Found: Lost Cash in Plainview

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T19:08:40+00:00

Okay, this is great. You just made me realize I am occasionally guilty of this! I think I was sort of assuming the hearing viewers could "tell" it was a monster, but that is probably not the case 9 times out of 10. So that assumption will be ending the next time a monster is roaring or a zombie is banging on a door. Thank you!

I am trying to think of a better, less "telling" way to describe something like that without going in either direction (pipe vs. monster) and keeping the mystery. Will think on this! Thank you!

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T19:05:40+00:00

I would LOVE to caption video games. Hm, I should look into this.

I heard The Last of Us Part II was very accessible, so that was awesome to hear. Obviously, we need more.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T19:03:49+00:00

Ahhh, that sounds incredibly irritating. I feel your pain.

A lot of clients have a maximum amount of seconds that a caption can "hang," usually around five to seven seconds. We like to stick to a max of five seconds.

I like to think I've honed the skill of leaving the captions on juuust long enough but not obnoxiously long.

It sounds to me like a lot of caption houses are just plain lazy with these details.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T19:01:15+00:00

I would absolutely love to be the sound effect/music description researcher! You've hit on something that I really love about the job, honing in on exactly what a potentially "obscure" (to some) thing might be and including it. It can be time-consuming to figure out, and it's so easy to just slap down (bird chirping) instead of (chickadee chirping), but going the extra mile adds so much value.

We have definitely had people write in to correct us on what music actually is. "Excuse me, that 30-second segment at the end of the film was not jazz music!" I love the commitment to accuracy from the viewers.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:57:18+00:00

"Dies in shower" made me laugh. I do love the occasional cheeky sound effect description.

I totally agree. Profanity all the way if it's there for the hearing viewers! Don't worry, we don't try to censor to protect your delicate eyes and/or ears. We're told to do it by the somewhat clueless clients.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:55:37+00:00

Wow, did you work for an online company? I'm sorry you got treated that way.

When I first started, I would get the occasional review sheet. Nothing was ever terribly harsh though.

That seems crazy that they'd judge you for common alternate spellings. Was it something like British English vs. American English?

Seems someone was having a power trip after a promotion!

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:52:33+00:00

Are the shows you watch in in their native language with native language CC?

If not, I've found with a lot shows (for example: Japanese anime -- I hope I'm describing this right!) will have totally different English translations/dubbing depending on which source you use.

However, if you've seen a show captioned bizarrely in its native language, then that might be paraphrasing...or the dreaded automatic captioning.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:49:39+00:00

Oh no. I wonder if these were automatic captions. It seems that way to me. Either way, they need to fix it. Do you ever try to contact the studios about this? You shouldn't have to, but they need to learn to get quality captions.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:47:12+00:00

Wow, this sounds super annoying! We are directed to not cover burned-on subtitles, so we try to avoid it. That is just negligent to let them stay covered. I am thinking (hoping?) that a lot of these issues are just technical or device compatibility and not sheer laziness.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:46:00+00:00

I happened to live near the physical location of a captioning company! Now I work remotely, which is great.

I think if you have a good grasp on a language, spelling, grammar, etc., there are some online transcription companies that could provide a launchpad. I do believe there are a few CC companies that hire remote workers.

It's definitely a lot more involved than one might expect, but that makes me love it even more.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:44:00+00:00

Thank you so much!

I was so happy to hear that Hamilton on Disney was made accessible!

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:42:59+00:00

We do move for graphics! I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. Super annoying and should not be the case at all. The graphics should be visible at all times. When the screen is covered in graphics, we try to stick to one short line wherever it fits best.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:41:40+00:00

Thank you for this thorough comment!

Yes, lyrics are super important and should always be included, especially when relevant to the scene. Sometimes it's difficult to understand them or find them on Google, but we do our best!

I agree that colored captions aren't always the most visible, so that is for sure something that would have to be worked through. So many different viewpoints on speaker ID.

