Sean Zdenek, PhD – Access, sound, captioning, film/media. Sean Zdenek is an associate professor of technical and professional writing at the University of Delaware. His book, Reading Sounds: Closed-Captioned Media and Popular Culture, won the 2017 award for best book in technical or scientific communication from the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). He teaches technical writing, web accessibility, disability studies, sound studies, and AI literacy.

Our backyard in Maryland around dusk in late September 2017. In the distance, beyond our backyard and its shrubs and trees on a recently mowed lawn, low mist begins to form over a field of green grass.

August 23, 2023

Selected publications in disability studies, sound studies, and inclusive design

Browse full text copies of some of my publications. If you have questions about accessing any of my publications, please email me.

Publishing

A screenshot from Twilight (2008) featuring Kristen Stewart

September 26, 2009

Twilight: Captioning the “gaspiest” movie ever

Featured post from 2009: How should gasps, groans, sighs, grunts, scoffs, moans, pants and other assorted “breathy” sounds be captioned? When should they be captioned? What’s the difference between them? Why does it matter?

Captioning/Non-Speech

October 15, 2020

About me

Dr. Sean Zdenek is an associate professor of technical and professional writing at the University of Delaware. His research and teaching interests include technical writing, disability studies, sound studies, and rhetorical theory. His book, Reading Sounds: Closed-Captioned Media and Popular Culture (UChicago, 2015), won the 2017 award for best book in technical or scientific communication from the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). Sean grew up in California and currently lives in northeastern Maryland, a few miles from both Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Biography

A frame from Horse Girl showing a TV screen, which includes a yellow caption, "That was different." At the bottom of the frame is a second caption track in white letters: "in a dirty gas station bathroom, and this is too much for you?"

March 22, 2020

Caption every screen.

The characters on our favorite television programs are just like us: they come home from work and stream their favorite TV shows and YouTube videos. But it’s hard for me to recall any programs that showed actors using captioned media. While the sounds emantating from their screens may be captioned for us, the sounds are not captioned for them.

Captioning/Visual Design

March 20, 2020

Positioning and styling captions when speakers overlap and interrupt each other

It can be challenging to caption scenes with multiple speakers. Bottom-center caption placement is far from ideal for readers when it fails to clarify who is speaking. Adding to the difficulty: speakers may talk quickly, interrupt each other, or overlap their speech turns to give cooperative support. When captions are placed underneath or next to each speaker, readers can more quickly distinguish — at a glance — who is speaking.

Captioning/Visual Design

Interior of office building in Oklahoma City featuring several large steel beams and small wooden tables and chairs for meeting or eating. The space is otherwise empty.

February 6, 2019

My interview with KairosCast

I enjoyed talking with Courtney Danforth last summer about my captioning research. Check out the podcast with transcript.

Captioning/Podcasting/Publishing

The exterior of the Lou Ruovo Center for Brain Health, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The metal exterior is warped and wavy. The entire building is folding in on itself as it defies the rules of gravity and modern architecture.

February 6, 2019

Published: Special issue on disability and technical communication

I guest edited a special issue of Communication Design Quarterly on “Reimagining Disability and Accessibility in Technical and Professional Communication” (volume 6, issue 4, December 2018).

Accessibility/Publishing

A frame from Rick and Morty featuring Jerry driving his car enjoying 'human music.' The simple three-note sequence is represented on the back of Jerry's car seat, which is transformed in my custom captions into a piano keyboard.

August 17, 2018

Published: Designing Captions — A new article on enhanced captioning

Check out my new article on enhanced captioning, just published in Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedaogogy (23.1, 2018). Read the full article: “Designing captions: Disruptive experiments with typography, color, icons, and effects.”

Captioning/Publishing/Visual Design

A frame from Blade Runner (1982) featuring a custom cross walk icon as an experiment caption.

August 6, 2016

Cripping closed captioning: Experiments with type, icons, and dynamic effects

Can we open closed captioning up to greater experimentation through the use of color, icons, typography, and basic animations to convey meaning?

