Video Script for Martine
Video script for Martine from the page Stories of Web Users (in the 2020 Update version).
Summary
- Older adult
- Female
- Deaf
- Hears some sounds
- Reads lips
- Needs captions
- Needs easier to read text
- Uses sign language
- Uses video relay service
- Uses video conferencing
- Student
- Takes online courses
Script
| Seq. | Time | Audio | Visual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0:00 - 0:20 | Hello! I’m Martine. I have been deaf since birth. I can hear some sounds but not enough to hear speech. Sign language is my primary language, and the one I’m most comfortable with. It’s the language that I think and dream in. | We see Martine signing directly to us viewers (documentary style into the camera). We briefly see that she is communicating through a sign language interpreter who is speaking what she signs (the audio we hear). |
| 2 | 0:20 - 0:35 | I recently enrolled in online courses at my local university. I booked some hours with sign language interpreters to meet with my class mates. The interpreters sign what others are saying, and speak aloud what I sign for others to hear. | [Different scene, Martine is no longer speaking to us, the viewers.] We see Martine in a video conference meeting with multiple people online. We see two sign language interpreters join the meeting (the windows for the interpreters are labeled accordingly, and we see Martine take particular attention to these two windows). |
| 3 | 0:35 - 0:50 | This works best when I can pin the window of the interpreters so that they are always visible. Unfortunately, some meeting apps don’t have this functionality, which makes it difficult for me to follow the conversation. | [Continuation from previous scene.] We see Martine activate the “pin to screen” function for the interpreters and for the current speaker. We see her signing back to the interpreter to speak up in the meeting. We don’t really see the exact signs or hear the interpreter while the scene transitions, we just see that she is actively participating in the meeting. |
| 4 | 0:50 - 1:05 | Or I need to spend lots of time finding a work around. For example, asking my colleagues to switch to another app or trying to use my phone to show the interpreter window. | [Continuation from previous scene.] We see Martine logging into the meeting app through her mobile phone in addition to the computer, to get the interpreter showing on the phone (as well as on the computer, where the interpreter was already pinned). |
| 5 | 1:05 - 1:20 | When interpreters aren’t available, the next best option for me is captions. My university is increasingly adding captions to recorded courses. Unfortunately, only few of the courses that I want to take have captions. | [New scene.] We see Martine browsing through videos of recorded classes (as thumbnails). We see that only one has a “Captioned” marking in the selection she is currently browsing through. Martine selects that one video, and starts watching it. |
| 6 | 1:20 - 1:35 | I love when I can change the text size and colors of the captions. I also wish I could also change the position of the captions because it sometimes is in the way. Only few video players have such settings. | [Continuation from previous scene.] We see Martine adjusting captions to the text size that she prefers. |
| 7 | 1:35 - 1:55 | Some videos have automatic captioning but it is too inaccurate for me. The acronyms, names, and technical phrases that are used in my classes turn out wrong, which is confusing. The automatic captions also don’t identify who is currently speaking. | [Continuation from previous scene.] We see Martine opening another video with automatic captioning turned on. We see a sentence with obviously garbled words, so that the sentence doesn’t make sense. Martine looks puzzled. |
| 8 | 1:55 - 2:25 | I might also lip read when I can see the person’s face, and when they speak slowly and clearly. Sometimes I need to do this for meetings and social gtherings that weren’t scheduled in advance. It gets too difficult with some accents, when several people speak at the same time, or when I don’t see the person speaking. It’s also tiring to do this for too long. | [New scene.] We see Martine in what seems to be an online lecture (as opposed an online meeting, as she was in a previous scene). This time, there are no sign language interpreters present. She is focusing on the mouth of the lecturer speaking. She is trying to understand what they are saying but the person is sometimes turning away from the camera (not speaking directly to the audience of the lecture) to point at a board or otherwise gesture. Martine is looking increasingly tired. |
| 9 | 2:25 - 2:45 | What also gets tiring are long passages of text with little structure, like headings. Many people don’t realize that sign language has a very different grammar and words. It’s hard for me to follow courses that have unnecessarily complex sentences with difficult words. | [New scene.] We see Martine having difficulty understanding a page with with long and justified paragraphs, little spacing, few headings that are hardly distinguishable, and without any structure. |
| 10 | 2:45 - 3:00 | I hope the university continues adding captions and improving the written courses too. Until then I’ll continue bashing my way because nothing gets me down! [chuckles]. | [New scene, continuation from the 1st scene.] We see Martine signing again directly to us, as in the first scene (documentary style into the camera). |