Subtitles and Dubbing
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Wikipedia-Article "Subtitles"
A subtitle can refer to one of two things: textual versions of a film or television program's dialogue that appear onscreen, or an explanatory or alternate title of a work, in addition to its main title.
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In films and television
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialogue in films and television programmes, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialogue in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialogue in the same language - with or without added information intended to help viewers with hearing disabilities to follow the dialogue.
The process of subtitling
Translation subtitling is very different from the translation of written text. When a film or a TV programme is subtitled, the translation subtitler watches the picture and listens to the audio (sometimes having access to a written transcript of the dialogue as well) sentence by sentence. He/she then writes subtitles in the target language that convey what is said, rather than being an exact rendering of how it's said, i.e. meaning is more important than form. This is due both to the fact that the dialogue must be condensed in order to achieve an acceptable reading speed (if there isn’t time to both read the subtitles and watch the programme, the whole purpose of subtitling is lost), and the fact that spoken language often contains unimportant verbal padding which is only confusing if kept in the written subtitles.
Similarly, subtitles in the same language as the dialogue are often (but not always) edited for reading speed and better readability. This is especially true if they cover a situation where many people are speaking at the same time, or speak very unstructured, as the human brain has difficulty absorbing unstructured written text quickly.
Today professional subtitlers usually work with specialised computer software and hardware, where the video is digitally stored on a hard disk, making each individual frame instantly accessible. Besides creating the subtitles, the subtitler usually also tells the computer software the exact positions where each subtitle should appear and disappear, although for most cinema film, and in some countries also for electronic media, this task is traditionally done by separate technicians. The end result is a subtitle file containing the actual subtitles as well as position markers indicating where each subtitle should appear and disappear. These markers are usually based on timecode if it is a work for electronic media (e.g. TV, video, DVD), and on film length (measured in feet and frames) if the subtitles are to be used for traditional cinema film.
The finished subtitle file is used to add the subtitles to the picture, either directly into the picture (open subtitles); embedded in the vertical interval and later superimposed on the picture by the end user with the help of an external decoder or a decoder built into the TV (closed subtitles on TV or video); or converted to tiff or bmp graphics that are later superimposed on the picture by the end user (closed subtitles on DVD).
Subtitles vs. dubbing
The alternative method of 'translating' films in a foreign language is dubbing, in which other actors record over the voices of the original actors in a different language. Some foreign films are made available to the public in two formats: dubbed and subtitled.
Film connoisseurs tend to prefer subtitles because they believe that it is more important to hear the tone of voice of the original actors, rather than hear a less talented actor replacing their lines — even if in many films the final soundtrack departs significantly from what was recorded at the time of shooting the scene, often because other sounds may have rendered the original voice recording unusable, such as in scenes where machinery or aircraft are employed, because the actor's voice has been replaced by one more in line with the character's or because one or more of the actors were not fluent in the production language. This form of dubbing, technically known as voiceover, is used widely also for singing scenes, even if the actor actually records his own singing parts, since good results are seldom achieved in the first take.
In general, moviegoers in countries where foreign films are rarely screened tend to dislike dubbing because of the lapses of synchronization between the words and the actors' mouths; a skilled script dubber, however, may keep the rewritten version very close to the original lip movement. Meanwhile, moviegoers in countries where many popular films are foreign-language imports tend to be more used to dubbing, and often prefer it.
Nevertheless, tradition plays an important role in the formation of the audience's taste; while moviegoers in certain countries, such as Italy or Spain, where dubbing has been employed for decades now, seldom accept the use of subtitles, even in modern media such as DVDs where both dubbing and subtitling may be available, other countries with a similar local-to-import ratios in TV and film production, such as Japan, have historically favored subtitles and dubbed screenings are considered childish.
Sometimes, at screenings of new or rarely screened films for which no subtitled copy has yet been produced, subtitles will be shown on a separate display below the screen. An advantage is that nothing of the film image is lost, but the disadvantage is that there is more distance between the center of the screen and the subtitles, making it difficult for the viewer to see everything at once, without moving their eyes up and down all the time.
Live subtitles
Live subtitling (live captioning) of news, sports events and live debates is becoming increasingly common, especially in the UK and the US, as a result of regulations that stipulate that virtually all TV eventually must be accessible for those with hearing disabilities.
