Both captioning and transcription pertain to recording human speech in a way that is accurate to the original source material – whether that is a live speech, recorded word-by-word, or a pre-recorded video. Both represent different processes with different applications across a wide range of industries, although they can and do converge, and work in tandem to ensure authenticity for readers and listeners.
Captioning Explained
Captions are the time-sensitive segments of text we see on videos. Unlike subtitles, they convey speech through the same language that the speaker is using, and may be required for viewers who are hard of hearing, or instances where the audio is difficult to hear. They are, however, being utilised more and more among audiences with no hearing impairments.
In order for captions to be accurate, the words spoken by those in the video must be transcribed…
Transcription Explained
Transcription is, at its simplest, the processing of converting spoken word into written text.
While it forms the basis for captioning videos, transcription is utilised within a wide range of settings beyond video production. For instance, it is necessary during court proceedings, and within interviews, meetings and interrogations – to name just a few.
How are They Done?
While completing a transcription is an entirely different process to creating video captions, they are both incredibly time-consuming – particularly when it is essential that errors and misinterpretation are kept to a minimum.
For this reason, AI transcription and captioning by Verbit has proven to be an incredibly effective tool for improving both processes. By honing and utilising the ability for artificial intelligence to recognise and ‘understand’ human speech, transcriptions can be made in real-time, and reach more than 99% accuracy in just an hour. This is one key difference between the two processes – transcription must be performed as-and-when the participants are speaking, which places even more strain on human reporters and transcribers.
In the realm of captioning, the processes of transcription and timed implementation can be deployed in quick succession, and circumvent the hours it takes for human editors to align accurately recorded speech with the voices themselves. Incorrect captions can ruin even a well-made video, and significantly hinder any ROI a business hoped to gain from it.
For instance, ‘caption frames’ refer to the precise timeslots in which a piece of text should appear and disappear. Even a small discrepancy between the caption frame and the video itself could interrupt viewers’ enjoyment, and make it impossible for deaf or hard of hearing viewers to follow. This is one area where AI is able to achieve a higher degree of accuracy – the level necessary for producing watchable content that is accessible to all.
While transcription and captioning represent two different processes surrounding the depiction of human speech, the former is invariably required to ensure that the latter caters to all audience members.
Both, however, do stand to benefit greatly from the introduction of artificial intelligence into processes that have, until now, required a great deal of time – and placed significant demands on accuracy – in order to ensure that speech is always accurately conveyed.