Captioning/Publishing/Visual Design

A frame from Star Wars: The Force Awakens featuring BB-8 and the caption: Chirps Inquisitively)

April 14, 2016

Chirp! Captioning BB-8 in The Force Awakens

How do the closed captions convey the changing meanings and emotions of the BB-8 droid’s electronic beeping sounds?

Captioning/Data Mining/Non-Speech

A frame from Prophecy 3: The Ascent featuring a cityscape at night and the closed caption: [SIRENS WAILING IN DISTANCE]

January 7, 2016

Do sirens always wail?

How often are sirens described as wailing in closed captioning? What else do sirens do in closed captioning other than wail? Does it matter?

Captioning/Data Mining/Non-Speech

A frame from The Simpsons' Barthood episode featuring a closed caption with a black background around the caption to provide contrast

December 18, 2015

When a yellow subtitle meets a character from The Simpsons

Comparing the default yellow closed captions on Hulu.com with the yellow color of the animated characters on The Simpsons.

Captioning/Visual Design

October 18, 2015

Tracking sonic timelines in closed captioning

Each sustained sound in the closed caption track creates a sonic timeline that continues to persist until it is terminated through a change in visual context or a stop caption.

Captioning/Non-Speech

Alien fighting Predator in the rain at night in this frame from Aliens vs Predator: Requiem

October 9, 2015

Closed captions as identity markers (leitmotifs)

When the same nonspeech caption is repeatedly associated with a specific character or recurring context, it comes to serve as a kind of leitmotif for that character or context.

Captioning/Non-Speech

An animated gif from Night Watch featuring a subtitle that screams in large typeface as the subtitles surround and follow the speaker as he crashes against the wall. Subtitles: NO! NO!!! STOP!!!

October 8, 2015

Subtitles as visual art

Subtitles in foreign language films don’t have to be visually boring, uninspiring, or ugly. But too often, that’s exactly what they are.

Captioning/Visual Design

October 7, 2015

Reading Sounds: A new book and website on closed captioning

Check out Reading Sounds, my new book on closed captioning. The supplemental website at ReadingSounds.net includes over 500 video examples discussed in the book.

Captioning/Publishing

May 9, 2012

“The main factor that drives captioning quality is what clients are willing to pay for it.”

An email I received recently from a professional captioner. Posted with permission.

Captioning

A frame from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World featuring Michael Cera, Ellen Wong and the caption: (In slow-motion): Wow!

March 31, 2012

Drunk speech but sober captions: How manner captions do the heavy lifting

How writing homogenizes speech and how the non-speech manner caption attempts to re-embody speech…

Captioning/Manner/Non-Speech

A frame from Apollo 18 showing Nate being pulled into a moon crater.

March 6, 2012

The power of dots and dashes to tell the future

Sometimes, punctuation in captions can provide important clues about what’s going to happen, regardless of how well or poorly timed the captions are.

Captioning/Timing

Kyle talking with Roger in a screenshot from an Allstate commercial

February 24, 2012

Humanizing nameless speakers

Speaker IDs can humanize nameless characters…

Captioning/Speaker IDs

A frame from The Fifth Element featuring Milla Jovovich pointing a gun at the camera and her character's full name in the caption

January 13, 2012

“That whole thing’s your name?” Captioning names in The Fifth Element

On the importance of verbatim captioning, especially when names are involved.

Captioning

Screenshot from Fatal Instinct featuring actor Bill Cobbs with subtitle: "But I can read the subtitles."

January 6, 2012

“Subtitles I like to ride on”: When medium awareness extends to subtitles

Examples of fictional characters breaking through the fourth wall…

Captioning/Visual Design

November 4, 2011

Captioned hypnosis

Recurring sounds on TV shows allow us to explore questions of consistency and accuracy in closed captioning.

Captioning/Non-Speech

A sound wave of the mystery sound file associated with this blog post.

October 28, 2011

Closed captioners don’t caption sounds.

Closed captioners don’t caption sounds in isolation. They caption shows.

