How To Create A Closed Caption File

Video is the most engaging content to produce. Whether you're hosting it on your website, sharing it on social networks or pitching it to streaming services, video is a powerful way to connect to audiences and spread your message.

Video accessibility is also an increasingly important reason for creating closed captions (also often called subtitles). More and more laws are being created that require videos to include closed captions.

But how do you guarantee that people see your videos? Especially through all the online noise? Add subtitles to video that you produce. Simply adding captions can increase your potential audience, improve comprehension and encourage sharing. Here is the easiest way to add closed captions to video.

Adding Captions & Subtitles to Videos on Different Video Players & Tools

Rev has created multiple guides for adding captions to different video players, see some of our most popular guides below.

Online Video Website Captions

YouTube – This guide on How to Add Closed Captions to YouTube highlights Rev's automatic YouTube integration for the easiest possible YouTube solution
Vimeo – Learn about How to Add Captions to Vimeo videos
Wistia – Guide on How to Add Captions to Wistia videos

Social Media Website Captions

Twitter– Twitter Media studio works well with SRT files, learn how to add captions to Twitter videos here
Facebook – Add captions to Facebook videos.
TikTok – Learn how to add text and captions to TikTok videos.
Snapchat– Add captions & subtitles to Snapchat with this helpful guide
Instagram – Instagram accessibility as important as ever – learn how to add captions to Instagram videos
LinkedIn – Add captions & subtitles to LinkedIn videos

Video Editing Software Captions

Adobe Premiere Pro – The easiest solution for Adding Captions in Adobe Premiere Pro
Final Cut Pro– Another popular tool for Mac users, see How to Add Captions and Subtitles to Final Cut Pro
iMovie – Highlighting one of the most popular free tools for Mac users, check out How to Add Captions and Subtitles in iMovie
Avid – One of the post popular software platforms for Hollywood producers: How to Add Captions & Subtitles to Avid
Quicktime– Free video tool for Mac users, learn How to Add Captions and Subtitles to Quicktime
DaVinci Resolve Studio – How to Add Captions & Subtitles in DaVinci Resolve Studio
Lightworks– How to Add Captions & Subtitles in Lightworks
Camtasia – How to Add Captions & Subtitles in Camtasia
Handbrake (free option) – Handbrake is a great option for adding subtitle or caption files to video if you don't want to pay for Final Cut or Premiere: Add Caption or Subtitle Files to Videos with Handbrake

Video Conferencing & Meeting Software Captions

Zoom– Read our guide on adding captions to Zoom videos, the most popular video conferencing platform
Google Meet & Hangouts – Learn How to Add Captions to Google Meet & Google Hangouts, Google's free and paid video conferencing solutions
Skype – Add captions to Skype recordings
Cisco Webex – Add captions to Webex meeting recordings
BlueJeans – Add captions & subtitles to BlueJeans meeting recordings

Education Platform Captions

Panopto – How to Add Captions & Subtitles to Panopto Videos
Kaltura – How to Add Captions & Subtitles to Kaltura Videos
Brightcove – How to Add Captions & Subtitles to Brightcove Videos
JWPlayer – How to Add Captions & Subtitles to JWPlayer Videos
Canvas – How to Add Captions & Subtitles to Canvas Videos
Blackboard – How to Add Captions & Subtitles to Blackboard Videos

Want captions added directly to your videos?

Rev now offers burned-in captions (open captions). Just check the "burned-in captions" box at checkout and you'll receive a video with permanent, hard-coded captions added straight to your videos. Also available for foreign language subtitles!

open captions

How to Add Closed Captions Yourself

Some teams are big enough that they can add subtitles to video content internally. It is a longer process than outsourcing, but it is a way to save on extra costs, if that's your priority. Here's how to put subtitles on videos by yourself.

Transcribe Video

First, you have to watch your video and transcribe the audio. This means not only logging the spoken words in your video, but also making notes of other important audio cues in the video. Unfortunately, there is no simple way to transcribe video yourself. You can use transcription services to make things easier.

Remember for closed captions, but particularly subtitles, timing is a crucial element. If the subtitles in your video do not line up with the speakers, it will confuse your audience so saving time codes is important. Make sure that your transcriptions are as accurate as possible before you move onto the next step.

Make an .SRT File

Next, save your text file as an .srt file. It's the most universal file type to add subtitles to video. It's also the only one that sites like Facebook and LinkedIn accept when publishing video.

Upload with Your Video

Lastly, upload your web video file plus the .srt file to the preferred platform. Most sites will allow you to review the subtitles on your video before you publish so you can confirm that they show up at the right time in the video. Take the extra time to confirm the accuracy so you can be sure that the largest audience engages with your long form or short video.

Learn More About Closed Captions and Subtitles

If you want more information about the benefits of closed captioning your videos or how to subtitle your videos in foreign languages, check out our blog. We regularly publish new information to help optimize your content.

More Caption & Subtitle Guides

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Permanent captions	Add burned-in captions to videos	Add permanent subtitles to video
Premium	Rev Premium Service Captions	Best closed captioning software
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