A website devoted to exploring accessibility at the intersection of technology and rhetoric. What began in 2008 as a space to explore accessible podcasting has turned into an ongoing reflection on the rhetoric of closed captioning. I welcome your feedback.
"The main factor that drives captioning quality is what clients are willing to pay for it."
Captioning

“The main factor that drives captioning quality is what clients are willing to pay for it.”

by Sean Zdenek on May 9, 2012 • 5 Comments
An email I received recently from a professional captioner. Posted with permission.
Drunk speech but sober captions: How manner captions do the heavy lifting
Captioning / Manner / Non-Speech

Drunk speech but sober captions: How manner captions do the heavy lifting

by Sean Zdenek on Mar 31, 2012 • 1 Comment
How writing homogenizes speech and how the non-speech manner caption attempts to re-embody speech...
The power of dots and dashes to tell the future
Captioning / Timing

The power of dots and dashes to tell the future

by Sean Zdenek on Mar 6, 2012 • No Comments
Sometimes, punctuation in captions can provide important clues about what's going to happen, regardless of how well or poorly timed the captions are.
Humanizing nameless speakers
Captioning / Speaker IDs

Humanizing nameless speakers

by Sean Zdenek on Feb 24, 2012 • 2 Comments
Speaker IDs can humanize nameless characters...
"That whole thing's your name?" Captioning names in The Fifth Element
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.
“Subtitles I like to ride on”: When medium awareness extends to subtitles
Captioning / Visual Design

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

by Sean Zdenek on Jan 6, 2012 • 6 Comments
Examples of fictional characters breaking through the fourth wall...
Captioned hypnosis
Captioning / Non-Speech

Captioned hypnosis

by Sean Zdenek on Nov 4, 2011 • 9 Comments
Recurring sounds on TV shows allow us to explore questions of consistency and accuracy in closed captioning.
Closed captioners don't caption sounds.
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.
Professional captioners wanted now for interviews! Earn $20 Walmart gift card.
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.
Busy signal or engaged tone? Captions, language variety, and localized accessibility
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...
Captioned silence?
Captioning / Definitions

Captioned silence?

by Sean Zdenek on Aug 4, 2011 • 5 Comments
In some well-defined situations, silence must be captioned.
Genre-defining sounds, even when they lie to us
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.
In a manner of speaking
Captioning / Manner / 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.
Logocentrism: The tendency to privilege speech over non-speech in closed captioning
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 the faintest sounds when they're part of a repetitive series
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?
Captioned puns and wordplay
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.
Captioned irony: How captions manipulate narrative time and viewers' knowledge
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."
Iambic pentameter captions?
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?
[Groan] or Ahh? Series awareness and alternative captions
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?
Sonic allusions and cultural literacy for captioners
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?
The running gag principle: Caption the series, not the episode
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?
Zoom Zoom: Selling caption space
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 101: When music lyrics trigger an explosion, you just might want to caption them.
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.
Stylistic standards for closed captioning and data mining
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.
How many TV commercials are closed captioned?
Captioning / Legal / Stats

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.
Curb: Five sounds that should have been 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.
Captioned thematics: How captions make interpretative patterns visible
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 the backchannel: How captions clarify and equalize sounds
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.
Overcaptioning: Which sounds are significant?
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?
Twilight: Captioning the "gaspiest" movie ever
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?
If movie characters could read closed captions...
Captioning / Speaker IDs / Timing

If movie characters could read closed captions…

by Sean Zdenek on Aug 14, 2009 • 3 Comments
Caption users sometimes know what’s happening before the characters themselves. In this way, captions tell the future.
Whispers and other sounds you were never meant to hear
Captioning / Hearing / Non-Speech

Whispers and other sounds you were never meant to hear

by Sean Zdenek on Aug 11, 2009 • No Comments
An analysis of attempts by fans to make audible the whisper at the end of Lost in Translation.
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Latest entries
"The main factor that drives captioning quality is what clients are willing to pay for it."
Captioning

“The main factor that drives captioning quality is what clients are willing to pay for it.”

by Sean Zdenek on May 9, 2012 • 5 Comments
An email I received recently from a professional captioner. Posted with permission.
Drunk speech but sober captions: How manner captions do the heavy lifting
Captioning / Manner / Non-Speech

Drunk speech but sober captions: How manner captions do the heavy lifting

by Sean Zdenek on Mar 31, 2012 • 1 Comment
How writing homogenizes speech and how the non-speech manner caption attempts to re-embody speech...
The power of dots and dashes to tell the future
Captioning / Timing

The power of dots and dashes to tell the future

by Sean Zdenek on Mar 6, 2012 • No Comments
Sometimes, punctuation in captions can provide important clues about what's going to happen, regardless of how well or poorly timed the captions are.
Humanizing nameless speakers
Captioning / Speaker IDs

Humanizing nameless speakers

by Sean Zdenek on Feb 24, 2012 • 2 Comments
Speaker IDs can humanize nameless characters...
"That whole thing's your name?" Captioning names in The Fifth Element
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.
“Subtitles I like to ride on”: When medium awareness extends to subtitles
Captioning / Visual Design

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

by Sean Zdenek on Jan 6, 2012 • 6 Comments
Examples of fictional characters breaking through the fourth wall...
Captioned hypnosis
Captioning / Non-Speech

Captioned hypnosis

by Sean Zdenek on Nov 4, 2011 • 9 Comments
Recurring sounds on TV shows allow us to explore questions of consistency and accuracy in closed captioning.
Closed captioners don't caption sounds.
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.
Professional captioners wanted now for interviews! Earn $20 Walmart gift card.
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.

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