InterPro - Teaching & Learning - Tools & Technology - Captioning Tips for Google Drive
Google Drive does not automatically recognize when a video contains captions. This document explains how to ensure captions are present and can be toggled on for recorded presentations housed in Google Drive.
Captioning in Google Drive
Steps
- Create captions for the video. The easiest way to do this on your own is through Kaltura. However, all EPD-recommended options are outlined in InterPro - Teaching & Learning - Accessibility - Captioning.
- Download the SRT file. Once editing is complete and the captions are accurate, download the SRT file. In Kaltura, this can be done by finding the video in My Media, and clicking Actions > Edit > Captions > Download (see red outline below).
- Upload .mp4 video to Google Drive. Navigate to Google Drive. Upload the .mp4 video by clicking New > File Upload. Note that this .mp4 video can be encoded (containing captions), but regardless, captions will still need to be configured after the upload.
- Add caption tracks. Select the video and click More Actions > Manage caption tracks. Press the ADD NEW CAPTION TRACKS button. Select the Upload tab and press Select a file from your device. Find the SRT file, select it, set the language to English, name the track using the suggested naming convention: Subtitles: [Name of video], and press Upload.
Captioning in Google Drive is now complete.
Troubleshooting
You may experience issues with adding caption tracks if you're signed into multiple Google accounts at once (e.g., wisc.edu and personal). If this is the case, open a new incognito window in Chrome, sign into only one account, and upload the caption tracks from there. This should fix the issue.
Resources
- UW Accessibility & Usability KB - Do it yourself captioning video or transcribing audio (free)
- Google Drive Help - Add caption tracks to your video files