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PowerPointIntermediate~40 min practiceLesson 9 of 20

Add a short video with captions

Record a practice clip and add captions that match its speech.

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In this lesson

Embed a ten-second practice video and check both caption cues during playback.

Example

A ten-second onboarding demonstration

Make your own ten-second clip showing a simple slide with the words Open the checklist, followed by Assign a buddy. Narrate Open the checklist in the first four seconds and Assign a buddy in the next five seconds. Use a practice deck and your own voice; there is no supplied video download and no need to record a personal account or another application.

How it works

Embedded media travels with the file; an online video depends on a network service. Trimming or changing the playback start option is separate from creating a transcript.

A WebVTT file gives a clip timed captions. Live subtitles instead follow the presenter’s speech during the show. After exporting a video, play the exported file and check whether the captions are still available.

Steps

  1. Create the two-wording practice slide and record approximately ten seconds of your own explanation using the available Record presentation control. Preview the recording and export a practice MP4 if your desktop version supports that workflow.

  2. On Windows, Insert › Screen Recording is an alternative for a selected practice slide area. On Mac use presentation recording or an existing original clip; do not assume the Windows screen-recording command exists.

  3. Create a new slide titled Two steps make onboarding repeatable. Choose Insert › Video and select the local practice MP4; keep it embedded rather than linking to an unavailable external file.

  4. Save the caption text below as UTF-8 in Onboarding.vtt. If your speech begins later than the sample cues, change the timestamps to match the recording.

  5. Use this two-cue WebVTT sample. The blank lines and timestamp arrow matter; keep the .vtt extension instead of accidentally saving a .txt file.

    WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000
Open the checklist.

00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:09.000
Assign a buddy.

  6. Select the embedded video, open Playback › Insert Captions where available and insert Onboarding.vtt. Turn on the player caption control during Slide Show and check each cue against the actual speech.

  7. Set the video to start on click. Check volume, pause/resume and the final frame in Slide Show. Put both actions in notes as a text alternative. If you export a video, play that file too and check its captions.

Try it yourself

  1. Replace the second cue with Assign and introduce a buddy. Adjust its end time if your rerecorded narration lasts until ten seconds, then remove the old caption track and insert the revised file.
  2. Play the slide with speakers muted. Ask whether both actions are understandable from captions and visible wording alone; keep a written transcript with the practice material.
Show expected result
  • The two cues appear at the intended moments and the revised second cue matches the rerecorded words.
  • The slide works without an internet video service; the learner separately records whether exported-video captions survive.

If something goes wrong

The caption file is refused or nothing appears.
Check that the file begins with WEBVTT, uses UTF-8 and has blank lines between cues. Make sure its extension is .vtt rather than .vtt.txt. Select the embedded clip before inserting captions; online videos handle captions differently.
Captions lag behind the speaker.
Play the recording and note when each phrase begins and ends. Update those timestamps, remove the old caption track and insert the revised file. Play it again to check the timing.

Quick check

Try these questions after the exercise. Check the result in your app before marking the lesson complete.

1. Which file extension is used in this caption exercise?
2. Are stored video captions the same as live subtitles?
3. What should be checked after video export?

Choose an answer for all 3 questions to check your understanding.

Optional: try it with Copilot

If you have Copilot, try this after the exercise. Keep the original file and compare its suggestions with your own result.

Draft a two-line transcript for an original ten-second demonstration of opening a checklist and assigning a buddy. Do not claim the transcript is synchronised until I check the actual recording.

More from Microsoft

These Microsoft guides cover the tools used in this lesson.

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