Low-cost Theatre Captioning

...Or, How to Caption a Performance on Little or No Money

As readers of About.com know, I live in Washington, D.C. We have the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which has captioned performances. That's great, but what about smaller venues, like community colleges or high school performances? How can they make their performances accessible when they don't have the funds for sophisticated captioning equipment and/or services?

Robert Goodwin developed a way to caption performances with simple equipment. All it took was:

• a computer (minimum memory needed is 64 megs RAM) with either an Internet Explorer browser or Opera browser for displaying the captions
• a monitor
• a large television (at least 27 inches)
• video card, plus video and/or RCA plug-in jacks (a TV card may have these). Any video card that can output to a television can be used.
• a wheel mouse for moving text
• someone to act as the "captioner."

For his setup, Goodwin used a Trident 3Dimage 975 video card, also known as a Trident 9750, which had 4 megs of video memory (though you can easily use one with just one or two megs). The video card allows use of either the computer monitor or the TV. If both can be used, that means that a small monitor can be placed near the theatregoer, while the larger TV can be elsewhere in the theatre. Both will display the same thing.

The wheel mouse allows the "captioner" to smoothly move text up without clicking noises. Goodwin used a 25 foot PS/2 cable to extend the mouse to a seat where the "captioner" sat.

The monitor was set up for a 640 x 480 view, with 256 colors or 16 bit color. Goodwin advises exploring the setups on the television which may display overscan, underscan, interlaced, and non-interlaced screen output.

The script should be prepared in advance, on a web page. Optionally, make the font as large as it needs to be. All the spoken words, and noises or sounds made in the background should be in the script. Internet Explorer tends to wrap words. So to keep the unique appearance of Shakespeare's prose, use HTML tags such as the PRE tag, P, and BR tags to control the display.

For example, for lines such as:

As whence the sun 'gins his reflection

Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break,

So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come

Discomfort swells. Mark, king of Scotland, mark:

Goodwin broke them up into:

As whence the sun 'gins

his reflection

Shipwrecking storms and

direful thunders break,

So from that spring whence

comfort seem'd to come

Discomfort swells. Mark,

king of Scotland, mark:

For sounds, examples:

• [gunshot]
• [sound of fighting]
• [sounds of screaming]
• [music is playing]

A black background with white lettering was used. Optionally, include an introductory welcome message like "Welcome to [performance name]!" and "Intermission" where needed. If the play includes Acts and Scenes, note that in the script.

To prepare the text for theater display:

1. In Internet Explorer, select Tools..Internet Options..Advanced.
2. On the Advanced menu, under Browsing, uncheck Use Smooth Scrolling. Close the Internet Options tool.
3. Select View..Text Size..Largest. Adjust the HTML as needed to show the proper sizes.

Optionally, the text can be bold but not too bold. To make the text display properly, maximize Internet Explorer, then tap the F11 key on the keyboard. F11 displays the top of screen header. Auto-hide the top of screen header by mousing over it and right-clicking on the mouse and selecting Auto-Hide. This is to create a full screen view (Opera has a full screen view).

Next comes placement of the equipment, which cannot be on the stage. If it is the type of theatre where the actors use the aisles, find a place outside the aisles. The theatre where Goodwin tested this technique had an unused alcove on one side of the theatre. (Another technique is to use a large monitor above the stage, and a projector to display the words.)

During the performance, the "captioner" uses the mouse to display the web page script, line by line as the actors speak them. Unchecking of Use Smooth Scrolling allows the lines to display more slowly so the theatre goer can read them comfortably.

Your Guide had the privilege of seeing Goodwin's technique during a community college performance of Macbeth. At first it was awkward, but I soon got used to it and enjoyed my first Shakespeare play. At times, other people could be observed looking at the captions even though they were hearing.

Related About.com site: Theater