Disruptive AVT workflows in the age of streaming

Abstract

In the last decade, media industries have witnessed a shift in the way audiovisual content is localised, broadcast, and consumed by multifaceted audiences: from traditional linear TV to subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services. While this major shift has been well-documented by media studies scholars (Lotz 2014; Lobato 2017a, 2017b; Storstein Spilker and Colbjørnsen 2020), the overall effect it has had on audiovisual translation (AVT) is relatively under-researched within Translation Studies. Hence, this article aims to delve into the current state of the art of AVT within a mediascape dominated by non-linear over-the-top (OTT) platforms. Drawing on the impact that streaming solutions such as Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Netflix have had on the acceleration of AVT workflows worldwide as a way to localise a high volume of content created to reach global audiences, my analysis focuses on their impact on the way subtitling workflows are managed and turnaround times scheduled. This study focuses on the day-of-broadcast (DOB) model, the media release strategy intended to make audiovisual content available ‘now and everywhere’. The disruptive nature of DOB models in localisation workflows is investigated using a case study, the ad hoc subtitling workflow devised for Netflix’s Chelsea, and analysed using a qualitative research method. The aim is to unveil the practices behind the scenes of the first global talk show subtitled in twenty languages with a turnaround time of only fourteen hours.