Closed Captioning For_Supernatural_Brought To You By…
The last scene I want to talk about is the scene earlier in the episode where Sam calls Cass’ cellphone and tries to leave a voicemail message. For a hearing audience, it’s simple enough: Sam calls, he listens to an automated message, listens to Castiel’s response, hears some keys beeping, hears the beep to leave the message, then starts to leave his actual message. But for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing , all of this has to be expressed in some way because all of the action happens off screen, heard through a cellphone. This is what you see:
The dialogue is actually pretty simple. There’s only three sentences before Sam starts to speak. But here’s where things get a bit more complicated. First off, you have a recorded message over a cellphone. Within this recorded message, you have a woman talking, a beep, Castiel talking, and keys beeping, which is different than the first beep. Then you have another beep that is not actually part of the recorded message. It’s just an alert to leave your message. Then Sam talks. Whew! All of that has to be expressed in the captions to fully understand what’s happening in the scene and to fully understand the joke!
So, what you need to do is identify the female speaker, have a sound effect for the first beep, identify Castiel when he speaks, describe the keys beeping, have a sound effect for the alert beep, and then have Sam start talking. How do you achieve all this? Here’s what it looks like on screen:
The WOMAN: I.D. shows who is speaking the line. The lower-case text shows that the line is being spoken via cellphone. The italics show that it’s part of a recorded message. Then you have the beep in italics, and an I.D. for Castiel when he starts talking. His lower-case and italicized text shows the same thing, that it’s via cellphone and in a recorded message. Then you have the description of the keys beeping, still in italics as part of the recorded message. Then notice that the last beep, the alert beep, is not italicized to indicate that it is not part of the recorded message. But since it’s still through the cellphone, it’s still lower case. And finally, Sam starts talking on screen, so his text is all upper case.
As you can see, a lot of thought goes into how best to express even short scenes like this. These are the kind of things I have to think about all the time while captioning an episode. It really makes you watch TV differently! If you have questions about captioning or want more information about it, check out my company’s website at http://www.vitac.com/, or ask me in the comments section. I’ll do my best to answer!
So there you have it: a glimpse behind-the-scenes of captioning an episode of Supernatural. My job is really cool in general because I get paid to watch TV all day. I know plenty of people who do that for free! But days when I get to work on one of my favorite shows are extra special. And Thursday night when I sit down on my couch to watch the episode, I turn on the captions and say to myself, “I did that. That’s my work up there.” For the episodes I’ve captioned, I get to say that I was part of the team that made Supernatural possible. I helped bring that episode to your TV, small though my part may be. And that truly is an amazing feeling.
WOW! I never even thought about how much WORK is involved! I will certainly be “watching” from a different perspective from now on. Thanks for this insight, and, keep up the good work. Its appreciated! Diane
Hi Ardeospina.
Wow. This is what you do? That is so cool! And a really clever way of introduction to this show, not many have a story like this 😀
I’ve often thought about the susbtitling/captioning process, and of how it’s made… And how cool it would be to do that. I’ve wathced a lot of movies and TV so it has fascinated me a long time. And frustrated since sometimes the subtitling just drives me nuts when they ‘get it wrong’ (as if I could do it better lol), esp. finnish subtitling of SPN, that’s sometimes so bad I cringe…and then watch it with English subtitles (or captions depends on my DVD’s).
I always figured that it must be very detailed and precise work. Plus you get to watch something fun and get paid to do it! Allthough I bet sometimes you get to watch something not-so-awesome, but if you love what you do, then every task is a dream. And it does sound like a very likable job 🙂
How does the eppie selection go? They give you episodes of certain shows? You don’t have like one show that you caption? Do you do just eppies, or movies, documentaries, news etc.? How long does it take to caption an episode? Do you do subtitling too or is it just captioning? I have to check out that website 🙂
This was a really interesting read so thank you!
