CAPTIONING STANDARDS

A DEFINITION OF CAPTIONING:

Captioning is the process of converting the audio content of a television broadcast, webcast, film, video, CD-ROM, DVD, live event, or other productions into text and displaying the text on a screen or monitor.

Captions not only display words as the textual equivalent of spoken dialogue or narration, but they also include speaker identification, sound effects, and music description.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Welcome to the Standard Style Manualof Closed Captioning

SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION

[GODFATHER]A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.

SOUND EFFECTS

MUSIC DESCRIPTION

MUSIC DESCRIPTION

WHAT IS CAPTIONING?

Captioning is usually displayed on the bottom of a video screenor on a separate screen and in some cases is positioned to show which character is speaking or where the sound is coming from. Coloring may also be used to distinguish between sounds.

Types of captions:

Captions are either selected as desired (closed captions), usually by turning the captions function on or off, or they are included so that they automatically appear on a screen (open captions). You may see the 'CC' symbol for closed captions or the 'OC' symbol for open captions on TV program guides, DVDs and accessible cinema session guides.

OC:

Open captions always are in view and cannot be turned off,whereas closed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer.

Who uses captions?

Captions are particularly useful for people who are deaf or hearing impaired, as well as those who are viewing content in a noisy environment, teaching or training and who are learning English.

QUALITY CAPTIONING

ACCURATE:Errorless transcription is the goal for each production.

CONSISTENT:Uniformity in style and presentation of all captioning featuresis crucial for viewer understanding.

CLEAR:A complete textual representation of the audio, including speaker identificationand non-speech information, provides clarity.

READABLE:Captions are displayed with enough time to be read completely, are in synchronization with the audio, and are not obscured by (nor do they obscure) the visual content.

EQUAL:Equal access requires that the meaning and intention of the material is completely preserved.

A man who doesn't spend timewith his family can never be a real man.

TEXT

Text refers to the appearance and presentation of the letters and words.Text considerations include case, font, line division, and caption placement.

CASE:Mixed case characters are preferred for readability. However, capital letters are used for an individual word or a single phrase to denote emphasis or shouting.

FONT: A font, or typeface, is a set of characters at a certain size, weight, and style. Sometimes font selection is not possible, but often it is. Consistency throughout the media is extremely important.

Characters need to be a medium weight font.

Characters must be sans serif, have a drop or rim shadow, and be proportionally spaced.

The font must include upper- and lowercase letters with descenders that drop below the baseline. Pick a font and spacing technique that does not allow overlap with other characters, ascenders, or descenders.

The use of a translucent box is preferred so that the text will be clearer, especially on light backgrounds.

LINE DIVISION:

LINE-BREAKS:- To ensure both legibility and readability, lines should be broken at logical points. The ideal line-break will happen at punctuation like a full stop, comma or dash. If the break has to be elsewhere in the sentence, avoid splitting the following parts of speech:

Article and noun(e.g. the + table; a + book)

Preposition and following phrase(e.g. on + the table; in + a way; about + his life)

Conjunction and following phrase/clause(e.g. and + those books; but + I went there)

Pronoun and verb(e.g. he + is; they + will come; it + comes)

Parts of a complex verb(e.g. have + eaten; will + have + been + doing)

Good line-breaks are extremely important because they make the process of reading and understanding far easier. However, it is not always possible to produce proper line-breaks as well as well-edited text and proper timing. Where these constraints are mutually exclusive, then well edited text and timing are more important than line-breaks.

If the text will fit on one line, do not rearrange into two lines.One line takes less time to read than two short lines and it causes less disruption to the picture.Similarly, do not rearrange two lines of text on to three lines, unless there is a very bad line-break between lines 1 and 2.

POSITIONING:-

The normally accepted position for subtitles is towards the bottom of the screen, but in obeying this convention it is most important to avoid obscuring on-screen captions, any part of a speakers mouth or any other important activity.Certain special program types carry a lot of information in the lower part of the screen and in such cases topscreen positioning will be a more acceptable standard.

