Closed Captioning

Nixy

Nixy

Elimi-nistrator
Staff member
I have a question about those "Closed Captioning is brought to you by BLAH BLAH BLAH" advertisements...WHY do shows that are like 10 years old, and have been shown probably hundreds of times have new closed captioning sponsors? I'm sure they don't re-do the closed captioning each time an episode is aired...the closed captioning was done once, years ago, and the same closed captioning is used each time it's aired...why do they still have companies funding the closed captioning?
 
I don't have the answer to that, but I can tell you a few other things about closed captioning.

[Cliff Claven Mode On]

The captions can be colored. It's rarely done, but it is possible.

A normal television screen is set at the factory to crop off about five to ten percent of the image from all sides. This is done deliberately for several reasons. One of the reasons is that the closed captions are sent in a data stream in the image that would actually be visible as a thin band of static along the the top of the frame, if the television set were re-adjusted to show the entire image (it's possible through most set's service menu, a special hidden menu that is usually accessible through an arcane combination of unplugging/replugging and remote control button pressing).

Finally (and most people may already know this), the "closed" in closed captioning refers to the captions not being visible unless you want them to be. There is also "open captioning" in which the captions are always visible on any television whether you want them or not (and no, that's not the same as subtitles).

The closed captioning logo (the CC inside a TV screen image) was designed by WGBH.

[Cliff Claven Mode Off]
 
Luis G said:
So they can make more money by offering closed caption space for advertisement.
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Can't they say "This episode of BLAH BLAH BLAH brought to you in part by BLAH BLAH BLAH"?? I mean, they do have to pay royalties everytime they play the episode so that'll atleast make sense.
 
It's feel good stuff. We're supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy because Steve's Body Shop makes it possible for deaf people to enjoy today's episode of Golden Girls. Plus, they may get a break on the cost by "providing a service to the disabled", and for all I know it's got tax implications as well.
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
It's feel good stuff. We're supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy because Steve's Body Shop makes it possible for deaf people to enjoy today's episode of Golden Girls. Plus, they may get a break on the cost by "providing a service to the disabled", and for all I know it's got tax implications as well.
Click to expand...

That's so retarded
 
also, closed captioning is a very high-paying industry... closed captioners make BANK. i honestly wouldn't be surprised if they do re-do it every time. i guess how else could you make it closed? also, when you do it, it's not actually very hard. when i was looking into it for myself, i learned it's done with a stenotype machine and realtime software. if you can do steno, it gets to be a second-nature kind of thing, from what i understand.
i don't know for sure, though.
 
The steno method is used primarly for live broadcasts, and even then only when a script is not available in advance. With the steno method, a stenographer transcribes what is spoken and a computer translates the phonetic stenograph into actual words in real time. This method was developed by the BBC in the 1970s. Since earlier this decade, the whole stenography part has been discarded, with a computer directly translating what it hears into words. But with this computerized method, the voice recognition works best with the one voice it's been trained for, so what usually happens is an operator will re-speak whatever needs to be captioned into a microphone connected to the computer, and this is what becomes the captions.

For pre-recorded broadcasts, either the script or an audio transcription is used to prepare the captioning ahead of time.
 
I just love watching shows with the closed captioning turned on and pointing out all the typos, fuck-ups of your/you're, to/two/too, there/their/they're, etc.
 
ahhh, good to know. it never occured to me, "hey, wouldn't just using the script be pretty easy?" lol, that makes sense... especially since the demand for stenographers -- period -- is going down.
this:
JJR512 said:
Since earlier this decade, the whole stenography part has been discarded, with a computer directly translating what it hears into words.
Click to expand...
is a problem affecting not only closed captioners :(



inky -- i love that too!
 
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