Captioning Quick Style Guide

Following these basic guidelines will help you to create more effective captions.

• Captions should be synchronized with spoken words.
• Captions should be verbatim if time allows, or as close as possible.
• Captions should appear on-screen long enough to be read.
• A “blink” (a brief pause) should separate each screen of captions.
• On-screen captions should be limited to no more than two lines.
• Speakers should be identified when more than one person is on-screen or when the speaker is not visible.
• All actual words should be captioned, regardless of language or dialect.
• Use of slang and accent should preserved and identified.
• Sound effects should be included when they add to understanding.
• Punctuation should be used to clarify meaning.
• Spelling should be correct (look up spelling if you are unsure).
• Italics can be used when a new word is being defined or a word is heavily emphasized in speech.
• Nouns and verbs should not be separated from their modifiers.
  • Yes: He's the one we used to call sad Joe.
  • No: He's the one we used to call sad
    Joe.
• Prepositional phrases should remain on the same line.

This style guide is adapted from Caption it Yourself and Amara.