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.

TV is one of the most popular forms of media. As much as there are many people who might want to dispute this, a majority of people still find themselves drawn to the entertainment box. Radio which was more popular in the previous generation is slowly losing its glory. This is mostly because there are numerous gadgets that can be used to listen to music.

Podcasts for example can be used in place of the radio. This is one of the things that is increasingly gaining popularity in social media. Some of the basics that involve the podcasts include:

About podcasts

This is a combination of the words “broadcast” and “iPod”; podcasts are a kind of digital media that is episodic. Users can download to this media via web syndication when they have subscribed. They take the form of the audio although there are video podcasts where slideshows are used.

In the past, they were only used by the techie demographic but the general public son caught up. Content used in the podcasts usually ranges from culture, sports, music and magic among many others.

Social Media and Podcasts

Podcasts were introduced almost at the same time as social media. Most people understand social media as fancy web 2.0 terminologies that are related to Facebook and Twitter which are a means of opening up communication as well as interactions between organizations and their followers, fans and audience, brands and persons.

The podcasts allow for a wider interaction with people mostly because of the syndication feeds. Feeds permit the users to download the podcasts once they have been released and listen to them using a variety of mediums. This is different from the radio where you have to tune in at a specific time or date.

Most of the time, the people who have produced the podcasts will become the producers and vice versa thus they end up holding conversations with each other. Podcasting calling usually calls for active participation and listening.

Content and Freedom

Podcasts empower both the consumer and the producer. Listeners can choose the time they want to listen to the content.

Anyone with a computer and microphone can participate as it does not have too many restrictions. They have become one of the most unique ways of sharing information/content. Podcasts have broad audience, do not have any restrictions, can be used easily as it does not have difficult applications and is one of the major forms of media which gives people voice to be heard. More on podcast transcription

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

Interview recording can be approached from two perspectives; as an employer who wants to analyze the interview later or as an interviewee who wants to maintain a record of what was said during the interview process.

As an employer the number of interviews conducted in any given period of time can be overwhelming. It may be hard to keep track of candidates interviewed and give each an equal chance to get employment in your organization. An interviewee on the other hand needs a record of what information they provide during television show interviews. There are cases where TV shows have misrepresented information given by an interviewee and a recording comes in handy to dispel false facts. Whether you are an employer or employee seeking to record an interview session for documentation purposes; here are tips to help you through the process.

Creating a check list for the interview is an important task done before the material day. The checklist should include the questions to be asked during the interview session and the list of required recording equipment. Cables, headphones, labeling pens, tapes or discs, sound recorder, batteries and a camera should all be included in the check list. The equipment list is determined by the recording method chosen as well as the recording equipment selected. As an interviewee it is important to ask for the list of interview questions if it is not provided before hand. This will help you to adequately prepare for the interview especially in the case of a TV show.

Get the help of an equipment expert; an expert will operate the equipment proficiently than you would and leave you with the task of concentrating your efforts on the interview. In the case of a TV show they may use their equipment to record the session; you can however request to bring in your own equipment expert to record the interview for your personal archives.

Walk through the interview process with the equipment expert and let them know exactly what you want recorded during the process. Make sure that you insist on the highest audio quality which is an important part of the transcription process. Make sure that they record the sound in a format which can be digitized and compressed.

Last but not least; get the recorded material transcribed. If the show carrying out the interview recorded the session; you can ask for copies of the interview transcripts. However if you carried out the recording personally or through an equipment expert; simply contract the services of a transcription company and have them convert the audio to text for archiving. More on interview transcription