Fun with Closed Captioning

Have you ever turned closed captioning on during a TV show or DVD you're watching? I do this often for a couple of reasons. First, when I have to keep the TV low it helps to make out what people are saying. Second, when it's a foreign film or there are characters with heavy accents, it's easier to "see" what they're saying.

I find watching closed captions interesting for another reason. When watching shows that are not live, but previously scripted, such as a movie or TV sitcom, the closed captions don't often match exactly what is said on the screen. Obviously, that makes sense for live broadcasts where the closed caption writers are writing as fast as they can but why would that be the case for scripted shows? The only explanation that comes to me is that actors often are not exactly following the script or the director or someone else associated with the movie made last-minute changes.

That being the case, I believe, it's fun to see what changes are made before or during the filming of a movie.