Journal of Audiovisual Translation最新文献

{"title":"VR 360º subtitles","authors":"Marta Brescia-Zapata, Krzysztof Krejtz, Pilar Orero, Andrew T. Duchowski, Chris Hughes","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.184","url":null,"abstract":"Subtitle production is an increasingly creative accessibility service. New technologies allow for placing subtitles at any location of the screen in a variety of formats, shapes, typography, font size, and colour. The screen now affords accessible creativity, with subtitles able to provide novel experiences beyond those offered by traditional language translation. Immersive environments multiply 2D subtitles features to new creative viewing modalities. Testing subtitles in eXtended Reality (XR) has pushed existing methods to address user need and enjoyment of audiovisual content in 360º viewing displays. After an overview of existing subtitle features in XR, the article describes the challenges of generating subtitle stimuli to test meaningful user viewing behaviours, based on eye-tracking technology. The approach for the first experimental setup for implementing creative subtitles in XR using eye-tracking is given, in line with novel research questions. The choices made regarding sound, duration and storyboard are described. Conclusions show that testing subtitles in immersive media environments is both a linguistic and an artistic endeavour, which requires an agile framework fostering contrast and comparison of different functionalities. Results of the present, preliminary study shed light on future experimental setups with eye-tracking.\u0000Lay summary\u0000Subtitling is an increasingly creative accessibility service. Subtitlers use new technologies to place subtitles at any location on the screen. They can also change shape, typography, font size, and colour of the subtitles. This personalisation opens the door for creative solutions and allows novel experiences beyond traditional 2D subtitles. An immersive environment is an illusionary experience that surrounds you and transports you to another place. The challenges when testing subtitles in these new environments are different from those when testing in 2D media, as the user is no longer a passive spectator but an active part of the story. In this article, we give an overview of existing subtitle features in immersive environments. Then we describe the challenges of generating stimuli suitable for testing subtitles in immersive environments using eye tracking technology. We explain the experimental setup used during our experiment as well as the research questions. We describe the choices we made to design our stimuli, such as the sound, the duration, and the storyboard. We conclude that testing subtitles in immersive media environments present linguistics and artistic challenges and that we need to use a framework that allows for rapid contrast of different solutions. Results of the present, preliminary study clear up how to use eye-tracking technology to test subtitles in immersive environments.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"54 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130635831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Immersive, Creative, Inclusive","authors":"Pierre-Alexis Mevel, Jo Robinson, P. Tennent","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.227","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.227","url":null,"abstract":"In a deliberate and valiant effort to adapt to the conditions created by the recent pandemic, many theatre companies across the globe shifted their activities from the stage to online video platforms. But in releasing large portions of their back-catalogues at speed, opportunities to make such shows accessible have been under-exploited. This migration has created an unprecedented opportunity to examine the way accessible practices are transferred from stage to screen and has brought into sharp focus the somewhat inadequate provision for accessibility of online video platforms. While the very practice of making these shows available online, often at no cost to the viewer, has made them more socially accessible, practical accessibility for portions of the audience, such as the D/deaf community, has often been ignored or addressed in a low fidelity way. Through lack of time, lack of expertise or lack of resources, many companies have resorted to the use of auto-captioning tools, or the most basic of captions. Rarely do such captions come close to capturing the creativity of the shows they represent. This paper represents a call to arms for the development of bespoke tools to support better, more immersive and creative, retroactive captioning of stage productions presented as videos.\u0000Lay Summary\u0000In this article, we discuss how videos of stage performances can be subtitled in a way that is accurate and that preserves the creativity original performances. The recent pandemic forced theatre companies to adapt or perish. With playhouses closed, some companies moved their activities online. They either released old footage of their past shows and performances on video platforms such as YouTube but did not necessarily have the time or the right tools to make these videos accessible to members of the D/deaf community. One the one hand, their shows are more easily accessed since they can be found online, but on the other hand, whole sections of the general public, such as D/deaf people, still cannot accessed these videos because they are not subtitled. Most video platforms have built-in tools that can generate subtitles automatically, but these are not very precise and do not help to convey the creativity of the performances. The tools that are currently available are therefore not suitable and new tools need to be developed to provide access to D/deaf people and do justice to the performances.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"63 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123601887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Accessible Cinema for Older Adults","authors":"Sonia Szkriba","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.221","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.221","url":null,"abstract":"Age-related sensory and cognitive decline of older adults is typically not taken into consideration while designing accessible audiovisual services. As most studies on audiovisual translation (AVT) and media accessibility have focused on young or adult audiences, we know little about specific preferences and needs of older adults regarding AVT. In 2015, 82% of Polish older adults declared that they never or almost never go to the cinema, which for the vast majority of foreign films offers subtitling. A study carried out as part of the AudioMovie project in Poland suggested that older adults may have problems with reading subtitles and that they are willing to use an accessibility application to watch films with audio subtitles (AST) in the cinemas. However, we still do not know if they are able to deal with the technology once they actually start using it. This focus group study investigated whether older adults experience problems with reading subtitles and whether they be willing to use a smartphone application in the cinema. The results show that older adults may have  problems with following subtitles, especially when watching fast-paced films, and, although they are not always proficient smartphone users, the overall reception of the app was positive.