It is preferred that there are no more than two lines per caption.

It is essential to place all captions within reasonable margins.This will avoid the possibility of missing characters at right or left screen or missing descenders/ascenders at bottom or top screen.

For media with one offscreen narrator and no preexisting graphics,captions should be left-aligned at center screen on the bottom two lines.

Single-line captions should be centered on the bottom line.

Captioned dialogue must be placed under the speakeras long it does not interfere with graphics or other preexisting features.

WRONG

When people onscreen speak simultaneously, place the captions underneath the speakers. Do not use other speaker identification techniques, like hyphens.

If this is not possible due to the length of the caption or interference with onscreen graphics, caption each speaker at different timecodes.

If a speaker continuously moves from one onscreen location to another, one placement for captions of that speakers communication must be used. Speaker identification may be added for clarification.(Confusion occurs when captions jump around the screen.)

When a person is thinking or dreaming, place the italicized caption(s) above the speakers head and add a description in brackets, such as the word thinking, above the captioned thoughts.

If text appears on screen which is also being spoken, do not generate a caption.

Example: [spoken] FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 1-800-222-3333. [caption] FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL... [on screen] 1-800-222-3333

ON SCREEN INFORMATION:

When it is necessary to move captions due to on screen information, make sure to give captions a bit more time to ensure that the viewer has a chance to both read the caption and the on screen text.

It is also important to have a consistent flow when moving captions from the bottom to the top of the screen. Try to move captions only at the start of a sentence or at a scene change. Allow the sentence or scene to end before restoring the captions to the bottom of the screen so that the viewer is able to follow.

LANGUAGE

SPELLING AND CAPITALIZATION:

Be consistent in the spelling of words throughout the production, including vocabulary that can be spelled either as one or two words or in hyphenated form.For conventional words, dictionaries, and style guides must be followed.Proper names, technical terms, and specialized language must be verified though specialty references or directly from an authoritative source. Remember that no single reference source can claim to be error free.

Do not use British spellings or punctuation.

Be consistent in the spelling of words throughout the media. This includes vocabulary that can be spelled either as one or two words or in hyphenated form.

Capitalize proper nouns for speaker identification. All other speaker identification should be lowercased unless this identification is being used as a proper noun.

Lowercase sound effects, including both description and onomatopoeia, except when a proper noun is part of the description.

PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR:

GRAMMAR:

Although, it is tempting to correct a speaker's poor use of the English language,it is important to present a captioned programme verbatim or as close to verbatim as possible. Colloquial spellings are never to replace formal spellings for the sake of text space or caption duration.

Example:"YOU KNOW" should not become "Y' KNOW" "GOING TO" should not become "GONNA" "YOU ALL" should not become "Y' ALL" [Do not use such spellings unless they are CLEARLY pronounced that way]

PROFANITY:Do not omit or edit profanity if it is audible. If it has been bleeped out or simply silenced, you must note this in the text. Example: THAT'S [bleep] STUPID! THAT'S F---ING STUPID!or THAT'S F***ING STUPID

PUNCTUATION:It is sometimes necessary to break with the conventions of typical print media in order to ensure the greatest ease of readability.

EXAMPLE: Use a comma when there is a numerical representation of large numbers. Although $1 000 is correct in print, $1,000 is easier to read, especially when surrounded with capital letters.

Although NS is the accepted abbreviation for Nova Scotia, it is easier to read as N.S. when surrounded by capital letters. Unless an acronym is pronounced as a word, like UNICEF or SCUBA, or is a highly recognized acronym like CSC, it is best to insert periods to avoid confusion.

HYPHENS AND DASHES:

A double dash is used to illustrate an abrupt interruption.

Example:

JOHN: You see, I said-- No, that's not right.

JIM: Shut up, you stupid--

JOHN: Who do you think you're talking to?!

