The Challenge

Subtitling practitioners often work as freelancers with limited training opportunities. Meanwhile, many researchers are working on issues that relate to, and could improve the daily realities of life as a subtitler, such as subtitling processes, technologies and quality. But how do the findings of this research make it back to subtitlers and other industry stakeholders? How do academics find practitioners to participate in their research?

The challenges subtitlers face in their work are emblematic of issues encountered by many freelancers and creative workers nowadays, as AI and various other challenges of the globalised business landscape are making it more difficult to work sustainably, make a decent living, and form a vibrant professional community. Through our goal to bring academics and practitioners together, our work explores how to counteract those challenges and propose solutions in ways that could be applicable in other fields.

Translation, particularly in the audiovisual context, is significant culturally and societally, as people are watching more and more international productions; what they read in subtitles may affect their relationship with audiovisual culture, foreign languages and their own language. How can we support practitioners in their fight to improve working conditions, processes and quality in the industry? How can we support academics in reaching practitioners and involving them in research projects?

The Research

SubComm was co-founded by Dr Hannah Silvester (UCC) and Prof. Tiina Tuominen (University of Turku, Finland) in 2021. Its guiding principle is that of engaged, collaborative research in which partners develop research questions, priorities and methods together in an iterative process. Following an initial scoping survey in which UK and Ireland- based subtitlers were asked about their interest in and hopes for networking and continued professional development opportunities, we co-guest-edited a special issue of the open-access 'Journal of Audiovisual Translation', which was aimed specifically at practitioners. In the issue, we encouraged researchers to consider how their work could be relevant to translators, and to write in a way that foregrounded these aspects and was accessible to those working in the field.

Our article within the issue shared the survey results, launched SubComm, and emphasised the need for this kind of public audiovisual translation studies initiative. Since then, we have conducted a focus-group study involving academics and subtitling practitioners, exploring their experiences of collaboration at the interface of research and practice. The results, which were published in an open-access article in The Translator, highlighted the importance of open and clear communication, the identification of mutually identified challenges, and the cultivation of long-term relationships through community- building.

SubComm has been the driving force behind the development of a series of infographics about subtitles and subtitling. This idea came directly out of one of our Subtitle Chats, the theme of which was ‘What I wish my friends who are not in subtitling knew about my work’. We formed a working group made up of academics and practitioners from the SubComm community, and worked together to conceive of and develop a series of infographics about subtitling. Audiovisual translators everywhere are now able to use these to educate people about their work, to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges involved in preparing audiovisual products for distribution across linguistic and cultural borders, and in their fight to make other stakeholders aware of the value of their work. The project was developed in collaboration with members of professional organisations such as FIT, the International Federation of Translators, and AVTE, Audiovisual Translators Europe. The artwork for the infographics was funded by SKTL – the Finnish Translator’s Association, allowing us to approach a graphic designer who created the accompanying artwork and typeset the infographics. The infographics are already available in Finnish, and in addition to an enthusiastic response from a number of translators’ associations and individual professionals, we have received further offers from individuals who would like to be involved in their

The Impact

SubComm is an open community based on reciprocal and continued collaboration and communication. Its founding principle is that of public audiovisual translation studies, through which academics are encouraged to take on an activist role, looking out towards the industry and considering how we can support practitioners as they face the challenges presented by an ever- changing industry at the forefront of technological development.

SubComm is not a traditional finite research project, rather an ongoing initiative with the explicit purpose of building community. There is no envisaged date of completion, and the intended outcomes continue to develop as we learn more about the members of the community and their needs.

So far, the key outputs from the SubComm project take a number of forms, including more traditional pieces such as conference papers, journal articles and special issues, responding to needs identified by the members of the community. Beyond standard academic activities, we are cultivating a growing online presence around which our global virtual community is constituted. This provides opportunities for new and established practitioners to connect with one another and with scholars.

We also have a website on which we share details of upcoming events, such as our monthly Subtitle SubComm Chats – informal networking events where everyone is welcome to come and share their thoughts and ideas on a particular pre-agreed topic (e.g. routes into the profession, common misconceptions about subtitling, etc) and blog posts about topics of interest. These might be interviews with members of the community, or pieces written by researchers to focus on topics of interest highlighted during our discussions.

It was really great being part of #SubComm's monthly gathering. Chatting and brainstorming about ideas relating to the subtitling practice is always a pleasure. Thank you […] for providing a space for us. Can't wait for the next meeting.

-Selma Akseki, Translator and Subtitler (via Twitter)

SubComm has been the driving force behind the development of a series of a series of infographics about subtitles and subtitling. This idea came directly out of one of our Subtitle Chats, the theme of which was ‘What I wish my friends who are not in subtitling knew about my work’. We formed a working group made up of academics and practitioners from the SubComm community, and worked together to conceive of and develop a series of infographics about subtitling. Audiovisual translators everywhere are now able to use these to educate people about their work, to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges involved in preparing audiovisual products for distribution across linguistic and cultural borders, and in their fight to make other stakeholders aware of the value of their work.

The project was developed in collaboration with members of professional organisations such as FIT, the International Federation of Translators, and AVTE, Audiovisual Translators Europe. The artwork for the infographics was funded by SKTL – the Finnish Translator’s Association, allowing us to approach a graphic designer who created the accompanying artwork and typeset the infographics. The infographics are already available in Finnish, and in addition to an enthusiastic response from a number of translators’ associations and individual professionals, we have received further offers from individuals who would like to be involved in their translation. The infographics are now being used for advocacy, in teaching, and in awareness raising by associations.

The SubComm community in general is already succeeding in bringing academics and practitioners together to identify research needs and respond to them. Conversations at the Subtitle Chat events have encouraged subtitler trainers to reconsider some of the key elements of their courses, and subtitling practitioners to re-examine certain elements of their practice.

Earlier this year, SubComm was listed among the UK subtitlers’ association’s (Subtle) ‘AVT Heroes of the Year 2024’, for our work on bridging the gap between academics and practitioners. We were then invited by Subtle to co-host an online meet-up for academics and practitioners. Many ideas emerged from this meeting, including clearer avenues for the sharing of research with practitioners, and the desire for continued collaboration between SubComm and Subtle.

More Information

See the project website: www.subcomm.co.uk

Follow us on BlueSky: @subcomm.bsky.social

Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/subcomm/

"Super grateful [...] for [...] these excellent infographics about the ins and outs of subtitling [...] I often come across an astonishing lack of awareness about the audiovisual translation world [...] the infographics will provide precious supporting evidence."

- Adriana Tortoriello, Creative Translator and Subtitler

"It was really interesting sharing knowledge and different approaches at the sessions I attended. In combination with working on our AVÜ-SDH-Guidelines it made me rethink certain details of my SDH subtitling process.”

- Katharina Hinderer, Translator, Subtitler and Audiodescriber