\u0000Lay summary\u0000In Poland, the translation of foreign films in cinemas is usually provided through subtitling (dubbing is used only for family films). This mode of audiovisual translation might be particularly difficult to process for older viewers who usually experience vision loss, hearing loss and decline in cognitive functioning. While most academic studies have focused on young or adult audiences, little is known about the specific preferences and needs of older adults regarding the type of audiovisual translation. A survey carried out in Poland in 2018 has suggested that older adults may find it difficult to read subtitles and that they may be willing to use a smartphone application that would provide an oral translation (voice-over or dubbing) in cinemas. However, it is not yet known if this group of viewers is prepared to manage the functions of the technology (in this case, a smartphone) once they start using it. With that in mind, I conducted a group interview which investigated whether older adults experience problems with reading subtitles, and whether they would be willing to use a smartphone application in the cinema. The results show that older adults may have problems reading subtitles, especially when watching fast-paced films. The overall reception of the app was positive, though the participants were not always proficient smartphone users. The study also suggests that such applications could help elderly cinema-goers watch films in their preferred types of translation (such as dubbing or voice-over).","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"40 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131039907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Accessibility as a Conversation","authors":"Pablo Romero Fresco, Karen Dangerfield","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.228","url":null,"abstract":"Film has a long-standing relationship with the notion of universality, which has often been used by Hollywood to perpetuate a dominant and unified worldview and to disseminate certain (Western) values that contribute to establishing what should and should not be considered normal, including the idea of the normative individual. Audiovisual translation and media accessibility could undermine the notion of universality in film; however, media accessibility has somehow reinstated this idea through reference to universal design and the use of the phrase “for all”. This can mask the exclusion of certain users who are not catered for by most mainstream accessibility guidelines.\u0000The first aim of this article is to explore how the notion of universality has been used in media accessibility and how it is reflected in official guidelines and in current practice. The second aim is to introduce the work of an emerging wave of (mostly disabled) artists who are proposing an alternative approach to media accessibility, one that is openly subjective, increasingly creative and that often works as a political tool in a wider fight against discrimination and for real inclusion. These artists consider access as a conversation involving meaningful contributions by disabled and non-disabled people.\u0000Lay summary\u0000The first aim of our article is to explore how the notion of universality has been used in film and especially in media accessibility. We also look at how this idea is reflected in official guidelines and in current practice. We focus on the examples of universal design and the phrase \"for all\", which are prevalent in the field of media accessibility. This way of thinking typically masks the exclusion of certain users who are not catered for by most mainstream accessibility guidelines.\u0000Media accessibility has the potential to challenge what is considered as \"normal\" and the second aim of our article is to introduce the work of an emerging wave of (mostly disabled) artists who are proposing an alternative approach to media accessibility. This approach is subjective, creative and often works as a political tool in a wider fight against discrimination and for real inclusion. These artists consider access as a conversation involving meaningful contributions by disabled and non-disabled people.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"87 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123013247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bringing the Stage to the Screen","authors":"Jonathan Penny","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.210","url":null,"abstract":"This industry practice paper outlines the work ITV is doing to develop a series of audio introductions to complement the television audio description (AD) it produces for blind and visually impaired audiences. Inspired by the use of audio introductions in live spaces such as theatre and by other examples from across the TV industry, ITV set out to adapt the practice to suit the small screen, exploring a range of different options in terms of the exact form this content would take and how it would be accessed by users. The practice has strong potential to be adopted by TV broadcasters more widely, offering AD users and broader audiences a better understanding of selected programmes and providing describers themselves more opportunity to describe characters equitably and in doing so fulfil new objectives concerning how onscreen diversity is conveyed to audiences.\u0000Lay summary\u0000Audio description (AD) is a descriptive narration that makes TV programmes accessible for blind and visually impaired audiences. This article explains ITV's work to develop audio introductions, which give extra information to these target audiences, to complement the regular AD. ITV has explored the different forms these audio introductions could take and what information they could include. With further development, audio introductions could be used more widely in TV. They benefit users by giving them access to more detailed information and can help convey a better sense of onscreen diversity.