If you create videos to share online, then it’s a good idea to add subtitles so that your audience can include as many different people as possible, including those who don’t understand the original language of the video as well as those with hearing impairment. It’s not terribly difficult to add subtitles, but it is time consuming. I know this because I’ve spent some time transcribing interviews and testing different methods for getting the work done. After experimenting with a paid service for transcribing videos I’ve been working on, I began to think about what it would take to create a tool that would allow people to volunteer their transcription efforts, perhaps just one segment of video (or audio) at a time.
One tool whose development I’ve been very interested in is Scripto, “a light-weight, open source tool that will allow users to contribute transcriptions to online documentary projects.” Scripto, being developed by the Center for History and New Media (CHNM), is designed for projects where images of written or printed documents need to be transcribed. The potential exists, I believe, for adapting a tool like this for projects involving video or audio rather than–or in addition to–the written word. (Note: If you donate to support the work of the CHNM the National Endowment for the Humanities will match your donation, essentially doubling your contribution.)
Until that potential is realized, however, there are some other options available. I recently learned about a great project called Universal Subtitles, an open-source tool that brings together volunteers who want to subtitle videos and videos that need subtitles.
The creation of this tool is being undertaken by the Participatory Culture Foundation, “a non-profit organization building free and open tools for more a democratic and decentralized media.” Universal Subtitles is a featured Mozilla Drumbeat project, and they’re currently raising money to get the tool out of beta. (Note: From now until January 1 Mozilla will match your donation to the project.)
Here’s their introductory video:
The idea is pretty simple, as they explain on their site:
You add our widget to your videos. Then you and your viewers can add subtitles, which anyone can watch. We save the subtitles on our site (but you can download them). And each video has its own collaboration space on our site (like a wikipedia article) where people can make improvements, track changes, and give feedback
The protocol/open spec (still in the early stages) will allow clients such as Firefox extensions, desktop video players, websites, or browsers to look up and download matching subtitles from subtitle database(s) . . . Everything will be available under the open source AGPL license.
Each video can have multiple subtitle tracks, each featuring a different language. (Subtitling videos would make a very interesting class project in, for example, a translation class.)
It’s easy to get involved with Universal Subtitles:
- Sign up for an account,
- If you have videos that need subtitles, enable subtitling “the fast way,” or
- If you have time to volunteer, find a video that needs subtitles and get to work.
For more information
Do you have experience using Universal Subtitles? What are your thoughts? Or do you prefer another method for creating subtitles? Let’s hear from you in the comments!
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21 Responses to Make Videos Accessible With UniversalSubtitles.org
jesshagman - December 8, 2010 at 4:59 pm
I’m not sure I’d say I prefer it since I wasn’t really aware of any other options, but I’ve been using dotSUB (http://dotsub.com/) to make transcripts for our library videos. The interface is a little clunky and took some time to get used to, though it works well enough. I’m looking forward to trying Universal Subtitles. It looks like it should be easier.
queeracademic - December 8, 2010 at 5:19 pm
It’s great to include subtitles with videos – my hearing students like them when I show films in class because it helps them retain the information better when they can see AND hear it.
* Just a note on the language in this article: It is best to say “Deaf or hard-of-hearing” instead of “hearing impairment”. Most Deaf people do not consider themselves to be “impaired”.
hastac0708 - December 9, 2010 at 7:45 am
Hi, George, Thank you for this wonderful story on the UniversalSubtitle project from Drumbeat. It was thrilling to watch it unfold while we were all there together and to see it continue to unfold. I was actually one of the people interviewed and then a few hours later I was on the screen, subtitled, with web material pulled in. It was quite remarkable to experience what a dedicated group can do together.
If you are in the market for other Drumbeat success stories, my FutureClass students have created blogs about their experience and also are developing a tool, the Feedbacker, that Mozilla has selected for further community development and will feature on the new Drumbeat page. It’s a tool that allows an audience or prof to have the audience help in feedback, in collaboration, with modules that allow maximum participation in the large lecture. Katie King is going to experiment in her feminist social activist class. If you are interested, write me and I can put you in touch but it is also all public on http://www.hastac.org and on Drumbeat. http://www.hastac.org/blogs/siglesias/help-build-awesome-tool-submit-your-napkin-sketch-feedbacker-module It was so exciting to see the formal education and the open education worlds come together to such powerful effect. I think the experience changed all of us, especially the students. Thanks for all you do! Best, Cathy
dank48 - December 9, 2010 at 8:26 am
Good comment from QueerAcademic, but as the father of Miss Deaf Indiana, I can also say that most deaf or Deaf people of my acquaintance have gotten past giving a damn one way or the other what hearing people call them, so long as “deaf and dumb” stays on the trash heap. Of course that may not be true of everyone. My daughter used to urge me to keep my mustache trimmed closely, since that made lip reading easier. But not lately. She hasn’t learned to see through the facial hair; she’s just less concerned about what I have to say.
As to the article, this is great. But hearing people everywhere, watch out. Captioning becomes addictive. I can’t stand TV without it.
raymondmartyrose - December 9, 2010 at 9:48 am
I’m pleased to see you encouraging the use of captioning for video, especially as there is a legal issue involved. Online content needs to be accessible to students with disabilities. We did find that captioning made a difference in the understanding of online video for people without disabilities as well. This of course is the premise behind universal design for learning.
Another free captioning tool, MAGpie which has been around for almost a decade was developed at the National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines/)
george_h_williams - December 9, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Note: Their site is experiencing an unusually high level of traffic right now thanks to coverage on BoingBoing.net. You might experience difficulty getting it to load. This is likely to be only temporary, however.
drewstowe - December 9, 2010 at 1:54 pm
I’ve been working extensively with closed captioning lately. I have had some success with CaptionTube. However, this and other similar services only allow the closed captions to exist with a video on Youtube. On the plus side, one can learn to make subtitles relatively easily. However, the process is pretty boring.
dank48 - December 9, 2010 at 2:47 pm
And btw, if you’re feeling bored or just down, turn on the captioning for “live” events like sports or news. It’s a lesson in how many homonyms English possesses. Captioning on the fly is an incredibly challenging task, but unintentional humor is the silver lining. Hard-to-spell names are something else again. And along with the grins, the hearing viewer can see how much gets left out of live-action captioning.