by Mara Campbell “Glossary”, “consistency sheet”, “term base,” or “key names and phrases” (KNP). It has been called many names by different companies over the years, but its usefulness is uncontested. Put simply, it is a list of terms that are repeated throughout a show, film, or saga, and their approved translations into different […]
Three Elements that Affect Subtitling Productivity
by Catalina Espinoza Almost every audiovisual translator has been asked their daily productivity. In an effort to win clients, sometimes we rush to respond: “x” minutes a day. But it’s difficult to predict the complexity of a project knowing only how long the file is. The purpose of this article is to make it clear […]
Translating Accessibility and Sensitive Content
by Daniela Costa A few months ago, I was assigned the subtitle translation of a documentary. So far, nothing new to me. Before starting a project, I usually do some research about the director, characters, and theme. In this case, it was a documentary about a camp for teenagers, and how it changed their lives. […]
Demand for Non-English Subtitlers Rocketing
By Kelly O’Donovan Subtitles were always a part of post-production, but the demand wasn’t so intense until recently. For the most part, subtitled movies and documentaries travelled to film festivals or were distributed abroad. However, in the last five years, global content streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime have exploded the subtitling scene. […]
Pivot Language Templates in Audiovisual Translation: Friends or Foes?
by Vanesa Álvarez Ortiz In these globalized and competitive times, some big players in the AVT industry rely heavily upon pivot language templates to make English the source language of all translation, eliminating less common combinations. The use of these timed master subtitles has as many advantages as disadvantages both for subtitle vendors and translators. […]