Some of the questions that people ask frequently about captioning and subtitling that can help you understand the topic more as well as the benefits and importance of subtitles include:

What are subtitles and captions anyway?

Subtitles or closed captions can be defined as the textual equivalent of the audio that has been used in the film. There are companies that work specifically on the subtitle embedding them so that they are easy to read when included in the film.

Why are subtitles or captions included in the films?

There are numerous reasons why this is done including faster comprehension of the entire film. There are some documentaries and films that have storylines that are difficult to follow. It usually helps to have a guide especially if the film is being shown to people who are not experts in the particular field. Captions can be used to show the audience some of the words that they were not familiar with before. A history program or documentary that has a lot of hard works can make use of the subtitles to help make people understand it much better.

In addition to this, it also helps to increase concentration especially to students who are watching something that they need to learn from. It has being proven that people concentrate and find a film interesting if they are able to follow what is going on with ease. Most people will just sleep or switch off the movie if they cannot get what is going on. Subtitles can be used as a guide to help make the film more interesting.

Interactive TV and other similar gadgets that showcase shows or films with the captions are also great for the people who suffer from hearing impairments to follow what is going on.

Who benefits from Subtitles and captions?

Anyone can benefit from these. This is because it helps people to understand a number of snatches and scenes that the might not have understood before.

Hearing impaired people and children also benefit enormously from the subtitles. This is because they enable them to enjoy the films especially if they have issues of poor vocabulary.

Can someone add subtitles to the films on their own?

There are some downloadable and web based tools that can be used to add the captions and subtitles to the films. You can follow guides and tutorials to know how to make use of them. This however us not a simple task as synchronization has to be done in the proper way.

CCSL stands for Combined Continuity Dialogue and spotting List.  It is also called the list. This is a fully working and legal document that are used in film. Some may think that this is a script but it is not. These two documents have very distinct differences.  A script can undergo a lot of changes before a final draft is finally done. These changes can take place at different levels of the production process even during post production.  A script is basically includes dialogue between the actors, their action and movements. It also includes basic descriptions of the scenes to be shot. In most cases the final movie script has very little resemblance to the original shooting script.

On the other hand a Combined Continuity, Dialogue and Spotting List contain all the actual content that are in the film.  It is based on the final product. The list is so precise that it can be used in a court if law in case of discrepancies arising after the production. It contains detailed information about the scenes, shots used, dialogue by the actors in each and every scene. The actors’ dialogues are timed and recorded in the list. It also contains all the locations that the movie was shot in. it makes it so much easier to find any information that one may need regarding the production.

In most cases the CCSL varies from the length of the film. It is generally 4 pages per minute meaning it the whole document can end up to having up to 400 pages.  This opposed to the shooting script which amounts to only 1 minute per page.

Ending a shoot and editing does not mean that that is the end of your dealings with the production.  You have to consider screenings and also distribution. These are done both locally and in foreign countries. CCSL comes in handy during the screening period as it is used to create subtitles. This is necessary especially if the screening is happening in a foreign country that does not understand the language the movie is shot in.

Many films have used the Combined Dialogue, Continuity and Spotting list. More than 2500 major films have used this product. Some of the films that used the CCSL include ‘saw’ and ‘chocolate’.

The CCSL is not limited to local sales only. It is open to selling to other countries. It assures clients of a smooth and hustle free running of their productions.

A good transcript can be used as the basis for different kinds of materials like captioning, subtitling and web extras i.e. out takes or interview transcripts. Trying to transcribe your own work usually seems harder than it appears.  It becomes more complex when things like IDs, TC, music cues and shot descriptions are added.

Raw footage transcription

Raw footage transcription is very popular when it comes to interview footage regardless of whether it is audio or video when you want to find out the person who said what, where and when.

There are very many editors who do not need full verbatim of the raw footage, but it is better to have cuttings and pasting to make a full transcript more easily.  At a later date, you might also want to use the rough transcription to come up with a list of the full dialogue.

Raw footage transcription hints:

• Allow ample time for listening and tying when you decide to do the transcription job on your own.  This might be more that you think is needed.
• Pick the right type of software that will be used for the job. I would recommend inqscribe. It is not advisable to start using voice recognition as it needs too much proofing and it could delay the typing.
• A logging application can be used for entering the raw footage. This could be something like PilotWare. Make sure you pay attention to detail so that it is used in the right way so that you do not have any complications.

There are numerous professionals companies that can help you with the transcription process especially when you are dealing with a lot of hours at a fee of course.

Transcription for distribution and post production

At the release and post production stage, you may be asked to produce details of the shots or the scripts that was used to accompany the project when it goes in for distribution.  The broadcasters and the distributors usually have specific ideas of the formats that are needed.  This can either be simple or complex.

A dialogue list should have word accurate speaker ID’s and dialogue. There are also some that come with time codes. The produced script should be a reflection of the final program.  This normally includes scene breakdowns, act breaks, continuity and descriptions. They also have timing for the acts and scenes.  You can also get custom scripts when looking for something that suits your taste. More on television transcription

Before the advent of professional transcription services, a number of secretaries were often overworked with the added load of transcription tasks they had to take on. In the film industry, this task was often given to project assistants or interns and the end product was usually lacking in quality. There are a number of reasons why film professionals may seek transcription services.

One of the main reasons why transcription services are sort for recorded materials is for documentation purposes. Film recordings such as documentaries or interviews are usually not accompanied by scripts, and it is wise to get these recordings transcribed for future reference. There are a number of news networks which have gotten in trouble, because of the views expressed some of their chows. In such a case, transcripts come in handy when it comes to scrutinizing what was said and the legal implications to the news network.

Movie practitioners are always looking for new ways to create captivating films, and this involves studying the scores of films made in the past. Screen writers in particular, always go through movie scripts to pick up on different story telling techniques which could possibly inspire their future scripts. The only problem is that most films made in the 20s, 50s or 60s did not really come with properly outlined scripts. If the scripts for these films are available, it is often a difficult task to trace them. This is where transcription services come in; it is easier to get the desired films transcribed as opposed to searching for their scripts.

There are also instances when theatrical performances may be required in text formats, for the purpose of recreating the performances into motion pictures. The transcriber may have only audio recordings to work with or video recordings which they are required to convert into text format.

However, the main reason why film professionals seek transcription services is for the purpose of subtitling movies. More than often, the complete movie contains changed lines or add-ons which were not in the original script. This is why transcription services are required to come up with accurate subtitles to accompany the motion picture.

For whatever reason the transcription is needed, it is wise to seek transcription services from professionals. Transcribing movies is not a simple process as compared to transcribing any other recorded material. A number of aspects have to be included in the transcript, and it takes a professional to identify all the elements that are required on the transcript. A number of transcription providers take the short cut and use software programs, which are usually not accurate when it comes to transcription. It is therefore important to go for a reputable transcription provider, especially in the case of subtitles which should be accurately transcribed. More on movie script transcription