ITALICS:

Feature dialogue in Bonus and Commentaries - -In commentaries include italicized. In bonus include italicized.

Voice-overs (speaker not present in the scene) Italicize.

Commentary voice-over do not italicize.

Book, film, album, program titles Italicize, not quotation marksElectronic media italicize if speaker is not in-scene.

Foreign words Italicize unless part of regular usage.

Song Lyrics Italicize (see Song section for exceptions)Emphasis, do not italicize.

Double punctuation:

As above, with a question mark and exclamation mark, may occur when a question is shouted or given excessive emphasis. The question mark would always appear first. You may use double or triple exclamation marks when ridiculous emphasis is needed. This normally occurs in children's programming.

Hyphenated words:

All hyphenated words must remain on one line.Nonessential information that needs special emphasis should be conveyed by double hyphens or a single long dash.When a speaker is interrupted and another speaker finishes the sentence, the interruption should be conveyed by double hyphens or a single long dash.When a speaker stutters, caption what is said.

INAPPROPRIATE APPROPRIATEBook b-b-b-ook

When captioning spelling (including fingerspelling), separate capital letters with hyphens.

Example:A-N-T-I-O-N-E-T-T-E

ELLIPSES:

Use an ellipsis when there is a significant pause within a caption.

Do not use an ellipsis to indicate that the sentence continues into the next caption.

Use an ellipsis to lead into or out of audio relating to an onscreen graphic unless there is a complete sentence in the graphic that is more appropriately introduced by a colon.

QUOTATION MARKS:

Use quotes around titles of newspaper and magazine articles, poems, song titles, a television show's episode title, or to point out a deliberate pun or play on words.

When dealing with a quote whose length spans two or more captions, place quotation marks at the beginning of each caption, except for the caption containing the end of the quote. It should only contain a closing quotation mark.

Always place periods and commas inside quotation marks. Question marks and exclamation marks are also placed inside a closing quotation mark unless they specifically apply to the sentence as a whole.

When a speaker is quoting themselves, as in standard print media, single quotes are used. They are also used to enclose a quotation within a quotation.

In an interview with Bombay Times, Kapoor said, "I got a message from someone telling me about this article, and initially, I was amused. While it doesn't make a difference to me because I know it's not true, it's sad that these false stories go so far that people forget we are human, too. Of course, we are actors and there will be people who would probably want to read something gossipy about us, but when it involves my father, my aunt and my costar, it's taking it too far."

EXAMPLE:

SPACING:

Spaces should not be inserted before ending punctuation, after opening and before closing parentheses and brackets, before and after double hyphens and dashes, or before/between/after the periods of an ellipsis.

Examples:

INAPPROPRIATE APPROPRIATE

( narrator ) (narrator)I am happy . . . thank you. I am happythank you.

PRESENTATION RATE

SPECIFICATIONS AND GUIDELINES

TIMING:

Ideally, captions should appear in sync with the audio. If a person is speaking very quickly, make use of what is called "lead" and "lag" time to ensure that the captions appear for an acceptable length of time. This is the time before and after a person is speaking within the scene.

If there is no lead or lag time available, it may be necessary to edit the text to ensure a comfortable reading rate. It is also important to edit the "in" and "out" time of captions to the exact frame of a scene change unless the dialogue continues over a scene change.

When a caption contains numbers, uncommon names and/or unfamiliar words, extra time should be given when possible.

Wherever possible, try to present a block of captions that are similar in size and duration, and avoid having very long, large captions and small, short captions appear one after the other.

EDITING:

Captioning a show verbatim is the ideal, but people generally speak faster than a comfortable reading rate allows, therefore it is often difficult to offer a show that is truly verbatim. Space and time limitations invariably lead to the reduction of text, therefore very strong language skills are necessary to ensure readability and consistency of text.