Such subtitles, which need be displayed within 2-3 seconds of the audio they represent, are usually produced by specially trained, court stenographers, using stenotype or velotype keyboards. However, the most recent development is using specialised voice recognition software, into which an operator re-speaks the dialogue being heard. In the UK the re-speak technology has advanced so quickly that about 50% of all live subtitling is currently (2005) being done through re-speak.
In order to minimise the unavoidable delay, live subtitles are usually displayed as scrolling text instead of being presented as one- or two-line subtitle blocks. It is unavoidable that live subtitling contains more errors than pre-produced subtitles, as there is no time to correct a typing error or a mishearing (the operator's or the computer's). However, the benefits for viewers with hearing disabilities are considered more important than error-free subtitles.
Live translation subtitling has so far (2005) only been tried publicly a few times, usually involving a simultaneous interpreter who listens to the dialogue and quickly translates it aloud, while a stenographer types down the interpreter's words. The unavoidable delay, the unavoidable typing errors, the lack of editing, and the high costs, mean that the number of times live translation subtitling is regarded as necessary are very few. Letting the simultaneous interpreter speak directly to the viewers is usually both cheaper and quicker.
Closed subtitles
Optionally-appearing subtitles are called "closed" subtitles. Subtitles that cannot be turned off are "open".
Closed captions is the American term for closed subtitles specifically intended for the hard-of-hearing. These are a transcription rather than a translation, and usually contain descriptions of important non-dialogue audio as well ('Car horn"). From the expression "closed captions" the word "caption" has in recent years come to mean a subtitle intended for the hard of hearing, be it "open" or "closed", In British English "subtitles" usually refers to subtitles for the hard-of-hearing, as translation subtitles are so rare on British cinema and TV, However, the term "HoH subtitles" is sometimes used when there is a need to make a distinction between the two).
SDH subtitles
"SDH" is an American term introduced by the DVD industry. It's an acronym for "Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing", and refers to regular subtitles in the original language where important non-dialogue audio has been added, as well as speaker identification (useful when you can't tell from the picture alone who is saying what you see as subtitles). The only significant difference for the user between 'SDH" subtitles and "closed captions" is their appearance, as traditional "closed captions" are non-proportional and rather crude, while SDH subtitles usually are displayed with the same proportional font used for the translation subtitles on the DVD. However, closed captions are often displayed on a black band, which makes them easier to read than regular DVD subtitles. DVD's for the US market now sometimes have three forms of English subtitles: SDH subtitles, straight English subtitles intended for hearing viewers, and closed caption data that is decoded by the end-user’s closed caption decoder.
Subtitling as a practice
In several countries or regions nearly all foreign language TV programs are subtitled, instead of dubbed, notably in:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Croatia
- Denmark
- Finland
- Flanders
- Greece
- Iceland
- Israel
- Japan
- Macedonia
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Portugal
- Romania
- Serbia and Montenegro
- Slovenia
- Sweden
In Wallonia films are usually dubbed, but sometimes they are played on two channels at the same time: once dubbed (on La Une) and once subtitled (on La Deux).
Subtitles as a source of humour
Occasionally, movies will use subtitles as a source of humour.
- For example, in Austin Powers in Goldmember Japanese dialogue is subtitled using white type that blends in with white objects in the background. An example is when white binders turn the subtitle "I have a huge rodent problem" into "I have a huge rod".
- Likewise, in The Imposters one character speaks in a foreign language, while another character hides under the bed. Although the hidden character cannot understand what is being spoken, he can read the subtitles. Since the subtitles are overlaid on the film, they appear to be reversed from his point of view. His attempt to puzzle out these subtitles enhances the humour of the scene.
- The movie Airplane! and its sequel feature two inner-city African Americans speaking in barely comprehensible jive, with English subtitles. However, the movie viewer can sense that the subtitles do not match the context of the speech; when they talk in sexually explicit slang, inaccurate sanitized text appears below.
Controversy
One recent controversy about the necessity of subtitles involved the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ. All the dialogue in this film was in Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew instead of modern English. Gibson initially intended not to include subtitles, in the belief that the audience already knew the story, but the distributors ordered him to include them, arguing that audiences would refuse to watch a film whose dialogue was entirely untranslated.
