might seem easy. However, as we have explained here, it has more elements than first meets the eye. Make certain you know precisely what kind of story you are attempting to tell with your closed captions.

You can learn more at the BeOnAir Media Schools. We offer you the skills and tools needed to learn many elements of the media environment, including creating powerful closed captions that work well for you. For more information about how this works and how to get started, please contact us for details about signing up today.

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