# Caption publishing checklist

Project:
Reviewer:
Date:
Destination player or platform:

## Before editing

- [ ] Keep an untouched copy of the media and original caption file.
- [ ] Confirm the destination accepts your subtitle format.
- [ ] Check the destination's caption guidance and your audience's needs.

## Words and meaning

- [ ] Listen against the source, rather than trusting a generated transcript.
- [ ] Verify names, numbers, technical terms, and unclear speech.
- [ ] Identify speakers when the picture does not make them clear.
- [ ] Include meaningful non-speech audio where appropriate.
- [ ] Check punctuation and break lines at natural phrase boundaries.

## Timing and readability

- [ ] Check synchronization near the beginning, middle, and end.
- [ ] Distinguish a constant offset from drift before shifting every cue.
- [ ] Check for unexpected overlaps, empty cues, and missing dialogue.
- [ ] Review fast cues in context, using an appropriate reading-speed target.
- [ ] Check captions do not obscure important on-screen information.

## Final delivery

- [ ] Open the exported file in the actual destination player.
- [ ] Watch once with audio and once without it.
- [ ] Check text encoding, punctuation, and line breaks after import.
- [ ] Retain the reviewed source file with the final video.

This is a practical review aid, not an accessibility certification.

## Tools and references

- Reading-speed review: https://scenedub.com/tools/subtitle-reading-speed
- Constant timing offsets: https://scenedub.com/tools/subtitle-timing-shifter
- Caption formats: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WebVTT_API
- YouTube file support: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734698

Free to use, edit, and share. More resources: https://scenedub.com/creator-kit