And thanks also to your company and the WB for letting you share 😀
Hi Ardeospina
What a fantastic job. If only I could type half decently.
This was really interesting. I also wondered how this was done.
Seeing the preparation it takes, I can’t even imagine doing the live captioning.
That must be brutal.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Ardeospina, Awesome article!!!
I’m a court reporter, for four years now, ’tis a second career too, and while I do write in real time, I have not tested nor am I proficient enough to write real time for display or immediate release. I mostly do depositions for lawyers and public hearings etc.
I did do some captioning for a group that sent me their audio files and it was for hearing impaired folks mainly and was all via the computer but no where near as complex because it was all audio synchronization.
Very awesome for you to be able to share your work with us and give us the ‘behind the scenes’ look. The next time your episodes are showing on TV, I’ll be sure to turn my captioning on and watch either Sympathy or Children or Curious Case or 99 Problems. I understand some of what you have to do.
Thanks for writing and no that my fingers are out there burning up the keys right along with you.
🙂
Ardeospina Thanks,
What a great article, especially for sad `geeks` like me who are fascinated by these sort of details and in knowing how things work or are made!
You have a wonderful job there, I can imagine it being very challenging too, such attention to detail and nuances often overlooked by the viewer and I would guess it`s not always as much fun when captioning other series!
Thanks for explaining how all of that is done! I’ve always wondered about it. You do have a neat job!
This was very cool and though one assumes captioning isn’t merely punching up a computer program and letting a machine do all the work, there’s definitely an art to what you’re doing, matching everything up, making the text flow with the scene, with the cuts, a mixed media ballet.
We’ve all seen a crappy captioning job here and there, so the work you put in most appreciated. We’re still jealous that you get paid to watch SPN, work or not. 😀
That’s really interesting!
I never thought of it like, like that complex,
And you get paid for to watch supernatural?, thats really cool. 🙂
Can I ask you a question?
How many time before a Supernatural episode airs on tv, do you watch it and do the close caption.
Thanks for your kind words, everyone! I do have a pretty cool job, don’t I? I’m a lucky gal!
Diane(UK), it is a lot of work, but in a good way. And it’s never dull!
Supernarttu, cool that you watch captioning sometimes! I know that errors are made sometimes, but I also know that in the US at least, a lot of the crazy errors that happen occur when the caption file gets put on the air. There is something weird in the technology that makes strange things happen, so when there’s weird formatting errors, chances are it’s because of transfer problems not actual problems with the captioning. I don’t know the process in Finland, though!
As for your questions, I’m sorry to say I can’t answer them in detail. What I can say is I personally work in the offline department, which is taped shows, so anything that you would see on TV that is not a live broadcast, I might caption that. As for how long it takes me, it depends on how long the show is and how involved it is. And my company does some subtitling work, but I personally do not.
Karen, thanks! I have become a much better typist in my time as a captioner, I can tell you. And yes, the people who do the realtime captioning are very talented. I definitely could not do their job!
Elle2, that’s totally awesome that you’re a court reporter! We’re speed typists together! I think that would be a hard job, actually, but a cool one. Unless the court cases are boring. Are they boring or fun?
Julie, it’s not sad to be a geek or to know how things work! I say that as a card-carrying geek!
Dany, I do not want to trade jobs, thanks very much! Nice try, sneaky. I once saw a movie in Poland that was dubbed in Polish with one man reading all the parts, male and female, and it was horrible, so I can imagine that dubbing is really distracting. Subtitles are way better for that.
BagginsDVM, you’re welcome!
Randal, it is more artistic than one realizes, really. Of course there are a lot of set rules we follow, but others are more lenient so that we can make a program flow better, like you say.
Maguie, it is really cool to get paid to watch SPN. I’ll never get tired of saying that! As for your question, you certainly are allowed to ask, but I am not allowed to answer!
😉
And bonus points to anyone who can name the SPN episode that was set in the same Pennsylvania city where my office is: Canonsburg, PA.
