How to download video answers with embedded captions

When you download candidate video responses, you can include transcripts permanently embedded (burned in) as captions directly in the video file. This feature allows you to create self-contained video files with subtitles that work in any video player, making them perfect for archival, compliance documentation, or sharing with stakeholders who don't have Hirevire access.

Overview

You'll enable the "Burn in transcripts" setting in your job's advanced settings, which will automatically generate a second version of each video answer with hardcoded captions. When you download video responses, both the original video and the caption-embedded version will be available.

Prerequisites

• Plan: Agency plan subscription required

• Role: Job creator or account owner with permission to modify job settings

• Transcription enabled: Video transcription must be enabled for your job (automatically enabled on Agency plan)

Compatibility

• Plan: Agency plan only ($249/month monthly or $199/month yearly)

• Video types: Works with all video answer questions

• File format: Videos with burned-in captions are downloaded as .mp4 files

• Availability: Only applies to applications submitted after enabling the setting

Before you begin

• Download only, not streaming: Videos with burned-in captions are available for download only—they cannot be streamed directly in the Hirevire dashboard

• Increased processing time: Generating caption-embedded videos adds 2-3 minutes to video processing time after application submission

• Storage impact: Each video answer will consume twice the storage space (original + caption version), which counts toward your plan's retention limits

Enable burned-in captions for video downloads

To enable embedded captions for video downloads:

1. Log in to your Hirevire dashboard and navigate to Jobs

2. Select the job where you want to enable burned-in captions

3. Click the Settings tab

4. Switch to the Advanced tab from the left sidebar

5. Under Video Download Options, toggle Burn in transcripts in video answers to enabled

6. Click Save in the top-right corner

Download videos with burned-in captions

After enabling the setting, you can download caption-embedded videos using two methods:

Method 1: Download all files from an application

To download all video responses including caption-embedded versions:

1. Navigate to the application details page by clicking on the candidate's application

2. In the top-right corner, click the three-dot menu (⋮)

3. Select Download all files from the dropdown menu

4. All files will download, including both original videos and their caption-embedded versions

Files with burned-in captions will be clearly labeled in the download package to distinguish them from the original videos.

Method 2: Access via webhook integration

For automated workflows, caption-embedded videos are accessible through webhook payloads:

1. Configure a webhook integration for your job with Advanced Webhook enabled

2. When an application is submitted, the webhook payload will include both URL fields for video answers:

   • url - Direct link to the original video

   • processedVideoURL - Direct link to the video with burned-in captions

3. Your receiving endpoint can fetch both URLs and save them to your preferred storage solution

Example webhook payload structure for a video answer with burned-in captions:

{
  "answers": [
    {
      "question": {
        "id": "q_123",
        "text": "Tell us about your experience",
        "responseType": "Video"
      },
      "id": 456,
      "url": "https://storage.hirevire.com/videos/original-video.mp4",
      "processedVideoURL": "https://storage.hirevire.com/videos/captions-burned.mp4",
      "transcript": "I have five years of experience in software development...",
      "numberOfRetakes": 1
    }
  ]
}

What the burned-in captions look like

Videos with burned-in captions display the transcript text as white subtitles at the bottom of the video frame. The captions are permanently embedded in the video file and will appear in any video player, making them accessible without requiring separate caption file support.

Troubleshooting

Limitations

• Agency plan exclusive: This feature is only available on the Agency plan ($249/month monthly or $199/month yearly)

• Forward-looking only: Only applies to applications submitted after enabling the setting—cannot retroactively generate caption-embedded videos for existing applications

• Download only: Caption-embedded videos can only be downloaded, not streamed in the Hirevire dashboard

• Doubled storage consumption: Each video answer creates two files (original + caption version), counting toward your storage retention limits

• Processing time: Adds 2-3 minutes (or more for longer videos) to post-submission processing time

• Caption accuracy: AI-generated captions have 95-98.5% accuracy; cannot be manually edited after generation

• No caption customization: Caption style, position, and font are fixed and cannot be customized

• File format: Caption-embedded videos are always .mp4 format

What's next

• Download video and audio responses from applications

• Download application reports as PDF

• Export application data when CSV download isn't available

Getting help

If you're experiencing issues with burned-in captions:

• Confirm you're on the Agency plan

• Verify the setting is enabled in Job Settings › Advanced tab

• Check that the application was submitted after enabling the feature

• For webhook issues, ensure both "Burn in transcripts" and "Advanced Webhook" settings are enabled

• Wait at least 5 minutes after application submission for caption processing to complete

• Collect the application ID, job ID, and error messages

• Contact Hirevire support with the above details