Understanding Closed Captioning Standards and Guidelines
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Transcript of Understanding Closed Captioning Standards and Guidelines
Understanding Closed Captioning Standards & Guidelines
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Cindy CampStrategic Planning Team
Pepnet 2
Jason StarkProject Director
DCMP
Lily Bond (Moderator)3Play Media
Understanding Closed Captioning Standards and Guidelines
www.dcmp.orgwww.pepnet.org
Cindy Camp Jason [email protected] [email protected]
Pepnet 2 (pn2) is a federally funded project whose mission is to increase the education, career, and lifetime choices available to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. We do this by supporting the professionals who work with these individuals. We provide:• Live trainings• Online modules available 24/7• Online facilitated trainings• Technical Assistance and Live Chat• Training materials online and for download• Evidence based resource to support your work
What is pepnet 2?
Our mission is to promote and provide equal access to communication and learning through described and captioned educational media.
The ultimate goal of the DCMP is for accessible media to be an integral
What is DCMP?
tool in the teaching and learning process for all stakeholders in the educational community, including students, educators and other school personnel, parents, service providers, businesses, and agencies.
The DCMP supports the U.S. Department of Education Strategic Plan for 2014-2018 by committing to the following goals:• Ensuring that students (early learning through grade 12) who are blind, visually
impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind have the opportunity to achieve the standards of academic excellence.
• Advocating for equal access to educational media as well as the establishment and maintenance of quality standards for captioning and description by service providers.
• Providing a collection of on-demand described and captioned educational media.• Furnishing information and research about accessible media.• Acting as a gateway to Internet resources related to accessibility.• Adapting and developing new media and technologies that assist students in
obtaining and using available information.
What Are Captions?Captioning is the process of converting the audio content of a television broadcast, webcast, film, video, CD-ROM, DVD, live event, or other productions into text and displaying the text on a screen or monitor. Captions not only display words as the textual equivalent of spoken dialogue or narration, but they also include speaker identification, sound effects, and music description.
What Are Captions, Really?Captions relay not only what is said, but also what is being communicated.
In other words, captions aren’t just a straight translation of spoken words.
Who Benefits from Captions?• Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing• Individuals whose second language is English• Individuals in noisy environments• Emerging readers• Individuals with learning disabilities• Everyone!
Why is Quality Important?When captions are not high quality, meaning they are not correctly synchronized with the audio, are not properly formatted, and contain grammatical or spelling errors, an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing will not have full access to the content of the video.
Captioning Key
www.captioningkey.org
It is important that captions are: • Accurate
Errorless captions are the goal for each production.• Consistent
Uniformity in style and presentation of all captioning features is crucial for viewer understanding.
• ClearA complete textual representation of the audio, including speaker identification and non-speech information, provides clarity.
It is important that captions are: • Readable
Captions are displayed with enough time to be read completely, are in synchronization with the audio, and are not obscured by (nor do they obscure) the visual content.
• EqualEqual access requires that the meaning and intention of the material is completely preserved.
consistent with the 2014 mandates by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Core captioning rules:• Accurate spelling• Correct grammar and punctuation
– Often grammar rules differ between reference manuals and there are sometimes more than one way to produce a correct caption. Your goal: be consistent!
Why is grammar important?
Let’s eat, Grandma.
Why is grammar important?
Let’s eat Grandma.
• No more than 32 characters per line including spaces• One or two lines of text per screen
• Use upper and lower case letters• Choose a font with ascenders and descenders
Too light Too heavyJust Right
When possible use white letters with a drop shadow and a gray translucent box as background.
When possible text should be centered on the screen and left aligned.
Yes No
When a sentence is broken into two or more lines of captions, it should be broken at a logical point where speech normally pauses unless it would exceed the 32-character-per-line requirement.• Do not break a modifier from the word it modifies.
• Do not break a prepositional phrase.
Correct IncorrectMark pushedhis black truck.
Mark pushed his black truck.
