• Any sound effects captions must be included in brackets "[ ]".
• Caption background sound effects only when they are essential to the media that is being captioned (presentation, movie, etc.).
• Use specific general terms to describe sounds. 
• Don't use the past tense when describing sounds. 
• Captions should be synchronized with the sound.
• Use familiar vocabulary to match the age of the intended audience.

A description of sound effects should include the source of the sound. However, the source is not necessary if it can be clearly seen onscreen. 

Examples:

• [dried leaves crunching]
• [keys jangling]

Described sound effects may also be combined with onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is not included in brackets. The described sound effect should be on the first line of the caption, separate from the onomatopoeia. Both described sound effects and onomatopoeias must be lowercased.

Examples:

• [runner gulping]
  glug, glug, glug
• [goat crying]
  baa…baa…baa

Offscreen sound effects should be italicized. Place the description of the sound effect as close as possible to the sound source off the screen.

Example:

• First Caption: [pig squealing]
• Second Caption: [squealing continues]

Use punctuation to indicate speed or pace of sound.

• Slow:
  • [clock chiming]
    dong…dong…dong
• Rapid:
  • [gun firing]
    bang, bang, bang

• Any music captions must be included in brackets "[ ]".
• Caption music only when they are essential to the media that is being captioned (presentation, movie, etc.).
• Offscreen background music description should be italicized.
• If possible, the description should include the performer/composer and the title.
• Use descriptions that indicate the mood. Avoid subjective words, such as "delightful," "beautiful," or "melodic."
• Nonessential background music should be captioned by placing a music icon (♪) in the upper right corner of the screen and should never be captioned at the expense of dialogue.
• Do not caption background music with a duration under 5 seconds.

Examples:

• [Louis Armstrong plays
  "Hello Dolly"]
• [lyrical flute solo]
• [pianist playing
  the national anthem]