Hello everyone and welcome to this video tutorial on the practical steps involved in providing surtitles, theatre captioning and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing at arts events. The general steps already outlined in the two videos you watched at the beginning of this unit on ensuring inclusion for all apply to captioned and surtitled events and are therefore not repeated in this video, in which we will focus on the tasks specific to providing surtitles, theatre captioning and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing at arts events. The tasks involved fall into five categories: scheduling, working with captioners and surtitlers, fulfilling the technical requirements, spatial organisation and navigation, and communication and training. Firstly, when booking dates for your captioned or surtitled show, it�s important to factor in time for the captioners or surtitlers to see the production at least twice in advance and with sufficient time to prepare the captions or surtitles and to do script checks. Your next task will be to book the captioners or surtitlers at least six months in advance of the performance. You will need to think about what languages you will be dealing with and whether you will require pre-prepared theatre captions, surtitles, or subtitles for videos. If your event is unscripted you will require live subtitling, which can be provided on site or remotely. If you need pre-prepared captions or surtitles, it is essential that you send the captioner or surtitler a programme, a script, a DVD of the show and arrange dates for them to see the production at least twice. It is important that you inform captioners and surtitlers of the equipment to be used as this may affect the choice of software for preparing the captions or surtitles. Moreover, ensure that you arrange for the captioner or surtitler to carry out a final script check, which usually takes place the night before the show. When your captioner or surtitler attends performances to do script checks, provide them with a table, a chair and a light. Another crucial aspect of organising a captioned or surtitled event is making sure all technical requirements will be met well before event, as outlined in our first video on ensuring inclusion for all. For surtitled and captioned events, it is important to agree on the positioning of the caption units with the set designer, creative team and technical staff well in advance, to ensure that, if possible, the whole audience can see both the surtitles or captions and the set without having to move their eyes and neck uncomfortably. It is also important to make sure that the view of the captioning units will not be blocked at any point, that they are not in front of speakers, and that lights will not hit the screens. Moreover, it is essential to identify a location where the surtitler or captioner can have a clear view of the stage and the captioning units and can hear the performance clearly. Another option is to provide patrons with individual portable devices such as tablets to view the surtitles or captions, and some venues even have screens on the backs of their seats. You can find more details about surtitling and captioning equipment in the reading on surtitling and captioning for this unit. Lastly, a technical requirement for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing is to ensure you have a hearing loop system installed in your venue, that it is checked regularly and that signs informing patrons of the hearing loop system are displayed prominently. When it comes to spatial organisation and navigation, in addition to identifying the seating areas with the best view of the captioning units and the stage, you should also be aware that patrons with hearing dogs may prefer an aisle seat. As for communication and training, in addition to the steps outlined in the first video on ensuring inclusion for all, it�s good practice to reach out to people who are deaf or hard of hearing by promoting your captioned event using a range of media, such as social media, TV, the press, via user associations, online groups, and printed on tickets. It is important to provide information and assistance on getting to the venue Also, you could have promotional or informational videos about the event subtitled and posted on the event or venue�s website. On the day of the performance, consider leaving feedback cards on all of the seats, as many audience members who have not identified themselves as users of captions may use them and find them to be beneficial. For more guidance on what to do on the day of the performance and after the event, refer back to the second video on ensuring inclusion for all.
