How to see the context around a short line in Playphrase.me
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A short video quote can begin in the middle of a conversation. You may catch every word and understand the sentence, yet still have no idea who or what the speakers are discussing because the missing information sits in the lines around it.
In Search & Learn, Contexts loads neighboring video quotes from the same film or episode: up to ten before the selected quote and up to ten after it. Play them in order to hear a longer stretch of the conversation.
Contexts does not explain the line or interpret the scene. It gives you more of the source material that the short search result left out.
When one line is not enough
Search for what are you talking about. One result from I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) contains only What are you talking about? On its own, the question says nothing about the subject of the conversation.
Reconstruct the conversation around the video quote
- Pause the selected video quote.
- Click the filmstrip icon with the
Contextstooltip. - Find the current quote in the row that opens. Earlier fragments are on the left and later ones are on the right.
- Start several video quotes earlier and move to the right, one by one. This gives you a sequence of lines rather than a single reply.
Contexts keeps the selected quote in the row while the neighboring fragments continue the conversation in both directions.In this example, the surrounding lines reveal that the speakers are talking about Adam: he dislikes the scripts, does not take direction, and trusts only one person there. That person is then invited to join the production. The topic is now clear, although the short question itself never mentioned Adam or the production.
How much context is available
Contexts shows up to ten video quotes before the current one and up to ten after it. The row may be shorter when the selected quote is close to the beginning or end of the source, or when some fragments are unavailable.
The row is not the whole film and may not contain the whole scene. If the topic is still unclear, start with the earliest available video quote and play through the row in order. You can then tell whether this stretch contains enough information.