Captioning Videos and Livestreams

Binghamton University is committed to promoting and providing an inclusive and welcoming digital environment for everyone by providing captioning.

In accordance with the Binghamton University Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Policy, as well as local, state and federal regulations and laws, all new digital media produced or provided by Binghamton University will be captioned and all publicly accessible digital content that is live-streamed will be live captioned.

For the purpose of this policy, captioning pertains to information produced and provided by Binghamton University including, but not limited to:

• Academic course materials (lectures, videos, tutorials).
• Media published on any Binghamton University website.
• Marketing videos produced for mass distribution (youtube, etc.).
• Social media content produced by any University entity.

What is Captioning?

Captioning is the process of converting the audio content of media presentations (television, internet, social media or otherwise) into text and displaying that text on the screen, monitor, or other visual display system. Captioning ensures access to digital media audio content for a wide range of individuals.

Process for Captioning of New Materials

Panopto

The University currently utilizes Panopto software to provide faculty, staff and students a system for creating, uploading and streaming digital video content. It is strongly recommended that content managers/owners utilize Panopto software, where possible, to host their materials. Panopto allows for seamless captioning of all material hosted in it.

• To sign up for a Panopto account, reach out to the University Center for Training and Development (UCTD) to get started.
• UCTD will assist you in getting an account in the Panopto environment. From here, you can upload existing materials you may have, as well as create new content.
• ALL content uploaded or created in Panopto is automatically machine captioned.
• Specific captioning requirements (other languages, human accurate captions, etc…) can be coordinated with the Services for Students with Disabilities office.
• General questions on Panopto, its capabilities, how best to leverage it and how its accessibility features can be utilized in class can be referred to the Educational Communications Office (Panopto administrators).

Other material produced on campus may not have the option to be brought into Panopto. This may include live digital events like Zoom, or platform-specific content hosted in various social media sites.

Zoom

Zoom recordings are automatically ingested into Panopto at the end of the cloud recording. Reach out to EdComm to assist in locating your recording.

To enable live Zoom automated captioning for your use:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Settings.
3. Click the Meeting tab.
4. Under In Meeting (Advanced), click the Automated captions toggle to enable or disable it.
5. If a verification dialog displays, click Enable or Disable to verify the change. Note: If the option is grayed out, it has been locked at either the group or account level. You need to contact your Zoom administrator.
6. (Optional) Click the edit option to select which languages you want to be available for captioning.

Social Media

Modern social media platforms have built-in auto-captioning features that streamline the process of providing accurate captions for videos. Captions can also be uploaded. Material presented on University social media can be captioned in the following manner:

Instagram

For reels and stories:

1. While editing your reel or story, click the sticker button (it looks like a smiley face).
2. Click the captions sticker.
3. Captions will automatically generate. Click the sticker to edit the transcription and style.
4. If you don’t want to use a caption sticker, Instagram will automatically generate captions, as long as you have them toggled on. Users will also have to enable auto-captions on their end if they want to view them.
   1. While editing your video/reel, click “next” .
   2. Click “advanced settings”.
   3. Under the accessibility section, toggle “show captions” on.
   4. Post your reel.

There are a couple of additional ways to add captions to your Instagram videos.

• Use a third-party tool or caption provider. The first is to create captions using a free or paid-for tool. These tools automatically generate a description from the video audio, which you can then edit. Captions should appear on the exported video which you can then upload to Instagram. Kapwing, Clipomatic, InShot and Clips are all examples of tools that you can use to add captions to your videos.
• Write your own captions. The other option is to create a SubRip (.SRT file) using Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac and add this to your video using video editing software. You will then need to transfer the video to your mobile device to upload it to Instagram.

Facebook

Captions are automatically enabled on every video. To add captions to your video:

1. Upload your video.
2. Click the “Video Options” button on the video thumbnail.
3. To use auto-generated captions, toggle “Add Auto-Generated Captions” on.
4. To upload captions, click the “Upload” button, locate your .srt file and click “Open.”
5. Click the “Save button.

TikTok

Captions are automatically enabled on every video. To add captions to your video:

1. While editing your video, navigate to the right sidebar.
2. Scroll down to the “Captions” option.
3. TikTok will automatically transcribe your video and create a caption sticker.
4. Click on the sticker to edit captions and the style so that it is visible in your video.

YouTube

Captions are automatically enabled on every video.

There are a few ways to add unique captions to your video:

Upload a file

Subtitle and caption files contain the text of what is said in the video. It also contains timestamps for when each line of text should be displayed. Some files also include position and style info, which is especially useful for deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers.

1. Upload your video.
2. In the “Add subtitled” box on the “Video Elements” section, click “ADD.”
3. Select Upload file.
4. Choose between “With timing” or “Without timing,” then select Continue.
5. Choose a file to upload.
6. Select Save.

Auto-sync

1. Select Auto-sync.
2. Enter the words in the video or upload a transcript file.
3. Select EDIT, then click SAVE AND CLOSE.

Type manually

You can choose to type or paste a transcript of your captions and subtitles. With this option, your subtitle and caption timings will be set automatically.

1. Select Type manually.
2. Play the video and enter your captions or subtitles. Don't forget to add text like [applause] or [thunder], so that viewers know what's going on in the video. You can also pause while typing.
3. Select PUBLISH.

Captioning of Previously Recorded Materials

Binghamton University identifies the following hierarchy when addressing previously recorded digital media. All legacy media will be captioned with regards to the following order.

1. Any and all digital content that appears on any Binghamton University website.
2. Any and all digital content that is for an individual with a registered audio or video accommodation.
3. Educational content utilized over repeating semesters by faculty.
4. Non-education University media (athletics, admissions, training materials, etc.).
5. Educational content used only one semester by faculty.
6. All other materials not categorized by the above options.

If you have existing media that will continue to be utilized, and it is not captioned, follow the same procedures outlined above in the “Captioning of New Materials” section. Panopto will be utilized to caption old/ existing/ legacy content as well as new content.