Five Things You Can't Do On British Television
5,216,674
Published 2020-11-09
đ€đ€ SUBTITLES đ€đ€
15% of my viewers watch with subtitles! They're helpful for folks without headphones, or in loud environments, or who can't hear well, or who just like subtitles. More people will watch if subtitles are an option.
Before 2020, YouTube had a volunteer community-captions system. Alas, due to spam (and, I suspect, the difficulty of porting it to the new Studio), YouTube turned it off. So your options are:
OPTION 1: DO IT YOURSELF
If your video is one or two people talking, you can add subtitles easily with YouTube's tools: support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796 - that's also possible for more complex videos, but it can be time-consuming.
OPTION 2: PAY A SMALL AMOUNT
If you can afford an editor, you can afford subtitles! They only cost $1-2 per minute of audio.
For simple audio, try Rev: www.rev.com/blog/coupon/?ref=tomscott To be clear, that's an affiliate link: you get $10 of captions free (enough for up to an 8-minute video), and I get a kickback from them. However, my opinions of Rev are mixed. They have downsides, and they may not be the right option for you!
Advantages of Rev:
â Extremely fast turnaround
â Easy, simple, automated, self-service
â Reasonable price
Disadvantages of Rev:
đ« Rev is a gig-economy company, with everything that entails. In 2019, transcribers raised issues including low pay. www.theverge.com/2019/11/25/20979249/rev-recordingâŠ
đ« Accuracy is usually acceptable for clear speech, but not the near-perfect results you'd expect from a more high-end subtitle company.
đ« They're limited to their simple, narrow, house style. That isn't ideal for videos with long sentences or many speakers.
For more complicated audio or for multiple speakers, try Caption+: caption.plus/ -- a small company that produces extremely high-quality subtitles for a reasonable price.
Advantages of Caption+:
â Exceptional subtitle accuracy.
â Hand-tweaked broadcast-standard subtitles that are perfect for accessibility, and which the audience love.
â Can use positioning and per-speaker colors, and match other style requests.
â Still a reasonable price.
Disadvantages of Caption+:
đ« Not automated: you're dealing with a human by email, and paying invoices.
OTHER COMPANIES: I also used 3PlayMedia once, but unfortunately can't recommend them based on that experience. YouTube also mention ceilo24 and Amara, neither of which I have experience with: cielo24.com/ amara.org/
đșđș SHOWS đșđș
Here's a list of all the shows mentioned, with links where available. (Where Amazon links are listed, those are affiliate links, where I earn a commission from sales.)
The Demon Headmaster is available on DVD from Amazon UK: amzn.to/37Cb68U - and the 2019 revival is available in the UK on BBC iPlayer: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0009f6n/the-demon-âŠ
Derren Brown: The Events: How To Control The Nation is available for free on YouTube:    âąÂ Derren Brown | The Events: How To Con...  - although it lacks the live broadcast cut-ins.
The pilot episode of Crisis Command: Could You Run The Country? has been uploaded to YouTube here:    âąÂ BBC2 3rd February 2004  Crisis Comman...  - normally I wouldn't link to an unofficial upload, but the series will likely never be repeated or see a commercial release.
Ghostwatch is available on DVD from Amazon UK: amzn.to/3kweAgL - I should absolutely have put the ghost in the background of one of my shots here, I regret missing that joke!
The full Ghostwatch continuity announcement is here:    âąÂ Ghostwatch Continuity Announcement - ... Â
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire have an entire YouTube channel. youtube.com/c/MillionaireUK/videos - and yes, Jeremy Clarkson is the host now, I suspect that'll surprise a lot of people.
đđ REFERENCES đđ
Ofcom Broadcasting Code: www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-âŠ
On sports: www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-âŠ
On access: www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-âŠ
On advertising: www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-⊠AND www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/16328âŠ
"Only five complaints" about the Derren Brown show is from Broadcast Bulletin 148 [PDF]: www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/47160âŠ
Ghostwatch, and the "full tabloid fury afterwards", is well-documented in many places, so I'll leave researching that to the reader. Don't have nightmares.
đđ CONTACT đđ
I'm at tomscott.com/
on Twitter at twitter.com/tomscott
on Facebook at facebook.com/tomscott
and on Ins
All Comments (21)
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This video has a correction! The final "sixth thing", the rule on advertising breaks, was superseded in 2008 by a different rule that requires that "the integrity of the programme is not prejudiced" and adverts must be placed "where natural breaks occur". The old Code is still on Ofcom's site, and I missed the replacement. Back when Millionaire started, those throws-to-commercial were definitely not allowed, but it's now more ambiguous. You can see all corrections on this channel at www.tomscott.com/corrections/
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"You are not allowed to disrupt a show with an ad." "Oh no" [Ad break] "Anyway"
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I was expecting something silly like âyou canât show the Queen from the back on Tuesdaysâ, but these all seem very reasonable
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As an American I envy that 12 minutes of advertisement per hour rule so damn much. We're lucky to have 12 minutes of show per half hour. It's gotten so bad that re-airings of older episodes of different shows have had parts of them completely cut out (with no effort spared to smooth the transition), not because of censorship, not because of offense, but just to squeeze in more frickin' ads.
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I've always respected Tom for including subtitles. I'm not hearing-impaired, but there are occasions where I can't watch with sound on, and Tom's reliability is very much appreciated.
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âOh look at me, I bought a lamborghiniâ âBUY SOME DAMN SUBTITLESâ ~Tom, 2020
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Tom: "This should apply to YouTube as well." YouTube: Removes community captioning.
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I remember watching American shows on British TV (usually kids shows but not always) and noticing moments when characters would repeat something they'd just said, or there would be a weird transition in the middle of a scene. I now realise that these were where the extra ad breaks you're allowed in the US would go.
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Can we just appreciate that Tom got and read a whole hypnosis textbook just to make one small point? I mean, thatâs dedication.
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"Oh, look at me, I bought a lamborghini-" "BUY some damn subtitles! Also-" Cutscreen That cracked me up
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I love the sudden cut to âOoh look at me I bought a Lamborghini - Buy Some Damn Subtitles!â
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THANK YOU!!! As someone who watches subtitles because they donât have headphones, I am so happy with channels who use actual subtitles and not just the âauto generatedâ ones that never quite say what they are supposed to.
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As someone who isnât actually deaf, I have a hard time hearing and understanding voices. Even in real life it can be hard, so subtitles are a big deal. User created subtitles being removed from YouTube has made life hard
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"Oh look at me, I have a Lamborghini BUY SOME DAMN SUBTITLES" Jeremy Clarkson: time for a break YouTube: AD PLAYS Tom Scott 2020
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7:45 " And the host says: Time for a break " (YouTube Ad Starts) Tom proved his point breaking the 3.5th Wall
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As a person with a disabled partner itâs of paramount importance that subtitles are available. If you had trouble understanding peopleâs verbal speaking you wouldnât be able to enjoy telly without subtitles and itâs important to remember that.
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On the topic of ads in the US, even little kids' shows are prone to it. One time, it played the credits of the end of an episode, then cut to commercial. Then it came back from commercial to play the intro theme of the next episode, and then went back to commercial.
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"Ohh, look at me, I've bought a lamborghini! - BUY SOME DAMN SUBTITLES!" Tom Scott is becoming more iconic by the minute
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Bravo for posting your mid roll ad right when Clarkson says âTime for a breakâ đ
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Im not a native english speaker, and I'm always thankful for those who puts subtitles in their videos, because it's so much easier to understand what they are saying, since most of the time I can't clearly figure out what's the idea because of the accent, slangs, etc. So again, thank you very much for doing and promote it. This channel fascinates me
