For deaf people who like to enjoy films on the big screen, choice is often limited when it comes to the offerings of the local movie theater.
It’s usually only foreign-language movies that have subtitles, leaving the hard of hearing with little choice but to wait for the DVD release of other movies they want to see. And even then, who wants to watch a blockbuster on a small TV screen?
In a short film on the BBC website, reporter Graham Satchell talked to Brit Charlie Swinbourne, who is hard of hearing, about the problem.
“One in six people have some level of deafness and currently that audience isn’t being served well,” he said, adding: ”If you did serve them well, you could well be making more money out of them so there’s good reason for improving the service.”
The solution could come in the form of a special pair of glasses being developed by Sony in the UK.
Sony’s Tim Potter, who is helping with the design of the ‘subtitle glasses’, explained what they’re about.
“What we do is put the closed captions or the subtitles onto the screen of the glasses so it’s super-imposed on the cinema screen, [making it look] like the actual subtitles are on the cinema screen,” he said.
After trying them out, Charlie Swinbourne seemed pretty pleased with the effectiveness of the special specs. “The good thing about them is that you’re not refocusing. It doesn’t feel like the words are really near and the screen is far away. It feels like they’re together.”
He continued: “It was a great experience. I think it’s a massive opportunity to improve deaf people’s lives and I think there’s great hope that this would give us a cinema-going future.”
According to the BBC report, the glasses should become available in UK movie theaters next year, with presumably wider availability in the near future if they prove popular.
They need these in the USA.
Mzz, they would be synced like normal subtitles would be, it’s not hard to accomplish
right on sarah! add to this many years of listening to LOUD music and it comes in real handy….
There are currently around 700 English language subtitled shows around the UK every week, of the latest films, as listed here: (Google subtitled cinema).
Subtitles on the cinema screen, for all to see. Although this is the preferred way to view cinema subtitles amongst most people that need them to enjoy a film, it requires cinemas to put on separate shows. Most people can’t work their lives around one or two cinema shows a week, so currently, most people that would like to attend subtitled cinema shows can’t do so. There’s not enough choice of films and showtimes.
A ‘personal’ subtitle system, like the specs mentioned, or seat mounted displays, like they have in the US, would give people a better choice of films and showtimes, which would of course result in more people attending the cinema, purchasing popcorn & drinks etc.
Derek Brandon
At last, something to help hearing impaired people. Can they be worn over normal glasses though?
make them more stylish and we have something to write home about!!!! like facetime!!
Thanks for helping to create awareness of accessible cinema! Derek, http://www.yourlocalcinema.com/now.showing.html
Hmm, I’m not sure those would work. Them scenes go by so quick they may not be able to keep up and watch the movie. Especially the action movies.
?
Dammit. Why didn’t I think of that?
everything is already subtitled on the screen here, the advantage of living in a small country ;) But indeed, a good invention.
right on sarah! add to this many years of listening to LOUD music and it comes in real handy….
Good news for the hearing impaired.
Awesome! I’ve been using subtitles since shortly after I became a mom because I couldn’t hear anything without my daughter talking or crying or whatever throughout movies and tv lol
This will be really useful to parents as well :-)
This is genius.