Youtube does a great job of creating a closed caption when you upload a video. However, closed-caption is not perfect. You may have to do some cleanup and repost it. Here is a strategy that I use.

The first thing you need to do is download the closed-caption text from YouTube and get it ready for clean up.

Downloading the Closed Caption from YouTube

1. Open YouTube and switch to YouTube Studio by clicking on the link under your profile. It is found on the upper right portion of the screen.
2. Select Videos from the left-hand menu.
3. Hover your mouse over the video with the closed-caption and select the Details icon.
4. Select Subtitles from the left-hand menu.
5. Click on the Options to the right of the Published Subtitles.
6. Click on the Download link.

Get Closed-Caption Ready for Clean Up

1. Open the downloaded closed-caption with MS Word.
2. Show paragraph marks by clicking on the Show Paragraphs Marks button.
3. Press CTRL-H to bring up the Replace dialog box.
4. Type ^p^p in the Find what field and type @@@ in the Replace with field. Select the Replace All button. This is to remove all double paragraph marks.
5. Type ^p in the Find what field and type ^t in the Replace with field. Select the Replace All button. This is to paragraph marks into tabs.
6. Type @@@ in the Find what field and type ^p in the Replace with field. Select the Replace All button. This is to change @@@ into single paragraph marks.
7. Close the search and replace dialog box.
8. Select all text on the screen.
9. From the Insert menu, select Convert Text to Table from under the Tables menu options.
10. Choose two (2) columns and Separate text at Tabs.
11. Select the column with timestamps and delete it by right-clicking on it and selecting Delete Columns.
12. Select the table and click on the Convert to Text button. Note: You may have to customize your menu or ribbon to see this option.
13. Select Separate text with Paragraph Marks and click the OK button.
14. Press CTRL-H to bring up the Replace dialog box.
15. Type ^p in the Find what field and type a space in the Replace with field. Select the Replace All button. This is to change all paragraph marks with spaces.

Your document is now ready to be cleaned up.

Clean Up the Closed-Caption

Once, you have a rough transcript on hand, it is time to compare it to what is actually spoken on the video. I change the playback speed of the video to 0.75. This makes it easier to follow.

Your intention is to create an accurate representation of what is said. You will need to adjust capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. There are times when you will just scratch your head and have to listen to the text over and over until you get the correct transcript.

Upload New Closed-Caption to YouTube

Once you have a clean transcription, it is time to upload it to YouTube as the closed-caption for the video. Here are the steps for doing so:

1. Open YouTube and switch to YouTube Studio by clicking on the link under your profile. It is found on the upper right portion of the screen.
2. Select Videos from the left-hand menu.
3. Hover your mouse over the video with the closed-caption and select the Details icon.
4. Select Subtitles from the left-hand menu.
5. Click on the Add link.
6. Click on the Transcribe and Auto-sync button.
7. Copy and paste your transcription text into the field provided and then click on the Set timings button.
8. Click on the Return to YouTube Studio button.
9. Select Videos from the left-hand menu.
10. Hover your mouse over the video with the closed-caption and select the Details icon.
11. Select Subtitles from the left-hand menu.
12. Click on Draft by Creator.
13. Verify that the closed-caption is accurate. Once complete, click on the Publish button.
14. Click on the Return to YouTube Studio button.

Congratulations, you are done updating your closed-caption. If you want, you can also save your transcription and provide a link to it in your course

Final Thoughts

It does take some time to get a proper closed-caption. However, this update to your course is invaluable to the individuals using it. Think about how you are representing yourself when you do not take the time to make the change.

Also, you can speed up the process if you use a script in the beginning.

 

File: Closed Captioning 1.JPG. (2020, March 2). Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Retrieved 19:50, April 29, 2020 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Closed_Captioning_1.JPG&oldid=400979699.