"When you combine the audience-building power of captioning and the interactive aspects of links, it's easy to see how an investment in these additional services will set your programs apart from others. In closing, please keep in mind that our main goal is to make you feel comfortable and confident in our captioning services. When comparing VITAC's rates, services and quality to other vendors, please be sure that you're comparing apples to apples. We are confident that nobody in the industry can match the quality and experience of VITAC's work. You invest thousands of dollars into the highest production values for your shows so why settle for anything but the best in captioning to compliment your programs? "

"Minnesota Campaign Ad Captioning Law (2008) Senator Ann Rest's Video Explains the Law In the Minnesota tradition of commitment to access, the 2008 Legislature passed a law requiring all candidates for office who file with the Campaign Finance Board to caption their online and television ads and post transcripts of their radio ads. Minnesota citizens who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing and who want to get information about candidates through campaign ads will now be able to do so. In the following captioned video, Minnesota Senator Ann Rest demonstrates the power of captioning in creating accessibility. A transcript of the audio content with video descriptions is also available. This video was produced by Senate Media Services and is used with permission."

"L'accessibilità, lo abbiamo detto tante volte in questi mesi, è questione di volontà, di passione, di vocazione ma soprattutto di diritti e di doveri. Diritti delle persone con cecità e sordità di partecipare attivamente all'offerta culturale del proprio Paese, dovere della politica, degli amministratori e degli operatori culturali di formarsi, reperire informazioni, cercare specialisti e tecnici dell'accessibilità. Anche se non è facile, a volte le professionalità giuste si trovano tra persone che nella vita di tutti i giorni si occupano di cose apparentemente diverse, ma che coltivano con passione, devozione, ottimismo, inventiva, fantasia e competenza tutte quelle attività che si rivelano fondamentali per l'accessibilità - teatrale nel nostro caso. Oggi è il turno di Gianluca Aloi, una delle menti 'tecniche' più importanti dello spettacolo 'Le Avventure del Piccolo Burattino'. Lo abbiamo intervistato per voi, e anche un po' per noi."

Thread started Nov 10, 2011. In the private CCAC google group, hence only viewable to members who are signed in.

About http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/theater-talkback-the-writings-on-the-wall/

November 10, 2011, 12:00 pm Theater Talkback: The Writing's on the Wall By BEN BRANTLEY. " ... my greatest exposure to supertitles comes from seeing plays that were performed entirely in languages other than English. One of the privileges of having my job and being in New York City is that so many productions from all over the world visit here. (...) without supertitles I would have missed what was being said altogether in productions that were performed in Russian, Belarussian, German, Japanese, Greek, Arabic and Zulu, among others. Though they serve the same function, supertitles in the theater are different in their effect from subtitles in film. A movie (or television or computer) screen is a self-contained space, and the subtitles generally appear within that frame. Even if I haven't seen a foreign film in a while, I find that when I do, it's only a matter of minutes before I make the adjustment that allows me to feel I'm "listening" directly as I read. Supertitles for plays are usually projected on separate screens, above or to the side of the stage. And if the stage is large, your eyes are forced to leave the live action to read the words. (...) You are forced, in these cases, to make a choice between word and image, which isn't really fair to a work of theater that is ideally a melding of both. (I don't have that problem with opera, partly because a single sentence - like "I love you" - may be stretched out and repeated to cover acres of music.) And of course when certain infelicities of translation occur, you can be jerked abruptly from the internal reality of the play. ..."

Mentioned by Lauren Storck in a Google group discussion.

