Subtitling revisers as agents of change in audiovisual workflows

Abstract

This study explores the pivotal role of subtitling revisers in audiovisual workflows, focusing on how their subjective decisions influence textual quality, cultural relevance, and collaborative dynamics among subtitlers, project managers, clients, and audiences. Grounded in data collected from an experiment involving nine Portuguese professional subtitling revisers, the research provides unique insights into their practices and attitudes. The findings reveal that subtitling revisers navigate complex decisions shaped by their professional expertise, emotional responses, and lived experiences. Their interventions often balance technical precision with creative interpretation, addressing linguistic, cultural, and technical challenges. While these decisions can lead to significant enhancements in subtitle quality and viewer experience, they also highlight the variability in practices and the potential for unintended consequences, such as overlooked errors or changes that disrupt collaborative dynamics. In an era of increasing automation, this research highlights the indispensable role of human intervention in producing subtitling that is both linguistically and culturally appropriate, as well as technically accurate. Subtitling revisers emerge as key agents of change, bridging linguistic and cultural divides while responding to the evolving demands of global audiovisual localisation. Their interventions – whether positive or negative – can significantly influence the quality of the final product, with far-reaching implications for audience reception and for workflows shaped by automation. These decisions not only shape the quality and accessibility of the translated audiovisual content, but also impact key stakeholders – particularly the subtitler, whose work is subject to alteration, and the audience, whose experience of the content depends on the effectiveness of those revision.

Keywords
subtitling revision; stakeholders; decision-making; agents of change