WHY CAPTIONED MEDIA?
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
Screen title,
Educational Resources Presents: Why Captioned Media?
This video is in American Sign
Language and includes the accessibility features of open captions and described
video. A male in his early 20’s sits in
an empty classroom looking at a PDA. He wears a grey
BUD / NARRATOR: (ASL with
English Voiceover / Narrator)
Better? Let me start again. My name is Bud and I’m an Architect student
at the Casa Loma Campus. And I’m Deaf. I bet that was a bit frustrating at the
beginning with no sound or no captions, eh? That’s what it feels like when I’m
in a class and a professor shows a film with no captions. This is a barrier
that many Deaf students face at George Brown.
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He gets up and walks towards the
door.
BUD / NARRATOR:
True, I have a
sign language interpreter in the class, but when I’m watching a film and the
interpreter is signing it, my eyes can’t take in both the interpreter and the
film! And it’s like watching a film where all the actors are speaking in the
same voice with no pause between lines!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He leaves.
BUD
/ NARRATOR:
It’s the
captions on the screen that bring it together!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He walks down
the hall.
BUD
/ NARRATOR:
Here at George
Brown, showing films with captions is policy – Captioned Media Policy. And it’s
your responsibility as a professor to ensure the accommodations that I need as
a Deaf student happen. Captions help me to access my education - and if you
didn’t know, it’s good for Deaf and hearing students!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He stops in
front of a classroom.
BUD / NARRATOR:
This is one of
my classrooms. It’s big! Sometimes some
of the students sit at the back of the room and chat while the class is going
on. The chatter doesn’t bother me - I’m Deaf! But my hearing friends tell me it
can get a bit noisy. They want to learn what the professor is teaching but
can’t always hear. Recently my professor showed a film and BOOM! Captions!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He walks.
BUD
/ NARRATOR:
My hearing
friend was like... this is GREAT! I can SEE what it’s about! It doesn’t matter
about the chatter! I said DUDE – where do you think captions are used the most
in
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
The computer
room.
BUD / NARRATOR:
I have hearing friends at George Brown from all over the
world! Some of whom have English as a
second language. They tell me the captioning helps them to understand what’s
going on, helps their comprehension and cues their memory. This helps them to remember important things
from the film that might be on the exam.
They like being in a class with me.
They know the professor must only show films with captions because I’m
in the class.
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He sits.
BUD / NARRATOR:
Same goes with the GBTV
webcasts that launched this year in May. A few of my Deaf friends who were
thinking about taking a course at George Brown liked how the webcasts include
real-time captioning. They got the TOTAL package of information from the
website about what the College has to offer.
They were like, “hey, George Brown wants me!”
Let’s watch!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He sits down at a computer. It’s
logged onto the internet. He looks at
the George Brown website. He shows a
video clip from GBTV Minute. It has closed captioning. He turns to us and points to the computer.
BUD / NARRATOR:
Looks fine!
Hey, professors! Don’t forget about your video clips on
Blackboard / WebCT. They need to be captioned too!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He turns back to the computer. He starts a video clip. Screen title,
BUD / NARRATOR:
There, see?
The Libraries have many videos that are already captioned. And
if you want to show a film that is in the library collection and it’s not
captioned, just ask the Accessible Media Coordinator in the Library to caption
it for you! It’s College Policy. And
soon, it will be required under Ontario Government legislation - the
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He gets ups to leave.
BUD / NARRATOR:
If you find an interesting video clip on the internet and have
permission to use it and caption it, LIAD can put you in touch with someone who
can add the captions for you. And now
there are website resources like dotsub.com that contain thousands of captioned
videos that are free to be used by anyone!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He starts to leave the classroom. He stops and turns as he holds up a finger.
BUD / NARRATOR:
Oh, it’s important to remember, if you make your own videos,
there are tips to making your video accessible.
For example, there is enough space at the bottom of this screen so that
my signing is totally visible and the captions don’t cover up my hands.
You can see in this short video clip, some examples of what
makes accessible media – accessible! For example, this video is in ASL with
English voiceover and captions, and has video description for people who are
blind or have low vision. You can find
the Captioned Media and E-text Policy by selecting Policies from the George
Brown home page. Or contact the Accessible Media Coordinator in Educational
Resources to ask more about what you have learned in this video today!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
He takes his PDA from his pocket and looks at it.
BUD / NARRATOR:
Gotta go, I have a date - I mean a test to write!
VIDEO DESCRIPTION NARRATOR:
End Credits:
Bud – Michael T. Cyr, BFA
Narrator – Ben Hudson, GBC Student
Script and Executive Producer – Karen Walker, GBC AODA Committee
Camera – Jason Theriault
Camera Assistant – Mati Metsala, GBC Student
Post-Production Audio – Herb Theriault, BFA
This film would not have been possible without the support of
the following:
Diversity, Equity and Human Rights Services Office, Intentional
Learning Grants Initiative Diversity, Equity and Human Rights Services,
V.P. Corporate Services,
The George Brown Captioned Media and E-text Policy and Project
is an initiative of the AODA Committee and is administered by Educational
Resources. For more information about
the Policy and how you can make your course materials accessible, please
contact Anne Villahermosa, Accessible Media Coordinator, Educational Resources.
George Brown College, Make it happen.