Unit(s) of Assessment	Weighting towards Module Mark (%)
Translation of 10 minutes of film using a subtitle master file	15%
Subtitling and translation of 10 minutes of film	15%
Subtitling and translation of 15-20 minutes of film	60%
10-minute oral presentation outlining problems encountered and reasons for choices made in third subtitling project	10%

Qualifying Condition(s): A weighted aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the module

In this module students will learn how to produce subtitles for foreign-language films, TV series, documentaries etc. The focus will be on acquiring skills for analysing the various components of audiovisual materials (speech, sound, text), developing strategies for translating film dialogue into written-language subtitles and learning to create subtitle files, using professional subtitle software. A range of languages of languages will be offered, according to demand: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

The module introduces students to subtitling a variety of audiovisual genres, a range of translation strategies for subtitling, and techniques for producing technically accurate subtitles including time-cueing. Students will focus on one language pair.

• assess and analyse the complexity of audiovisual components and their interactions as the basis for creating interlingual subtitles which function appropriately in the given context;
• demonstrate knowledge of the cross-cultural aspects at play in multimedia communication;
• compare and contrast written translation and audiovisual interlingual translation;
• produce interlingual subtitles approaching a professional standard for a range of genres including feature films, documentaries, news broadcasts, popular TV dramas and shows;
• evaluate software according to specific purposes;
• justify and explain their subtitling choices by analysing the decision process.

• functionality and operation of professional-level software;
• analysis of various audiovisual components (speech, sound, image) in the source language material;
• audience-specific needs with respect to reading speeds and vocabulary in the target language;
• the time-cueing process in the context of spoken, written, visual, and acoustic features in the source material;
• the role of significant linguistic features such as dialect, sociolect, and idiolect in the audio source/script and possible translation solutions;
• the cross-cultural translation of humour, irony, proper nouns, word plays, strong and taboo language, etc.;
• spatial and temporal constraints set by the subtitling task (e.g. placement, distribution of subtitles) with respect to the target language conventions;
• methods of adapting and editing the translation through a range of strategies including omission, reduction, neutralisation, generalisation, paraphrase, and expansion;
• synergies of rhythm and pace between audiovisual material and translated subtitles;
• the concept of 'artistic intent' in relation to decision-making in the subtitling process;
• orthographic standards and conventions in the target language;
• the use of master files ('templates').

1 September 2009