Lights, camera, caption! Why subtitles are no longer just for the hard of hearing
An enormous number of people with unimpaired hearing are choosing to watch with words. Why? And is it time captions became the norm?
Deaf Awareness Week, co-ordinated by UK Council on Deafness is a campaign in which many different organisations participate, each able to promote their own work within the broad spectrum of deafness.
Many organisations collaborate and work together in a joint campaign of UK wide national and local events to raise awareness of the needs of the 1 in 6 deaf or hard of hearing people in the UK. Deaf Awareness Week aims to promote the positive aspects of deafness, promote social inclusion and raise awareness of the huge range of local organisations that support deaf people and their family and friends.
Cinema and d/Deaf awareness
There are many ways in which cinemas and exhibitors can get involved to promote d/Deaf awareness within their organisations and for audiences. From staff learning some basic BSL signing to programming more captioned subtitled films to always adding subtitles to social media content, here are some resources to get you started.
d/Deaf awareness online
When planning film exhibition initiatives online it is important to think about access and inclusion for everyone.
Things to think about regarding d/Deaf awareness and online film exhibition:
- Include films with closed captioned / subtitled options. Check individual films and VOD platforms for availability.
- Add captions to videos on social media
- Include or enable closed captions on live broadcasts for example on Facebook Live or Zoom
- Include a BSL interpreter where possible for film discussions
- We recommend using professional subtitling services to ensure consistency of accessibility and quality. You can find professional subtitling services here, some of which offer advice and training.
Share your experiences
We would love to know about your film or cinema project at Inclusive Cinema. If you’d like to submit your own case study, please download this Inclusive screening case study template and submit it to toki[at]filmhubwales.org, so we can share your experiences, too.