EDITING CAPTION TEXT:

Be sure to edit dialogue only when absolutely necessary for a sufficient reading rate.Try to stay as close as possible to the original wording in order to uphold the meaning of the dialogue.

CUTTING TEXT:

CHANGING Text:YOU KNOW, I FELT PRETTY LOUSY, SO, LIKE, I WENT TO BED.

Change To:I FELT LOUSY, SO I WENT TO BED.

CHANGING Text: YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS! Change To: YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!

SOUND EFFECTS:

Any relevant sound effect not immediately obvious from the visual action should be captioned. This includes sound effects that become apparent in the subsequent action, eg the telephone ringing before it is picked up, an explosion occurring outside before everyone dives under the table.

Descriptive statements are normally preferable to onomatopoeic spellings for sound effects. But context and genre (cartoons versus drama, for example) must be taken into consideration.

Sound effect subtitles can also be used judiciously to create the background atmosphere for a scene.

The use of background color (eg white text on a red background) and uppercase text, provide a distinction between sound effect subtitles and speech subtitles.

In general, each sound effect subtitle should be displaced towards the source of sound.Flashing text can be used to direct attention towards particularly important sound effects, but this should be done only if the subtitle is to be displayed for more than three or four seconds.The importance of particular sound effects can best be determined by watching the program without sound.

Place the description of the sound effect as close as possible to the sound source.

Both sound effects and onomatopoeias must be lowercased.

If description is used for offscreen sound effects, it is not necessary to repeat the source of the sound if it is making the same sound a few captions later.FIRST CAPTION LATER CAPTION[pig squealing] [squealing continues]

The description should be on the first line of the sound effect caption, separate from the onomatopoeia.

When describing a sustained sound, use the present participle form of the verb. When describing an abrupt sound, use the third person verb form.

Caption background sound effects only when they are essential to the plot.

Caption the audience response only when it is essential to a better understanding of onscreen or offscreen action.

When possible, use specific rather than vague, general terms to describe sounds.

Never use the past tense when describing sounds. Captions should be synchronized with the sound and are therefore in the present tense.

SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION

It is important to identify who is speaking when it is not obvious to the caption viewer. Example:NARRATOR: This is the home of the polar bear. DR. LAM: Look, a cub.

SPACING: There should never be more than one space used in a caption. It is not necessary to use double spaces after punctuation.

When a speaker cannot be identified by placement and his/her name is unknown, identify the speaker using the same informationa hearing viewer has (e.g., female #1, male narrator).

If a speaker is offscreen and his/her offscreen position is known, place the captions to the far right or left, as close as possible onscreen to the offscreen speakers assumed position.

Do not identify the speaker by name until the speaker is introduced in the audio or by an onscreen graphic.

If there is only one narrator, identify as (male narrator) or (female narrator)at the beginning of the media. It is not necessary to identify gender for each caption thereafter.

When an actor is portraying another person or character,identify the actor as the person being portrayed.

Example:

(as George Washington)If the freedom of speech is taken away.

SYNCHRONIZATION:

Captions should closely match the original audio. Maintaining the textual unity with picture and sound ensures clarity, and can be especially important to hard of hearing viewers.

Borrowing 15 frames before and after the audio occurs is hardly noticeable to the viewer. This borrowing technique can be used occasionallywhen presentation rate is a factor.

Do not simultaneously caption different speakers if they are not speaking at the same time.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Spoken language is rich and full of meaning.However, it also consists of oddly formed sentences and even word play. Accuracy, clarity, and readability are challenges for the captioning editor.

Intonation, Play on Words, and No Audio:

If the speaker is not visible onscreen, or visual clues that denote the emotional state are not shown, indicate the speakers emotion.

Example:

INAPPROPRIATE APPROPRIATEWell, whatever! [angrily] Well, whatever!

When a person is whispering, captions as:

[whispering]Okay, you go first.

When feasible, describe puns.

