Captioning - Options for How-To
Yes, you can caption your videos on YouTube, and this process has improved tremendously over recent YouTube updates. In the following video (4:12 mins.), Katie describes these three options for captioning, and they are described in more detail in the sections that follow.
Option 1: Wait for YouTube Automated Captions and then Edit
YouTube’s auto-generated captions have seriously greatly improved recently, and you may just have a few edits to make to your captions so that they accurately convey the audio content to your audience. Here are the tutorials for how to edit auto-generated YouTube captions.
Option 2: Use a Script When You Record
This is especially effective for short and focused screencasts. If you have the script typed out that you can read from in the recording, then you can upload that file to YouTube to be used as captions. Here are the tutorials showing how to upload your own script to be used for YouTube captions.
Option 3: Transcribe and Set Timings in YouTube
If you didn’t use a script, and the YouTube auto-generated captions never get generated. Or if the captions are so inaccurate that it'd be too difficult to edit them, then consider the option of transcribing the video in YouTube directly. Here are the tutorials showing you this process:
As you'll likely find out, the YouTube captioning interface has changed. @ONE recorded and shared updated their YouTube captioning videos. Be sure to check them out if the YouTube Beta interface is making the captioning process different than what is shown in those videos. Captioning Your YouTube Videos
Links to an external site.
A message from Katie
There are times when I record a video, and rather than wait for the auto-captions to run, I just go ahead and begin transcribing from scratch. So, I begin typing away, and then by the time I'm done, I find that the auto-transcripts are also available to me! It was a race to the finish! :) Hopefully my captions are more accurate than YouTube's captions!