As an additional title
In books and other works, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. For example, Mary Shelley used a subtitle to give her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, an alternate title to give a hint of the theme. There are at least eight books in English that carry the subtitle Virtue Rewarded. Subtitles for plays were fashionable in the Elizabethan period, and Shakespeare parodied this vogue by giving Twelfth Night the pointless subtitle What You Will, implying that the subtitle can be whatever the audience wants it to be. In print, subtitles often appear below the title in a less prominent typeface or following the title after a colon.
Some modern publishers choose to forgo subtitles when republishing historical works, such as Shelley's famous story, which is often now sold simply as Frankenstein.
Examples
- Home: A History of An Idea
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
- One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?
- The Century: America's Time
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Subtitle formats
Subtitle formats for software video players:
- SubRip (SRT) (.srt)
- VobSub (.idx + .sub)
- Substation Alpha (SSA) (.ssa)
- Advanced SSA (.ass)
- SAMI (.smi or .sami)
- SMIL/RealText (part of W3C standard, actively used by RealNetworks Inc. in their RealPlayer) (.smi or .smil + .rt)
- MicroDVD
- SubViewer
See also
External links
Wikipedia-Article "Dubbing"
- For dubbing in music recording, see Dubbing (music)
In filmmaking, dubbing is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. The term is most commonly used in reference to voices recorded which do not belong to the original actors and speak in a different language than the actor is speaking. "Dubbing" can also be used to describe the process of re-recording lines by the actor who originally spoke them. This process is technically known as automated dialogue replacement, or ADR.
Although dubbing is most common with film, television series are sometimes dubbed as well (mostly popular Hollywood series and serialized Japanese anime that have received foreign distribution). Foreign-language films and videos are often dubbed into the local language of their target markets to increase their popularity with the local audience by making them more accessible.
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Automated dialogue replacement / post-synch
Automated dialogue replacement (ADR) is a film sound technique involving the re-recording of dialogue after photography. It is called post-synchronisation (post-sync) in the UK.
In conventional film production, a production sound mixer records dialogue during photography, but several uncontrollable issues, such as traffic or animal noise, during principal photography can cause the production sound to be unusable.
When the film is in post-production, a Supervising Sound Editor or ADR Supervisor reviews all of the dialogue in the film and rules which actor lines will have to be replaced using the ADR technique.
ADR is recorded during an ADR session. An actor, usually the original actor on set, is called to a sound studio equipped with video playback equipment and sound playback and recording equipment. The actor wears headphones and is shown the film of the line that must be replaced, and often he will be played the production sound recording. The film is then projected several times, and the actor attempts to re-perform the line while watching the image on the screen, while an ADR Recordist records the performances. Several takes are made, and based on the quality of the performance and sync, one is selected and edited by an ADR Editor for use in the film.
There are variations of the ADR process. ADR does not have to be recorded in a studio, but can be recorded on location, with mobile equipment; this process was pioneered by Matthew Wood of Skywalker Sound for The Phantom Menace. ADR can also be recorded without showing the actor the image they must match, but only by having him listen to the performance. This process was used for years at Universal Studios.
Although actors are trained to sing, few are of professional quality. Therefore, if a character must sing well in a movie, ADR is usually used to redub their singing. This technique was used by Billy Boyd and Viggo Mortensen in The Lord of the Rings.
Foreign films
Dubbing is often used to localize a foreign movie. The new voice track will usually be spoken by a voice artist. In some countries, such as France, Italy and Spain, these artists are almost as well known as the Hollywood actors and actresses whose voices they dub. In the US and Brazil however, most actors who regularly perform this duty are generally little-known or unknown outside of popular circles such as anime fandom, for example. Many of these actors also employ pseudonyms or go uncredited due to Actor's Guild regulations or simple desire to dissociate themselves from the role. Adding or replacing non-vocal sounds, such as sound effects, is the task of a foley artist.
Subtitles may be used instead of dubbing, as different countries have different traditions regarding the choice between dubbing and subtitling. In most English-speaking countries, dubbing is comparatively rare. In Israel, some programmes need to be comprehensible to speakers of both Hebrew and Arabic. This cannot be accomplished with dubbing, so subtitling is much more commonplace - sometimes even with subtitles in both languages, with the soundtrack remaining in the original language, usually English. In the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries, films and television programmes are shown in the original language (usually English) with subtitles, and only some cartoons and children programmes are dubbed.