Example:Why do they call her Ouisy?Wheezy+

When people are seen talking, but there is no audio,caption as [no audio] or [silence].

Foreign Language, Dialect, Slang, and Phonetics:

If possible, caption the actual foreign words. If it is not possible to caption the words, use a description

(e.g., [speaking French]). Never translate into English.

If possible, use accent marks, diacritical marks, and other indicators.Indicate regional accent at the beginning of the first caption.

Example:

[very thick Russian accent]I GO FOR WALK NOW.

[over the top Italian accent]WE-A GO FOR PIZZA LATER, EH?

Keep the flavor of dialect.

Keep the flavor of the speakers language when necessaryto portray a characters personality.

This includes captioning profanity and slang.

When a word is spoken phonetically, caption it the way it is commonly written.

MUSIC:

Instrumental music is indicated by a caption containing two music notes separated by a space positioned at the bottom left of the screen.

Example When possible, use a descriptive caption to indicate the style of music, song title and artist.

Example [bluesy jazz] ["Superman" by R.E.M.]

Lyrics must be written out for songs. In the event that they are unclear or in another language, use a descriptive caption to indicate that to the viewer.

Example

[singing in Italian] [very fast rap, words unclear]

Musical notes are placed at the beginning and end of each caption followed and preceded by a space. The entire caption is italicized.The caption itself is to be placed at the bottom centre of the screen, should not include periods, and use of commas, question and exclamation marks are used only when it is necessary for clarity.Try to follow the phrasing of the lyric whenever possible.

Example

Caption No.1:

Hey Jude

Caption No.2: Don't be afraid

Caption No.3: Take a sad song And make it better.

NUMBERS:

Experts dont always agree on rules for writing numbers or numerals. Captioning editor should follow a standard style manual, remembering to be consistent, or use this relatively detailed overview.

APPENDICIES

SPELLING OUT:

Unless otherwise specified below, spell out all numbers from one to nine, but use numerals for all numbers over nine.

EXAMPLES:

INAPPROPRIATE:The fifty-four DVDs need to be shelved.Hes at the thirty, the twenty, and scores!

APPROPRIATE:The 54 DVDs need to be shelved.Hes at the 30, the 20, and scores!

EXAMPLES:

Spell out any number that begins a sentence as well as any related numbers.

INAPPROPRIATE200 guests and eleven guides entered.

APPROPRIATETwo hundred guests and eleven guides entered.

Spell out casual, nonemphatic numbers.

INAPPROPRIATE:He gave me 100s of reasons.

APPROPRIATE:He gave me hundreds of reasons.

Numerals with four digits can either have a comma or not.Be consistent throughout the media production.For numerals having over five digits, a comma is necessary.

INAPPROPRIATE:50000.

APPROPRIATE:50,000

Use numerals in a listing of numbers if one or more is above ten and these occur in one caption or one sentence.

INAPPROPRIATE:Steven has 21 books,11 oranges, and three cats.

APPROPRIATE:Steven has 21 books, 11 oranges, and 3 cats.

Use numerals when referring to technical and athletic terms.

INAPPROPRIATEHe scored three goals in todays game!

APPROPRIATE:He scored 3 goals in todays game!

When indicating sequence, capitalize the noun and use numerals. Exceptions are the indication of line, note, page, paragraph, size, step, or verse.

Examples:

Building 2, Channel 5, Chapter III,Room 438, page 31, size 12, step 3

We should not see inconsistency in a file.

A number is spelled out if it is the first word in a sentence.

Exception:Units of measurement.

Example:2 teaspoons is all it takes.

When a single sentence has more than two numbers, override the general numbers rule and either spell out all, or use numerals for all numbers. Do not mix them in the same sentence.

Example:

He did 2 years in prison and did 2 more after that.OR He did two years in prison and did two more after that.

Incorrect:

He did 2 years in prison and did two more after that.

