How to make subtitles readable to
everyone?
By Emmanuelle ABOAF
ID24 - September 22th, 2023
Here is my transcript
Here is the short link:
About me
- French Deaf with two cochlear implants
- Fullstack developer
- Work at Shodo Paris
- Member of Duchess France
- Member of CNCF Deaf and Hard of Hearing Working group
- Team #a11y
Why subtitle?
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 5% of the world's population, or 430 million, are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (HoH) ;
- It helps people with others disabilities and people who are not native speakers of the language in the video ;
- 85% of videos are watched without sound ;
- Subtitles can also be used for marketing purposes ;
- Subtitles are good for SEO.
What is the difference between subtitles and captions?
Subtitles vs Captions
Subtitles
Subtitles do not have any sound indications.
They are the transcribed or translated dialogues.
Captions
Captions are subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.
Captions contain sound indications.
We also use the term : Open Captions and Closed Captions.
Two kind of captions
Closed Captions
Closed captions are user-enabled captions.
According to the plateforms, users can choose :
- font
- font size
- color of captions
- add background with color on captions.
Open Captions
Captions are embedded in the video. Everyone sees the captions.
The users have no choice as to the display and the format of the captions.
So, let's talk about open captions.
Demonstrations
Meryl Evans
"Without further ado ... I've created a brand new side-by-side video. One uses captioning best practices (except it's open instead of closed) and the other uses different types of Hormozi-style options. Which do you prefer?"
Alexa Heinrich
"This is what I mean when I say that kinetic captions are a bad idea and not very accessible!"
What criteria should be respected when creating captions?
Contrasts matters.
Font matters.
Size matters.
NO CAPS.
No animations and
no flashing captions.
Do not summarize, do not change the context.
Always captions on up
to two lines.
Texts and subtitles should not overlap.
Pay attention to captions’s placement.
Sounds must be described.
How to describe the sounds?
- [applause]
- [lyrical flute solo]
- [The Beatles singing “Hey Jude”]
- ♪ Hey Jude, don't make it bad. ♪♪
- [Piper] Thank you.
- [Chris] You're welcome.
- [Speaking French] Bonjour.
You can use automatic captions provided you correct them afterwards.
Auto captions
When you use auto captions during the live, correct them in replay as here at Inclusive Design 24 because they aren't 100% accurate.
When you create videos, you can use the automatic tools to caption automatically but don't forget to fix them.
Mixing artificial intelligence and human intelligence helps to make the experience better.
Careful to craptions!
(pun between crap and captions)
What are THE perfect captions?
THE perfect captions
- Do not make spelling, grammar or conjugation mistakes in any language.
- Respect the color format: white with a black or half-black background.
- Pay attention to font size.
- Choose a sans serif font.
- Pay attention to placement.
- No caps, no animations and no flashing on captions.
- Sounds must be described.
- Always captions on up to two lines.
- Do not use only automatic captioning and always correct it.
When you create captions, think about the readability of your captions.
Don't caption just because it's pretty.
Caption because you want your message to be read by everyone.
Thank you!
Resources
- Comment bien sous-titrer les vidéos ? By Emmanuelle Aboaf (FR) - 2019
- The Complete Guide to Captioned Videos By Meryl Evans - 2019
-
Does Your Video Make These 6 Common Caption Mistakes? By Meryl Evans - 2021
-
10 Guidelines For Accessible Captions By Meryl Evans - 2023
-
Captions vs. Subtitles: Breaking Down the Differences By Jena Wallace - 2023
- BBC Subtitle Guidelines
- A11yNYC: Automatic Captions: Our Experiments and Best Practices Resources
- Most American adults under 30 prefer watching TV with subtitles — even when they know the language - 2023
- Charte relative à la qualité du sous-titrage du CSA (FR) - 2011
Video resources
- Please Stop This Bad Caption Trend by Meryl Evans - LinkedIn
- "This is what I mean when I say that kinetic captions are a bad idea and not very accessible!" By Alexa Heinrich - Twitter/X
- Different types of Hormozi-style options by Meryl Evans - Twitter/X
- Are my captions working for you? By Jeremy Andrew Davis - Linkedin
How to make subtitles readable to everyone?
By Emmanuelle ABOAF
How to make subtitles readable to everyone?
On videos posted on social networks in French as in English, the open captions often lack contrast, are too small or badly positioned to be readable by disabilities people. I would give some tips to make your subtitles readable, visible and understandable for everyone. You can find the transcript of this talk on this link: https://emmanuelle-aboaf.netlify.app/conferences/how-to-make-subtitles-readable-to-everyone/transcription
