3. Caption

[If you went with the Canvas Studio option to record, then captioning in Canvas Studio will look a bit different than captioning in YouTube. See my Canvas Studio page for editing the auto captions in that case.]

Yes, you can caption your videos on YouTube, and this process has improved tremendously over recent YouTube updates.  Here are the recommended options when captioning in YouTube.

Option 1: Wait for YouTube Automated Captions and then Edit

This is the first option because I think it's the best. 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 is 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 non-talking-head videos.  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.  This video shows you where to copy/paste your 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.  

Give it a Try!

Before moving ahead in this module, add captions to your YouTube video using one of the methods above.