Captioning & Subtitling for Film & TV
Broadcast, streaming and digital-cinema captions that pass ingest and clear QC on the first delivery. True CEA-608 and CEA-708, SCC and SMPTE sidecars, MXF OP1A embeds and DCP subtitle XML, every file independently decoded before it reaches you.
- True CEA-608 + CEA-708
- Independently QC-verified
- NDA on unreleased titles
Built to standard
Built to the standards your delivery is checked against.
Each standard maps to a checkpoint your file has to pass. CEA-608 and CEA-708 are what a broadcast decoder and OTT ingest read, SMPTE ST 2052-1 (IMSC) carries 708 as a timed-text sidecar, and SMPTE ST 428-7 under DCI is what a DCP mastering house needs. WCAG 2.1 AA, ADA and CVAA are the accessibility rules a US delivery is measured against, so captions are readable, well timed and correctly positioned.
Output ready for the delivery specs of
Delivery-spec targets, not affiliations. Files are produced to each platform's public delivery specification.
Selected clients and partner agencies
Some work is under NDA; logos available on request.
Every delivery target, mapped to a format
No guesswork on the spec: I map your delivery target to the exact caption format it ingests.
What the work looks like
Placement, SDH detail and QC, shown rather than described.
Three-layer QC before anything ships
Broadcast and cinema files fail on decoders, not in an editor preview. Every delivery goes through three passes and an independent decode.
1. Rough pass
Spot and draft every caption against the script, source audio and shot changes.
2. Alignment and timing
Tune reading speed, line breaks and positioning; align to shot changes and clear names and lower-thirds.
3. Independent senior QC
Decode the result on a separate decoder, check conformance to the target spec, and sign it off.
Specs and tolerances
How a project runs
Scope and spec
You send the master and delivery profile. I confirm frame rate, timecode and the exact formats.
Author
I time and write the captions to the reading-speed, line-length and positioning rules for the target.
Encode and wrap
I produce the deliverables: SCC, MXF OP1A, SMPTE ST 2052-1 or DCP XML, plus a burned-in preview.
QC and deliver
I decode independently, fix anything that drifts, and deliver with a report.
Recent delivery
“Just reviewed the captions and they look great.”
End client, via a US media-localization agency
Frequently asked questions
Do you work to the Netflix Timed Text Style Guide?
Yes. I build subtitles and SDH to the Netflix Timed Text Style Guide targets, including reading speed, characters per line, line breaks and positioning, and I deliver iTT or IMSC (SMPTE ST 2052-1) when that is the required format. I build to the public spec and am not affiliated with Netflix.
Can you sign an NDA?
Yes. NDA and secure handling are standard for unreleased films and pre-air episodes. Screeners are deleted on delivery.
What is your turnaround?
Throughput is up to around 60 finished video minutes per day, so a typical episode turns around in a day or two once the spec is confirmed. Send the runtime and deadline and I confirm an exact schedule.
Which delivery formats do you provide?
SCC and MXF OP1A embeds for broadcast, SMPTE ST 2052-1 (IMSC) and iTT or TTML for OTT, DCP subtitle XML (SMPTE ST 428-7) and Interop for cinema, plus SRT, WebVTT and a burned-in preview.
How do you verify the captions decode correctly?
Every file is decoded on a separate decoder with caption-inspector, so the exact CEA-608 and CEA-708 output and positioning are checked before delivery, not just previewed in the authoring tool.
Do you meet US accessibility requirements?
Yes. Captions are built to WCAG 2.1 AA, ADA and CVAA expectations for readable, well-timed and correctly positioned captions.
Request a quote
Send the master and target profile. Typical response within 10 minutes.
Related captioning services
Typical response within 10 minutes