Thanks so much for sharing this!!! I’ve watched with the CC on a fair few times, its a lifesaver in a noisy environment or when the sound is fritzing, and thought it was really well done and accurate, but I had no idea how much thought and effort goes into the captioning. This is so cool!
Oh hell, that’s easy, Pittsburgh: “the night is mine!”
Ardeospina,
My job is pretty cool. I got to do a double-murder trial once, even cooler, it was sent to me electronically and I got to watch the trial via video and produce the transcript from that.
Lots of times it’s hit and run, slips and falls, sometimes it’s cool things like corporate stuff (although that can be really boring sometimes, is a page a piece of paper or is it two sides or what…) then there’s marital stuff and an occasional push and shove. I also get to do public hearings (which are very hard) and technical or expert trial testimony which can be fascinating but also quite tricky. Usually I get a report or the exhibits to pore through to get spellings and such and I often spend quite a bit of time on the internet looking things up and learning about geology to erosion to medical tests to how to make a product.
I often meet really cool people when I do things like patent or trademark infringements and I learned a whole lot recently about the Beatles and Liverpool, England which for a non-Beatle fan (just ’cause I’m a little young for that –only a little) it was pretty interesting stuff.
So all in all, it’s pretty cool. There are of course the whiney ones that I wish to just say hey, chill. But in the end it’s so much better than my former management career which was all whine almost all the time.
And hey, most of the time I’m working in t-shirt and jeans sipping coffee with no shoes on. Course, when the kitty runs across the keyboard….
Wow, great article! I used to use the close captioning a lot (in our old house, my TV was against the (thin) wall between my room and my parents room which meant low, low, low volume) but I never really considered what goes into it. This sounds like such a cool job! How did you get into captioning?
Thank you for the behind the scenes look! It was great!
How interesting! What a fascinating job you have. And you get PAID to watch the show. How lucky are you! 🙂
Never realized how much work goes into CC. Thanks for sharing!
Ardeospina, thanks so much for this insight into your work – great stuff, really! A friend of mine worked in TV lending his voice in dubbing, and he once told me how much work goes into it (not our show, unfortunately), and close captioning is an art.
It’s great that your boss allowed you to share this with us. I love the behind-the-scenes stuff. It also takes a bit of the ‘putting on a pedestal’ away, as this is also a business, apart from the fun we have watching the show, with normal people working there, and it is a huge group effort.
I’m always amazed at how many people are involved. And even with so many cooks, we get such a fine meal…
Thanks! Jas
Sorry I’m so behind in answering, friendly commenters, but I am so behind! Stupid weekend power outage. Ugh.
Anyway, Leslie, that’s so cool that you watch with the captions on. I know things get wonky sometimes during the transfer from out files to the actual airing, so hopefully things look okay! We definitely put a lot of work into making the show look good, so I’m glad it’s appreciated.
ElenaM, thank you! Captions really are a lifesaver when watching in a noisy room.
On the nose, Randal!
Elle2, it sounds like you really do get some interesting cases. But like you said, there must be some that are just so stupid. People in the US are so litigious. It drives me crazy sometimes. And working in a t-shirt and jeans is great, isn’t it? I also have a very relaxed dress code, which is awesome.
Elle, I got into captioning because I saw an ad in one of the online versions of a Pittsburgh newspaper, so I applied, went for the interview, and there you go. I just got lucky, really. But for the online captioners, there’s a whole different process, and they have a really detailed description at my company’s website, if you want to check it out further.
Sablegreen, yep, it is pretty fascinating. It’s never dull or boring, that’s for sure. And I sure have learned a lot of trivia by watching all this TV!
Jasminka, you’re welcome! Voice dubbing sounds like it would be a really cool job, too. I would totally do that if I had the voice for it. And it is amazing just how many people it takes to get a TV show to air, people you wouldn’t even think about unless you knew about them, like we captioners! And like I said in the article, it’s pretty amazing to be a part of it, even though it’s a small part.
