Captioning

Caption files contain time-coded text of what is said in a video or audio file.  The caption file and media file are synced using a host platform, such as Kaltura, or YouTube. Captions often appear at the bottom of a video and can be turned on or off.

Captions are mandated primarily for Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, but captions benefit multiple audiences including:

• Non-native speakers
• When vocabulary is unfamiliar
• When the speaker is using an unfamiliar dialect
• When audio is not clear or audio is not available. This includes instances when audio quality is poor or instances when a person cannot listen to audio because of their work or study environment.

According to one study in the U.K., up to 80% of viewers using captions are not considered Deaf or hard of hearing.

 

Ordering Machine Captions Through Kaltura

Machine captions are available at no cost for all media stored in MediaSpace. Once your content is available in MediaSpace, you can order machine captions and edit any inaccuracies using the steps listed further down on this page.

First, we will cover how to actually order your machine captions

1. Navigate to your Kaltura video in Blackboard or on Media Space, then navigate to My Media.

2. Click on the video you wish to order captions for, then go to the Actions drop-down menu and click on + Captions & Enrich. The Existing Requests and Order Captions and Enrichment Services sections will appear.

3. Scroll down to the Order Captions and Enrichment Services section. Ensure that the Source Media Language is correct.

4. Select the Submit button to order your captions.

5. After captions are ordered, you will be able to see their status in the Existing Requests section. You will receive a notification email when your captions are done processing.

For additional guidance, please refer to Requesting and Ordering Captions and Enrichment Services through the KMS/KAF – REACH v2.

 

Editing Machine Captions in MediaSpace

The accuracy of machine captions is dependant on the quality of the recording and the speaker’s voice. Typically, the accuracy of machine captions in MediaSpace will be about 70-80%, so you will need to correct the inaccuracies of the captions manually, which can be done through the captions editor in MediaSpace. Captions are required to be 99% accurate.

To edit your captions…

1. Login to Media Space, then navigate to My Media.

2. Click on the video you wish to edit captions for, then go to the Actions drop-down menu and click on + Captions & Enrich. The Existing Requests and Order Captions and Enrichment Services sections will appear.

3. Scroll down to the Existing Requests section and select the pencil (edit icon) next to the completed caption request.

4. This will open the Closed Captions Editor and you can make any necessary changes to your captions.

5. Once you are finished, click the Save button located in the top right corner and your captions will be updated.

For additional guidance, please refer to Editing Captions – REACH v2 and REACH v2 Captions FAQ.

How do I obtain captioning for videos I plan to use in my course?

Captioning services are available through AAS for a course in which you have a student who is deaf or hearing impaired. To request a video be captioned, please contact AAS at aas@wcsu.edu. Please make sure to provide appropriate notification to AAS as captioning typically takes 5 business days to obtain. Departments can also choose to use a captioning vendor (3playmedia) at the department’s expense or train student employees to edit caption transcripts. AccessAbility Services is available to train student employees on how to caption videos. For live events that may need captioning, please contact Media Services at: request_media_services@wcsu.edu.

 

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Resources:

• Caption Key
• Overview on Captions