The Rise of Video Subtitles

Captioning for films was actually invented before sound was. Much like comic books and graphic novels, silent movies would have text descriptions to explain what was going on in a video. However, when sound was enabled for films, captions and video subtitles were dropped and soon became an optional extra intended only for audiences where it was deemed necessary.

But times have changed. Where TV used to be consumed in small amounts, depending on broadcast schedules and if you wanted to see a movie, you’d wait until it was in the cinema or ‘picture house’ and book a ticket, today, we engage with video content everywhere. Streaming platforms like Netflix, Paramount +, Apple TV and Amazon Prime have allowed viewers to choose to watch whatever they like, whenever they like.

The Rise of Mobile Technology

The rise of the mobile phone and wireless internet has meant that content isn’t only watched in the privacy of your own home, whilst relaxing on the sofa, but wherever you are – on a train, as a passenger in a car, or whilst picnicking outside in the sunshine – this makes video subtitles essential to any film. The now mobile nature of video content is likely the main driver behind the increased use of video subtitles. More people are watching subtitles every day and that can only be a very good thing.

The increased demand for subtitles has led to an exponential increase in quality. Subtitles are no longer seen as simply a requirement for Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences or foreign speakers. Nowadays, including subtitles in videos is a must in order to engage with your viewers, and especially when it comes to short videos and social media (often watched on mute), without subtitles, an audience can actively switch off.

As a keen adult watcher of subtitles for a number of years, I would say the three main advantages for me are categorised as below:

1. Subtitles help me to concentrate.  We all have busy lives and can be distracted. There’s always a mobile phone around to take a quick look at, or it can be easy to find your mind wandering and your eyes drifting out into space. Reading subtitles anchors my concentration to the screen and helps me to stay fully immersed in the action.
2. Reading captions stops me missing things. Especially with surround sound and big effects movies, I find the range of volumes in videos nowadays can be huge – massively loud explosions and noisy musical interludes often means that the speech in movies winds up being frustratingly quiet. Sometimes accent or speed of speech can stop us hearing things too, and subtitles solve this problem.
3. I pick up extras. Watching a film you’ve watched a million times but never with captions before can be a massively illuminating experience. Captioning for films and SDH subtitles will include transcription of radio broadcasts within a movie, song lyrics and in-depth descriptions of sounds that you might not even have picked up. Watching with subtitles can highlight real ‘easter eggs’, clever extras that a director has put into a movie to give it that extra pizzaz.

But subtitles aren’t only for adults. Whether you are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, or just love to know exactly what’s going on in a show, subtitles can be great for kids too. We asked Brandon (10 years old) to outline why he watches subtitles and what he loves and hates about them. Below is a brief rundown of the key points he had to say… 

All about subtitles – A Kid’s Perspective

• Subtitles didn’t used to be as good as they are today; too big, too small and with bad timings.
• Closed captions and SDH subtitles help to pick up sound and can include dialogue and sound effects, and identify speakers.
• Video subtitles help you learn a huge range of words and expand your vocabulary.
• Good Captions should accurately portray what is said in a video and can be tailored to be age appropriate.
• Subtitles on a video help you know exactly what’s going on so you can better engage with content.
• I’d recommend always watching subtitles!

So there you have it, a quick and informative reason why video subtitles are so important today and why kids and adults alike love them. If you are thinking about adding subtitles, captioning or translation to your social media film, cinema film or documentary why not click on the quote button below to see our wide range of typing services to suit all your needs.