Can Subtitles Say a Little More?

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about subtitles. It all started with a comment from a hearing-impaired friend on txt2srt.com. He told me that with subtitles, he can finally “understand” documentaries that he could only observe from a distance before. This really touched me.

It got me thinking, most of us use subtitles for convenience or to learn a foreign language. But for some people, subtitles are their only window to understanding the world.

Take watching a movie, for example. We hear background music, footsteps, doorbells… all these sounds help us understand the plot and feel the atmosphere. But what about our hearing-impaired friends? They can only see the dialogue.

I’ve been wondering, can subtitles “say” a little more?

For example, when a rapid knock suddenly sounds in a movie, can the subtitles not just simply display “knocking sound,” but add, “a rapid knock, with a hint of unease”? Or, when the protagonists gaze at each other at sunset, can the subtitles add, “background music starts, gentle guitar notes softly flow”?

Wouldn’t this make the experience a bit more “immersive” for our hearing-impaired friends?

I did some research and found that some teams are already working on “accessible subtitles.” They not only focus on dialogue but also try to describe sounds and emotions with text. I think this is quite interesting.

Of course, this is definitely not easy to do. How to accurately describe sounds and emotions with text, how to make subtitles informative without being wordy, these are all challenges.

But I still think it’s worth a try.❤️

I’m not an expert, nor do I have any grand ambitions. I just feel that if I can use my little website or my blog to make more people aware of this issue, even if it helps just one person, it’s worth it.

Like the friend who left the comment said, with subtitles, he can finally “understand” those documentaries. I think that’s the warmest part of technology.