Captioning or subtitles are the keys to opening a world of information for persons who are deaf or experience hearing loss. Captions not only display words as the text equivalent of spoken dialogue or narration but also include speaker identification, sound effects and music description. Captions should be synchronised to appear approximately at the same time as audio is delivered and be easily accessible to those who need and want them.
Did you know that around 5% of the global population has some level of hearing loss? Not having closed captions on your media output can reduce your audience’s ability to engage with you. You could be unknowingly neglecting not just a whole audience but also your company values of accessibility and participation.
While automated captions are a cheap solution, they are often of such poor quality they can make it confusing and frustrating for the audience to follow and participate. Have you heard of the term ‘Craptions’? It is easy for someone who doesn’t rely on captions to say, “they aren’t too bad,” or “you can get the message” but the judgement should absolutely come from the person who uses the service.
Take, for example, this trailer for the film Manchester By the Sea. Almost every sentence contains glaring errors, which changes the meaning of the scene. During a very emotional moment, Michelle Williams’ character is captioned saying “my heart was broken I know yes is broken too”, rather than “My heart was broken, I know yours is broken too”. This service, while ticking a box, does not provide access to the information.
What We Can Offer
We will work closely with you to provide 99% accurate captions for your event. Our stenographers write at at least 220 words a minute, which means we will keep up with your content!
We can provide a stenographer at the venue or remotely using a variety of popular streaming platforms. Using the very best technology, we can handle any sized event from one to thousands of viewers. We are not wedded to any one product solution, so can use whichever best suits your needs.
You can have captions appear at the bottom of your stream, have a display where it can be customised to suit your needs – or both! We can output to YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms.
