Subtitles vs. Captioning

I've recently had a few filmmakers ask me questions about subtitles and captioning and, while similar, I want to clear up the differences between the two.

Captions are a transcription of the dialogue, and sometimes descriptions of sounds, music and movements, which are primarily used to help viewers who are hearing impaired.

Closed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer.

Open captions are always on.

Subtitles are to translate the dialogue for viewers who don’t understand the language being spoken. Subtitles are typically burned into the film so that all viewers will see them.

You should have subtitles available; more and more festivals are striving to be more accessible and this is becoming more of a rule than an exception.

Additionally, if you’re going to be submitting to a festival in a country where English is not the primary language, festivals will at the very least require English subtitles.

Thankfully, these days, the tools to do this are inexpensive, and sometimes free, making film more accessible to all!