Captions and subtitles: specify the job, not just the label
In UK conversation, people often use subtitles and captions interchangeably. A supplier may mean translated dialogue, same-language speech, or an accessibility track that also identifies speakers and meaningful sound. Ask what will actually be delivered.
For example, an unseen alarm followed by somebody leaving a room is part of the story. A dialogue-only transcript would miss it. Equally, identifying an off-screen speaker can be essential when the picture does not make the change obvious. The W3C accessible-media guidance explains the different components and how to plan them.
Put the intended languages, speaker identification and treatment of relevant non-speech sound in the brief. “Add subtitles” leaves too many decisions until the final review.
Choose between selectable captions and burned-in text
Selectable captions are supplied as a separate timed file, commonly SRT or WebVTT, and displayed by a compatible player. Viewers can switch them on or off; available styling and language controls depend on the platform.
Burned-in captions become part of the picture. They are useful for a social edit that needs words visible immediately, but the viewer cannot turn them off or independently resize the text. They also make later corrections a video-export job.
A sensible handover can include a clean master, a checked caption file and a separate captioned social version. Confirm what the destination accepts before commissioning exports. Avoid showing burned-in captions underneath a second player-generated track: two competing sets of words are not an improvement.
Automatic captions need a human review
Automatic transcription is a useful first pass. It is not the approval stage. Business videos are full of difficult material: surnames, abbreviations, product names, technical terms, accents and numbers. A recogniser can produce a plausible sentence that changes the meaning.
Check against the final soundtrack, not an earlier script. A contributor may have changed a figure during filming or the editor may have shortened an answer. Review negations particularly carefully: missing “not” is a small transcription error with a large consequence.
Our recommended review order is straightforward:
- Correct words, names, figures and speaker changes.
- Check that captions arrive and leave with the relevant speech.
- Read each segment at normal playback speed.
- Move captions where they obscure a demonstration or name graphic.
- Watch the exported version again on the actual destination.
Keep an approved spelling list beside the edit. It gives the caption reviewer something better than guesswork when a specialist name appears once in a noisy interview.
Audio description answers a different question
Captions explain sound visually. Audio description explains important visual information through sound. One cannot replace the other.
Consider a process demonstration in which the presenter says, “Move this over here.” Somebody listening without the picture has no usable instruction. “Move the blue selector to the left-hand stop” communicates more of the action within the main narration.
This is integrated description. Alternatively, a separate described version or supported description track can explain information between spoken passages. The right approach depends on the film; a dense montage may not leave room for useful description without changing the edit. W3C’s description guide sets out the available methods.
You do not have to narrate every decorative camera move. Identify what viewers need to understand: a name shown only on screen, a meaningful action, a change in location, a chart’s conclusion or an instruction demonstrated silently.
Does a talking-head interview need audio description?
Sometimes the speaker already conveys every important point. Sometimes the interview includes name straps, charts or supporting pictures that add facts the speaker never mentions.
W3C’s explanation of WCAG success criterion 1.2.5 says additional description is unnecessary when all important visual information is already communicated in the audio. It also distinguishes the Level A option of a full text alternative from the Level AA audio-description requirement. A transcript alone is not a universal substitute for audio description at AA.
Review the whole edit, including opening titles and the final contact screen. Do not assess only the minutes when somebody is speaking.
A transcript should be useful outside the player
A transcript gives people a text route through the information. For a business interview, clear speaker labels and short paragraphs are more useful than an unedited wall of machine transcription. Where visual detail carries meaning, include that detail in a descriptive transcript.
Publish it close to the video with a descriptive link or accessible expandable section. Check the text itself is usable with assistive technology. A photograph of a printed transcript is a poor handover.
For training, align the terms in the transcript with the controlled procedure. Our guide to using video alongside training documents explains why a demonstration and a searchable reference often belong together.
Check the player as well as the film
An accessible file can still sit inside a difficult website. Test the published embed with a keyboard: can you reach play, pause, volume, captions and full-screen controls, and leave the player again? Is focus visible? Are control names understandable?
Check zoom, a narrow mobile layout and captions over bright footage. A large caption preview in the editing suite tells you little about a small player inside a web page. Consent controls also need attention: when someone declines optional embedded media, the page should still explain how to obtain the information.
The Government’s basic accessibility checking guidance includes media-player checks. A quick check is useful, but it does not establish that an entire website conforms to WCAG.
What do UK requirements mean for a video brief?
Public-sector websites and apps are subject to specific accessibility regulations, with exceptions and exemptions that need to be considered in context. Current UK Government guidance uses WCAG 2.2 AA and also explains the relationship with reasonable-adjustment duties. Businesses should not assume either that every public-sector rule applies identically to them or that accessibility is irrelevant outside government.
Give your production supplier the actual contractual or organisational standard. If a commissioner requires an accessibility audit, BSL interpretation or specialist user testing, name that requirement and its approval owner before filming. This production guide is not a legal assessment of a particular organisation.
BSL and translated subtitles need separate planning
British Sign Language is a language in its own right. Written English captions do not meet every Deaf viewer’s language needs. The Government’s accessible communication formats guidance explains the variety of formats and audiences involved.
Where BSL is appropriate, plan interpreter placement, framing and the final size of the interpreter on a phone. Do not leave a tiny empty corner and assume the job is solved. Translation also needs time: an approved English script is not proof that another language version communicates the same meaning.
A practical commissioning and handover checklist
- Before filming: agree audience needs, target standard, languages, description approach and review responsibility.
- During production: record intelligible speech, say important visual information where natural, and leave room for captions and description.
- During editing: review the final wording, readable graphics, caption timing and described information together.
- At delivery: label the clean master, captioned versions, caption files, transcript and any described version clearly.
- After upload: test the player, mobile display, keyboard controls and the links between alternative versions.
- When the film changes: update the captions, transcript and description alongside it.
Ask for named deliverables in the quotation. Accessibility costs are easier to plan when they are part of the video production brief, rather than an urgent request after approval. Our editing-cost guide explains the work involved in checking and exporting versions.
Common questions about accessible video
Are subtitles enough to make a video accessible?
No. They address only part of the experience. Important visual information, player operation, readable graphics and the availability of alternatives also need checking.
Should every video have a separate audio-description track?
Not necessarily. Important visual information may already be explained in the main audio. Assess the finished content and required standard rather than adding a second voice automatically.
Can we add accessibility to an existing film?
Often, yes. Captions and transcripts can be prepared from the final master. Description can be more involved if speech fills the soundtrack or the edit leaves no time to explain essential visuals.
Who approves specialist terminology?
Agree a reviewer who understands the subject. The editor can check timing and presentation, while the client confirms names, technical language and factual accuracy.
Plan the complete viewing experience
If you are commissioning an interview, training series or company film, include its accessibility requirements when you discuss the production with The Camera Guys. We can scope the filming, edit and required versions alongside your website team’s publishing responsibilities.
