Today’s audiences rely heavily on captions. They use them to follow along with each word and sound effect. Audiences are consistently leaning on captions to provide cues and identifiers related to the entertainment they’re watching in their free time and videos they’re consuming for work or their studies. In fact, many users consuming social posts on Facebook, LinkedIn and the like will just keep scrolling if content isn’t accompanied by captions.
With the plethora of content being produced on a daily basis, the demand for captions continues to grow. However, it would not be met without the incredibly talented work of today’s captioners.
We’ve previously covered how Verbit works with transcribers globally to power its process and deliver accessibility to those who needs it. This week marks Captioner Appreciation Week. The Verbit team is therefore taking a moment to celebrate the work of our global captioning team. This team, the largest professional captioning workforce in the market, helps to make today’s content and experiences accessible and inclusive to audiences.
“I’d like to mark this milestone by taking a moment to thank you, our loyal captioners, for your incredible work and diligence,” said Tom Livne, CEO and Founder, Verbit. “Captioning is no easy task, and it takes a tremendous amount of patience and attention to detail. Your work with us does not go unnoticed.”
“We are grateful to have you with us as we continue to embark on our mission to make the world a more inclusive and accessible place for everyone. You are key contributors to the fact Verbit and VITAC [which was acquired by Verbit] have been able to create inclusive environments for events, courses, broadcasts, meetings and the list goes on.
Livne went on to thank his captioning team “for all that you do to make us the go-to, trusted partner for captioning. The captions you produce are invaluable to audiences throughout the world,” he said.
Some background on Captioner Appreciation Week
This moment is held in conjunction with the Court Reporting & Captioning Week in the US. Captioner Appreciation Week offers an ideal opportunity to recognize and thank captioning professionals, who are highly skilled professionals, for their hard work and dedication in creating the quality captions which help to make content more accessible.
“Captioning is more than just a profession,” said Sara Kirkwood, Senior HRPB at VITAC. “It’s a true art; a skill honed through years of practice, experience and continuous learning. The captions our expert teams create each and every day, 365 days a year, provide a vital service and critical link to entertainment, education, news and emergency information to the tens of millions of people in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.”
Not only that, but with so many individuals without hearing loss opting to view with captions, the work of professional captioners is helping everyone from commuters to working parents to non-native speakers and others engage more effectively. Many consumers, especially Gen Z audiences, not only prefer captions, but have come to expect them with any content they’re consuming.
“We’re proud to employ the most-talented team of professional captioners in the industry,” Kirkwood continued. “Our dedicated employees genuinely care about their work and the accessible services that they provide. Our captioners truly are the best in the business.”
The growing impact of captioned content
Organizations ranging from content and media studios to conference organizers to tech companies to financial service providers to educational institutions are all now offering captions and seeing their value. As a result, everyone from employees to students to customers are reaping the benefits of having access to captioned content to better engage.
Join Verbit and its team by taking a moment to recognize the work which goes on behind the scenes to create the captions seen on screen, which we often take for granted, but which are critical for individuals who are Deaf or hard of hearing to be able to engage with equity. If you’re interested in having your own content captioned, feel free to reach out to us.