Earlier this year, QuickSilver inaugurated its Audiovisual department, headed by Verónica López. Do check here for an overview of what we do; below, you will find a more in-depth look at the services offered by the AV department.
We have examined in turn the various aspects of audiovisual translation, starting with what many language service providers can (and often do) get wrong…
Translation for dubbing
Problems:
– Linguistic mistakes.
– Translations full of structural, lexical and semantic calques from the English. One consequence of the repetition of these calques is the use of an artificial Spanish which is very different to the spontaneous oral language that dubbing should strive towards. Another consequence is the impoverishment of Spanish, given that, for better or for worse, the Spanish used in audiovisual media has become normative.
– Inconsistency across long projects: series in which the style changes from one episode to the next.
QuickSilver’s solutions:
– Linguistic quality-checking.
– Experienced audiovisual translators who understand the particularities of translation for dubbing. Our translators know when to depart from the original when it is necessary to preserve the message. At the same time, they know how to enrich the text with linguistic twists particular to spoken Spanish. In this way they impart to the translation and dubbing the fluency expected of an audiovisual document.
– By using an internal style guide, glossaries and a dedicated manager for each project, we can guarantee cohesion and consistency between episodes.
Subtitling
Problems:
– Linguistic mistakes.
– It is impossible to follow – the subtitles are too long, and/or appear for too short a time on the screen.
– Technical errors: subtitles stay on the screen too long (after the corresponding dialogue has finished), unsubtitled fragments of dialogue, etc.
– Inconsistency: use of hyphens to indicate distinct speakers in the same subtitle, use of ellipsis to separate subtitles etc.
QuickSilver’s solutions:
– Linguistic quality-checking.
– Experienced subtitlers. Subtitling is almost always about summarising more than translating. Summarising, contrary to popular belief, does not involve changing the message or leaving out information. It enables us to read the subtitles comfortably, almost without noticing, and thus understand the content and enjoy the image at the same time. One of the main tasks of the professional subtitling editor is to extract important information and recognise which content is inessential and can, as a result, be left out.
– We always apply medium reading-speed (12 characters per second) and we decide on the length of the subtitle as a function of the amount of time it can be on-screen.
– Use of professional subtitling software: zero technical errors.
– Use of the QuickSilver subtitling style guide, which enables us to be consistent across all of our subtitling projects.
Subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Problems:
– Linguistic mistakes.
– It is impossible to follow – the subtitles are too long, and/or appear for too short a time on the screen.
– Technical errors: subtitles stay on the screen too long (after the corresponding dialogue has finished), unsubtitled fragments of dialogue, etc.
– Lack of information on aural effects.
– Lack of coherence in the particularities of this type of subtitling: colours for the main characters, placement of the subtitle in the centre or beneath the person speaking.
– Uniformity: the same complexity and reading speed for adult and children’s audiences.
QuickSilver’s solutions:
– Linguistic quality-checking.
– Experienced subtitlers. Subtitling is almost always about summarising more than translating. Summarising, contrary to popular belief, does not involve changing the message or leaving out information. It enables us to read the subtitles comfortably, almost without noticing, and thus understand the content and enjoy the image at the same time. One of the main tasks of the professional subtitling editor is to extract important information and recognise which content is inessential and can, as a result, be left out.
– We always apply medium reading-speed (12 characters per second) and we decide on the length of the subtitle as a function of the amount of time it can be on-screen.
– Use of professional subtitling software: zero technical errors.
– Subtitlers experienced in SDH. Information on aural effects, use of colours for main characters.
– Application of the UNE 153.010 standard “Subtitling for deaf and hearing-impaired people. Subtitling through teletext.”
– Adaptation of factors such as quantity of information and reading speed to the age of the audience at which the program is aimed.
– Ongoing training: attendance at specialized conferences and seminars, such as the 4th International Media for All Conference: “Audiovisual Translation: Taking Stock”. Imperial College (London) 28 June – 1 July 2011.
Audiodescription
The QuickSilver approach:
– Application of the UNE 153.020 standard: Audio description for visually impaired people. Requisites of the audiodescription and production of audioguides.
– Previous analysis of the project, analysing, for example, the quantity and length of the ‘lapses between dialogue and other significant sound elements’ into which concise, objective descriptions can be placed.
– Creation of a script appropriate to the target audience.
– Supervision of the sound recording: collaboration with the recording studio at which the recording is made.
– Ongoing training: attendance at specialized conferences and seminars, such as the Third “Advanced Seminar on Audiodescription” (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, March 2011), and the 4th International Media for All Conference: “Audiovisual Translation: Taking Stock”. Imperial College (London) 28 June – 1 July 2011.
