press (for example, The San Francisco Call, The Daily News, The Bridgeport Telegram ) caption contests were already quite popular. In the beginning of the 20th century, at least in the U.S. It must be considered, that the term caption in its present sense firstly appeared in English language only in the first half of the 20th century. At that time these competitions were called picture title or picture headline contests, but their concept and meaning was identical to current caption contests. press of the late 19th century (such as Life magazine which was published from year 1883 to 1936). įrom currently available information, the first caption contests in printed media appeared in the U.S. All these areas share the combination of words and images that could be multiplied and made available to a wide audience with the beginnings of mass printing and wide spread of newspapers and magazines. It is considered that the origins of caption contests are related to the increase of popularity of cartoons and comics as well as widespread use of illustrations and the rise of photojournalism in printed media at the end of the 19th century. In several caption contests, winners are awarded with prizes. Usually it is not allowed to use profane or offensive language in submitted captions. As an exception, the caption can consist of several sentences. Sometimes competition rules limit caption size, but usually the caption is no longer than one sentence (10–20 words). Consequently, the judging of submitted captions is usually quite subjective. It is generally assumed that the caption has to describe image as precisely as possible, so both humour and precision are equally important.Īs caption writing is an art of words, it is rarely possible to evaluate the superiority of one caption over others accurately and objectively. Usually the submitted captions are judged by the originality and wit, but not always the decisive assessment is humour. The caption, unless competition rules do not restrict, can be in any form of literary expression – prose, poetry, as one word or a word play. An important aspect of caption competition is to look at an object, event or issue from unusual point of view. Traditionally, the most popular and typical format has been publication of caption contests in newspapers or magazines, but with the development of modern technologies, it is also very popular to organize caption contests on the Internet.Ĭaption contests can be used not only as an entertainment but also for other purposes, such as newspaper promotion, bringing forward a certain problem, or product advertisement. The competition organizer is required to give information about caption submission rules and other information that is important for the contest.Ĭaption contests are mainly arranged as an amusement, and they can be organized under different conditions (between separate individuals, in public events, mass media, etc.), as well as using various means (drawn pictures on paper, digital image, printed image, press publication, etc.). Contests may vary by image type ( photo or drawing), caption format ( description of a situation or a dialogue), as well as judging criteria. Rules and information about the competition process are also given by the competition organizer.Ĭaption contest participants have to describe a given image as accurately and originally as possible. A caption contest or caption competition is a competition between multiple participants, who are required to give the best description for a certain image offered by the contest organizer.
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