"Open captioning is visible to all and cannot be turned off. Closed is when you or someone else must find the control and turns it on, be it for videos online, movies/cinema, theater, other media.. Problems with closed captions (compared to open captioning For all) include the following: a. It's often very difficult to find how to turn on the cc - systems vary so much online. b. Millions do not know it's there at all. c. We have a huge issue of communication access for all across the country (and globally). We suggest continuing education and advocacy for inclusion of much more captioning universally (e.g. on all videos online). d. An argument for closed captioning reminds us of the folks who complain loudly (we are told) in the cinema when captioning is showing - we say, get used to it. Focus on the communication that works for you - speech, text, whatever. e. Use the language you need and prefer; it's nice to have a choice, so many do not have any choice - they have no cc at all for much online. --"

Re a and b: on YouTube, closed captioning autostarts with the video. In platforms for making closed captions and subtitles - DotSUB, UniversalSubtitles, Overstream - the player very clearly announces the closed captions / subtitles in other languages. Re e.: isn't there even less open captioning online. And from a volunteer captioner's view point, it's way easier to produce closed captioning than open captioning (Claude)

Message in the private http://groups.google.com/group/ccaxslc?hl=en group: you have to be subscribed and logged in to view it.

Message in the private http://groups.google.com/group/ccaxslc?hl=en group: you have to be subscribed and logged in to view it.

Message in the http://groups.google.com/group/ccaxslc?hl=en private group. You have to be subscribed and logged in to view it

about http://closedcapp.com/

"CART, Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Mobile CART at the Met by Ruth D. Bernstein I'm a volunteer for the Access Programs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), (on Facebook and here.) It's a job I really enjoy, that is why I was pleased to take a walk into the future in the spring of 2011 when I took part in the first demonstration of a mobile CART system at the Met presented by Ms. Mirabai Knight. I attended this very special gallery tour with Rebecca McGinnis, the Met's Access Coordinator and Deepa Shastri, Live Events Programme Officer of London's STAGETEXT."

"From John Waldo and the WA-CAP in Washington State. An excellent illustration of the sort of captioning inclusion we need in many forms of transportation - ferries, trains, buses, airplanes, cruise ships - copied with permission from this important advocacy site online. (...) Installation of the visual paging system is being done to resolve a lawsuit that the Washington State Communication Access Project (Wash-CAP) brought against WSF in 2008. The suit was quickly resolved in the form of an agreed order signed by the court. WSF has been working promptly and diligently to implement the terms of that order, and deserves our commendation and thanks."

Originally published at http://www.hearinglosslaw.com/2010/11/articles/washcap-1/washington-state-ferries/ferry-system-to-install-messagedisplay-system/ - check hearinglosslaw.com for further bookmarking.

"CCAC Letter for distribution. If you copy and use this, please credit this website and the CCAC. Below the letter is more information about why captioning is needed in this "category of life." For immediate distribution (March 2011) (...) Due to the importance of this assistive technology, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) recognizes CART as an auxiliary aid that is considered an effective communication access for those who depend on it. Not only is it an effective assistive technology for those with hearing loss, but also, captioning is useful for people who are learning "English as a second language, children learning how to read and visual learners". (...)"

"US OPEN TENNIS - SEPTEMBER 2011 - FIRST TIME INCLUSION OF CAPTIONING (...) Closed-captioning is required for television programming in the United States. If a sporting event is shown in a noisy bar, gym or other public venue, oftentimes the audio is muted, and all patrons, even the hearing patrons, benefit from the closed-captioning. In a stadium or arena, once again, all patrons can benefit from open captioning displayed on the ribbon board or giant video boards. The acoustics in some stadiums make it difficult to understand the announcements. This is particularly important if there is an emergency. With the Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, the hard-of-hearing population is increasing. Many people with age-related hearing loss do not consider themselves hard-of-hearing and are not aware of services offered. If captioning were available everywhere for everyone, nobody would ever be left out of the conversation again! Prepared for the CCAC by: Jennifer M. Bonfilio, RMR-CBC-CCP | President of Operations | Coast 2 Coast Captioning"

"WHY CART FOR…COURTS, JUSTICE An article from the NCRA Journal of Court Reporting from years ago, by Deanna Baker CCAC: This gives us a wonderful first hand report of the experience of a CART professional. We can all imagine how important the "language of real time text" was for the person who required it. The CCAC aims to add first hand reports from "consumers" also. (...)"