Captioning/Non-Speech

A screenshot from The Adjustment Bureau featuring Matt Damon on the phone with a caption displaying "engaged tone"

September 16, 2011

Busy signal or engaged tone? Captions, language variety, and localized accessibility

On the need to consider differences among varieties of English when captioning non-speech sounds…

Captioning/Definitions/Non-Speech

Screenshot from Jon Benjamin Has a Van featuring a "silence" caption

August 4, 2011

Captioned silence?

In some well-defined situations, silence must be captioned.

Captioning/Definitions

July 14, 2011

Genre-defining sounds, even when they lie to us

Even when music is intended to deceive, it needs to be captioned if it’s instrumental to the genre.

Captioning/Music/Visual Design

Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men (2004)

July 4, 2011

In a manner of speaking

When a character’s accent is meaningful or when a scene or line of dialogue hinges on how a character speaks, manner of speech needs to be indicated in the closed captions.

Captioning/Manner/Non-Speech

Tom Cruis and Cameron Diaz in Knight and Day

July 2, 2011

Logocentrism: The tendency to privilege speech over non-speech in closed captioning

Does logocentric thinking shape closed captioning practices?

Captioning/Music/Non-Speech

Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (2010)

May 1, 2011

Captioning the faintest sounds when they’re part of a repetitive series

Does every repetitive sound need to be captioned? What visual cues are sufficient to indicate a repeating sound in the absence of a caption?

Captioning/Non-Speech

A screenshot from Bicentennial Man (1999) starring Robin Williams

April 14, 2011

Captioned puns and wordplay

In the case of captioned wordplay, the difference between writing and speaking, text and sound, is obvious.

Captioning/Humor

Leonardo DiCaprio in a screenshot from Inception

March 16, 2011

Captioned irony: How captions manipulate narrative time and viewers’ knowledge

Inspired by the notion of dramatic irony, I offer a definition of “captioned irony.”

Captioning/Non-Speech/Speaker IDs

February 27, 2011

Iambic pentameter captions?

Should poems and other quoted material be captioned as they were originally written?

Captioning/Visual Design

Peter grabbing his knee in pain from an episode of Family Guy

February 26, 2011

[Groan] or Ahh? Series awareness and alternative captions

Should a running gag be captioned the same way each time it occurs?

Captioning/Humor/Non-Speech

A screenshot from Family Guy featuring Brian on top of a red doghouse, reminiscient of Snoopy from the Peanuts series.

February 10, 2011

Sonic allusions and cultural literacy for captioners

How should cultural allusions be closed captioned?

Captioning/Non-Speech

Gob Bluth in Arrested Development, played by Will Arnett

February 4, 2011

The running gag principle: Caption the series, not the episode

What would closed captions be like if diehard fans were in charge of captioning their favorite shows?

Captioning/Music

A screenshot from Knowing (2008) showing a parody caption: "zoom-zoom"

January 30, 2011

Zoom Zoom: Selling caption space

What if closed captions were bought and sold as a form of product placement?

Captioning/Humor/Non-Speech

January 22, 2011

Captioning 101: When music lyrics trigger an explosion, you just might want to caption them.

When music lyrics are instrumental to a film’s plot, they need to be captioned.

Captioning/Music

January 2, 2011

Stylistic standards for closed captioning and data mining

When speaker IDs, musical lyrics, and sound descriptions have their own distinctive stylistic treatments, they can be extracted from closed caption files and studied as separate units of discourse.

Captioning/Data Mining/Non-Speech

A screenshot from Shaun of the Dead (2004) featuring Simon Pegg

December 19, 2010

Why that zombie is really moaning (and not groaning)

An analysis of three captions from Shaun of the Dead (2004) suggests how sound descriptions need to be informed by the sounds and captions that surround them. In this case, “moaning” is suggested as a better fit than “groaning.”

