Accessible Rhetoric

Captioning

“That whole thing’s your name?” Captioning names in The Fifth Element

by Sean Zdenek on Jan 13, 2012 • 3 Comments

On the importance of verbatim captioning, especially when names are involved.

Captioning / Visual Design

“Subtitles I like to ride on”: When medium awareness extends to subtitles

by Sean Zdenek on Jan 6, 2012 • 5 Comments

Examples of fictional characters breaking through the fourth wall...

Captioning / Non-Speech

Captioned hypnosis

by Sean Zdenek on Nov 4, 2011 • 8 Comments

Recurring sounds on TV shows allow us to explore questions of consistency and accuracy in closed captioning.

Captioning / Non-Speech

Closed captioners don’t caption sounds.

by Sean Zdenek on Oct 28, 2011 • No Comments

Closed captioners don't caption sounds in isolation. They caption shows.

Captioning

Professional captioners wanted now for interviews! Earn $20 Walmart gift card.

by Sean Zdenek on Sep 17, 2011 • No Comments

Interview participants needed. Must have experience with offline/prerecorded closed captioning. Contact sean.zdenek@ttu.edu for details.

Captioning / Definitions / Non-Speech

Busy signal or engaged tone? Captions, language variety, and localized accessibility

by Sean Zdenek on Sep 16, 2011 • 1 Comment

On the need to consider differences among varieties of English when captioning non-speech sounds...

Captioning / Definitions

Captioned silence?

by Sean Zdenek on Aug 4, 2011 • 5 Comments

In some well-defined situations, silence must be captioned.

Captioning / Music / Visual Design

Genre-defining sounds, even when they lie to us

by Sean Zdenek on Jul 14, 2011 • 3 Comments

Even when music is intended to deceive, it needs to be captioned if it's instrumental to the genre.

Captioning / Non-Speech

In a manner of speaking

by Sean Zdenek on Jul 4, 2011 • 3 Comments

When a character's accent is meaningful or when a scene or line of dialogue hinges on how a character speaks, manner of speech needs to be indicated in the closed captions.

Captioning / Music / Non-Speech

Logocentrism: The tendency to privilege speech over non-speech in closed captioning

by Sean Zdenek on Jul 2, 2011 • 2 Comments

Does logocentric thinking shape closed captioning practices?

Captioning / Non-Speech

Captioning the faintest sounds when they’re part of a repetitive series

by Sean Zdenek on May 1, 2011 • 1 Comment

Does every repetitive sound need to be captioned? What visual cues are sufficient to indicate a repeating sound in the absence of a caption?

Captioning

Captioned puns and wordplay

by Sean Zdenek on Apr 14, 2011 • No Comments

In the case of captioned wordplay, the difference between writing and speaking, text and sound, is obvious.

Captioning / Non-Speech / Speaker IDs

Captioned irony: How captions manipulate narrative time and viewers’ knowledge

by Sean Zdenek on Mar 16, 2011 • 2 Comments

Inspired by the notion of dramatic irony, I offer a definition of "captioned irony."

Captioning / Visual Design

Iambic pentameter captions?

by Sean Zdenek on Feb 27, 2011 • 3 Comments

Should poems and other quoted material be captioned as they were originally written?

Captioning / Humor / Non-Speech

[Groan] or Ahh? Series awareness and alternative captions

by Sean Zdenek on Feb 26, 2011 • 2 Comments

Should a running gag be captioned the same way each time it occurs?

Captioning / Non-Speech

Sonic allusions and cultural literacy for captioners

by Sean Zdenek on Feb 10, 2011 • 2 Comments

How should cultural allusions be closed captioned?

Captioning / Music

The running gag principle: Caption the series, not the episode

by Sean Zdenek on Feb 4, 2011 • 2 Comments

What would closed captions be like if diehard fans were in charge of captioning their favorite shows?

Captioning / Humor / Non-Speech

Zoom Zoom: Selling caption space

by Sean Zdenek on Jan 30, 2011 • 1 Comment

What if closed captions were bought and sold as a form of product placement?

Captioning / Music

Captioning 101: When music lyrics trigger an explosion, you just might want to caption them.

by Sean Zdenek on Jan 22, 2011 • No Comments

When music lyrics are instrumental to a film's plot, they need to be captioned.

Captioning / Data Mining / Non-Speech

Stylistic standards for closed captioning and data mining

by Sean Zdenek on Jan 2, 2011 • No Comments

When speaker IDs, musical lyrics, and sound descriptions have their own distinctive stylistic treatments, they can be extracted from closed caption files and studied as separate units of discourse.

Captioning / Legal / Numbers

How many TV commercials are closed captioned?

by Sean Zdenek on Nov 6, 2010 • 5 Comments

Recently, I conducted an informal survey of two hours of TV in an effort to track which and how many ads were closed captioned.

Captioning / Non-Speech

Curb: Five sounds that should have been captioned

by Sean Zdenek on May 15, 2010 • No Comments

An analysis of five sounds from Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 2) that should have been captioned. Only dialogue is captioned in this season of Curb on DVD.

Captioning / Non-Speech

Captioned thematics: How captions make interpretative patterns visible

by Sean Zdenek on May 2, 2010 • No Comments

Closed captions can help viewers recognize themes and patterns in movies that might otherwise remain latent.

Captioning

Captioning the backchannel: How captions clarify and equalize sounds

by Sean Zdenek on Jan 11, 2010 • 2 Comments

When sounds in the background are captioned, they come forward. All sounds become equally "loud" on the caption track.

Captioning / Non-Speech / Speaker IDs

Overcaptioning: Which sounds are significant?

by Sean Zdenek on Nov 21, 2009 • 8 Comments

Which sounds are significant? How does the captioner choose which sounds to caption? Are some captions unnecessary? Why isn't it possible to caption every sound in the environment?

Captioning / Non-Speech

Twilight: Captioning the “gaspiest” movie ever

by Sean Zdenek on Sep 26, 2009 • 1 Comment

How should gasps, groans, sighs, grunts, scoffs, moans, pants and other assorted "breathy" sounds be captioned? When should they be captioned? What's the difference between them? Why does it matter?