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New CaptiView system in Lincoln opens up movies for the deaf
Julie Dahlke went to two movies last week.
For most film fans, that's nothing novel. But Dahlke is deaf, and, until recently, going to more than one movie that was captioned in a week wasn't an option in Lincoln.
Then Marcus Theaters' move to digital cinema was completed in October, bringing the CaptiView Closed Captioned Viewing System to the Grand, Edgewood and SouthPointe theaters.
That system can be used in any auditorium in those theaters, opening up nearly every picture to hearing-impaired filmgoers.
Before October, only one captioned movie was offered at a time in Lincoln -- in the Grand's auditorium No. 9. That auditorium is equipped with the MoPix, or Motion Picture Access Project system. Installed in 2005, the MoPix system is made up of two components: the Rear Window Captioning System and DVS Theatrical, which provides audio descriptions for the blind.
The movies that play auditorium 9 have to be specially encoded with the MoPix information and often do not change for several weeks. Many popular films also are not available for the MoPix theater.
"With the Rear Window, you were limited with your choice, you could only see one movie at a time," Dahlke said. "I always felt they were picking what we could see for us. I like adventure movies, and they would sometimes pick something I didn't like. There's more access now. I feel like I'm equal with the hearing people going to a movie, now that I have more than one choice."
So Dahlke was able to go to "The Descendants" one evening and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" a couple of days later, enjoying them both thanks to the CaptiView system.
Developed by Doremi Cinema and tested in Australia in 2010, CaptiView uses a reader that picks up the dialogue from the digital cinema system and displays it in LED lights on a small screen.
That reader is attached to a bendable support arm that fits in the theater seat cupholder. It can be adjusted to sit where it can be easily read as the action takes place on screen.
"I'm getting used to it," Dahlke said of the CaptiView system. "The first time it seemed a little small to me. But I'm used to it now."
Dahlke's only criticism of CaptiView is that, at times, it can be difficult to know which character is talking when he or she can't be clearly seen on screen. That, however, is infrequent, and the system provides the name of the character each time the speaker changes.
Like MoPix, the new system also contains a component for visually impaired moviegoers. Doremi's Fidelio system will allow personal headsets to receive audio descriptions of movies. That system will be available sometime this month, according to a Marcus Theatres news release.
In that release, Marcus president Bruce Olson noted that the Doremi system will be available on "most, but not all motion pictures. Studios must add the captions and descriptive audio to the digital content that they provide to theaters. Marcus Theatres has been running a limited number of open caption films when made available by studios at very limited times on a weekly basis. Now major studios will provide these features on almost every film."
"Almost" is the key word there; "Hugo," for example, does not have the CaptiView content.
Missing a few films isn't that bad compared with having just one choice, Dahlke said. Her biggest complaint is that it took decades to get near-universal access to movies for deaf and hearing-impaired people.
"We had to wait so many years," she said through an interpreter. "They should have started it in the ‘80s when they started captioning on TV. It seems like an awfully long time."
To obtain the CaptiView viewer or the Fidelio headsets, when they become available, patrons just ask for them at the theater box office. The CaptiView viewer is then programmed for the auditorium showing the film.
Because it has only been in theaters for a few months and was introduced with little fanfare, many in the deaf community are unaware the CaptiView system is available in three of Lincoln's four theaters.
To wit, before the interview at the downtown Panera, Dahlke was talking with a deaf professional and told him about CaptiView. "He wants to go right across the street (to the Grand) and see a movie," she said. "He didn't know about it before."
As more deaf people find out about CaptiView, Dahlke said, she expects them to go the movies in far larger numbers and far greater frequency than ever.
"I really do think people will go often," she said. "I'm sure once the word gets out, people will use it. I know that."
Julie Dahlke went to two movies last week.
For most film fans, that's nothing novel. But Dahlke is deaf, and, until recently, going to more than one movie that was captioned in a week wasn't an option in Lincoln.
Then Marcus Theaters' move to digital cinema was completed in October, bringing the CaptiView Closed Captioned Viewing System to the Grand, Edgewood and SouthPointe theaters.
That system can be used in any auditorium in those theaters, opening up nearly every picture to hearing-impaired filmgoers.
Before October, only one captioned movie was offered at a time in Lincoln -- in the Grand's auditorium No. 9. That auditorium is equipped with the MoPix, or Motion Picture Access Project system. Installed in 2005, the MoPix system is made up of two components: the Rear Window Captioning System and DVS Theatrical, which provides audio descriptions for the blind.
The movies that play auditorium 9 have to be specially encoded with the MoPix information and often do not change for several weeks. Many popular films also are not available for the MoPix theater.
"With the Rear Window, you were limited with your choice, you could only see one movie at a time," Dahlke said. "I always felt they were picking what we could see for us. I like adventure movies, and they would sometimes pick something I didn't like. There's more access now. I feel like I'm equal with the hearing people going to a movie, now that I have more than one choice."
So Dahlke was able to go to "The Descendants" one evening and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" a couple of days later, enjoying them both thanks to the CaptiView system.
Developed by Doremi Cinema and tested in Australia in 2010, CaptiView uses a reader that picks up the dialogue from the digital cinema system and displays it in LED lights on a small screen.
That reader is attached to a bendable support arm that fits in the theater seat cupholder. It can be adjusted to sit where it can be easily read as the action takes place on screen.
"I'm getting used to it," Dahlke said of the CaptiView system. "The first time it seemed a little small to me. But I'm used to it now."
Dahlke's only criticism of CaptiView is that, at times, it can be difficult to know which character is talking when he or she can't be clearly seen on screen. That, however, is infrequent, and the system provides the name of the character each time the speaker changes.
Like MoPix, the new system also contains a component for visually impaired moviegoers. Doremi's Fidelio system will allow personal headsets to receive audio descriptions of movies. That system will be available sometime this month, according to a Marcus Theatres news release.
In that release, Marcus president Bruce Olson noted that the Doremi system will be available on "most, but not all motion pictures. Studios must add the captions and descriptive audio to the digital content that they provide to theaters. Marcus Theatres has been running a limited number of open caption films when made available by studios at very limited times on a weekly basis. Now major studios will provide these features on almost every film."
"Almost" is the key word there; "Hugo," for example, does not have the CaptiView content.
Missing a few films isn't that bad compared with having just one choice, Dahlke said. Her biggest complaint is that it took decades to get near-universal access to movies for deaf and hearing-impaired people.
"We had to wait so many years," she said through an interpreter. "They should have started it in the ‘80s when they started captioning on TV. It seems like an awfully long time."
To obtain the CaptiView viewer or the Fidelio headsets, when they become available, patrons just ask for them at the theater box office. The CaptiView viewer is then programmed for the auditorium showing the film.
Because it has only been in theaters for a few months and was introduced with little fanfare, many in the deaf community are unaware the CaptiView system is available in three of Lincoln's four theaters.
To wit, before the interview at the downtown Panera, Dahlke was talking with a deaf professional and told him about CaptiView. "He wants to go right across the street (to the Grand) and see a movie," she said. "He didn't know about it before."
As more deaf people find out about CaptiView, Dahlke said, she expects them to go the movies in far larger numbers and far greater frequency than ever.
"I really do think people will go often," she said. "I'm sure once the word gets out, people will use it. I know that."