Videos Not Created By You
Videos owned by someone else cannot be copied or altered without permission, and this includes adding captions. There are different processes we follow for captioning these materials. Some examples of this type of video include:
- A YouTube video that someone else created, but didn't caption.
- A rip of a commercially produced video.
- Video streamed from another service (such as Vimeo or PBS), or a video database accessed through the library.
Captioning YouTube, Vimeo, etc. that you don't own
Sometimes the easiest solution in this situation is to see if there is a captioned version available, or another video that meets your objectives. Contact the Library Reference Desk for help searching the college's streaming video databases.
If you are not the creator of the video, you may need to get permission to caption the videos. Not all situations are covered by Fair Use, either. There is no easy yes-or-no answer regarding permission or Fair Use.
- E-mail Us for help with making a determination about whether permission is required for your particular case.
- See the resources for obtaining permission to caption videos.
Finally, it is possible to get captions created for YouTube videos. Follow these steps:
- E-mail Us to be added to CaptionHub.
- Then, follow the instructions in CaptionHub to request captions for the video.
- Follow the instructions in CaptionHub for using an 'embed code' to view the captions on your video.
- Once you have used the embed code, make sure to verify the accuracy of the transcription.
Captioning other videos
By law, most commercial videos should be captioned, including those provided by the publishers of your textbooks. Below are some tips for ensuring your commercially provided videos are captioned:
- Directly request captioned versions of textbook videos from publishers.They should be able to provide this. Point out that you can't use their book if they don't have captioned video.
- Get a confirmation from publisher representatives when reviewing textbooks. You can even give them a hard copy of this document.
- Use sources that provide captioned videos, such as Films on Demand, Academic Video Online, and Kanopy, all available in our Library. Learn more about library video databases.
- Contact the Library Reference Desk for help finding captioned videos.
- Contact the Help Desk to learn to display captions on classroom computers.
Please note that the college does not pay to caption commercially produced videos (e.g. Rogue One, the latest Frontline episode).