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"70 9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127585860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Designing, Making, and Validating Accessible Products and Services","authors":"Blanca Arias-Badia, Joan Josep Bestard-Bou, Irene Hermosa-Ramírez","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.229","url":null,"abstract":"Participatory accessibility, i.e., the involvement of users in the design, making, and validation of accessible products and services, has been encouraged under the premise that it would ultimately prove beneficial both in terms of usability and user satisfaction. This article examines the role of users and Disabled People Organisations (DPOs) in the design and validation of access services by providing the results of four in-depth interviews with representatives of non-profit organisations active in Catalonia. The main topics covered in the interviews include users’ views on design, production, and validation processes, the training and professionalisation of user consultants and validators, and users’ input on standards. The results show that users are mainly involved in validation actions today. They are only rarely considered in early stages of the production chain. DPOs see the occasional exceptions to this trend as a positive indicator that processes may change in the near future. They demand the true integration of persons with disabilities in all the links in the production chain and, crucially, in management positions, as the only way to effectively cater for users’ needs.\u0000Lay summary\u0000It is commonly agreed that end users, including persons with disabilities, need to be involved in the creation of products or services that aim to be accessible. This is because nobody is more familiar with their specific needs than themselves. This article presents results of four interviews with representatives of non-profit organisations in Catalonia who actively work with persons with disabilities. To begin, we ask them to offer their definition of accessibility as end users. After that, we ask them to what extent they think users are involved in the design of new products and services, as well as on their role in validating such products and services once they are made available to the general public. They explain that the participation of persons with disabilities often comes too late, i.e., when products are already designed, and that there is still a big task to do in terms of truly integrating persons with disabilities in management positions, which they see as the way to improve the present situation.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121424551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Subtitles in the 2020s","authors":"Hanna Hagström, Jan Pedersen","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i1.2022.195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i1.2022.195","url":null,"abstract":"Machine translation is now making serious inroads into the field of interlingual subtitling. This has been made possible by the use of template files and higher reading speeds. As we move into this new phase in the development of the subtitling process, the phase of machine-translated and postedited subtitles, it is highly pertinent to look at marks that this new process leaves on the subtitled product, i.e., the subtitles themselves. We conducted a diachronic study of subtitles before and after machine translation was part of the process. We did this by comparing a corpus of Swedish subtitles of Anglophone TV programmes produced after machine translation was introduced to a corpus of subtitles from before that period. We also took data from studies of earlier processes into account. When assessed using existing guidelines and the FAR model, the post-edited subtitles produced in the 2020s were found to be faster, more oral, less cohesive, less complete and with less meticulous punctation and line-breaks than those produced in the 2010s. They were also of significantly lower quality in all areas investigated. Based on these results, we suggest that more research and development is needed to raise quality levels, and to make professional subtitlers augmented translators.\u0000Lay summary\u0000Machine translation is now starting to be used for subtitling from one language into another. This has been made possible by the use of higher reading speeds and recent technical innovations that simplify and automatise the process. As we move into this new phase in the development of the subtitling process, the phase of machine-translated subtitles which are then post-edited by humans, it is time to look at what marks this new process leaves on the subtitles themselves. We conducted a study of subtitles made before and after machine translation was part of the process. We did this by comparing Swedish subtitles of English-language TV programmes produced after machine translation was introduced, to subtitles from before that period. We also took data from studies of earlier processes into account. The results show that the post-edited subtitles produced in the 2020s were found to be faster, more oral, less cohesive, less complete and with less meticulous punctation and line-breaks than those produced in the 2010s. They were also of significantly lower quality in all areas investigated. Based on these results, we suggest that more research and development is needed to raise quality levels, and to put professional subtitlers in charge of the process.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"178 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123424703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of Song Dubbing on Characterization","authors":"M. Khoshsaligheh, Fatemeh Sarvghadi, Binazir Mohammad Alizadeh","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i1.2022.189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i1.2022.189","url":null,"abstract":"Interventions in the extent and quality of the portrayal of characters in dubbed musical films can induce a change in the original characterization in the film as characters play the role of singers who reflect their inner emotions and thoughts through diegetic songs. To examine the impact of dubbed diegetic songs on the singer’s characterization, the study contains two main phases, theoretical and empirical. Initially, the development of the notions on characterization in dubbed films is illustrated to justify and present a merged model drawing on Bosseaux (2015) and Reus (2020) from the realm of Translation Studies, and the cinematic standpoints inspired by Dyer (1998). Then, to apply the model, the different dimensions of the merged model, including the visual dimension (synchrony and visual deixis) and the verbal dimension (sense, style, and voice quality) are investigated in a case of private sector, professional Persian dubbing (Khoshsaligheh, 2022). The case study was the Persian dubbed version of the diegetic songs of Frozen (Buck & Lee, 2013). The analysis reveals that the shifts in two dimensions lead to a fairly dissimilar presentation of the singers’ characterization.