Re-introducing burnt-in subtitles
CaptionHub launched the ability to export burnt-in subtitles (also know as open-captions or subtitle rendering) directly from a web browser back in early 2016.
Burnt-in subtitles refer to caption/subtitle text that is baked into the video, the subtitles are there from the moment the video plays. This is quite different to Closed Captions, which the user has to turn on/off by pressing the closed caption button in the bottom right-hand corner of the video panel. (And yes, it used to relatively common to see the ‘CC’ button but YouTube and Netflix took propriety design of the close caption button into their own hands).
Burnt-in subtitles have become a key feature of CaptionHub, allowing marketers around the world to defeat high video content bounce rates caused by social media’s ‘audio-muted as default’. The feature is also used by post-production units around the world who need to ensure specific geography receives the correct translated subtitles for a foreign language film. Just like that series of Fauda we hear you say.
Burnt-in subtitles are often regarded as the smarter, more authentic method to convey a foreign film to a foreign audience. The alternative to audio dubbing which is often used as a foreign film translation method. Audio dubbing replaces the quality of the original actors’ voices usually with far lesser quality voiceovers, that lose an awful lot in authenticity because of the accent change. Fauda is a great example: who wants to see a group of gun-laden stubbled Israeli Defence Force special forces fighting in the desert with cheaper-voiceover English accents?
But as one Fauda fan pointed out on Reddit, the style of subtitles can be extremely important. This is why we have introduced the ability to export burnt-in subtitles with far greater control over their appearance on screen: any font colour, subtitle background colour and opacity, subtitle font size, and using any font face. Subtitle outlines are also optional.
And of course, using burnt-in subtitles doesn’t stop you also uploading closed captions to the video asset. You simply have more control over which asset and subtitle type is used for which channel or region. You may decide to include burnt-in subtitles for all social media short-form videos using your house design style for text. Instead, you may decide the best option for distributing your AGM shareholder update video for a multinational audience is offering closed captions in your 45 operating territory languages.
The requirement to produce hardcoded subtitles is offered in its Basic version, where you can export simple burnt-in subtitles or the new Pro version, which gives you full control over formatting as described above.
If you don’t have a CaptionHub license holder — why not take a free demonstration of the platform?
