After a few months’ break, we hosted another Subtitle Chat on 24 January. The theme we chose for this chat was collaboration. We wanted to celebrate the publication of our article which explores academics’ and practitioners’ views of research collaborations (more on the article later), so we thought it would be nice to mark the occasion by discussing everyone’s good experiences of professional collaborations.
It was great to see that those who attended the chat really had many good experiences of collegial support and cooperation. However, we also heard about more negative experiences of isolation and lack of contact, which can be detrimental to both the quality of the work and to personal wellbeing. Professional networks may be missing if the client does not facilitate communication among its freelancers. However, some rare LSPs provide a discussion forum for their translators, and that practice was described as “heaven” and a good way for freelance subtitlers to communicate with each other. Positive collaborative experiences can also emerge between subtitlers and quality controllers, or with project managers, if they have an understanding of the subtitling process. Occasionally, subtitlers and dubbing translators may have an opportunity to exchange views, although that does not appear to be very common. One important reminder for anyone wanting to build collaborative networks was to include smaller countries and languages, because subtitlers working in peripheral regions may find it particularly difficult to make connections with others.
One interesting observation in the conversation was that there used to be more collaboration and interaction between subtitlers and their colleagues when some of the work was done in person in the office. These days, when everything can be done remotely, subtitlers are in their “translation cave”, and their contact with others is much more limited. That is why online forums and professional communities that reach beyond a specific client are important, because they can replace some of the social experience that subtitlers used to have in the office. Another way to compensate for the missing connections at work can be to work with colleagues through professional associations.
When it comes to connections between practice and academia, we heard some comments about subtitlers being willing to make contributions to research by, for example, responding to surveys and sharing their experiences with students. In return, they can learn about latest research and benefit from new research findings in their work. For example, they can use knowledge about research to convince their clients of their expertise and to provide arguments that support their subtitling strategies. However, as we discovered in our recent research, building meaningful collaborations between practitioners and academics typically takes time and effort. A successful partnership requires, among other things, open and consistent communication, well defined outcomes that benefit all sides, and sharing information in a format that is quick and easy to access for all.
We also discussed the need to engage in communication and collaboration with others outside the audiovisual translation profession, such as writers and showrunners who have an interest in how their audiovisual products are presented internationally. It can be difficult to reach people who have genuine power over translation-related decisions, and subtitlers’ NDA’s make it difficult to discuss specifics, but this is an important avenue of collaboration to explore. Similarly, it would be useful for subtitlers and academics alike to communicate directly with viewers and help them understand subtitling and its challenges. The hope is that viewers could complain about poor subtitles and pressure content producers and distributors to take subtitle quality seriously. One interesting initiative in this area is the Norwegian AVT association NAViO’s complaints portal, where viewers can easily send feedback on poor subtitles. Could that model be replicated in other countries and languages?
Finally, we shared some ideas and good experiences of things that could be done collaboratively. Hannah mentioned a lovely community activity initiated by the Trans/Actions project that she is a part of: the Spaces to Decompress series, which offers “ opportunities to share and overcome challenges faced by those engaged in translation and activism in Ireland.” Another interesting example, this one from interpreting, was doing volunteer interpreting practice remotely via Zoom. Would it be possible to organise a similar remote practice or sparring session for subtitlers? That is something to consider, and we at SubComm are always open to new ideas on how to best bring the community together. We finished the chat by reminding everyone of SubComm’s social media channels, because that is one way for all of us to keep in touch. So, please join our LinkedIn group, and follow us on LinkedIn and Bluesky, and let’s keep building connections.
See you at the next chat!
