Closed Captioning Blog

One of the number-one questions I get from prospective clients or even friends is the question: What is the difference between roll-up captioning, pop-on captioning, and subtitling?  Also, people often think that captioning is the same thing as subtitling, which it isn't. To take this question even further, I will explain in what cases each one is ideally used.*  Captioning VS. Subtitling Captioning was created so deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers ...

Since Blu-ray is now accepted (for the most part) as the new HD disc format standard, many questions have come up about closed-captioning and subtitling for Blu-ray Disc (also referred to as BD). First off, to get the record straight, Blu-ray does not support closed captioning.  This is for a very logical reason: Subtitles can be turned on and off through the disc's menu (just like an SD DVD), ...

I want to explore what method of translating a film is better.  There are two main ways to translate a film: dubbing or subtitling.  Dubbing is when the actor's original voice is replaced by another actor's voice in the audience's language.  Subtitling is translated text on the screen in the language of the audience. I grew up in Southern California, the heart of Hollywood. I was accustomed to watching ...

It's an Art. A first-rate translation requires the know-how that cannot be rated by a translation program or a computer-assisted translation tool.  Accuracy is not the only point of measurement. It's about immersing in another culture and offering words that wholly speak to the viewer. What's fascinating about audio-visual translation is the creative authority the translator has.  You must adapt the original dialogue to another culture through language.  The translation ...

Many companies in need of translation usually do not understand what they need.  Given this ignorance, they may come up with the idea of getting translations done automatically by a computer software.  Once this is tried and tested for the first time, it is usually the last time, because the translation does not serve its original purpose: to communicate effectively with its target audience. Consider the following before you ...

No peer pressure, but producers and broadcasters alike are seeing the importance of Spanish captioning to reach a broader audience. Why all the hype? Think of the statistics in the U.S.:  Spanish is the second most common language in the United States after English, and the Spanish-speaking community in the U.S. is growing each year.  As of 2007, according to the United States Census Bureau, Spanish is the primary language ...

I usually don’t write about specific projects we work on, but the “Hearing Everett” project was particularly moving.  One of the most unique aspects about the film for me, working for closed-captioning company, is that the film illustrates a family helping the deaf in Mexico.  Throughout the closed captioning and the subtitling of the project we worked through five different phases: transcription, caption editing, translation, subtitle editing, and ...

Rancho Santa Margarita, California, USA November 24, 2008 – After months of renovation, planning, and investment, Aberdeen Captioning, Inc. has completely revamped their multi-language subtitling department with the latest technologies in video, delivering multi-language subtitle files directly to DVD and Blu-ray authoring systems, and even to NLE systems.  They have implemented new subtitling software with the latest technological advances in the industry and have expanded their multi-national database ...

This passed week, I felt how important time code was when authoring captions and subtitles to DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring systems.  Consistency is the name of the game.  As a producer, editor, DVD authoring person, et cetera, you must be sure that the video your captioning company receives from the onset of the project, has the final time code. Ask yourself some questions: Is the first frame of ...

Subtitles differ from closed captions by the way they are presented on the screen. Words appear in upper and lower case letters and can appear in various colors and fonts. Subtitles may be in English or any other language. On tape, subtitles are burned into the video and appear at all times. On a DVD, subtitles are able to be turned on or off through the DVD menu. Translated ...