How To Automatically Add Open Captions to Videos

Why is adding open captions to videos before posting on social media so important? It's because most of them are played on mute! For example, over 85% of videos on Facebook are watched with mute toggled on.

That means for every 10 people on Facebook that watch your video, almost 9 of them didn't hear a single word. And this isn't just a Facebook problem; this holds true for almost all social media platforms that support video uploads. 

Adding open captions to your videos is the best way to combat this and ensure that viewers on social media still consume your message, even if the video is muted. Take a look at this Instagram video (created with Zubtitle) that includes open captions to viewers can read what is being said:

Keep in mind, open captions and closed captions are not the same thing. 

Captions are either open or closed. Open captions always are in view and cannot be turned off, whereas closed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer.

While closed captions are a great solution for the hearing impaired to turn on, open captions ensure that all viewers are able to see the words that are being spoken in a video.

Adding open captions to videos is usually a difficult process... which is exactly why we built Zubtitle.

Zubtitle is an online tool that automatically adds open captions to video by transcribing the audio and generating the open caption text. It even automatically determines the caption timestamps to ensure the captions are timed up with the speaker's words. Zubtitle also offers multiple subtitle text styles and makes it easy to edit subtitle text on the fly.

Here is how to use Zubtitle to automatically add open captions to video:

How to Automatically Add Open Captions to Videos Using Zubtitle

Let’s get started and automatically add open captions to your video:

1. Create a free acount

2. Upload your video

Simply click on the yellow Add New Video button in the upper right-hand corner. Now go grab a cup of coffee and let Zubtitle automatically add open captions to the video.

3. Trim your video

As soon as you upload, you’ll have the option to trim your video’s length. Just use the sliding bar and click the Start Editing button when you’re done. You can also choose to skip the trimming step altogether.

4. Review & edit your captions

Zubtitle’s state-of-the-art captioning software may seem like magic. But it’s still a good idea to double-check your subtitles to make sure everything looks perfect. You can easily edit grammar or spelling, as well as adjust the timing of the captions, by using the simple point and click text editor. This is also the section where you can add a headline.

5. Choose a template (or create your own)

Now it’s time to start styling your video. You can select a template from the Default list. There you’ll find templates based on style and sizing. We currently offer three main styles: Focused, Minimal, and Outspoken. And each of those styles is formatted in a variety of sizes: Full Screen Portrait, Full Screen Square, Vertical, Widescreen, etc. If you want to fully customize your video, you can take advantage of all the styling options available on the right-hand menu (detailed below).

6. Customize your captions and video styling

If you’d rather fully customize your video to match your personal branding, can navigate between the different styling options in the right-hand menu. You can easily change text and background colors, upload your own custom fonts, fine-tune positioning, add a logo or progress bar, and more.

Remember that if you decide to customize your own video styling instead of choosing a pre-made template, you can save all of that styling as your own custom template so it will be all ready to go for your next video!

7. Download your new video

Just select the download button in the upper-right hand corner to render your new video and download it to your computer or device.

Ready to automatically add open captions to your videos?

Click here to create your free Zubtitle account.

Want to see a video demo? Click here.

Want more info? Visit our website to learn how Zubtitle automatically adds subtitles to video and makes them look good 😎

Have questions, ideas, or want to chat? Drop us an email or find us on Facebook or Twitter @zubtitles.