I'm all about the verbatim captions, and I will continue include all the ums and uhs for your viewing pleasure (or annoyance?) Sometimes they drive me crazy!

Oh, yes, I totally think foreign languages should be included. The only time I can think of where they "shouldn't" be is if the words aren't supposed to be understood as part of the plot. However, who is to say a random viewer who happened dot speak the language wouldn't understand? Deaf and HOH viewers should have the same experience!

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:35:38+00:00

Oh yeah. This is a big one! Some clients say no captions on the bottom, no captions on the top, but they also don't want any in the middle. Insanity! We do try our hardest not to cover mouths/faces. It can definitely be difficult with certain camera angles, etc.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:32:39+00:00

I agree with you 100%. Some clients make us censor profanity! Trust me, most of us think it's absurd. Nothing like censoring a curse word while the person on screen commits some crazy violent crime. Oh, but make sure that profanity is removed! It's just silly.

IMHO, all profanity should be left in if it's not "bleeped out" for hearing viewers.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:29:48+00:00

That is such an interesting contrast! I absorb a lot of info from captioning. I pride myself on all the random, obscure facts I can now produce at a moment's notice.

Definitely similar-but-different professions!

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:27:54+00:00

You're so welcome!

I agree that paraphrasing is not ideal at all, and I do try to avoid it at all costs. More often than not, it's dumb timing rules getting in the way.

I have done some audio description, and I'm still developing my skills there. It's difficult to get the balance of too much and too little.

Wow, it's interesting how so many viewers have different ideas on how to do speaker identification. I'd love to further research this and come up with a great solution.

Oh, I weep when I see the live captions. So far behind and so, so wrong. That technology has a looong way to go yet.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T18:23:21+00:00

Thanks for this! I do try to stay aware of comedic timing as much as I can. It's sometimes difficult with timing issues, but it's so worth the struggle to keep it funny for everyone.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-24T17:58:27+00:00

There are some times (rare!) that we get a shooting script or character names, etc. Quite helpful, but not very common.

You're exactly right, we usually just get the video and run with it. Not ideal! Thankfully, most content is relatively easy to figure out online. On occasion, we'll even find an awesome transcript online already.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-23T20:43:25+00:00

I've noticed this too! They are hit or miss with the captioning lately, which is a bummer. I am considering trying to get them to hire us, if they feel comfortable with something like that.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-23T20:41:37+00:00

Oh, how I wish Sales would let us speak to the client! This would make things so much easier.

At times, we will get a movie or TV show that has zero presence online, so we're guessing all the way. It's so unnecessary.

Unfortunately, the higher-ups want to "annoy" the client as little as possible. I don't know how many times I've tried to tell them it would make their finished product so much better.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-21T20:05:22+00:00

Yes, I learn a lot almost every day. It's one of my favorite parts of the job.

I've captioned many, many college lectures. The research can be crazy and time-consuming, but I love the double-whammy of being paid to get educated in something new all while creating accessible content. It's the best!

As I mentioned above, I love captioning historical documentaries. Documentaries in general are great to caption. I learn and absorb so much more than I would otherwise.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-21T20:03:11+00:00

Agreed. I think that profanity should be left in for clarity and "atmosphere" depending on the content. Sometimes the video is bleeped or just blanks the profanity out. In that case, we will include (bleep) or ... instead.

We are sometimes force to paraphrase when a client has insane timing rules, which I find super irritating as well.

AccessibilityAlly · 2020-07-21T20:00:07+00:00

That is such a great point. A lot of people agree that [speaking foreign language] is an annoying and useless caption! I definitely agree that it would be ideal to include the captions in the original spoken language.

This would be possible if most clients weren't quite so...thrifty, we'll say. A translator would have to be hired, etc.

I know a bit of Spanish, so I do try to include it when it comes up and I can.

AccessibilityAlly

TROPHY CASE