Captions:
- Captions are text displayed on the bottom of a screen, usually written in white or yellow text.
- They are designed for viewers who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have difficulty understanding speech due to accents or background noise.
- Captions include dialogue and other relevant sounds like sounds of a doorbell or a character shouting, music or significant sound effects, and speaker identification (e.g., "(Sarah)") when multiple people are speaking.
Subtitles:
- Subtitles are text displayed on the bottom of a screen, typically written in a language different from the original language of the audio.
- They are used to provide translations for viewers who don't understand the original spoken language or for viewers who want to read the dialogue in their own language.
- Subtitles primarily focus on translating dialogue and essential context. Sound effects, music, or other non-essential details are not always included.
- Subtitles do not include speaker identification, as the language translation often makes this redundant.
Both captions and subtitles are important for accessibility and inclusivity in multimedia content, ensuring that people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or non-native speakers can equally enjoy the content.