Correct IncorrectMary scamperedunder the table.
Mary scampered underthe table.
• Do not break a person's name nor a title from the name with which it is associated.
• Do not break a line after a conjunction.
Correct IncorrectBob and Susan Smytheare at the movies.
Bob and SusanSmythe are at the movies.
Suzy and Professor Barkerare here.
Suzy and ProfessorBarker are here.
Correct IncorrectIn seconds she arrived,and he ordered a drink.
In seconds she arrived, andhe ordered a drink.
• Do not break an auxiliary verb from the word it modifies.
• Never end a sentence and begin a new sentence on the same line unless they are short, related sentences containing one or two words.Correct IncorrectHe suspected that his faceturned pale.
He suspected that his faceturned pale. He knew he
Correct IncorrectMom said I could have goneto the movies.
Mom said I couldhave gone to the movies.
• A description of sound effects, in brackets, should include the source of the sound.
• The source may be omitted if it can be clearly seen onscreen
Sound effects should be captioned if it is necessary to the understanding and/or enjoyment of the media.
• Described sound effects may be combined with onomatopoeia.– The described sound effect should be on
the first line of the caption, separate from the onomatopoeia.
– Both described sound effects and onomatopoeias must be lowercased.
• Offscreen sound effects should be italicized, if italics are available. This includes background music.
• When captioning background music, use descriptions that indicate the mood. Be as objective as possible. Avoid subjective words, such as "delightful," "beautiful," or "melodic." – Offscreen background music
description should be italicized.• If music contains lyrics, caption the lyrics
verbatim. The lyrics should be introduced with the name of the vocalist/vocal group, the title (in brackets). – Caption lyrics with music icons ( ). ♪
Establishing the identity of both onscreen and offscreen speakers is vital for clarity. When names are unknown, be as specific as possible in providing a label.
• When possible, use caption placement to identify an onscreen speaker by placing the caption under the speaker.
• When a speaker cannot be identified by placement and his/her name is known, the speaker's name should be in parentheses. Also, the speaker's name needs to be on a line of its own, separate from the captions.
• When a speaker's name is unknown, identify the speaker using the same information a hearing viewer has (e.g., "female #2," "male narrator").
Spoken language is rich and full of meaning. However, it also consists of oddly formed sentences and even word play. Accuracy, clarity, and readability are challenges for the person creating the transcript. Captions should include auditory information that is not conveyed visually, to ensure full access for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• If clues that denote the emotional state are not shown, indicate the speaker's emotion.
• When a person is whispering, captions as:
• When people are seen talking, but there is no audio, caption as [no audio] or [silence].
Correct Incorrect[angrily]Well, whatever!
Well, whatever!
[whispering]Okay, you go first.
The captioning standards presented are based on research, best practices, and the experience of experts in the field. Following these guidelines will ensure high-quality captions which promote access and learning. However, not all captioning software is capable of creating the preferred captioning formatting. In addition, not all caption file types support all of the preferred formatting.
For example, most captions on Internet videos are positioned in the bottom third of the frame and are both center justified and aligned, instead of the preferred method of having the text positioned appropriately to suit the scene while being left aligned. This is because .srt files, a common caption file type for online videos, do not support caption placement.
When choosing a captioning software and a file format for the captions, it is important to recognize the limitations of each. They can significantly impact the quality and versatility of your captions.
You might also have to changeyour captions if a particularformatting option isn’tavailable.
Quality Does Make a Difference
Questions?
QuestionsIf you have questions please feel free to contact us:[email protected]@dcmp.org
Q&AUpcoming Webinars:
November 5: Implementing Universal Design for Online Learning Accessibility
December 3: How to Implement Accessible Lecture Capture
December 10: Quick Start to Captioning
You can register for our free webinars at: www.3playmedia.com/webinars/
A recording of this webinar will be available for replay
Jason StarkProject [email protected]
Cindy CampStrategic Planning TeamPepnet [email protected]
Lily Bond3Play [email protected]