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Captions put a text
version of oral speech and audible sounds on video and film media. This benefits not only the
26 million
deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans, but also the
populations of the learning disabled, those whose primary language is other than English
(English as a Second Language), anyone in a noisy environment, and any situation in which
improvement of reading ability is desired.
Most people have at one time or another seen captions on
television. What most people don’t know is who does the captioning, how it is
done, and the history behind it.
Very few people actually realize that court reporters are the captioners for live broadcasting, and court
reporting is the most efficient method of captioning video and other media. Taking that one step further to the newest
application of Captioning over the Internet, court reporters with their
computerized stenotype machines, specialized software and tremendous skill, are the only
means for providing live captions where speech ranges from 150-250 words per minute, a
normal pace for speaking.
The Americans with
Disabilities Act now mandates that essentially all major television programming
and video production be captioned with a target date of 2006 for compliance. This especially includes all educational videos, films, and Web
resources
*Vykki's
Home Page Court
Reporting Department Home Page
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