"Real Time Captioning for Employment and Work Settings (Captioning and CART) Prepared by the CCAC (Collaborative for Communication Access via Captioning, a voluntary grass-roots advocacy and education network, see www.ccacaptioning.org) October 2011 Thirty six million Americans today are deaf, deafened, or have a hearing loss, roughly one person in every ten (a conservative estimate). For communication access that allows them to participate and contribute their skills and expertise throughout the lifespan, quality inclusion of captioning is essential for many. Accessible communication technologies have advanced in recent years, especially services and systems providing speech-to-text translation. This is a brief overview of captioning considerations for employers and employees on captioning inclusion, benefiting not only all with hearing needs, but many others with language differences. (...)"

"(...) Theater and cultural events no longer need to be off limits to patrons who are deaf or have a hearing loss. Open captioning provides accessibility to individuals who otherwise may not attend theatrical or cultural events due to their hearing loss. It is a service that can and should be provided on a regular basis at all events. Oftentimes, as an aging population experiences a hearing loss, activities they once enjoyed, such as an evening at the theatre, become a source of frustration when the words and lyrics become indecipherable. They no longer attend theatrical events and often develop an isolated and withdrawn lifestyle. (People of all ages have hearing loss also.) (...) Prepared for the CCAC by TRCS Turner Reporting & Captioning Services, Inc. (..) "

"Before anything else - please review this: http://www.ada.gov/comprob.htm Your local, state or national government needs to include you - For one example, a few CCAC members are asking for captioning inclusion for town meetings - very important. Not easy to find access. And then, with captioning streamed online too - can be done! Some towns are already doing this, and we say thanks. (...)"

"See this also: http://www.ada.gov/hospcombr.htm from the ADA, it's the law. Communicating with your physician or any healthcare provider is always vital, and sometimes also a matter of life and death. Could there be a better reason for full verbatim real time text (CART) for those who require it? Even if it's a "routine" check-up, one "usual" follow-up visit, a first meeting with a new provider, a conference to help care for a loved one, an emergency room visit, or a health education video handed to you for cancer treatment, CART or captions will serve thousands if not millions. Why? 37 million is the current estimate of people with deafness or hearing loss in the USA alone. Not all need CART. Some use hearing aids or other listening devices for full speech comprehension. (Keep in mind many hearing aids wind up in drawers, never to be seen again, because hearing aids do not cure hearing loss, and are uncomfortable for many; the result is that some deny any hearing loss and learn to "bluff" extremely well). CART is a universally appropriate language (in whatever language you use) for all who can read. It is used by people who are deaf also (though some prefer sign language). CART provides an easy record (transcript) of what is said for best health and for proper treatments. While talking with your provider, while you or the nation is paying for the best healthcare one hopes to find, it's essential not to miss a word."

"FROM THE CCAC AND YOU: DEAR EDUCATION LEADERS, PARENTS, STUDENTS AND SCHOOL SYSTEMS, Equal Communication Access includes Captioning and CART in Education: One Good Example? Include CART at Graduation this year! Why plan for inclusion of quality captioning now? Let us count some of the good reasons. CART and captioning is needed for: 1 Learning to read 2 To learn languages 3 For transcripts and record-keeping 4 For "search" and knowledge-building online 5 For "equal communication access" for millions of students of all ages with different hearing loss and deafness. Captioning is our "ramp" for equal access Too many educational materials today, e.g. videos of all sorts, do not have full verbatim captioning. Too many school events do not plan for CART (full quality real time speech-to-text provided by a professional on site, or remotely). Too many students and teachers have insufficient knowledge about this need and choice --to understand the benefits of captioning inclusion."

"Realtime Captioning for the Hard of Hearing - Cutting Edge Technology to Help You Communicate Effectively with your Clients and Market your Practice By Janet L. Smith, JD Law Office of Janet L. Smith, PS (...) * Meeting: Provide agendas, handouts, speeches or other material beforehand to enable the CART provider to become familiar with the presentation and prepare for the assignment. Seat the CART provider in the same location as the consumer. If you have more than one or two consumers, it may be necessary to project onto a screen. * Courtroom: Provide information to the CART provider before the proceedings -- i.e., pleadings, deposition word indexes or other documents -- to enable the CART provider to become familiar with the case and prepare for the assignment. Seat the CART provider in the same location as the consumer requiring CART, whether at counsel table, the witness stand, jury box or bench. * Additional Hints: "