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Photo and excerpt of Death and Harry Houdini feat. Dennis Watkins and Carolyn Defrin used with permission from The House Theatre of Chicago.
Making closed captioning available for any given performance in any type of theater space.
Patrons will enjoy closed captioning on their own mobile devices, without distracting fellow
theatergoers.
CaptionPoint will be inexpensive—even for small theaters and their patrons.
Matthew Bivins, co-founder of CaptionPoint and front end developer, loves live theater. When he's not coding, Matt is often in a play or going out to watch one. He wants to share his love of live theater with his wife, Lindsay, who is deaf.
Lindsay can only enjoy a play if she reads the script beforehand, which isn't much fun, or if she can catch an open-captioned performance, which is rare. Matt wants to help make live theater more accessible to everyone, with CaptionPoint.
Existing closed captioning systems require theaters to invest in a mix of software, networking, and presentation devices that are expensive to purchase and install for large theater companies and unaffordable for small ones.
CaptionPoint will keep costs low for theaters by interfacing with any devices for open or closed captions: LED screens, monitors, smart phones and tablets.
While stage productions with open captioning and/or ASL interpreting have become increasingly available, the actual number of captioned performances tends to be limited to a few shows per run.
By making the process of installation, setup, and execution consistent from the first show to the last, CaptionPoint will allow theaters to provide closed captioning for all performances in a run.
Open captioning (projecting captions on a screen) can be distracting to other audience members and display placement is a struggle for theaters and patrons alike.
CaptionPoint will regulate screen brightness, color, and contrast for optimal reading in such a way that avoids catching the eyes of other audience members.
Theater staff inputs a script into the CaptionPoint system.
Before the performance, supply patrons with equipment for hands-free display of their mobile devices.
During a performance, captions will be published over a private network to patrons' mobile devices.
Theater staff advances captions with the simple tap of the keyboard.
The CaptionPoint app will be available in the iTunes app store and Google Play.
Once you're at the theater, open CaptionPoint on your device. The app will automatically search for the CaptionPoint network and prompt you to connect.
Place your mobile device in the holder, adjust as needed, sit back, and watch the captions flow!
The CaptionPoint team has a combined 30+ years of design, development, project management, and theater experience. We have a unique understanding of a theater's time and budgetary constraints... we know how imperative it is for CaptionPoint to be both affordable and easy to use.
Matthew Bivins has been performing on stage since he was five and developing websites for ten years. Preferring to provide tech know-how to nonprofits and organizations in the performing arts world, Matt has built sites for jazz organizations, dance companies, and theaters. He and his wife Lindsay are advocates for accessibility for the performing arts and he's usually obsessed with finding UX wherever he can find it.
Lindsay Jean provides the team the most important perspective of all - that of the deaf and hard of hearing. Her insights shape the way the team approaches building this system. In addition, she provides promotional, marketing and social media support.
Randy Burgess has spent 15+ years leading teams and developing applications with PHP, Rails, and JavaScript. For CaptionPoint, he is focused on Business Operations, Project Management, and System Architecture.
Evan Bivins has been designing for web, apps and print since 2008. With his brother, Matt, they've focused on social good projects and non-profits. His mission is to make the CaptionPoint user experience effortless, intuitive and effective.
