Infographics Launch & Panel Discussion: Registration now open!
Sign up here until 22nd April!
Join us for the launch and celebration of the product of more than a year’s hard work by a SubComm working group, to produce a series of infographics about subtitling and subtitles.
Infographic One: Who Watches Subtitles?
Infographic Two: Different Types of Subtitles
Infographic Three: What Does a Subtitler do all Day?
Infographic Four: Subtitles: A Balancing Act
The graphic artwork for the infographics was generously funded by a Kopiosto Grant from the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL), and we thank them heartily for supporting this endeavour. We’d also like to thank the graphic artist, Hannah O’Connor, for her wonderful creative work and patience.
The infographics are aimed at a general audience, and will be freely available to share and use for non-commercial purposes. They will be supported by additional information and further materials linked on the ‘Infographics’ section of our website. It is hoped that they will be useful in raising awareness about what goes into the work of subtitling, and all the various aspects of a job a subtitler has to consider.
We envisage the structured part of the event will last around 1hr 30 minutes, with a presentation of the infographics, followed by a panel discussion around raising awareness about subtitling, and how the infographics can be used. We are delighted to have the participation of the following panel members:
Sevita Caseres, Research Associate at the University of Geneva, Infographics Working Group Member
Jenni Kavén, Executive Director of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL)
Sara Ramos Pinto, Associate Professor in Translation Studies, The University of Leeds
Tina Shortland, Audiovisual Translator, Board Member of the Norwegian Association of Audiovisual Translators (NAViO)
Hannah Silvester, Lecturer at University College Cork, Co-founder of SubComm, Infographics Working Group Member
Tiina Tuominen, Acting Research Director at The University of Turku, Co-founder of SubComm, Infographics Working Group Member
After 1hr 30, there will be time for a less formal conversation among all participants who wish to remain connected.
PLEASE NOTE: the event will begin at 2pm UK/Irish time, and 3pm CET.
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Subtitle Chats: Tools that make our lives easier
Have you found the perfect scheduling or AVT tool to support you in your work? Are you wondering how other people use technology to overcome specific challenges? Whether you want to share or learn, come along and chat about these things and more besides with other academics and practitioners who love subtitling! This is an informal online chat on Zoom, we’ll share the link via email on the morning of the event.
Join us on Zoom on Thursday the 14th March 2024, 4 – 5.30 p.m. British/Irish time (5 – 6.30 p.m. Central European time) and network with practitioners, researchers and industry stakeholders from around the world.
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SubComm Subtitle Chats: Subtitle Analysis
What kind of research is done that analyses subtitles? What kind of research would you like to see? How do/would you feel about your subtitles being analysed for research? Come and discuss this, and anything else you’d like to chat about, with other people interested in subtitling at our next informal subtitle chat!
Join us on Zoom on Wednesday the 24th January 2024, 4 – 5.30 p.m. British/Irish time (5 – 6.30 p.m. Central European time) and network with practitioners, researchers and industry stakeholders from around the world.
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Subtitle Chats: Subtitling humour
Come and chat about subtitling humour. Do you think it is challenging? Did you come up with a subtitle for a joke/pun you’re particularly proud of? Do you do research on subtitling humour? Come and share! A chance to network with subtitlers and other industry stakeholders, and have fun!
Join us on Zoom on Friday the 24th November 2023, 4 – 5.30 p.m. British/Irish time (5 – 6.30 p.m. Central European time) and network with practitioners, researchers and industry stakeholders from around the world.
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Subtitle Chats: What subtitlers do in their free time
Come and chat about what subtitlers do in their free time. A chance to network with subtitlers and other industry stakeholders, and have fun!
Join us on Zoom on Friday the 20th October 2023, 4 – 5.30 p.m. British/Irish time (5 – 6.30 p.m. Central European time) and network with practitioners, researchers and industry stakeholders from around the world.
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Subtitle Chats: My Ideal Subtitling Workflow
Inspired by research discussions about subtitling workflows in different contexts, our June Subtitle Chat will focus on the topic of subtitling workflows, and how subtitlers would choose to work in an ideal world. How much time would you have? Would you do your own spotting? Do you like to use templates? If so, what kind and how? Would you work as part of a team or on your own? Directly for distributors/channels, etc, or via an agency? What type of tools would you use?
Everyone works differently, so let’s have a chat about how you would work in an ideal world!
Join us on Zoom on Friday the 9th June, 4 – 5.30 p.m. British/Irish time (5 – 6.30 p.m. Central European time) and network with practitioners, researchers and industry stakeholders from around the world.
Sign up for our June Subtitle Chats here. We will send out a Zoom link on the 8th of June.
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Subtitle Chats: Creativity in Audiovisual Translation
Considering the multimodal nature of the audiovisual text, we are looking forward to getting together and hearing about all the ways in which AVT professionals can use creativity to create subtitles, audio description and dubbing scripts that combine and reflect everything that is happening on a viewer’s screen. How much creativity can you exercise in audiovisual translation? What happens if you use templates? What kind of creative solutions have you found that you are especially proud of? Can research offer ideas for how to work with audiovisual materials? Join us for a networking session to discuss the creative solutions AVT professionals keep up their sleeves. We are excited to hear how you use your skills to create the content for whatever aspect of audiovisual translation you specialise in.
Join us on Zoom on Tuesday the 4th April, 4 – 5.30 p.m. British/Irish time (5 – 6.30 p.m. Central European time) and network with practitioners, researchers and industry stakeholders from around the world. We will send out a Zoom link on the 3rd of April.
