What Do Subtitlers Do? (Case Study)

When watching your favorite films with subtitles, do you ever stop and wonder who or what is behind them? I’m sure the answer most of you will have is no or rarely. In this article, we will look at the people who create the subtitles we enjoy and enable us to appreciate foreign films with foreign languages more. Subtitling is a film process that has grown in recent years. Being a film subtitler is a rather interesting profession that we rarely talk about. You might wonder why we call them unsung heroes, but it’s because they don’t get as much recognition as actors and film producers get, yet they also play a huge role in the completion of a film. As much as producers, directors, actors, and actresses get their accolades. We should not leave subtitles behind. To fully bring your film into the reality of fruition, as most of the people like to call it, you would have to have a budget for actors, researchers set and costume designers, location scouts and cinematographers and also subtitles if your plan is to have subtitles in your film. That shows important subtitlers are. Just like everybody else on a set, we also plan for them. You should note that as much as subtitlers come into the picture at the very last stage when the whole film process has ended, they still are as important as the rest of the cast members. It’s a collaborative process requiring an ongoing dialogue and support system from within to create a product consistent with the artistic vision. When a film goes to the last stage, which is usually subtitling, the subtitlers have the power to mess up and destroy what the film production team plus actors worked on. They need to remain in the context and come up with a perfectly contextual film with subtitles. This is where you must be very keen as a film producer to get a subtitler who versed in what he or she does and is a professional. If the subtitlers do their jobs well, they bring the filmmakers’ vision to whole nations of new viewers. If they sacrifice quality, the film could become a laughingstock. I already mentioned how everyone works hand-in-hand to make sure that the film comes out perfectly. That is not a privilege afforded to subtitlers because they work alone and under a tight schedule, which might between 24 – 48 hours if they are working with a great producer. It usually becomes hard to stay within context following the fact that they rarely work with the film director who is the person who directs how scenes on a movie should be. Subtitles are a “by the way” for many production houses, regardless of how their role might be super impactful when you are trying to push your film across the boarders. Research Done By Winny Moraa Obiso Powerpoint Presentation: https://dubbingking.com/what-do-subtitlers-do-study-notes/ Online Article: https://dubbingking.com/what-do-subtitlers-do/