Ardeospina, great article! I’m currently in school for captioning, so when I saw closed captioning I had to read the article.
I’m glad that you typed it up because so many people don’t understand how much work it takes behind-the-scenes, and I love that this fandom is interested in pretty much every aspect of this show, right down to the captions.
My current class assignment is to analyze the captioning styles of a TV show we like, and of course I picked SPN. 😉
How do you like captioning? I’m currently wavering between captioning and CART as a career.
As a hearning impaired person who cannot watch tv with closed captioning, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now if there was someway to do this to movies in the theaters I would be happy. Thank you for your hard work.
Above statement should read without closed caption.. Sorry
Aerdospina, this was so interesting, thank you for sharing! Love to learn about anything behind-the-scenes.
The CC has helped me a lot to understand everyone in the show, when I was watching it in the US. At home I use the English subtitling on my DVDs. When watching the show online it’s harder, since there are neither CC nor subtitling, and here’s where the detailed episode guides from SPN-fansites come in. But I also have to say, that SPN has immensely enriched my English vocabulary 🙂
Thanks again for writing this!
Lara
Maekyll, thanks! That’s really cool that you are in school for captioning! And many people don’t realize just how much goes into it, so it was my pleasure to be able to enlighten the readers. What a great choice for your assignment! It’s always fun when schoolwork can be about something you really love. I really like captioning myself. But I don’t know what CART is, so I can’t compare it! What is CART?
PKE, you’re very welcome! I don’t usually get any feedback from viewers who use the closed captioning, so it’s great to hear from someone who does. That makes it even more worthwhile for me, to know that my work does help people.
Freebird, I never thought about using captions to learn English or help learn English, but that’s a great idea! And isn’t behind-the-scenes stuff fun? I sure love it, so it was awesome to be able to share some for once.
Does anyone know where you can watch Supernatural online with closed captions? We need closed captions and missed it on tv last week, but CW does not offer closed captions online.
Ardeospina – is it possible for your company to add captions to the online videos, or work something out with the CW?
Jaclyn, I have no idea where you can watch online with closed captioning. Adding captions to online videos is something my company does not do at this time, unfortunately, and I have no idea if the CW would be open to adding them into their online streaming or not.
Which episode did you miss? Was it “The Devil You Know” or “Hammer of the Gods?” You might be able to find a transcript online somewhere, but that won’t air alongside the episode. If you can’t find one online, let me know and perhaps I can write up a transcript of the episode for you and Alice can publish it here, if she wouldn’t mind. It still won’t be the same as captions, but it may be better than nothing!
Ardeospina,
Sorry for not specifying! Depending on who you ask, CART stands for “Communication Access Realtime Transcription” or “Computer-Assisted Real-Time”. Basically, you provide a transcription for a deaf or hard-of-hearing client (like a student going through school or captioning meetings for a businessperson). You can do it remotely if you want but mostly you follow your client to wherever they need you to be.
Right now I’m taking a class called “Alternate Careers” that compares court reporting, captioning, and CART so maybe I’ll be able to make up my mind. 😉
I just noticed PKE’s comment…some movie theaters do offer captioning services. Search for “open captioned movies” or something similar in Google and see if there’s a theater near you that offers this.
Example: http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/opencaptionedshowtimes.aspx
Maekyll, that’s okay! You’re probably so used to using that acronym by now that you don’t even realize other people don’t know what it is! And it sounds pretty cool, actually, and really hard. I don’t think I would be able to do that real-time stuff. I think I would miss too much stuff. And good luck making up your mind! Not an easy choice, it sounds like.
Thanks. The episode we missed was “The Devil You Know”. Hulu has open captioned videos for some shows, but unfortunately not for Supernatural :cry::.
I did some searching though and I did find subtitles for the videos that we are able to download and watch with them.