Captions

Critical Creative Corrective Cacophonous Comical: Closed Captions

Brief Summary:

This article mentions how closed captions (which assist those who are hard of hearing) can serve as more than just a helping tool. Through captioning, artists such as Carolyn Lazard and Christine Sun Kim highlight the impact of captions, including how they address acessibility issues. According to the article, captions have the ability to enhance the meaning of media and elevate them to the point where they are a part of the art.

One Takeaway:

Rather than being an afterthought intended only to make content accessible, captions should also be considered an important part of the creative process from the start. This way, it will contribute to the media creatively and lead to better results.

Real-World Connection:

The article reminded me of how captions on some video memes on social media also add humor to the video on top of transcribing what is being said in the video.

Burning Question:

What are some tips on making captions add creativity or another level of meaning while still accurately transcribing the video?

Making closed captions for new work

Brief Summary:

The article discusses the process of making closed captions for new work and also explains the benefits of starting a new project with them. It offers advice on how to create captions that are comprehensible by all users, including those who are hard of hearing. Making captions an important part of the work rather than merely an add-on is the overall goal.

One Takeaway:

Creating captions for a video right away ensures that the video is accessible but also has quality captions which enhances the watchers' experience.

Real-World Connection:

This article made me think of how many movies and shows provide improved captions that describe noises and movements in addition to dialogue.

Burning Question:

How can we ensure that video makers would make captions right away and not wait until the end?

Captioned-Channel Surfing

Brief Summary:

This is a compilation of several clips. They all contain captions, however the captions do not transcribe the dialogue. Instead, the captions summarize the scenes sometimes, and other times, they are random and do not match the scene.

One Takeaway:

My takeaway from this compilation video is that captions which do not directly transcribe the video dialogue are very unhelpful. The purpose of video captions is so that people who are hard of hearing can understand what is being said in the video.

Real-World Connection:

I watched the videos with sound the first time, focusing on the dialogue. Then, I watched them again, this time with the sound muted, and focused just on the captions. The captions did not help me understand what was really happening in the videos and this reminded me of the real-world situations many deaf or partially deaf people may be facing.

Burning Question:

Why do some captions just briefly summarize videos with dialogue rather than directly transcribing the dialogue itself?

April 4, 1980

Brief Summary:

This was a short video with lines about several different topics. However, there were no visuals as it was only a black screen. There were captions transcribing what was being said.

One Takeaway:

A takeaway I have is that accurate captions which are directly transcribing the dialogue are very helpful for people to understand what is being said if they are having a hard time hearing.

Real-World Connection:

I was able to connect this piece to the fact that many people in the real-world want to listen to podcasts or radios but there are no textual translations of the dialogue. This piece in video form allows captions to assist those hard of hearing.

Burning Question:

How can we make audio-only videos interesting enough for people to want to continue watching/listening?