In Portugal this has traditionally also been the case, but one terrestrial channel, TVI, dubs US series like Dawson's Creek into Portuguese. In Brazil, foreign television programmes have invariably dubbed in Portuguese, with only a few exceptions, partly because of lower literacy rates, although films shown at cinemas are usually subtitled. However, dubbing in Brazil is of very low quality.
For the German-language market, virtually all films and foreign television shows are dubbed. There are few opportunities to watch Hollywood movies in their original versions, and even in the largest cities there are only a few theatres that screen original versions with subtitles, or no translation at all.
In Quebec in Canada, most films and TV programmes in English are dubbed into French. This has the advantage of making children's TV series comprehensible to younger audiences, but many bilingual Quebecois prefer subtitling since they would understand some or all of the original audio. American television series are only available in English on DVD, or on English language channels. Most anime DVDs contain options for original Japanese, Japanese with subtitles, and English dubbed, except for a handful of series which have been heavily edited and/or Americanized.
In some countries, such as Thailand and South Africa, the original soundtrack is simultaneously carried or "simulcast" on the radio.
On DVDs with higher translation budgets, the option for both types will often be provided to account for individuals' preferences; purists exist for both types of translation. For small markets (small language area or films for a select audience) subtitling is more suitable because it is cheaper. For films for small children, who can not yet read, or not yet very fast, dubbing is necessary.
Other uses
Dubbing is occasionally used on network television broadcasts of films which have dialogue that the network executives or censors have decided to replace; this is usually done to remove profanity. In most cases, the original actor does not perform this duty; instead, an actor with a similar voice is called in. The results are sometimes seamless, but in many cases the voice of the replacement actor sounds nothing like the original performer, which becomes particularly noticeable when extensive dialogue needs to be replaced. Among the films considered notorious for using substitute actors that sound very different from their theatrical counterparts are the Smokey and the Bandit and Die Hard film series as shown on broadcasters such as TBS.
Since most anime series contain some extent of profanity, the studios recording the English dubs often re-record certain lines if a series or movie is going to be broadcast on Cartoon Network, removing references to death and hell as well. Some companies will offer both an edited version and uncut version of the series on DVD, so there is also an edited script in case the series is broadcast. Other companies also edit the full-length version of a series, meaning that even on the uncut DVD, characters say things like "Blast!" "Darn!" in place of the original dialogue's profanity (Bandai Entertainment's English dub of G Gundam is infamous for this, among many other things).
Although there are many fans who prefer the English Dubs, there are still many people who would prefer the undubbed version to air on TV, only with subtitles.
Dubbing into a foreign language does not always entail the deletion of the original language; in some countries, a performer may read the translated dialogue as a voiceover. This often occurs in Russia and Poland, where "lektories" read the translated dialogue into Russian and Polish; a single person reading all parts of the performance, both male and female. Though, as of recently, that only occurs with pirated copies of films. Proffesional copies always include at least two actors translating the dialogue. On special occasions, such as film festivals, live translation is often done by volunteers. See also dubtitle.
Criticism and defence of dubbing
Dubbing has been criticised in several ways, patricularly in countries where it is not common practice.
Those who dislike dubbing sometimes claim that it devalues films or TV programmes, as original soundtracks are closer to what the director intended. In some cases dubbing can make the film or programme less authentic. (For example, Nazi officers in WWII movies can be distracting to some if not speaking German).
Also, lip synchronisation is normally lost when dubbing, even with quality dubbings between closely related languages. There are examples which have been reshot or reanimated to remedy this problem.
Defenders of dubbing maintain that subtitling interferes with the visual experience, as it obscures part of the picture. In many European countries, Hollywood movies are regularly dubbed and some people maintain that a creative translation (not necessarily faithful to the original English words) can bring more fun and depth to films, so that the supposedly more demanding European audience will not find them as tedious. In Hungary it is common for translators to create the Hungarian text to rhyme for comedies and cartoons with well-known local actors providing their voices to read it. The most famous example is perhaps the The Flintstones, with its entire Hungarian text in rhymes.