Producing Accessible
Audio & Video

Accessible Video: Captions
Captioning Grammar

Image: Word Grammar

Overview

How captions are formatted and the way they are written grammatically can have a huge impact on whether or not an audience can understand the content in a video. Many broadcasters and captioning companies have their own set of specific caption formatting rules and practices. We are also starting to see words on screen that are not really captions but add to the script and story of a film, TV series, or video.

In this section, we will examine a general overview of video captioning format and grammar conventions, as well as how text messages on screen and animated captions are exploring the potential for “captioning to animate meaning, creating a richer more accessible experience.” (Zdenek, 2016).

Developing an Understanding

White text with a black outline can be seen on any background

A font, or typeface, is a set of characters including letters, numbers, and punctuation marks that are a certain size, weight, and style. Typically, fonts used for captioning should be consistent and readable, of a medium weight and sans serif so that they are easy to read.

Here are some resources for determining the best font for your project.

It is preferable to use a white font that is outlined in black, has a drop shadow or appears in a black box, so that the captions stand out from the video background. The letters should be in upper and lower case. All capital letters are used to illustrate shouting and screaming (Captioning Key, n.d.).

Generally, it is best to have only 1-2 lines and up to 47 characters per line for each caption so that the viewer can read the caption easily while it is on screen. As much as possible, captions should appear when the speaker begins speaking, and disappear when the speaker is finished speaking. When there is a break in a line, or a break in a set of captions, it should follow the natural dialogue as much as possible.

Generally, it is best to have only 1-2 lines and up to 47 characters per line for each caption so that the viewer can read the caption easily while it is on screen. As much as possible, captions should appear when the speaker begins speaking, and disappear when the speaker is finished speaking. When there is a break in a line, or a break in a set of captions, it should follow the natural dialogue as much as possible.

Recommended General Caption Guidelines

  • Standard font use is a sans serif, usually Arial or Helvetica
  • Maximum line length of 47 characters
  • One to seven seconds is the minimum-maximum time that captions should appear onscreen
  • Maximum of two lines of text per caption, and all line splits should be grammatically correct, and follow the dialogue as much as possible
  • Captions should be in sync with dialogue
  • Indicate a change of language in brackets
  • Speech should not be simplified or shortened

— Modified from Capital Captions Typing Services, (2020)

There are basic formatting and grammar rules that can help make captions clear for the viewer. Here are some examples.

Video Still of Mike Karapita’s interview

Example 1

Lines and length: Up to 47 characters per line, 2 lines.

Text placement: usually bottom centre.

 Video Still of Robert Richardson’s interview

Example 2

Keep the articles (the, an, a) and the nouns together.

Video Still of Mitch with headset

Example 3

Lines are not broken after a conjunction.

A conjunction is a linking word like and, or, but, then and because (Oxford Dictionary, 2017).

Hand on a sound board

Example 4

Keep the adjective with the noun that it modifies.

A modifier is a word or phrase that provides description in sentence (Oxford Dictionary, 2017).

Video still of Li’s interview

Example 5

Do not break an auxiliary verb from the verb it modifies.

An auxiliary verb is also known as a helping verb. The three most common auxiliary verbs are: be, do and have (Oxford Dictionary, 2017).

Mitch’s hands on a keyboard

Example 6

Clauses should be kept together.

A clause is a group of words that contains a verb. A clause may form part of a sentence, or it may be a complete sentence (Oxford Dictionary, 2017).