Offline Captioning Services

Offline captioning services refer to the captioning of programs that have already been created (video tapes, webcasts, films, documentaries, etc). This type of captioning delivers the maximum rate of accuracy, and can address needs such as reading rate, descriptions of sounds, and caption placement on the screen. The quality of this type of captioning is generally higher than live captioning. Offline or post-production captioning should be error-free, easy to read, properly punctuated, checked for reading speed, and located on the screen without conflicting with the visual message. It is therefore admirably suited for documentaries and educational video material produced from Oral History recordings or Oral History transcripts.

Californiatranscription.com post-production captioning services include:

• Captioning for videos and films
  
• DVD captioning (we can provide caption files compatible with most systems or we can create your captioned DVD).
  
• Closed captioning is available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German (including translations among these languages)
  
• Subtitling (English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese), require no decoding capability since they are “burned” into the video
  
• Commercials captioning (verbatim)
  
• Video description services (audio description)
  
• Offline Internet captioning or webcast captioning (Windows Media Player, Quick Time, Real Player, or Flash, etc.)

Our excellent captioning and subtitling services provide an easy and cost-effective way to assist clients to reach a wider audience. We firmly believe in the value of hand-editing offline captioning, and will not entrust this function to computer-generated line breaks. We perform all steps of the captioning process in-house to ensure best-quality results.

The process of offline captioning starts with a skilled caption writer transcribing source material into a caption file. Caption files are then proofread to ensure the highest accuracy. Captions sometimes require editing to make them easier to read or to reduce the amount of text displayed onscreen. Caption editing ranges from minor editing (where only a few unimportant lines are omitted) to severe editing (where spoken content is severely condensed). The measure used to guide this editing is words per minute, commonly varying from 180 to 300, depending on the type of program or production.

During the transcription process, the caption writer formats the text into one of two different captioning styles:

• Pop-on captions "pop" on and off the screen in sync with the audio. Captions are timed precisely to audio and video cuts, and carefully positioned to appear with the speaker. If requested, a description of sound effects, and even the manner in which something is said can be included.
  
• Roll-up captions appear line-by-line, originating from either the bottom or top of the screen. Roll-up captions are preferred for Oral History documentaries and educational programs, as well as for news broadcasts.

At Californiatranscription.com, we use state-of-the-art digital captioning software and closed captioning equipment, and are able to offer the highest-quality and fastest turnarounds at the lowest cost. Contact us now.