Everything you need to know about subtitling
Subtitling is one of the two most common modes of audiovisual translation. In general, subtitling is part of the multimedia localization process. This area of the translation industry is expanding tremendously, as audiovisual products are constantly being developed in different parts of the world. Also, users now have their own devices to create audiovisual content, which is why the need for adapted content has also increased.
Thanks to subtitles we can recreate and express people’s voices as well as the communicative contexts. The audiovisual industry is changing the way people communicate, educate themselves and share knowledge, so it has a large impact on our society. In this new context, subtitles are making it possible to access different sources of entertainment, such as movies, music videos, games, series, documentaries, and much more. In this way, it is also changing how we behave as consumers.
The time we spend watching screens is higher than ever before. For this reason, the demand for subtitling audiovisual content is growing. Most of the video content we see on social media and entertainment platforms is captioned. The reason for that is because several studies show that around 85% of people who view videos on Facebook view them with the sound off. Captions are popping all over the place.
Why is subtitling important?
Most video content these days is captioned or has subtitles. Close captions were originated to assist the deaf and the hearing impaired, but that’s not the main objective anymore. According to Zenith’s Online Video Forecasts 2019 report, the average person will spend 100 minutes each day watching online videos in 2021, up from 84 minutes in 2019.
The amount of time people spend viewing online videos has grown at an average rate of 32% a year between 2013 and 2018. This situation is boosted by improvements in display sizes and quality of mobile devices, faster mobile data connections, and the spread of connected TV sets. Zenith forecasts that advertising expenditure on online video will rise from US$45 billion to US$61 billion by 2021, at an average rate of 18% a year, compared to 10% a year for internet advertising as a whole.
For this reason, subtitling is becoming more demanded than ever before, and it will continue to expand. To achieve the best results in subtitling, it is key to work with professional translators who are also specialists in subtitling.
