Not all movies are captioned in the same way, and terminology to describe the types of captioning varies. Instantly accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, however. It is rare for first-run movies shown in theaters to be Captions not only display words to indicate spokenĭialogue or narration, but also include sounds, sound effects, speaker identification, music, and otherĪuditory information not conveyed in speech. Into text which is displayed on a screen or monitor. The purveyors of mainstream film, they often must wait for films toīe released on DVD, hopefully with the inclusion of captions orĬaptioning is the process of converting the audio portion of a film, video, CD-ROM, or other production People with a hearing loss are no longer completely disregarded by Large (but, thankfully, diminishing) extent, still exists today. With a hearing loss were faced with an access disparity that, to a Introduction of sound to movies more than eighty years ago, people The movies without regard to anyone's ability to hear. Silent movies once provided an equal opportunity to enjoy going to
Not providing closed captions and audio description is a violation of the ADA. In 2016 the Department of Justice issued a Final Rule on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as it applies to accommodating disabled patrons in movie theaters. The updated ADA regulation now specifies that open or closed captioning are included in the term "auxiliary aids and services." 2016 Department of Justice Ruling The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design states: A public accommodation shall take those steps that may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that taking those steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodation being offered or would result in an undue burden, significant difficulty, or expense. To use audio description at the movies, an individual wears a headset and listens to an audio description track that is synchronized with the movie. Many theaters have description available as part of the digital file used to show a movie. Closed captions in theaters consists of captions that can only be seen by a person with the necessary equipment, typically provided by the theater at no charge.ĭescribed video will be variously termed as audio description (AD), video description (VD), and description (D). In movie theaters, open captions consist of those requiring no manipulation or interaction by the viewing audience the captions are viewable on the screen with no special equipment or adjustment required by the audience. Most people use the terms open captioning (OC) and closed captioning (CC). Not all movies are made accessible in the same way, and terminology to describe the types of captioning varies. It is rare for first-run movies shown in theaters to be instantly accessible to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired, however. Description adds audio information that is essential in understanding characters, scenes and scene changes, passages of time, style, objects, and other aesthetics. Audio description (an additional audio track that narrates a film’s visual elements) is becoming more common for movies released on DVD and streamed online, but is not as common in movie theaters.Ĭaptions not only display words to indicate spoken dialogue or narration, but also include sounds, sound effects, speaker identification, music, and other auditory information not conveyed in speech. People with vision loss encounter their own obstacles when wanting to see a movie. But with the introduction of sound to movies more than eighty years ago, people with a hearing loss were faced with an access disparity that, to a large (but, thankfully, diminishing) extent, still exists today.
Silent movies once provided an equal opportunity to enjoy going to the movies without regard to anyone's ability to hear.
Described and Captioned Movies at Local Theaters