Break Caption Groups at Logical Places

Break caption groups at logical places

A caption group is the unit of text that is shown on-screen at any one time. Split up dialogue and
atmospherics at logical places, such as the ends of sentences, so the text is easily readable. This
splitting is called caption group breaking.

Deciding when to end one caption group and create a new one requires paying attention to three
things:

1. The rhythm of speech. When a speaker pauses, that's a good spot to break.
2. The grammatical structure of the speech. Punctuation, conjunctions, and prepositions are
good spots to break.
3. The length (character count) of a caption group. You cannot exceed 60 characters in a
caption group.

Always create a new caption group whenever the speaker changes or a sentence ends with
punctuation . ? !

Caption groups must be under 60 characters.

A caption group can have a maximum of 60 characters. Dash has built-in color coding to help
guide you. Aim for the caption group box to be green or yellow. If the caption group box turns
red, it is too long.
If a sentence is longer than 60 characters, break mid-sentence. Breaking shouldn't interrupt
comprehension or readability, so you should try to break:

 After punctuation , : ;
 Or before conjunctions such as: and, nor, but, or, yet, so, by.
 Or before prepositional phrases such as: that, who, because, in order to, not only, as we,
in which, where, with, what, how, for, through, until, to, as, of.
 Or before complete proper nouns (e.g. do not break between "United States of America").

EXAMPLES
Sentence Breaking Example

This is an example of incorrect caption breaking. These breaks make for awkward reading:

This example reads much better because it follows the rhythm of speech, breaking at slight
pauses:

Caption Breaking Example

When splitting up a long sentence, balance it between the neighboring caption groups. For
example, it looks bad to have "team" on its own:
Instead, combine them into one caption group since it is less than 60 characters:

Speaker Labeling

Use a dash and space to indicate a speaker change

Speaker labeling is indicating to the viewer when there is a new speaker or the speaker changes.
This includes the first speaker of a video.

Speaker ID Rules

1. Use a dash and a space EVERY time a NEW speaker starts speaking or when the speaker
CHANGES. I.e. "- "
o Atmospherics do not count as a change of speaker. If an atmospheric is used that
breaks up dialogue from the same speaker, do not include a dash after the
atmospheric.
2. If the speaker CANNOT be visually identified, identify the speaker with a speaker ID.
E.g., "- [Mark]", "- [Narrator]"
o If a speaker is unknown, use an appropriate identifier. Some possible examples
could be "- [Interviewer]", "- [Guest]", "- [Ghostly Voice]"
o Exception: There is no need to identify a speaker if they are visible for any
portion of their dialogue AND they are not interrupted
 E.g. Mark starts speaking off-screen but then walks into the frame while
talking

ADDITIONAL NOTES
When you NEED to identify a speaker, here's how:

 You should use the speaker's first name if it is known: "- [Mark]"
 If a character name is not known, use a visible descriptive identifier: "- [Blonde Woman]"
o Never use race or other discriminatory identifiers. Instead, use a descriptor such
as occupation, clothing, height, etc.

EXAMPLES
Example 1: Basic use of the dash.

Example 2: A speaker is never seen during the scene.

Example 3: A speaker starts offscreen but then moves on-screen during the scene.
Break Caption Groups at Logical Places

Atmospherics

Indicate music and sound effects with atmospherics

Atmospherics are typed descriptions of non-dialogue sounds. They allow viewers to understand
important music and sound effects in a video and are always in parentheses. E.g. "(upbeat rock
music)"

Include atmospherics for these main conditions:

1. A sound effect is heard which is integral to the story or message of a video. If a character
reacts to a sound, you should probably include it. E.g. "(gun fires)"
2. Background music is heard in a way that sets a specific mood as part of the story telling.
Only include a background music atmospheric if there's a significant gap in speech and
the music seems important. E.g. "(dramatic orchestral music)"

Sound effects often help tell the story

 Atmospherics are put in parentheses and are always in lowercase, E.g. "(loud snoring)".
o Atmospheric-only caption groups do not need a dash or speaker ID.
 Only include significant sound effects that help tell the story. Use your best judgment.
 If in doubt, include the atmospheric.
o E.g. If a character reacts to an off-screen gun shot, use "(gun fires)"
o E.g. If there is a group of children playing, you could use "(children laughing)"
o E.g. "(plane flying overhead)" or "(car honking)" should be included if characters
react to it.
 Include sounds made by the speaker, E.g. "(laughs loudly)".
 Atmospherics should always be present tense, E.g. "(laughs loudly)", never past tense
"(laughed loudly)"
 Always describe with an action verb, E.g. "(frogs croaking)", never with an
onomatopoeia of a sound "(ribbit, ribbit, ribbit)"
Mood Music

Music is often used in videos to help set a mood or underscore actions.

If there's at least a 2-second gap in speech AND it does not seem that the lyrics are intended to be
clearly heard AND the background music is setting a specific mood, then caption the
atmospheric as mood music.

 Most of the time you won't know the artist or title, so you should use a description:
o E.g. "(gentle music)", "(bright pop music)", "(heavy metal music)", "(electronic
dance music)".
o A list of music adjectives can be found here.
 If someone talks over the music, focus on the speaker and don't add the atmospheric.
Dialogue is always more important.

COMMON MISTAKES
Here are some common issues when using atmospherics:

DO NOT use "sound of". The viewer knows the words in parentheses are sounds or music
currently being heard.

DO NOT use an onomatopoeia.

DO NOT use the words "intro", "introductory", "ending", "fading", "playing", etc. when
describing music.

DO NOT use "again", "previously", "repeated". If a sound is heard repeatedly, simply include the
same atmospheric again and sync it to the sound being heard.

DO NOT describe the action that created the sound.

Accuracy

Listen carefully to the dialogue and accurately type out the words

Word accuracy is extremely important in captioning. Listen carefully to the dialogue and
accurately type out the words with minimal errors and guesses, using the correct grammar and
punctuation.

Type what the speaker says.

 Never correct (edit) the speaker's grammar.

COMMON MISTAKES
Correct: captioned the speaker's words as spoken.

Incorrect: modified tense of verbs and added words.

Incorrect: extreme paraphrasing and re-ordering.

Grammar & Research

Research spellings and terminology you may not be familiar with.

Take time to research the proper spelling and capitalization of important words and proper
nouns.
  Research proper spellings and capitalizations for important words. Google proper
spelling of proper nouns (e.g., names, brands, and places) and topic-specific vocab (e.g.,
Adobe Premiere Pro).

Incorrect: This is researchable. Correct spellings: "Thornett" and "Dribbble"

When you cannot confidently hear or understand a word, use an atmospheric.

 Use an appropriate atmospheric such as "(mumbles)" for a single speaker or

Syncing

Sync the start of a caption group within 1/2 second of when the sound begins

Sync the start of a caption group so that it appears on-screen at the same time as when the
dialogue or atmospheric begins in the video.
Start Time of a Caption Group

 The start time should align with the beginning of the sound. This applies to both
atmospherics and speech.
 While the video plays, press the UP arrow key on your keyboard to align the start of a
caption group precisely when the first word or sound of a caption group is heard.
o Note: When you press the UP arrow key, Dash automatically bumps your
timestamp forward by 1/4 second to compensate for normal lag in human reaction
time.