Sign up for our April Subtitle Chats here. We will send out a Zoom link on the 3rd of April.
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Subtitle Chats: Routes into the AVT Profession
Subtitle Chats IV: Routes into the AVT Profession
Inspired by the discussions at our December Subtitle Chats, we are going to discuss routes into the audio-visual translation industry at our next event this February. What kind of training have you received that really benefits you in your day-to-day work? What kinds of skills do you think are indispensable for the modern AVT professional? Join us for a networking session to talk about the kinds of competences that are needed for work in the audio-visual translation industry. From professional competences such as being able to use subtitling software to soft skills like research and intercultural communication, we look forward to engaging in a lively discussion.
Join us on Zoom, Friday the 24th of February 4 – 5.30 pm BST (5 – 6.30 CET) to network with researchers, academics and industry stakeholders from around the world. As we know that not everyone can make the Friday time, Subtitle Chat V will be on a Tuesday. Save the date! It’s going to be on the 4th of April, and we will open sign-ups closer to the time.
Sign up for Subtitle Chats IV before the 22nd of February here. We will send out a Zoom link on the 23rd of February.
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Infographic Workshop
Update: Thank you to everyone who came to our workshop on the 15th of March – we will meet again on the 31st.
SubComm is an initiative founded to bring academics and practitioners in the audio-visual industry together, building a community in order to explore the development of the profession and the challenges it faces. Following up from the suggestions made in December at our Subtitle Chats, this year we will be conducting an infographic project to explore some of these challenges and trends.
This March, we will be facilitating a workshop to gather information and ideas for what the infographics could display. We are thinking of presenting the practical realities of the daily lives of AVT professionals. These could be the challenges they are facing, such as fair rates of pay, decent working conditions, and quality control, which is now presenting further challenges with the growth of MT being used in the audio-visual industry, but also opportunities, such as being able to work on a diverse range of projects, and continuous learning.
Subtitling practitioners and scholars are best placed to discuss these trends and provide the data we need to visualise them, providing clarity and inspiration to those who do not have a professional interest in subtitling. To that end, we are looking for participants for the workshop discussions to collaborate with us to brainstorm, gather information and develop ideas about the issues that matter to the profession that might be most relevant for our infographics. These may be the examples mentioned above, or something completely different!
If you have an interest in participating in the workshop, we would like to invite you to contact us before the 17th of February. You can email us at projectsubcomm@gmail.com, or drop us a message on our Twitter or LinkedIn pages! If you have any ideas about what topics you feel we should focus on, we also welcome you to get in contact with us.
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Subtitle Chats: What I wish my friends knew about my work
Subtitle Chats III: What I wish my friends knew about my work
What do you wish everyone who does not have a professional interest in subtitling knew about it? Have you ever found yourself justifying the complexity of your work? Join us for a networking chat to discuss how we can make the profession more understandable and visible for the benefit of all. From the challenges of explaining the practice to someone who has never thought about it before to demonstrating to clients what difficulties and opportunities subtitling can offer, we hope you will be able to share your insights with us.
Join us on Zoom Friday, the 16th of December, from 4 – 5.30 pm BST (5 – 6.30pm CET) and network with academics, researchers, teachers and industry stakeholders from around the world. Please sign up here by the 14th of December. We will send out the Zoom link on the 15th of December. You can sign up anytime from the 9th of December at 9am.
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Previous events:
Subtitle Chats: Ask a Researcher Friend
Subtitle Chats II: Ask a Researcher Friend
What is a question you have always wanted to ask a/nother subtitling researcher? What is a situation in which you wanted to talk to a/nother subtitling researcher? If you have a professional interest in subtitling, please join us for a chat about things only a subtitler knows. We hope this will become a fun and enlightening conversation about subtitling practices, research challenges, and how a community like SubComm could offer a platform for those questions.
Join us online on Friday, 21st October, at 4pm BST/5pm CET and meet colleagues from around the world. Please sign up by Wednesday 19th October. We will send a Zoom link to all participants on 20th October.
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Subtitle Chats: Phone a Subtitler Friend
Sign up here.
Introducing Subtitle Chats: Phone a Subtitler Friend
SubComm is launching a series of informal chats on questions related to subtitling. The topic of the first Subtitle Chat is ‘Phone a Subtitler Friend’.
What is a question you have always wanted to ask a/nother subtitler? What is a situation in which you wanted to talk to a/nother subtitler? If you have a professional interest in subtitling, please join us for a chat about things only a subtitler knows. We hope this will become a fun and enlightening conversation about subtitling practices, research challenges, and how a community like SubComm could offer a platform for those questions.
Join us online on Friday, 2 September, at 4pm BST/5pm CET and meet colleagues from around the world. Please sign up by Wednesday 31 August. We will send a Zoom link to all participants on 1 September.
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Share Your Story
Sign up here.
This networking/discussion session will offer us an opportunity to hear about different routes into a subtitling career, as well as different practices and work processes. We are certain that discussing a variety of experiences will be both useful and eye-opening, and will hopefully help us get to know each other better.
Our plan for the session is that, after a short introduction, participants will be divided into small groups in which everyone can share their story in an informal setting with a few colleagues. Then, we will all have a wrap-up discussion together to see what you have learnt from your discussions and whether that has given you any ideas for future activities. We will also use this event as an opportunity to launch our brand new SubComm website and discussion board, which will allow us to keep in touch in between events.
The event will take place on Zoom. Joining instructions will be sent to you on the day.
