Subtitling

What subtitling involves

Subtitling looks simple and is governed by more rules than any other localisation format. Characters per line, lines per subtitle, minimum and maximum duration, reading speed, where a subtitle may break relative to a shot change. Break the rules and viewers cannot keep up, even if they cannot articulate why.

The hard part is compression. Spoken dialogue routinely runs faster than anyone can comfortably read, so subtitles are not transcripts. They convey the meaning within a reading speed the audience can sustain, which means deciding what to cut.

Subtitles and captions are not the same

Subtitles assume the viewer can hear and translate the dialogue. Closed captions assume the viewer cannot hear, and include speaker identification and relevant non-speech sound, such as a door slamming or music beginning. Requesting the wrong one is a common and expensive mistake, particularly where accessibility regulations apply.

Accessibility compliance

Public sector organisations and many broadcasters operate under accessibility requirements covering caption accuracy, synchronisation and completeness. We produce to those standards where they apply and will tell you which obligations are relevant to your content.

Formats and delivery

• SRT, VTT, TTML, STL and platform-specific formats
• Burned-in subtitles where the platform requires them
• Frame rate matched to your master
• Per-language files ready for direct upload

Subtitling versus voice over

Subtitling is far cheaper than dubbing and often the better choice, particularly for factual content and for audiences that are used to reading subtitles. But it fails where viewers need their eyes on the picture, such as instructional and technical video. We will tell you which fits your content rather than defaulting to the larger job.

Send the video and target languages for a quote.