Module 3: Captioning and Interpreting Technologies
Captioning Devices
Most of us are familiar with the closed-caption options on our televisions. Closed captioning is almost ubiquitous, and is provided in video via an additional track. We'll talk more about captioning in Module 4: Creating More Accessible Materials.
Captions can also be accessed in movie theaters by means of special captioning glasses worn by Deaf and hard-of-hearing users, provided that the film being shown has captions available. The captions are projected onto the glasses and appear to float about 10 feet in front of the user.
Picture-in-Picture Sign Language Interpreting
Video can be designed to include a live image of a Sign Language interpreter performing a live translation of the spoken language in the video. For native signers, or for users whose principal means of communication is Sign Language, a picture-in-picture interpreter has significant advantages over live or edited-in captions. It can be easier than written captions to process simultaneously, and is less dependent on the viewer's fluency in English.
For a few reasons, Sign Language interpretation should usually be backed up by additional closed captions.
- Sign Language is not internationally understood. For example, while English is spoken in the US, UK, and Australia, the Sign Languages used in those countries (ASL, BSL, and Auslan, respectively) are quite different.
- Not all Deaf people use or understand Sign Language.
- P-I-P windows can be small and low-resolution, making them difficult to see clearly.