The Daily Moth

Have you wondered what happens behind-the-scenes at The Daily Moth? Alex shows you how things are done!

[TRANSCRIPT AND DESC: Alex is seated in front of a dark background. ALEX: Hello! My name is Alex Abenchuchan. I founded “The Daily Moth” in 2015. Why did I start it? There was a lack of ASL access to news for deaf people. Yes, there were newspapers and it’s important to read them. But where’s that visual learning? Hearing people can listen on the radio or on the television. Deaf people don’t have these privileges. So I thought, I can. I believed in myself and went ahead and “do it.” I got a DSLR camera like this one. I set it on a tripod. I set up a light kit that I ordered from Amazon. You can get different kinds. Video clip of a studio light being turned on. ALEX: I chose the name “The Daily Moth” because deaf people love the… light! ASL is a visual language. Moths also have wings, which is similar to our signing hands. What does it look like behind the scenes? First, I’ll show you what I see when I’m standing up and signing. The lights shine on me. Video clip of two bight studio lights in between a teleprompter and a TV monitor. ALEX: Now, I’ll show you a transcript that I’ve typed up and then transferred to an iPad teleprompter. It helps me with my signing. Video clip of iPad teleprompter on a glass screen. ALEX: After I finish signing, I transfer the video to my editing software, Final Cut Pro X. Video clip of a news segment being edited. ALEX: After I finish editing the video, I send it to an external organization called ASLCaptions, which is under DPAN.TV. They use a computer software to add and time the captions. Video clip of a staffer at DPAN.TV describing how he processes captions by uploading it, cleaning it up, time the captions, and then deliver the caption file to the customer. ALEX: When I receive the file, I post it on Facebook, YouTube, and eBlast. That’s my day’s work. One last thing — thank you Jimel for the honor of asking me to partake in this. And one more last thing — stay with the light!]