The Reels workflow
Save the Reel via Instagram's save feature (or download via compliant tools). Upload the MP4 to Video to Markdown. Spoken audio transcribes; on-screen text doesn't (OCR is a separate step). Output: Markdown with the speech, timestamps, and section breaks.
Why marketers care
Reels with text overlays often repeat the spoken content as visual text. The transcript captures one half (the spoken half). For full repurposing — accessibility caption track, blog post, Twitter thread — supplement the Markdown with screenshots of the on-screen text or use a separate OCR step.
Reels for accessibility
Instagram now generates auto-captions for Reels in many languages, but they're not always accurate or available. For accessibility-critical content (educational, product instructions, brand messaging), a high-quality transcript-derived caption is more reliable than auto-captions.