Who doesn’t like the cinema or a good series? Together with music, the seventh art is one of the most widely extended artistic expressions in our culture. We consume series at rates that would have been unthinkable years ago and we go nuts for film festivals. Waiting at the bus stop, in bars and even while out shopping, we come across people talking about the latest episode of the series that everyone is watching (or rather, one of the many).
The internet was responsible for driving series beyond national borders and consequently fuelled the growth of streaming services. The immediacy of this medium makes it impossible for dubbing studios to prepare an episode before everyone has seen it. This is where subtitling comes in, or rather audiovisual translation and professional subtitlers.
As we already know, a subtitle is a caption displayed right at the bottom of the screen that offers a translation of the characters’ dialogue, as well as other types of sounds in other branches of subtitling, such as subtitles for the deaf.
The change brought about by the internet has made subtitled original versions the preferred option of many. Although we don’t agree with comments such as, “I only watch subtitled series” or “I don’t like dubbing, I prefer watching a subtitled film”, it is true that such comments are common in conversations between friends.
Compared to dubbing, subtitles are a quick and cost-effect way of making audiovisual content reach other regions.
What’s more, accessing subtitles is very simple: being able to translate videos on YouTube means anyone can easily add subtitles to a YouTube video, while on platforms such as Netflix and HBO, you can change the audio to the Spanish original version and activate the English subtitles.
For those who want to improve their listening skills in a language, this option is also very popular. Watching films, series and documentaries in Spanish, French or German with subtitles is a method repeatedly used in schools and increasingly by parents who show their children cartoons in another language.
As we’ve already said, subtitling falls in the discipline of audiovisual translation, although it is a very broad field which in turn includes several types of subtitling.
Over the course of a series articles on our blog, we’re going to show you the different types of subtitling, the main challenges associated with this type of audiovisual translation, the tools normally used for this type of translation, and other interesting facts.
Here at Tatutrad we have professionals with extensive experience in subtitling films, series, documentaries, short films and corporate videos, so if you have any doubts or want to contact us to subtitle your video, send us a message!