Everything You Need to Know About Open and Closed Captions in 2024

Let’s face it, Videos are a 1000% fastest growing medium of content in the world today. By 2025 videos will account for 82% of global internet traffic, says Vidico…

Almost 96% percent of users buy a product or service online by watching videos on Facebook or Youtube or Google. Which brings me to today’s discussion about – Open and Closed Captioning.

Captioning is the process of adding captions. Captioning plays an important role in improving video engagement and reach. When more people understand your content there are higher chances of you going VIRAL!

Captions are a textual representation of the audio of any video. Captions are shown in real time while the video is being played on the screen, and they just follow along.

Captions are especially for those people who are deaf or hard of hearing and are in the same language as the original audio. Captions are of two types Open and Closed. Let us understand what they are.

Open captions are those which are permanently visible on the screen and cannot be turned off.Whereas, Closed captions are those which can be turned on and off by the choice of a viewer. Closed captions are denoted CC which can be seen in any video that has captions in it.

What are the differences between Open and closed captions?

Even though they serve a similar purpose, Open and closed captions might have some differences after all. Let us understand them further.

Open Captioning – Permanent Embedded Accessibility

As the name suggests, Open captioning directly adds captions in the video itself. In open captioning there is no option of not adding captions in any video. Captions are permanently visible on the screen, in sync with the audio and visual elements.

Unlike closed captions, viewers do not get the option to disable the captions, they are a primary feature of the media presentation.

Open captioning is beneficial in situations where accessibility is non negotiable. In certain circumstances such as public spaces, educational settings or when targeting audiences with diverse backgrounds and accessibilities, open captions are of utmost importance.

For eg. If you’re a content creator with a global audience, open captioning would be beneficial for you as more people will be able to access your content. For those who are deaf, open captions act as a significant benefit for accessibility. 

Because of its permanent visibility open captions may be better for accessibility and comprehension but can also be the cause of distraction to many.

Closed captioning – Customizable Accessibility

Closed captions are those which can be turned on and off by the choice of a viewer. Closed captions are denoted CC which can be seen in any video that has captions in it. They are stored separately from the video content.

The ability to customize the use of captions makes the viewer tailor his experience according to his individual needs and requirements. Closed captioning is especially valuable in situations when viewers may not require it for total comprehension and just for clarity, language learning etc.

Closed captions are also helpful in noise sensitive environments such as hospitals, libraries.

The Pros of Open captions

One of the major pros of open captions is the fact that they pop right after the video starts. Since Tiktok, Instagram, the apps that generate the most traffic don’t have the option of closed captions, and allow auto generated captions,it’s a win I would say.

Most of the time, many sites don’t support closed captions but you would still want your audience to understand your content and get the message. In those situations open captions come in handy.

When it comes to open captions your viewers can watch a video in any media player out there and the captions will pop up every single time.

The Cons of Open Captions

Open captions are very rigid. If you ever make a mistake (even if it’s just a single letter) once the captions are added you’ll have to start all over again. Open captions can’t just be translated because you will have to overlay the existing ones for that.

That’s why the major drawback of open captions is no flexibility which is why most people closed captions over them.

The Pros of Closed captions

A major advantage of closed captions is their flexibility. At any point in time when you feel the need to edit or change the captions you can do that easily and upload a new file. 

If your audience understands your content or feel like they don’t need them, they can simply turn off the captions. 

You also have the option of putting multiple caption files for a single video i.e. translating the caption into multiple languages so that users can choose any language of their choice.

The Cons of Closed captions

Closed captions might be flexible but certainly have some limitations. 

Closed captions come in different formats like SRT, SUB, VTT but every media player doesn’t support every single one which is a big disadvantage. 

For content creators and social media creators the major drawback of closed captions is that you can’t force closed captions into their screens.

Live Captioning and closed captioning Services

Live captioning is a form of caption where captions are produced for real time events such as webinar, football games commentary etc. Whereas closed captions are those which can be turned on and off by the choice of a viewer. Closed captions are used in NETFLIX or anything which has already been recorded before. 

Real-time captions, or Computer Assisted Real-time Translation (CART), can be created as the live event takes place.  A captioner can be a trained reporter or stenographer having the required software and should possess technical understanding.

How to add captions to your videos?

Adding captions to your videos can be an easy task especially if you have an agency like Linguidoor who can add captions in multiple languages.

1. Upload your video or paste the URL and send it to your agency for captions and transcriptions.
2. The next step is to add subtitles or captions to your video, your translation agency will make sure that the captions are accurate with the video.
3. You might want to proofread your video and captions for accuracy.
4. The last step is delivery, your agency will send you the copy of your video document along with captions online.

Why use professional Captioning Services?

Videos with captions boost viewers attention and increase watchtime. These longer viewing times not only spreads your message to more audiences but also does very well in the search engines.

If you are a social media agency the most crucial thing for you is accessibility. The more people understand your video content the better it is going to do in Instagram, Youtube etc. Usually videos with captions embedded in it do good on social media and youtube. 

Therefore, in the era of BODY INCLUSIVITY, companies shouldn’t forget the importance of INCLUSIVITY in business. The more accessible your message is, the more people are gonna buy it…

Conclusion

Captions are a necessary part of business communication. If you want your message to spread through different ways then use Open and closed captions.

In the present day of Social media where reach and expansion means Tik Tok videos and Reels on Instagram, it has become crucial for businesses to step into these apps.

Many brands NIKE, Tesla etc. are already rocking their way in instagram by creating Reels that go viral due to a high number of user presence.

Therefore, if you are a company who dreams for business expansion you should understand the importance of these modern day apps and the importance of adding captions in videos. Checkout our https://linguidoor.com/ website if you’re in need of captions for your videos. We specialize in translation, localization and many other services related to global expansion for businesses. Join us TODAY. HURRY!!