Closed Caption Maker is owned/ operated by Walter Gallant, who is a disabled Vet.
We have two full-time professional transcriptionists and one caption specialist
plus a couple of part-timers. We started in 1996!

We add subtitles to videos streamed on the Internet or videos used in-house.
We also caption broadcast video; not discussed in this FAQ.

Broadcast video is what you get on your TV.
The term “streaming video” is used to describe video played over the Internet.

In the U.S., the terms are normally used interchangeably.
Example: YouTube technically supports subtitles, but you turn them on/off with the CC button.
I've seen other captioning companies on the Internet use the term “subtitles” to mean the script is translated into another language.

Real-time captioning is normally used with broadcast TV, but can also be seen on the Internet, i.e., a live webinar.
In real-time captioning, a court reporter is 'typing' on a special keyboard and special software creates the text,
which is then 'added' to the video as the viewer sees it.

Offline captions is when captioning is done after the video has been recorded.

First, our transcribers produce a word-for-word transcript of your video.
Once we have the transcript, we manually sync each line of script
with the audio. We then create a subtitle file which is used by YouTube
to add the words when you press the CC button. Same with Vimeo.

The SRT subtitle file is a plain text file with an extension of .srt.
The SRT subtitle file is used by the system which streams your video over the Internet.
SCC and MCC are only used with broadcast video; not explained in this FAQ.

With an .srt subtitle file -- no.

But, we normally create a black area below your video and place
the subtitles in this area -- thus, not covering up any of your video.
A new subtitle format, WebVTT, has position control in YouTube.
Adds a little to the cost. As of this date, Vimeo does not support positioning.

The client can supply a word-for-word text file of the script.
It is a little less expensive if you do. Most clients do not supply a script.

You need to ask the place where the video will be played what
video file formats they accept and what subtitle format is needed.
Examples: YouTube accepts most video file formats and
subtitle formats such as .srt, WebVTT and others.
Amazon Video accepts several video/subtitle formats.
You start with where the video will be played!

We charge $2/minute; includes transcribing.
For this, you get exactly what you need to add subtitles to your video.
You can't do it for less in-house, plus a highly paid video editor
should not be spending their time adding subtitles to a video they just edited.

Cost is $2/video minute; include transcribing, with a minimum of $15/file.

Normally a day or two for a single video.

We can accept any video format.

An open-captioned video file has the words burnt into the video.
The words are always visible and will work with any media player.
We normally place the subtitles below your video with a black

background with white characters for good visibility.

This normally deals with broadcast video.
The captions are 'hidden' inside the video file
and are turned on when played (aired) at the TV level.

1) A subtitle file, which you have to understand how to use.
Example: with YouTube you upload the subtitle file (.srt) to YouTube
with your video file and 'connect the two'.
2) We burn the subtitles into your video file creating an open-captioned video file.

We are flexible. New clients pay via PayPal.

Yes, for the captioning part of the ADA.
The important feature is tagging/identifying who is speaking.

Yes, the captioning part. Section 508 also deals with video description
for visually impaired persons -- we do not provide this service.
VD is used by visually impaired persons; it describes the content,
which the audio does not.
Very few companies add VD; if needed, it can be done when the video is edited.

The audio has to be in English.
We have a workflow to support other languages.
We create the English subtitle file, then that is
translated into the other language. Please call to discuss details.
If professionally translated, it is very expensive – as much as $.25 per word.
We are working with a freelance person to do 'ok' level of translating.

For Internet streaming video, we will only include the words of a
song if the words are clearly audible and the client supplies the text of the song.
If the words are not provided, we put up the music symbol to let the
deaf/hoh person know that music is playing.
If a sound effect is germane to the content of the video we add it; i.e. gun shot.

Open captions are always visible; the text is burnt into the video.
Closed captions, like in YouTube, can be turned on or off with the (CC) button.

YouTube videos can be subtitled by the owner. YouTube has an
optional auto-caption feature. Auto-captions use voice recognition software
and the error rate is based on the audio quality.

If you are currently authoring the DVD, we can create a subtitle for it.
If it is an old DVD, we normally create an open-captioned mp4 video.
We do this for lots of colleges. We also do this for VHS tapes.

Basically, no. The burden is on the user of the video.
If a company or a public entity uses a video, the ADA requires that video be made accessible
if needed by any employee. If you are a Federal agency, the Section 508 law
requires that videos be made accessible - even if not needed by an employee.

Audio description is used by visually impaired people.
Additional audio is added to the program to describe
what a visually impaired person cannot see and is not describe in the audio.

We do not offer this service.

Real-time captioning can also be used on the Internet, i.e., a webinar.
Done like real-time TV, a court reporter listens to the audio and captioning is
added to the streaming video in real-time.

There are companies who provide this service, we do not.

But, many companies post webinars on their website so those who
could not attend can watch it at a later time.
A recorded webinar is really just a video/audio file and we can add subtitles to it.