Contents
Summary
Note: Some countries use "subtitles" instead of "captions." But in the U.S., captions and subtitles are not the same thing. The word isn't important, but the difference is important. This is about captioning shows and movies in a language different from the viewers' language. Subtitles convert spoken another language into the viewer's language. Subtitles do not show sounds or voice changes. They don't identify speakers when it's not obvious. Captions identify sounds, voice changes, speakers, and music.
I was watching a mesmerizing international film from Korea with English subtitles. It had me on the edge of my seat. Then, I ran into a problem that spoiled the experience for a moment. The characters scrambled around the room frantically. Suddenly, they all froze. They stopped moving. Their faces turned frightened.
What the heck happened? Why did they stop moving? Why are they scared? These questions swirled in my head. Finally, the video showed why. It flashed to a person waiting at the front door.
Oh! I realized the doorbell rang! The subtitles did not announce this important sound. The subtitles didn’t display information about any sound, music, or song lyrics.
Here’s another example. I watched a TV series from Israel. Most of the dialogue was in Hebrew. However, there was a brief exchange with English speakers. They spoke in English. Their mouths were moving. The subtitles remained silent.
I have no idea what they said. The subtitles showed nothing. Not even to let me know they spoke English. I had to get a hearing family member to watch the scene for me. They confirmed the dialogue switched to English.
Clarifying Captions and Subtitle Terms
First, let’s clarify captions and subtitle terms. Many places around the world refer to the text on the screen that captures the dialogue as subtitles. U.S. viewers call them captions.
U.S. English speakers define subtitles as on-screen text that converts spoken foreign language into the viewer’s language. So, if I’m watching a show in Japanese, the subtitles provide an English translation. Any international film or show in a language other than English airing in America tends to have English subtitles. (Some programs offer other options, but that’s not the point here.)
The terms aren’t as important. However, here are what the terms mean in this post. It will help prevent confusion.
Captions
Displaying text version of speech and non-speech audio information on screen or in a media player. Captions display the same language as the spoken audio. Captions include sounds, music, speaker identification, and voice changes.
This screenshot of me in one of my videos is an example of captions. Only people who have the captions turned on can see them. The captions appear with a black background and white text. “The best captions are boring.”
Subtitles
Displays a text version of speech translated into a language different from the spoken language. If the spoken language is the same as the viewer’s language, it will most likely not have subtitles. They also tend not to include sound identification, music, song lyrics, speaker identifications, or voice changes.
This screenshot of me in one of my videos is an example of subtitles. The subtitles appear with yellow text and no background. “How are you?” All viewers will see them, regardless of whether they have captions turned on.
Problems with Subtitles
I provided a couple of examples of problems I ran into with subtitles. The subtitles didn’t identify important sounds. They also didn’t display any dialogue in English (the viewer’s language). In short, subtitles only show the translation of what the speaker says. Nothing more.
So, viewers still need captions in subtitled programs to cover the gaps. Fortunately, TV programs and movies are getting better about it. Nonetheless, I still run into movies and shows that don’t fill in the gaps. It causes confusion or caption viewers miss a plot point.
Sometimes, a show or movie will have both captions and subtitles. I’ve watched many U.S.-based movies and shows where they have a character speaking a different language. Some do a better job than others in managing the captions and subtitles.
Believe it or not, sometimes the captions cover the subtitles. Here’s an example from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The speaker is speaking Spanish. The subtitles translate the Spanish into English. The captions let the viewer know the character is speaking Spanish. Unfortunately, the captions overlap the subtitles.
Here’s a scene from Giri / Haji, a show that originated in Japan. The two characters speak in Japanese and English. The captions do an excellent job with language identification by using [in English] and [in Japanese].
The other challenge with subtitles is readability. Often, they appear in white or yellow text with no background. If there’s a light-colored space around the subtitles, it can be hard to read them.
Sure, it’d be nice if they used the same style as the captions. But subtitles looking different from captions let the viewer know it’s a translation. Besides, viewers who don’t have the captions turned on don’t see the captions. They only see the subtitles.
I’m not sure what would be the best practice for this. White or yellow captions with no background can strain the viewer experience. I’ve seen open-captioned movies that had white or yellow text without a background for contrast. It hurts the viewing experience for some people.
When the white captions are overlaid on a white background, I can barely see them. My eyes ached from constantly adapting to the different colored scenes behind the captions.
Here is an example of a scene with mountains and two rocks. The onscreen text appears in white and says, “Stop that!” They’re barely noticeable because they blend in with the mountain terrain.
Here’s another screenshot of a person clapping. The white captions without a background blend in with the person’s multicolored shirt. It says, “Time to make some magic.”
While this looks readable, it’s hard on the eyes to keep adjusting to the different backgrounds behind the captions.
In this one, a person appears from the side in an outdoor setting. The white captions are barely visible. “It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration.” Indeed. The captions are built on failure and frustration.
Here’s a preview of Pachinko, a Korean series in English, Japanese, and Korean. If you have the captions on, you also see the subtitles. If you have the captions turned off, then you won’t get the lines in English.
This doesn’t happen when watching the series. However, this is a great clip because you see the difference between subtitles and captions. Captions are more readable. While the subtitles are readable, the constantly changing background can grow tiresome, especially watching for 30 minutes or longer.
The captions and subtitles have different line breaking points (where the captions end and start a new line) and line lengths. The captions follow best practices. The subtitles don’t.
Tips for Accessible Subtitles and Captions
The key to good subtitles and captions is they’re both easy to read. They play nice together by not overlapping each other. Good captions and subtitles ensure viewers know what is said and heard, who said it, and how they said it.
Whether a video contains one or multiple languages, caption everything for the best viewing experience. In other words, viewers need to know about sounds and voice changes. They need to know who is speaking when it’s not obvious or the dialogue is too fast.
If the movie or show is in a different language and has any dialogue in the viewer’s language, it’s important to caption that dialogue. Otherwise, viewers who don’t have the sound on or hear the dialogue won’t know what’s said.
Here’s an excellent example from Bridgerton. You know what the speakers are saying and in which language.
Here are side-by-side video clips. The one on the left is the cartoon version of “The Lion King.” The one on the right is from “The Lion King” live-action. They handle the opening song differently. They both work.
The cartoon version wins bonus points because it captioned the song in Zulu. In both, you know when the song switches to English.
This video clip walks through everything talked about in this post. Some people prefer video over reading. The video also contains examples.
One thing that’s important to remember. Some viewers may have the captions turned on while others don’t. Captions and subtitles must ensure no one is left behind whether the captions are on or off.
For more captioning tips, check out these posts:
- The complete guide to captioned videos
- Captioning videos frequently asked questions
- Side-by-side captioned videos showing best practices
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Feature image description: Screenshot of Meryl talking. She has brown curly hair. Subtitles in yellow say “How are you?”