Non-Speech – Sean Zdenek, PhD

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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 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

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

Category: Non-Speech

Chirp! Captioning BB-8 in The Force Awakens

Do sirens always wail?

Tracking sonic timelines in closed captioning

Closed captions as identity markers (leitmotifs)

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

Captioned hypnosis

Closed captioners don’t caption sounds.

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

In a manner of speaking

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

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

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

[Groan] or Ahh? Series awareness and alternative captions

Sonic allusions and cultural literacy for captioners

Zoom Zoom: Selling caption space

Stylistic standards for closed captioning and data mining

Why that zombie is really moaning (and not groaning)

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

Captioned thematics: How captions make interpretative patterns visible

Overcaptioning: Which sounds are significant?

Twilight: Captioning the “gaspiest” movie ever

Whispers and other sounds you were never meant to hear