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Caption Quality Best Practices

Guidelines for creating professional, high-quality captions in Scriptix.

Quality Checklist​

Timing​

  • Captions sync with speech start and end
  • Minimum duration: ~1 second (enough time to read)
  • Maximum duration: ~7 seconds (avoid overly long captions)
  • Natural timing that follows speech patterns
  • No overlapping caption segments

Text Accuracy​

  • Spelling is correct
  • Grammar is proper
  • Punctuation used appropriately
  • Speaker identification consistent
  • Capitalization follows standard rules

Formatting​

  • Text is concise and readable
  • Line breaks at natural phrase boundaries
  • Related words kept together
  • No awkward splits mid-phrase

Accessibility​

  • Speaker changes identified (when multiple speakers)
  • Important sound effects can be noted in caption text
  • Clear, accurate representation of audio content

Common Quality Issues​

Reading Speed Too Fast​

Problem: Caption text appears and disappears too quickly to read

Solutions:

  • Increase caption duration
  • Reduce text length
  • Split into multiple captions
  • Aim for natural reading pace

Poor Synchronization​

Problem: Captions don't match when speech occurs

Solutions:

  • Adjust start/stop times manually
  • Use timing shift control for bulk adjustments
  • Review with media playback to verify sync
  • Use waveform visualization for precision

Text Errors​

Problem: Transcription errors or typos

Solutions:

  • Review all caption text
  • Use search to find specific issues
  • Fix errors in caption editor
  • Verify technical terms and names

Awkward Line Breaks​

Problem: Text splits at unnatural points

Solutions:

  • Keep subject with verb
  • Keep modifiers with nouns
  • Don't orphan single words
  • Break at natural phrase boundaries

Professional Standards​

Different platforms have specific caption requirements:

YouTube​

  • Generally accepts standard captioning practices
  • SRT and VTT formats recommended
  • Auto-captioning available but review recommended

Broadcast (TV)​

  • Strict timing requirements
  • May require STL or TTML format
  • Professional quality standards

Web Video​

  • VTT format for HTML5
  • SRT widely compatible
  • Accessibility compliance (WCAG)

Streaming Platforms​

  • Platform-specific requirements
  • Often require TTML format
  • Detailed style guides available

Review Process​

Manual Review​

  1. Play through entire video with captions
  2. Read all captions for accuracy
  3. Check synchronization - captions match speech timing
  4. Verify readability - text is clear and concise
  5. Test on target platform if possible

Spot Checking​

For long content, spot check:

  • Beginning, middle, and end sections
  • Areas with multiple speakers
  • Sections with technical terminology
  • Areas with fast speech or music

Testing Your Captions​

Test Environments​

View captions on:

  • Desktop browser
  • Mobile device (smaller screen)
  • Target platform (YouTube, etc.)
  • Different video players

Test Scenarios​

Check captions:

  • With sound on (verify sync)
  • With sound off (verify completeness)
  • On bright backgrounds
  • On dark backgrounds
  • At different player sizes

Export Validation​

Before final delivery:

  1. Preview - Watch complete video with captions
  2. Export - Download in target format (SRT, VTT, etc.)
  3. Test - Upload to destination platform and verify
  4. Review - Get feedback if possible
  5. Finalize - Make final adjustments and re-export

Tips for High-Quality Captions​

Timing Tips​

  • Start captions when speech starts
  • End captions when speech ends
  • Allow brief pauses between segments
  • Don't rush the viewer

Text Tips​

  • Be accurate to spoken words
  • Use standard punctuation
  • Capitalize properly (speaker names, proper nouns, start of sentences)
  • Keep it concise

Formatting Tips​

  • Break long sentences into multiple captions
  • One or two lines per caption is standard
  • Keep phrases together
  • Balance line lengths when using two lines

Accessibility Tips​

  • Identify speakers when not obvious from video
  • Can include important sound effects in caption text
  • Describe relevant non-speech audio when needed
  • Ensure captions are readable

Next Steps​

Quality matters! Well-crafted captions improve accessibility and viewer experience.