Captioning, the whole story

Lissy Lovett – Programme ManagerNITA – Access To Theatre SeminarGrand Opera House, BelfastMonday 21st February 2011

Agenda

• Captioning basics• The captioning process• Photographs• Audiences

CAPTIONING BASICS

What can you make out from this piece of spoken text?

Credit – University of Manchester

What can you make out this time?

Credit – www.makesensedesign.com

Who uses captions?

• Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people who wish to access plays in English– 1 in 7 of population– Wide range of types & severity of hearing loss

• People whose hearing is not as sharp as it used to be– 55% of people over the age of 60 have age-

related hearing loss• Hearing audiences

• 359 people in audience• 17 people booked for captioning

with box office (4% of total audience)

• 103 people returned the card to say that they had found the captions useful (29% of total audience)

• CONCLUSION: Many people using captioning do not request the service

The undeclared audienceNew Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich

What is captioning?

• Preparation– Captions prepared in advance by a trained captioner

• Delivery– Speech appears as text on caption unit(s)– Full text, speaker names, sound effects, music and

offstage noises are shown– Similarities and differences to subtitling and surtitling

• Outcome– Makes theatre accessible to deaf, deafened and hard of

hearing people

THE CAPTIONING PROCESS

The captioning process

Electronic script

Initial formatting

Imported to STAGETEXT

software

First script check

Work with DVD

Checks with company

Refinement of formatting

Second script check

Final formatting

Check queries with company Performance!

Formatting

Final formatted captions

Captioning challenges

• 3,500 to 6,000 lines per script• Spelling & punctuation• Research

– Checking spellings– Foreign languages– Song lyrics

The captioned performance

STAGETEXT captionerat Bristol Old Vic

Photo: Mike Lusmore

Technical information

Unit dimensions: length 1650mm, height 335mm, depth 51mm. weight: 18kg

Good Caption Unit position

• Decide as early as possible (see above!)

• Include everyone - lighting, sound, stage management, box office and front of house.

• Allocate seats accordingly• Check lights, speakers, safety

curtain & sight lines

Caption units should be - • Ideally in the set• As close to the action as

possible• At about actors’ head height

PHOTOGRAPHS

Deafened actor Tim Barlow as Tybalt, prior to the captioned performance of Juliet and Her Romeo, Bristol Old Vic (April 2010). Photo: Mike Lusmore

20

Captioned performance of Les Liaisons Dangereuses

New Vic Theatre Photo: Robert Day

21

Captioned performance of Little WomenSadler’s Wells

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Captioned performance of Aladdin, The Wok ‘n’ Roll PantoNew Wolsey, Ipswich. Photo: Mike Kwasniak

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Transcribed post-show discussion following a

captioned performance of Yellowman

Hampstead Theatre

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Warm-up prior to the captioned performance of Life is a DreamDonmar Warehouse

Photo: Matt Humphrey

Captioned performance of Miss Saigon at the Bristol HippodromeCaptioned performance of Miss Saigon at the Bristol Hippodrome

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Captioned performance of Hansel and Gretel

Northern StagePhoto: Linda Borthwick

Gwion Wyn Jones in Oliver! With kind permission of Cameron Mackintosh Limited. Photo: Simon Annand

AUDIENCES

Start with your existing audience

• Tell your audience about your access!– Send letters/emails to subscribers explaining

captioning– Explain the services in brochures – Include the dates of accessible performances

on all printed materials– Inform all of the box office staff about

accessible performances– Include a pre-show explanation about

captioning on the captioning display – Put an insert about access in programmes– “Bring a friend” performances

Encouraging new audiences

• Discover Theatre days

• Added value – accessible post-show talks

Printed Marketing Materials• Season brochure• Covering letter• Access guide to your venue• Local newspapers & magazines• Hearing loss magazines and

newsletters• Show posters, flyers and postcards• Show programs

– Use logos – but give explanations too!

Live Theatre’s poster campaign

Close up of accessibility box

Websites & Social

Marketing

Examples of social marketing activity

Groups & Associations

• RNID: www.rnid.org.uk  • Hearing Concern LINK:

www.hearingconcernlink.org • National Association of Deafened People (NADP):

www.nadp.org.uk • National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS):

www.ndcs.org.uk• Royal Association for Deaf People (RAD):

www.royaldeaf.org.uk• BDA Sign Community (the British Deaf

Association): www.bda.org.uk

• Spreading knowledge about captioning through word of mouth

• Increased sense of inclusion when audiences know that other people they know will be at the performance

• The Sheffield Caption Support Group.

Social groups & ambassadors

Making captioning work

• Making a commitment• Promoting the show effectively • Making sure it’s All Right On The

Night!– Installing & running technical equipment early– Double checking position of text & caption-user

seats, and audio-description equipment– Customer care for audience members including

awareness training for front of house staff

Feedback from caption users

“This has opened up an entirely new world for me. The

sheer delight in being able to

fully understand a play is difficult to convey to a hearing person”

“ STAGETEXT has enabled me to go to the

theatre with my family once more. ”

“We didn’t talk about the captions. We talked about whether or not the death throes of the performers

were realistic.”

Questions & Answers

Contact details

Lissy LovettProgramme ManagerSTAGETEXT

First Floor, 54 Commercial St, London E1 6LT

www.stagetext.orglissy@stagetext.org

 

Tel: 020 7377 0540Mobile: 07813 139408Textphone: 020 7247 7801

www.twitter.com/STAGETEXTwww.facebook.com/STAGETEXTwww.youtube.com/STAGETEXT

Thank you!