KramerDSP
02-25-2010, 09:15 PM
Hey, folks,
Most of you know that I run the DeafRonPaul blog and have been working over the last couple of years on getting videos captioned and subtitled for accessibility reasons. I was stunned recently to see that the YouTube account labeled "CongressmanRonPaul" now has captioned videos with Ron Paul.
You'd think I'd be screaming from the hilltops in delight. I was, at least until I watched the captions. I hate to sound offensive, but Ron Paul deserves better than amateurish captions riddled with punctuation and capitalization errors. In a few of the videos, the captions have words like "dingbat" and "hi anne" in them, and I'm struggling to understand the story behind this.
I know that YouTube now has automated captions, because I have been working on getting the most popular Ron Paul videos captioned so that when a deaf or hard of hearing person searches Ron Paul on YouTube, they will find quite a few captioned videos on the front page of the search. Mr. Chubbs (Marcaeld) has been awesome helping me out with this project.
The process is so simple, it literally takes three minute or less. What I do is I send the owner of the YouTube video an attached text transcript of the video in question, copied and pasted directly from a transcript found somewhere within the web. The owner then uploads the attachment to the video, and YouTube does the rest, matching the voices with the words in the transcripts to create automated captions. I am also trying to get Aravoth and the guys from RonPaul.Com involved in this, and DM'ed Aravoth. If anybody here knows how to point me to the right people connected with RonPaul.Com, I would be thrilled, as I've had a real hard time getting a hold of them over the last few months.
Anyways, the point I am trying to make is that Automated Captions are just that. They are not automated punctuation and capitalization tools. The quality of the transcript turned into automated captions on the official RepresentativeRonPaul channel borders on atrocious and unprofessional. It really bothers me, and I am hoping someone here has the connections to pass my message along to the people who run that channel. I would be happy to advise.
Here are examples of what I am talking about, by using the exact same video in question, Ron's State of the Republic, Part 1 of 3. This one was done by aides working for Ron's official YouTube channel.
YouTube - State of the Republic Address Part 1 of 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQts21QiKTQ)
This is an example of far more professional looking captions, via copy-and-paste of the actual transcript from media sources online that I did after uploading the same video. YouTube does the rest.
YouTube - Ron Paul's State of the Republic Speech (1 of 3) (CC) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AT96uHCxuc)
One would save so much time by copying and pasting (waiting 24 hours for the transcript to emerge on the web) than by apparently doing it via auditory means and recreating a transcript by hand, replete with numerous punctuation, spelling, and capitalization errors. I'm also concerned about the "dingbat" word I saw in one of the captions within that channel.
Again, I must sound like I'm biting the hand that feeds me. All I am asking is that the captions look professional so that they are befitting of the man and his message. Especially on his own official YouTube channel. Would anyone be able to assist me in the process of getting this message to the people behind that channel? It would be greatly appreciated.
I feel like I am so close to the goal of having virtually everything RP related be accessible to deaf and hard of hearing folks, but yet so far as well. If only the transcripts were copied and pasted from professional ones done on the web, I would be in heaven right now. We are so close. I can tell you that RP, other than Obama and maybe Hillary, has the most captioned videos on the web from what I have seen, numbering in the 200+ range. If we have all our ducks in a row if/when he decides to run, and Mr. Chubbs, Aravoth, RonPaul2008dotcom, RonPaul.Com, and RepresentativeRonPaul all had YouTube videos churning out automated captions via professional-looking transcripts, we've already won half the battle with the hearts and minds of that population due to welcoming them with the accessibility.
Thanks, all.
Most of you know that I run the DeafRonPaul blog and have been working over the last couple of years on getting videos captioned and subtitled for accessibility reasons. I was stunned recently to see that the YouTube account labeled "CongressmanRonPaul" now has captioned videos with Ron Paul.
You'd think I'd be screaming from the hilltops in delight. I was, at least until I watched the captions. I hate to sound offensive, but Ron Paul deserves better than amateurish captions riddled with punctuation and capitalization errors. In a few of the videos, the captions have words like "dingbat" and "hi anne" in them, and I'm struggling to understand the story behind this.
I know that YouTube now has automated captions, because I have been working on getting the most popular Ron Paul videos captioned so that when a deaf or hard of hearing person searches Ron Paul on YouTube, they will find quite a few captioned videos on the front page of the search. Mr. Chubbs (Marcaeld) has been awesome helping me out with this project.
The process is so simple, it literally takes three minute or less. What I do is I send the owner of the YouTube video an attached text transcript of the video in question, copied and pasted directly from a transcript found somewhere within the web. The owner then uploads the attachment to the video, and YouTube does the rest, matching the voices with the words in the transcripts to create automated captions. I am also trying to get Aravoth and the guys from RonPaul.Com involved in this, and DM'ed Aravoth. If anybody here knows how to point me to the right people connected with RonPaul.Com, I would be thrilled, as I've had a real hard time getting a hold of them over the last few months.
Anyways, the point I am trying to make is that Automated Captions are just that. They are not automated punctuation and capitalization tools. The quality of the transcript turned into automated captions on the official RepresentativeRonPaul channel borders on atrocious and unprofessional. It really bothers me, and I am hoping someone here has the connections to pass my message along to the people who run that channel. I would be happy to advise.
Here are examples of what I am talking about, by using the exact same video in question, Ron's State of the Republic, Part 1 of 3. This one was done by aides working for Ron's official YouTube channel.
YouTube - State of the Republic Address Part 1 of 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQts21QiKTQ)
This is an example of far more professional looking captions, via copy-and-paste of the actual transcript from media sources online that I did after uploading the same video. YouTube does the rest.
YouTube - Ron Paul's State of the Republic Speech (1 of 3) (CC) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AT96uHCxuc)
One would save so much time by copying and pasting (waiting 24 hours for the transcript to emerge on the web) than by apparently doing it via auditory means and recreating a transcript by hand, replete with numerous punctuation, spelling, and capitalization errors. I'm also concerned about the "dingbat" word I saw in one of the captions within that channel.
Again, I must sound like I'm biting the hand that feeds me. All I am asking is that the captions look professional so that they are befitting of the man and his message. Especially on his own official YouTube channel. Would anyone be able to assist me in the process of getting this message to the people behind that channel? It would be greatly appreciated.
I feel like I am so close to the goal of having virtually everything RP related be accessible to deaf and hard of hearing folks, but yet so far as well. If only the transcripts were copied and pasted from professional ones done on the web, I would be in heaven right now. We are so close. I can tell you that RP, other than Obama and maybe Hillary, has the most captioned videos on the web from what I have seen, numbering in the 200+ range. If we have all our ducks in a row if/when he decides to run, and Mr. Chubbs, Aravoth, RonPaul2008dotcom, RonPaul.Com, and RepresentativeRonPaul all had YouTube videos churning out automated captions via professional-looking transcripts, we've already won half the battle with the hearts and minds of that population due to welcoming them with the accessibility.
Thanks, all.