\u0000Lay Summary\u0000In musical films, songs by the characters are interwoven into the story. When characters sing, they reveal their inner emotions and thoughts using the song’s message. Any manipulation in dubbing of these songs into other languages can and does result in changes in how the original singers’ characterization is represented for the new audience. To study the impact of the dubbed songs on the singer’s characterization, we reviewed the previous studies and came up with a new way for characterization analysis in dubbed songs by merging and adapting some the models from translation studies and film studies fields. Next, we sued the model to study the Persian dubbed version of the songs of the hit musical animated film, Frozen (2013). The results reveal various changes in the dubbed version in terms of characterization through changing the visual and verbal aspects of the songs in a way that the Persian dubbed version portrays the singers’ characterization considerably dissimilarly.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115253100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inclusive Theatres as Boosters of Well-being:","authors":"Elena Di Giovanni, Francesca Raffi","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i1.2022.223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i1.2022.223","url":null,"abstract":"With the surge in media accessibility studies, researchers have explored the possibility of using psychological indicators to study modes of production, consumption, and reception of audiovisual and accessible media texts. However, most of the methodologies and measures applied so far tend to evaluate perception and/or reception in the short term, i.e., immediately after viewing media texts or attending live performances. This article moves from previous articles on inclusive theatres (Di Giovanni, 2021; Raffi, 2021) and sets forth to evaluate individuals’ reactions to inclusive activities in the medium to long-term. To this end, the concept of well-being becomes central, along with some of the measures and tools so far employed to measure it outside the realm of accessibility studies.\u0000Lay summary\u0000Media accessibility is the research area dealing with the theories, practices, and instruments that provide access to media products, services, and environments for people that cannot, or cannot properly, access that content in its original form. Media accessibility research has truly blossomed in the past years and has welcomed new, often not-so-close theoretical and methodological approaches. More recently, researchers have explored the possibility of using psychological indicators to evaluate perception and/or reception in the medium to long-term, i.e., the medium to long-term effects of inclusive practices in theatre and other media experiences. To this end, the concept of well-being becomes central, along with some of the measures and tools so far employed to measure it outside the realm of media accessibility studies. This article moves from previous studies on inclusive theatres, which place the people and their diverse abilities at the core, to prove that it is time to move beyond the well-established practices of feedback collection immediately or soon after a performance or event. By reporting on a two-month experiment with young people with sensory disabilities who were trained to be inclusive guides in theatres, our aim is to reflect on the impact of such events, and of participation, on people’s lives in the medium to long-term.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127544575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dealing with Variation in Audio Description Scripts","authors":"Eva Schaeffer-Lacroix, Kirsten Berland","doi":"10.47476/jat.v5i1.2022.181","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i1.2022.181","url":null,"abstract":"Audio description scripts represent a text type structured into several parts helping the speaker produce their recording. The heterogeneous composition and formatting of these parts makes it difficult to describe the linguistic features of audio description (AD) scripts in one go. Hence, it seems useful to implement them into a corpus tool enabling the analysis of the specificities of each AD section. In this paper, the AD scripts of 69 episodes from a German television show serve as a sample to explore a method for dealing with variation when preparing AD scripts for corpus processing. In our article, we offer a short overview of existing research on AD script corpora and on variation, and we present our dataset and the tools we used to prepare and explore the data. We then outline the features of the analysed AD scripts and the treatments applied. In the last section of the article, we discuss our results. Our analysis leads us to conclude that modifying original data for the sake of corpus implementation (e.g. changing formatting features) is a weighty step which may have unforeseen consequences: formal variation in AD scripts conveys more meaning than expected.\u0000 \u0000Lay summary\u0000Audio description (AD) is a cultural technique helping blind people to enjoy going to the movies despite their disability. An additional soundtrack provides them with the information necessary to understand the essential action of the film.\u0000The scripts of such soundtracks are mostly written by authors specialising in audiovisual translation. We were interested in the formatting features of such texts, called AD scripts, e.g. the use of bold print or of words entirely written in capital letters.\u0000We conducted the study reported in this article because we wanted to know which sorts of variation can be identified in AD scripts. We also wanted to understand to which extent some of the varying features should be modified to improve text quality.\u0000That is why we collected the AD scripts of 69 episodes of a German TV show (we got the rights to use them for our research). These texts were written by 13 AD authors over a period of 6 years. The broadcaster is the only stable parameter. With the help of text statistics tools, we found out that these AD scripts vary a lot from one author to another and even over time in the scripts written by one and the same author.\u0000We modified our texts in order to unify some of their formatting features. However, we understood that reducing variation in AD scripts is not in any case a good option: the voice talents responsible for recording these scripts need clear and sufficient information to know how to proceed. In addition, AD script writing is a creative activity which should not be locked into strict rules.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"86 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122033607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}