Comments on: Captions tell the future http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483 web accessibility, rhetoric, and new media Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:38:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Karen Mardahl http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483&cpage=1#comment-70 Karen Mardahl Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:28:21 +0000 http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483#comment-70 I live in a country of captions. I live in Denmark, and all non-Danish programs on television (or in the cinema) are captioned. Danish programs are also captioned, often when the show is repeated at a later time. Captioning helped me learn Danish. It helped to build my vocabulary. You don't need to sell me on the idea of literacy! More than 20 years with captions means I cannot take my eyes off the captioning. This is annoying at times, but I also find it a big relief. Sound engineers meddle with the volume of speech and dramatic noises, and frankly, I need the captions to make sure I've made sense of the scene. And I am talking about English-language programs captioned in Danish. English is my first language, but I find it necessary to follow the Danish to make sure I fathomed what just happened. Being able to follow both conversations means I am of the crowd who quibbles over the translation! A friend has a freelance captioning job. She often turns to her networks for assistance with some localization issue. I've grown to respect the difficulty of providing an intelligent and comprehensible written phrase that is true to the spoken word and also leaves time for you to enjoy the visual and read the text and comprehend everything. Her questions about single words or phrases have resulted in many enlightening conversations about words, language, and culture. The word around here is - "Germans are poor at other languages because they dub all their films and television". I have no idea whether that is true, but that is how Danes perceive the value of captioning - as an extra educational tool. I am a member of the "mainstream" who really appreciates captioning. Any words messing up pictures is due to poor planning and design. The usual problem. Not thinking. :) Live captioning of the news as I've experienced it in the US drove me crazy. I have since learned that there are many factors involved. What I saw was an older television that displayed blocks of letters that did not match what was on the screen. Blocks of letters meant the captioning was gibberish. That would obviously turn off mainstream users. Perhaps better testing - and educating the public about proper configuration of the television? I live in a country of captions. I live in Denmark, and all non-Danish programs on television (or in the cinema) are captioned. Danish programs are also captioned, often when the show is repeated at a later time.
Captioning helped me learn Danish. It helped to build my vocabulary. You don’t need to sell me on the idea of literacy!
More than 20 years with captions means I cannot take my eyes off the captioning. This is annoying at times, but I also find it a big relief. Sound engineers meddle with the volume of speech and dramatic noises, and frankly, I need the captions to make sure I’ve made sense of the scene. And I am talking about English-language programs captioned in Danish. English is my first language, but I find it necessary to follow the Danish to make sure I fathomed what just happened.

Being able to follow both conversations means I am of the crowd who quibbles over the translation! A friend has a freelance captioning job. She often turns to her networks for assistance with some localization issue. I’ve grown to respect the difficulty of providing an intelligent and comprehensible written phrase that is true to the spoken word and also leaves time for you to enjoy the visual and read the text and comprehend everything. Her questions about single words or phrases have resulted in many enlightening conversations about words, language, and culture.

The word around here is – “Germans are poor at other languages because they dub all their films and television”. I have no idea whether that is true, but that is how Danes perceive the value of captioning – as an extra educational tool.

I am a member of the “mainstream” who really appreciates captioning. Any words messing up pictures is due to poor planning and design. The usual problem. Not thinking. :)

Live captioning of the news as I’ve experienced it in the US drove me crazy. I have since learned that there are many factors involved. What I saw was an older television that displayed blocks of letters that did not match what was on the screen. Blocks of letters meant the captioning was gibberish. That would obviously turn off mainstream users. Perhaps better testing – and educating the public about proper configuration of the television?

]]> By: Sean Zdenek http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483&cpage=1#comment-67 Sean Zdenek Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:51:01 +0000 http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483#comment-67 I agree, Bill. When captions lag, users who depend on them are at a disadvantage. Forget about leveraging the power of captions to stay a beat ahead. That only happens under the best of conditions, and too often, as you suggest, we have to contend with much less than that. As a hearing viewer, I find that I can't use captions when they lag too much. The difference between the words on the screen and the audio is too jarring for me. I can't reconcile them. Sean I agree, Bill. When captions lag, users who depend on them are at a disadvantage. Forget about leveraging the power of captions to stay a beat ahead. That only happens under the best of conditions, and too often, as you suggest, we have to contend with much less than that.

As a hearing viewer, I find that I can’t use captions when they lag too much. The difference between the words on the screen and the audio is too jarring for me. I can’t reconcile them.

Sean

]]> By: Bill http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483&cpage=1#comment-66 Bill Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:21:28 +0000 http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483#comment-66 Yup, except if you're watching captions on E! - sometimes they are so far behind, it's hard to track. Had a lot of Tonight Show and other late night talk shows have captions that were way behind too. They're tape delayed, doggonit! Fixit! Yup, except if you’re watching captions on E! – sometimes they are so far behind, it’s hard to track. Had a lot of Tonight Show and other late night talk shows have captions that were way behind too.

They’re tape delayed, doggonit! Fixit!

]]> By: Sean Zdenek http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483&cpage=1#comment-65 Sean Zdenek Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:42:46 +0000 http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483#comment-65 Thom: Thanks for bringing your <a href=http://www.dcmp.org/outreach/rcaa/events-and-activities.html rel="nofollow">Read Captions Across America</a> program to my attention. What a great idea! Certainly more practical and persuasive than my talk about the future. :) I'm surprised not every household in America has discovered the literacy benefits of having their children watch TV with captions on. Sean Thom: Thanks for bringing your Read Captions Across America program to my attention. What a great idea! Certainly more practical and persuasive than my talk about the future. :)

I’m surprised not every household in America has discovered the literacy benefits of having their children watch TV with captions on.

Sean

]]> By: thomlohman http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483&cpage=1#comment-64 thomlohman Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:25:42 +0000 http://seanzdenek.com/?p=483#comment-64 Great post about a lesser-known trait of captioning connoisseurs and their evolved precognitive abilities! This fits right in line with what we stress about <a href="http://www.dcmp.org/outreach/rcaa/docs/Bill_Stark_RCAA_article.pdf" title="Read Captions Across America PDF Article" rel="nofollow">captions and literacy</a> (which, itself, forms the basis for our <a href="http://www.dcmp.org/outreach/rcaa/events-and-activities.html" rel="nofollow">Read Captions Across America</a> campaign, held every March). If only more "mainstreamers" knew of these benefits, I imagine many of them would cease with their objections about the "words messing up the pretty pictures." Great post about a lesser-known trait of captioning connoisseurs and their evolved precognitive abilities! This fits right in line with what we stress about captions and literacy (which, itself, forms the basis for our Read Captions Across America campaign, held every March). If only more “mainstreamers” knew of these benefits, I imagine many of them would cease with their objections about the “words messing up the pretty pictures.”

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