Media Accessibility Information, Guidelines and Research
Described and Captioned Movies at Local Theaters
Silent movies once provided an equal opportunity to enjoy going to the movies without regard to anyone's ability to hear. But with the introduction of sound to movies more than eighty years ago, people with a hearing loss were faced with an access disparity that, to a large (but, thankfully, diminishing) extent, still exists today.
People with vision loss encounter their own obstacles when wanting to see a movie. Audio description (an additional audio track that narrates a film’s visual elements) is becoming more common for movies released on DVD and streamed online, but is not as common in movie theaters.
Captions not only display words to indicate spoken dialogue or narration, but also include sounds, sound effects, speaker identification, music, and other auditory information not conveyed in speech. Description adds audio information that is essential in understanding characters, scenes and scene changes, passages of time, style, objects, and other aesthetics. It is rare for first-run movies shown in theaters to be instantly accessible to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired, however.
Not all movies are made accessible in the same way, and terminology to describe the types of captioning varies. Most people use the terms open captioning (OC) and closed captioning (CC). In movie theaters, open captions consist of those requiring no manipulation or interaction by the viewing audience; the captions are viewable on the screen with no special equipment or adjustment required by the audience. Closed captions in theaters consists of captions that can only be seen by a person with the necessary equipment, typically provided by the theater at no charge.
Described video will be variously termed as audio description (AD), video description (VD), and description (D). Many theaters have description available as part of the digital file used to show a movie. To use audio description at the movies, an individual wears a headset and listens to an audio description track that is synchronized with the movie.
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design states: A public accommodation shall take those steps that may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that taking those steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodation being offered or would result in an undue burden, significant difficulty, or expense. The updated ADA regulation now specifies that open or closed captioning are included in the term "auxiliary aids and services."
2016 Department of Justice Ruling
In 2016 the Department of Justice issued a Final Rule on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as it applies to accommodating disabled patrons in movie theaters. Not providing closed captions and audio description is a violation of the ADA. Movie theaters must:
have and maintain the equipment necessary to provide closed captioning and audio description at a movie patron’s seat whenever showing a digital movie produced, distributed, or otherwise made available with these features;
provide notice to the public about the availability of these features; and
ensure that theater staff is available to assist patrons with the equipment before, during, and after the showing of a movie with these features.
Exclusions:
drive-in movie theaters
theaters that show movies only on film
Where to Find Movie Theaters With Captioning and Description
The ACB’s Audio Description Project maintains a list of theaters that offer audio description https://acb.org/adp/moviesbystate.html. Contact your local theater to ensure the movie you want to see will be accessible.
This post was originally authored by Teresa Rogers in 2012. It has been updated by DCMP staff to include new information.
Silent movies once provided an equal opportunity to enjoy going to
the movies without regard to anyone's ability to hear. But with the
introduction of sound to movies more than eighty years ago, people
with a hearing loss were faced with an access disparity that, to a
large (but, thankfully, diminishing) extent, still exists today. While
people with a hearing loss are no longer completely disregarded by
the purveyors of mainstream film, they often must wait for films to
be released on DVD, hopefully with the inclusion of captions or
subtitles.
Captioning is the process of converting the audio portion of a film, video, CD-ROM, or other production
into text which is displayed on a screen or monitor. Captions not only display words to indicate spoken
dialogue or narration, but also include sounds, sound effects, speaker identification, music, and other
auditory information not conveyed in speech. It is rare for first-run movies shown in theaters to be
instantly accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, however.
Not all movies are captioned in the same way, and terminology to describe the types of captioning varies.
Most people use the terms open captioning (OC) and closed captioning (CC). In movie theaters, open
captions consist of those requiring no manipulation or interaction by the viewing audience; the captions
are viewable on the screen with no special equipment or adjustment required by the audience. Closed
captions in theaters consists of captions that can only be seen by a person with the necessary equipment,
typically provided by the theater at no charge.
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design states: A public accommodation shall take those steps that
may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated, or
otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services,
unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that taking those steps would fundamentally alter the
nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodation being offered or would
result in an undue burden, significant difficulty, or expense. The updated ADA regulation now specifies
that open or closed captioning are included in the term "auxiliary aids and services."
Systems for Theater Captioning
There are several captioning service providers for first-run cinema releases: Digital Theater Systems
Cinema Subtitling System (DTS-CSS), MoPix® (Rear Window® Captioning), USL Closed Captioning System
(CCS), and CaptiView. A brief summary of each system's features is provided below.
DTS-CSS
The DTS-CSS technology was developed in response to the large number of requests by the deaf community for increased availability of OC movie screenings and also the desire to assist
film distributors and cinemas to make the provision of captioned screenings more economical and flexible. This technology makes open captioning possible by projecting subtitles directly onto the
motion picture screen instead of etching or over-laying them onto the film itself. DTS systems also have the capability to play back closed captions via the Rear Window® Captioning system.
Rear Window Captioning
Rear Window Captioning
The Rear Window® Captioning (RWC) system is a
technology that makes it possible for exhibitors to provide closed captioning for deaf and hard of hearing moviegoers without displaying them to the entire audience. RWC is also significant because it doesn't require special OC prints or separate screenings, since the captions are not on the
film itself.
The Motion Picture Access effort (MoPix®) is an initiative of the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), a division of the WGBH Educational Foundation. This effort was launched in 1992 to research and develop ways of making movies in theaters accessible to deaf or hard of hearing people through the RWC system.
The USL Closed Captioning System (CCS) is designed to enhance the deaf or hard of hearing
cinema patron's movie-going experience. A single infrared emitter broadcasts closed caption text
and two channels of audio into an auditorium. Channel one is for hearing impaired (HI) and
Channel two is for visual impaired narrative (VI-N). The use of IR instead of radio frequency
transmission eliminates interference between
adjacent auditoriums.
Two types of private display units are available:
The "Seat Mount" display that clips to the arm
rest and an "Eyewear/glasses" display. Each unit
contains custom optics which display the caption
as a virtual image far enough from the viewer to
avoid the need to refocus between the caption
and the movie screen.
CaptiView
CaptiView
Doremi Cinema introduces the new CaptiView Closed Caption Viewing System for the deaf or hard
of hearing movie audiences. This system transmits and receives AES-128 encrypted closed
captions on a wireless band frequency. With an 80 meter signal range, CaptiView can be used
from ANY seat in the house (unlike existing "mirror image" systems that limit seat selection).
The CaptiView system consists of a small, OLED display on a bendable support arm that fits into
the theater seat cup holder. The easy-to-read screen is equipped
with a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery that lasts up to 16 hours
per charge. The high contrast display comes with a privacy visor
so it can be positioned directly in front the movie patron with
minimal impact or distraction to neighboring patrons.
CaptiView is economically priced to allow the cinema owner to outfit 100% of the multiplex. It
runs on the existing digital cinema server, so no additional hardware is required. It supports
SMPTE and Cinecanvas packages, and can support up to four languages simultaneously.
Are There Any Captioned Movie Theaters Near You?
To find out whether there are theaters in your area that provide captioned screenings of current cinema
releases, check your local newspaper, subscribe to NCAM's e-mail list, or consult the growing number of
websites that provide this information, some of which are identified below.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing want to be able to attend any showing of any movie in any theater at any time, to sit anywhere in the movie theater with their family and friends, and to have equal access to the movie soundtrack through high quality captioning that is consistently reliable.
