How do I add captions to my Lecture Recordings?

Lecture Recordings are captioned using a machine-generated option by default—provided by Whisper (created locally on-campus) and Deepgram. However, there may be cases where more control over the captions is desired, such as:

  • Requesting captioning from a different source
  • Disabling captions for a particular recording
  • Adding custom captions to an individual recording
  • Adjusting caption settings for your Lecture Recording site (in general)

The CAEN Lecture Recording Service has access to multiple caption providers (not all providers will be visible):

  • ADA Compliant Via Kaltura - Captions are required when an official Accommodation Letter is received by the student which lists captions or transcripts as an accommodation. This option will only show up on those sites, and as an instructor, you would be informed of this need.
  • Custom - With this option, you can use one of two third-party caption file formats: WebVTT or SRT. This is a manual process.
  • Deepgram - This option uses AI-based speech-to-text technology to convert spoken work to text.
  • AWS Transcribe - This option uses traditional speech-to-text technology to convert spoken work to text.
  • Whisper - This is the default caption generator, and is not selectable after a recording is made.
  • Transcript - This is a simple placeholder to save a transcript (text-only, no timestamps) version of your lecture. Text will not display in the player, at the moment functionality for this provider is limited.

To add or edit captions, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the CAEN Lecture Recording Management website (https://leccap.engin.umich.edu/leccap/manage/site) and select the Manage Recordings option for the course you would like to edit. This will take you to the full list of Recordings, regardless of whether or not they have been published.
  2. Click the Edit option for any recording, then go to the Captions tab near the top of the page.
  3. Proceed with adding/editing captions as desired, by following the instructions outlined in each of the actions below:

Request Captions
To request a new set of captions, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Add Captions drop-down menu.
  2. Select a new captioning provider from the available options (and select the desired settings for the caption provider, if prompted).
  3. Click Add Captions.

Note: It may take up to 48 hours depending on the provider selected before the new captions are viewable in the player.

Enable / Disable Captions for a Recording
After requesting captions for a recording, depending on the site settings, they may or may not be immediately visible in the player. To control whether the captions show up or not, you will need to enable or disable them.

  1. Click the name of the caption provider below the Add Captions drop-down menu.
  2. Enable or disable captions by adjusting the visibility checkbox, as follows:
    • To disable the selected captions, uncheck the box labeled Can be visible.
    • To enable the selected captions, check the box labeled Can be visible.
  3. Click Save.

Note: The Lecture Recording player will choose the highest quality provider from all visible captions.

Add Custom Captions
If you use a professional captioning service and want to import those captions to a recording, you will need a .WebVTT file from the captioning provider.

  1. Click the Add captions drop-down menu.
  2. Select Custom from the options listed in the menu.
  3. Click Add Captions.
  4. In the Caption Text box, paste in the contents of your caption file.
  5. Click Save.

Note: If you need a copy of the recording to submit to a captioning service, you can download a recording by following the steps in this knowledge base article.

Change Captioning Site Defaults
To change how captions are generated (i.e., automatically or requiring approval), follow these steps:

  1. Go to the CAEN Lecture Recording Management website (https://leccap.engin.umich.edu/leccap/manage/site).
  2. Select the Site Info option for the desired course.
  3. In the Default Recording Options module, locate the Machine-Generated Captions option, and select one of the following settings:
    • Available by default - when automatic captions are made, they will be visible to students if they show them
    • Requires approval - you will have to follow the steps above before they will be available in the player
Print Article