Why do subtitles for movies/TV shows specify the name of the speaker when the camera is clearly trying to hide their identity?
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Because if you’re deaf, you can’t identify them by voice, and normally you should be able to in that context, usually
1. This isn’t universally true. You will often see subtitles attributed to [MAN] or [MASKED WOMAN] or [SHADOWY FIGURE] and so on. So your premise is flawed. Mostly because you’re asking a straightforward question, not looking for a simplification of a complex concept as ELI5 is intended for.
2. For the instances where it is true, the reasons would vary, and you would have to ask the people responsible for those specific subtitles why they did that. ELI5 is not the correct place to ask about the motivations of others; but I will say that one very likely possibility is that the subtitles are taken from the script, and the script specifies the character speaking the lines, even if it’s not yet meant to be known to the audience.
A good set of subtitles will replicate the context of the scene – if a character can be clearly seen speaking out can be reasonably easily identified based on their voice for example then they will name the subtitles for clarity. If a character is hidden and unidentifiable, then any subtitles should be appropriately labelled to suit as ‘unknown character’ or similar.
Not all subtitles will be created equally though, if the job was rushed out or done with little care, then they may have taken shortcuts like typing out the script with little care taken over the finer details of the scene.
It is also worth noting the difference between subtitles and closed captioning – subtitles are intended for use where viewers will be able to hear the audio, but may have issues hearing it clearly, or where foreign languages need to be translated. Closed captioning is intended for use where the viewers cannot hear anything, so include additional information such as naming characters, and describing ancillary audio like sound effects or music where appropriate.
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