How do I request to add captions to a file in My Media?

When video or audio is included in your course content, UVA policies (opens new window) require that you provide an alternative method for your audience to understand the content.

Anyone may request to have automatic (Machine) captions added to files they have uploaded to My Media or to the Media Gallery in one of their Canvas courses. The owner of the file or someone with permission to edit it will be able to edit the text in the captions to correct any errors.

For course content, instructors may also request Professional captions, which have a much higher level of accuracy and should not require as much editing after they have been added.

Tip: An instructor can enable a global setting in their Canvas course's Media Gallery to automatically request captions for media as soon as it is published there. With this setting enabled, they would not need to request captions for each video or audio file individually. For steps, see How do I enable captions requests for all files in Media Gallery?

Go to My Media.

Select My Media from your Global Navigation Menu.

Tip: For details about global navigation, see How do I use the Global Navigation Menu as an instructor? (opens new window) or How do I use the Global Navigation Menu as a student? (opens new window).

Select the file to caption.

Choose a video or audio file to caption by selecting its thumbnail or name.

Select Actions, then Caption & Enrich.

  1. Scroll down on the page under the media player.
  2. Select the Actions menu.
  3. Select Caption & Enrich.

Submit the captions request.

A page will display where you can check the status of existing captioning requests and submit new requests. By default, Machine captions are selected. If you are submitting a request for Professional captions, you will have additional options to select a Turnaround Time and enter Instructions & Notes for the captioning provider. Skip to the step for requesting professional captions.

Tip: A media file can have multiple captions files attached to it. Machine captions will be identified with [auto] on their label, e.g., English [auto]. You can request both Machine and Professional captions to have some captions available while the captioning vendor works on your request.

Request machine captions.

Under the heading Order Captions & Enrichment Services:

  1. Leave the default Service option, Machine, selected.
  2. Select the Source Media Language to indicate the language of the file to caption. By default, the language is English. 35 other languages are available to select.
  3. Select Submit.

Request professional captions.

Under the heading Order Captions & Enrichment Services:

  1. From the Service drop-down menu, select Professional.
  2. Select the Source Media Language to indicate the language of the file to caption. By default, the language is English. 35 other languages are available to select.
  3. By default, 48 hours is selected for the Turnaround Time. From the Turnaround Time drop-down menu, select Best Effort.
  4. In the Instructions & Notes field, enter any notes for the captioning provider. For example, if your video includes speakers who pronounce certain words differently from how others might, or difficult scientific terms, you might include notes on correct spelling.
  5. Select Submit.

Check the progress of your request.

Screenshot of page with Pending statuses for captions. Graphic link opens modal with larger image. Press Escape to exit modal.
  1. The request for captioning will display under the Existing Requests section of the page, along with its status.
    • For Machine captions, the initial Status will be Pending. The Status will change to Processing while the captions are being generated for your file, then Completed when the captions are available.
    • For Professional captions, the initial Status will be Pending Approval. The Captioning Team will need to review the captions request and approve or reject it. The approval process occurs daily Monday-Friday. If your request has not been approved or it is time sensitive, please email the Captioning Team to ask for help. If approved, the Status for the request will change to Processing while the captioning vendor works on it, then Completed when the captions are available.
  2. A message will display under Order Captions & Enrichment Services to indicate that your request has been received.

Note: Once a Professional captioning request has been approved, it may take 3-5 business days for the vendor to create the captions and make them available.

View captions.

Select the captioned file.

After waiting for the captions to be generated, return to My Media and access the video or audio file by selecting its thumbnail or name.

Display captions.

A CC (Closed Captions) button will be available in the player. To show the captions:

  1. Select the CC button.
  2. Select the label for the captions, e.g., English [auto].
  3. The captions will display centered underneath the video or at the bottom of the audio player for an audio file.

Review and edit captions.

Whether you have requested Machine or Professional captions, they should be reviewed for accuracy. Machine captions also require editing, if the video or audio file will not have any Professional captions available. Follow the steps in How do I edit captions in My Media? to review and correct any errors in the captions.