Hi Brian, When we caption videos for in gallery display the font size that seems to work best for us is 20pt. We always try to find a font that's similar to whatever fonts are being used in the gallery graphics, as long as it's san serif, since we've found those fonts easier to read as captions.
We typically make the lettering white, and lay the captions down on a transparent 60% black background. This helps legibility while not imposing an ugly, heavy black band along the bottom of the screen. We never us open captions for aesthetic reasons. When captions in two languages are involved it can be tricky. You may need to edit two different videos to accommodate the different speaking times. For example it takes longer to say something in Spanish than in English, so sometimes a scene will need to stay up longer to allow for that extra time. To play a different language, either visitors can push a button prominently marked "For Spanish language, press here" or something like that, or the different language versions alternate playing and a sign indicates that. The second approach works for short videos, the first one is better for longer programs. In terms of speaker positions - that depends on the viewing environment. If visitors are standing and watching a video on a screen in an open environment focused sound cones mounted above the area where people stand are the best way to go. If you've got an alcove viewing area that's at least partially blocked off, speakers mounted on both sides of the screen, facing viewers are typically used. I hope this helps. Robin White Owen M: 917/407-7641 T: 646/472-5145 robin at mediacombo.net www.mediacombo.net http://mediacombo.net/blog twitter.com/rocombo On Jun 8, 2013, at 8:00 AM, mcn-l-request at mcn.edu wrote: > Send mcn-l mailing list submissions to > mcn-l at mcn.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > mcn-l-request at mcn.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > mcn-l-owner at mcn.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of mcn-l digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Mobile Guide Survey (Kyle Jaebker) > 2. Open caption standards (bryan kennedy) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 12:48:16 +0000 > From: Kyle Jaebker <KJaebker at imamuseum.org> > To: Museum Computer Network Listserv <mcn-l at mcn.edu> > Subject: [MCN-L] Mobile Guide Survey > Message-ID: <CDD74ECE.873D%kjaebker at imamuseum.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Dear colleagues, > > As part of an IMLS grant, we are currently doing some research on the > development of mobile guides in various cultural organizations. We would > appreciate if you could take 5 minutes to answer some questions. By answering > these questions, you will help us gauge awareness and potential use of > open-source tools for creating and launching customized mobile experiences. > > To access the survey, click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/mobileguides > > Kyle Jaebker > Director IMA Lab > 4000 Michigan Road > Indianapolis, IN 46208 > t 317-923-1331 ext. 436 > f 317-920-0399 > kjaebker at imamuseum.org > > ________________________________ > This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may > contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, > use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended > recipient, please contact Kyle Jaebker by reply email and destroy all copies > of the original message. > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 11:50:47 -0500 > From: bryan kennedy <bkennedy at smm.org> > To: Museum Computer Network Listserv <mcn-l at mcn.edu> > Subject: [MCN-L] Open caption standards > Message-ID: > <CACYPTyOw+9myJ2jBHcQAqn5XM_onSEjSE12x+Bf_XV5kKrf9sA at mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Hey Folks, > > I'm doing some work to formalize our captioning standards for museum video > displays, for a big new show that we're working on [1]. We've developed > some internal best-practices (well, strong opinions maybe). But I'd love to > see how they align with other institutions' or other standards from outside > the museum field. > > I'm curious about: > * Line length > * Text color, style > * Font choice > * Dual language displays > * Speaker position > * Open vs. closed (or optional) captions > * Captioning in a multi-screen media theater or object theater > > There's lots of information out there related to standards for captioning > in movies and TV, but these standards often miss some elements of the > dynamics in a museum environment. Any online-resources, scientific papers, > or opinions are welcome. > > Best, > bk > > [1] - Maya - http://www.smm.org/maya > ---------------------------------------------------- > bryan kennedy > director, exhibit media > science museum of minnesota > bkennedy at smm.org 651.221.2522 > ---------------------------------------------------- > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > mcn-l mailing list > mcn-l at mcn.edu > http://mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > > > End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 94, Issue 5 > ************************************
