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The Office of Innovative Technologies can provide consultation and support regarding options for captioning your video content. While the cost of closed captioning video content is the responsibility of the requesting department, OIT can assist with contracted captioning services that are then billed back to your department if needed.

Contact the OIT HelpDesk for assistance

For more information and assistance with captioning your video content, submit a request online or call 865-974-9900 to schedule a consultation.

CAPTIONING ZOOM MEETINGS (LIVE)

Automatic live captioning and transcription is available at no extra cost in UT’s Zoom subscription. Learn how to engage automatic captions in your UT Zoom meeting.

Please note that Zoom captions, as with any automatic captions, will vary in accuracy and may be insufficient for providing equitable access if an attendee is deaf or hard of hearing. For more information, please reach out to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, Student Disability Services, or OIT.

CAPTIONING ORIGINAL PRE-RECORDED CONTENT

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) Options

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), sometimes known as “auto captions”, is available at no additional cost, and may be a suitable option by itself. This option may also be used to provide an initial product that can then be corrected to perfection by the media creator. In general, ASR captions can be expected to be about 80% accurate, though this can vary widely based on the quality of recording, aspects of the speaker’s voice and the nature of the subject being discussed. ASR captions should always be reviewed for accuracy.

We have three supported options available for ASR captioning available at no additional cost:

• Panopto
  Panopto is an excellent “one stop” place to record and/or upload media into Canvas for use within your Canvas course(s). Panopto provides a wealth of interactive options in addition to supplying ASR captions, which then may (and should) be edited before publication. Please visit ASR-Generated Captions to access a step-by-step guide for how to add and edit Panopto captions.
  
• Canvas Studio
  Canvas Studio is an excellent “one stop” place to record or upload media into Canvas for use within your Canvas course(s). Canvas Studio provides an option to create ASR captions, which may then be edited, if desired, before publication. Please see our Canvas Studio: Captioning Videos Knowledge Base article.
  
• YouTube
  YouTube is another good option as a place to record and/or upload media for captioning and distribution. YouTube is a good option if you wish to share your media outside of Canvas (e.g., on a website) or to make it available in a public-facing YouTube Channel, etc. YouTube also provides an option to create ASR captions, which may then be edited, if desired, before publication. Please see our YouTube: Captioning Videos Knowledge Base article.
   

Vendor Options (Requesting Department Responsible for Costs)

UTK has a partnership with a professional captioning vendor that can provide high-accuracy captions at reasonable prices. We will provide you with recommendations and price estimates based on your specific needs and turn-around time. If you would like to have a video file captioned, please submit a request online to begin the process. An OIT staff member will contact you to discuss options and estimate costs.  While the cost of closed captioning video content is the responsibility of the requesting department, OIT can assist with contracted captioning services that are then billed back to your department if needed.

CAPTIONING EXTERNAL/UNOWNED MEDIA 

Professional Studio Productions

If you would like to caption media developed by professional studio (e.g.Hollywood productions, videos from professional organizations), it’s best to begin by looking for existing caption files. We recommend two sources:

• Hodges Library
  The library has a large collection of media that is already captioned. It is possible that they may have a version of the media you would like to use already captioned and usable through their collection. Contact the library first at lib.utk.edu.
  
• OpenSubtitles.org
  A second option is to see if others have contributed to an open-source bank of captions available at opensubtitles.org. Most titles have multiple subtitle files that reflect different frame rates or versions of the film. Try several if necessary to identify one that works well. If this option is unsuccessful, you may request training for adjusting caption file timing from help.utk.edu or may opt to use one of the vendors listed above.
  

Unowned Media from Other Sources

If you would like to caption media developed or shared through a video hosting platform (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo), it may be possible to use a UT-approved vendor to caption content without violating copyright. This option will require streaming the content through a vendor-provided interface or through another streaming interface that allows captions (e.g., Canvas Studio). If you would like to find out more about having an unowned video file captioned, please submit a request online.