Captioning/Non-Speech

A screenshot from Moon (2009) featuring Sam Rockwell

November 12, 2010

If it weren’t for Speaker IDs, I’d have no idea what’s going on

An analysis of one scene from Moon (2009) starring Sam Rockwell. The scene’s captions make use of Speaker IDs to identify speakers who are off-screen. But in doing so, the Speaker IDs fill in a major piece of the narrative puzzle.

Captioning/Non-Speech/Speaker IDs

November 6, 2010

How many TV commercials are closed captioned?

Recently, I conducted an informal survey of two hours of TV in an effort to track which and how many ads were closed captioned.

Captioning/Legal/Stats

A screenshot from "Did you Hear about the Morgans?" (2009) featuring Sarah Jessica Parker

October 5, 2010

Dialogue that wasn’t intended to be read

Speakers don’t need to spell things out for caption viewers when these viewers can read it for themselves at the bottom of the screen. Speakers only need to spell it out for those audio-only viewers who don’t have the added benefit of reading.

Captioning

A screenshot from Up in the Air (2009) featuring George Clooney

October 1, 2010

What the speaker really says doesn’t matter?

Captioning is not always a simple transcription of what speakers are objectively saying. In some cases, captions are intended to reflect what the protagonist subjectively hears.

Captioning

A collage of images from Sunshine Cleaning (2008) starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt

May 2, 2010

Captioned thematics: How captions make interpretative patterns visible

Closed captions can help viewers recognize themes and patterns in movies that might otherwise remain latent.

Captioning/Non-Speech

January 11, 2010

Captioning the backchannel: How captions clarify and equalize sounds

When sounds in the background are captioned, they come forward. All sounds become equally “loud” on the caption track.

Captioning

A screenshot from Taken (2008) featuring Liam Neeson

November 21, 2009

Overcaptioning: Which sounds are significant?

Which sounds are significant? How does the captioner choose which sounds to caption? Are some captions unnecessary? Why isn’t it possible to caption every sound in the environment?

Captioning/Non-Speech/Speaker IDs

A screenshot from Pirates of the Caribbean 2 featuring Johnny Depp

August 23, 2009

Prematurely revealing the natives as cannibals in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Movie captions should never reveal information prematurely. In this example, the captions give away a key plot detail before the narrative is ready to do so.

Captioning/Timing

August 17, 2009

Caption watch: Hulu.com

Over the last ten days, the percentage of full episodes and movies with closed captions on Hulu has actually gone down. Overall, that percentage of cc content is embarrassingly low, hovering at around 4.5% for full episodes and 6.5% for movies — and appears to be on the way down.

Captioning/Stats

A screenshot from Twilight (2008) featuring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

August 15, 2009

Exploring Twilight and music lyrics through closed captions

In this example from Twilight, captioned music lyrics draw meaning out of hiding as the backchannel breaks through into the viewer’s consciousness.

Captioning/Music

Screenshot from an episode of Dollhouse featuring Eliza Dushku

August 14, 2009

If movie characters could read closed captions, they’d glimpse the future

Caption users sometimes know what’s happening before the characters themselves. In this way, captions tell the future.

Captioning/Speaker IDs/Timing

A screenshot from Taken (2008) featuring Maggie Grace

August 12, 2009

How captions tell the future

In this example, the caption user recognizes a heartbeat before the non-caption user that because the bad guy’s captioned sentence is unfinished (“We can nego-“), he will be shot before he can finish saying “negotiate.”

Captioning/Timing

A screenshot from Lost in Translation (2003) featuring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson

August 11, 2009

Whispers and other sounds you were never meant to hear

An analysis of attempts by fans to make audible the whisper at the end of Lost in Translation.

Captioning/Hearing/Non-Speech

June 4, 2008

Podcasting and embodiment

Mainstream discourse about podcasting rarely discusses the affordances of the body. It rarely makes explicit the minimum requirements for participating, at the level of embodiment, or the bodily differences among users and producers that threaten to exclude some people from profitably using web audio and video.

Podcasting

May 28, 2008

Audio description as technical communication

So I’ve been thinking about audio description as technical communication, and in particular the value that an audio description assignment might have for technical communication undergrads.

Audio Description