How to add captions to a video

Rhianon Gutierrez Updated by Rhianon Gutierrez

Captions are text that is displayed onscreen, either at the top or bottom of the screen, to provide visual access to spoken and written content that is part of a video. This text is synchronized with the audio as it plays. Captions have tremendous benefits for all audiences. Below are five powerful uses of captions.

  • Providing access to audio content
  • Learning a new language
  • Learning or clarifying new concepts
  • Viewing videos in quiet spaces
  • Increased viewership

For teachers and staff who are creating pre-recorded videos, we recommend the following workflows.

Do-It-Yourself: Computer

YouTube: Upload your video and use automatic captioning that you can edit on YouTube, or create your own transcript and sync it with your video.

Watch an auto captioning tutorial here.

Google Drive: Sync your transcript and video in Google Drive.

Watch how to sync your transcript here.

Do-It-Yourself: Smartphone

Clips (iOS): Add Live Titles to your videos that you film on your phone.

Clipomatic (iOS): Turn on the captions in multiple languages for your videos.

AutoCap (Android): Add auto captions and subtitles.

Looking for a more comprehensive guide to captioning? Check out our DIY Captioning Guide for all things captioning!

Request Professional Captions

Fill out the request form to get your captions done by a professional captioning service.

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