When writing fractions, dont mix your numerals with words. Example:

INCORRECT:2 and a half years

CORRECT:2 years

For common fractions, use the single character fraction that can be copied and pasted from the captioning key.

Example:

1 years.

DATES:

Use the numeral plus the lowercase th, st, or nd when a day of the month is mentioned by itself (no month is referred to).

Example:

CAPTIONED AS: Bob went fishing on the 9th.

ORIGINAL NARRATION: ninth

When the day precedes the month, use the numeral plus the lowercaseth, st, or nd if the ending is spoken.

Example:

CAPTIONED AS: ORIGINAL NARRATION:My birthday is the 17th of June. seventeenth

Use the numeral alone when the day follows the month.

Example:

CAPTIONED AS:I will meet you on May 9.

ORIGINAL NARRATION:nine or ninth

When the month, day, and year are spoken, use the numeral alone for the day, even if an ending (th, st, or nd) is spoken.

Example:

CAPTIONED AS:Paul will marry on July 6, 1996.

ORIGINAL NARRATION:six or sixth

TIME:Indicate time of day with numerals only.

Examples:

I awoke at 5:17.

If you wish to attend, you must arrive by 6:25 p.m.

We were expected to report no later than 1400 hours.

I awoke at 4 oclock.

Always use numerals when the abbreviation a.m. or p.m. is present. Double zeros are not necessary to indicate minutes of the hour when a whole number is used with a.m. or p.m.

Examples:

She leaves at 3:20 p.m. for the airport.

Our hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Were leaving at 6 in the morning.

PERIODS OF TIME:

A decade should be captionedas the 1980s (not the 1980s) and the 50s (not the 50s).

If a decade or century is in noun form, do not use hyphens.

Example:

This vase is from the 17th century.

If a period of time is used as an adjective, use a hyphen.

Example:

This 19th-century painting was done by Van Gogh.

FRACTIONS:

Either spell out or use numerals for fractions, keeping this rule consistent throughout the media. If using numerals, insert a space between a whole number and its fraction.

Example:

NUMERAL USED

Do you plan to eat 1 pizzas?

FRACTION SPELLED OUT:

Do you plan to eat one and one-half pizzas?

Do not mix numerals and spelled-out words within the same sentence.

Example:

INAPPROPRIATE:Malika is 13 and a half years old.

APPROPRIATE:Malika is 13 years old.

If a fraction is used with million, billion, trillion, etc.,spell out the fraction.

Example:

The population was over one-half million.

Fractions expressed in figures should not be followed by endings,such as sts, rds, nds, or ths.

Example:

INAPPROPRIATE:3/10ths

APPROPRIATE:3/10

PERCENTAGES:

Use numerals and the percent sign to indicate all percentages except at the beginning of a sentence.

Examples:

MIDDLE OF SENTENCE:Only 6% of the votes were counted.

BEGINNING OF SENTENCE:Fifty-one percent of the people voted yes.

DOLLAR AMOUNTS:

Use the numeral plus cents or for amounts under one dollar.

Examples:

I need 15 cents. I owe you 32.

Use the dollar sign plus the numeral for dollar amounts under one million. For whole-dollar amounts of one million and greater, spell out million, billion, etc.

Examples:

John brought only $11.

Bob brought $6.12.

The budget of $13,000 will be sufficient.

Taxes will be reduced by a total of $13 million.

He owes $13,656,000.

Use the word dollar only once for a range up to ten.

Example:

I hope to find three or four dollars.

Use the dollar sign and numerals when captioning a range of currency over ten dollars.

Example:

Alice expected a raise of $6,000 to $7,000.

MEASUREMENTS:

Spell out units of measurement, such as inches, feet, yards, miles, ounces, pounds, and tablespoons. However, if spoken in shortened form, symbols should be used.

Example:

If the original narration is Im five eight, it should be captioned as: Im 5'8".

For whole numbers, use numerals.

Example:

3 cups of sugar instead of three cups of sugar.

THE END