The appeal of audiovisual products stems largely from the combination of visual and auditory resources, but professional subtitling focuses on translating dialogue and specific written information on-screen. 

Can we really say we are making a film accessible when we subtitle only one of its modes?

If in a Portuguese film or documentary someone pinches their earlobe without saying anything, how are British viewers, for example, expected to understand that it means ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ when that hand gesture is unfamiliar to them? More worryingly, how can we avoid Italian viewers, for example, from misunderstanding the situation when in their culture the same gesture has a sexual and offensive connotation? 

This project challenges three main assumptions:

1. That the audiovisual experience is effectively translated when only verbal elements are translated. Visual and auditory elements can be as culturally specific as verbal elements, and research shows that viewers find considerable challenges recognising or interpreting visual elements.
2. That professional subtitling practices make speech fully accessible to new audiences when focused only on the semantic content of what characters say. This ignores all that is expressed through tone, emphasis, and rhythm, which might be missed when the source language is unfamiliar to the new audience.
3. That the least intrusive subtitle position is at the bottom of the screen. This ignores the new areas and vectors of attention introduced by subtitles positioned at the bottom of the screen.

This project makes an innovative contribution to the subtitling industry by reviewing current subtitling practices and testing the potential limitations and opportunities of alternative subtitling approaches focused on translating meaning expressed through any element (visual, auditory, verbal, or non-verbal). The project has five main strands:

STRAND 1. Conduct interviews with professionals involved in production and distribution

This includes a series of interviews with film directors, producers, and distributors to better understand how they understand viewers' meaning-making processes and how that influences how they produce audiovisual content. This strand also aims to collect data on these professionals' understanding of subtitling, its purpose, and its process. 

COMPLETED

STRAND 2. Collect data on subtitling professionals' attitudes and perceptions

This includes a large survey and a series of interviews among subtitling professionals and project managers to better understand:

1. how they understand subtitling and its possible limitations 
2. how they normally deal with meaning expressed non-verbally when subtitling,
3. how they perceive alternative subtitling practices and the implications a change in practice might have on their workflow and training

COMPLETED

STRAND 3. Development of subtitling solutions

This includes developing an analytical framework that accounts for the multimodal nature of audiovisual products, as well as a new Enhanced Subtitling practice in collaboration with film directors and other professionals.
Related to this, see the project "Subtitling of Clear Shadows: an action research project on enhanced subtitling" 

COMPLETED

STRAND 4. Guidelines for Enhanced Subtitling

This includes the development of an analytical framework capable of accounting for the multimodal nature of audiovisual products, together with a set of guidelines for the newly developed Enhanced Subtitling, in which meaning expressed visually and auditorily, verbally and non-verbally, is translated through the use of subtitles and additional titles on screen. 
The aim is not to replace current subtitling practice, but to develop an alternative practice that enhances accessibility and the viewing experience.

COMPLETED

STRAND 5. Collect empirical data on viewers' reception and perception

This will include a series of experimental reception studies taking advantage of eye-tracking technology, questionnaires and interviews. The aim is to collect data on:

1. the impact of current subtitling practices in maintaining or eliminating the source text’s layers of meaning;
2. the impact of innovative subtitling practices in maintaining or eliminating the source text’s layers of meaning, and
3. the viewers’ expectations and attitudes regarding different subtitling practices.

IN PROGRESS