Journal of Audiovisual Translation最新文献

{"title":"Getting the Full Picture in English and Spanish?","authors":"María José García Vizcaíno","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i3.2021.185","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i3.2021.185","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on the mental model theory of fictional characters (Schneider, 2001) applied to audio description (Fresno, 2016), this paper examines the audio description (AD) of characters in English and Spanish for the Netflix series Élite. The study is based on the premise that semantic descriptions of characters, rather than merely visual descriptions of physical traits, contribute to a better understanding of the narrative complexities of a film, favour AD users’ memory, and reduce cognitive effort (Fresno et al., 2016). This contrastive analysis shows how pertinent description of action movements and appearances together with lexical accuracy can trigger helpful semantic meanings that reveal characters’ psychological features. Because Élite is a thriller in which the majority of the characters are murder suspects, accessing all types of information about them is essential to fully understand the plot. In addition, this analysis indicates that the English AD emphasizes certain character attributes which are absent from the Spanish AD, a distinction that influences the semantic domains, filmic cohesion and coherence of the narrative. This finding underscores the fact that cross-linguistic and cultural differences actually affect the reception of a fictional character by AD users (Orero, 2008; Mazur & Chmiel, 2012) and consequently, their appreciation and enjoyment of the program in question.\u0000Lay summary\u0000This paper examines the audio description (AD) of characters in English and Spanish for the Netflix series Élite. Based on previous studies (Fresno, 2014; Fresno, 2016), this analysis shows that not only physical traits, but also the description of action movements and looks can trigger helpful semantic inferences that reveal crucial characters’ psychological features. Because Élite is a thriller in which most of the characters are murder suspects, grasping all types of information about them is essential to fully understand the plot. In addition, this paper indicates that the English AD emphasizes certain character attributes which are absent in the Spanish AD. This finding underscores the fact that cross-linguistic and cultural differences actually affect the reception of a fictional character by AD users (Orero, 2008; Mazur & Chmiel, 2012) and consequently, their appreciation and enjoyment of the show in question.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"243 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115256173","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":"Collaboration Between Subtitling Academics and Practitioners","authors":"H. Silvester, T. Tuominen","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i3.2021.188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i3.2021.188","url":null,"abstract":"This article proposes the application of public translation studies put forward by Koskinen (2010) to the field of audiovisual translation (AVT). We argue that AVT scholars and practitioners would benefit from the implementation of a long-term, reciprocal collaboration. This would involve the formation of a community of academics and subtitlers, creating a space for regular dialogic communication that would be mutually beneficial. The article first explores the concept of public translation studies, examining how and why this framework might be useful in AVT. We then present the findings of a scoping questionnaire, in which subtitlers working in the UK and Ireland were surveyed about their interest in collaborating with academics. Respondents indicated an interest in opportunities for professional development, community-building and collaboration. In addition, based on the results we highlight a number of areas around which these activities could be centred, including, for example, opportunities for subtitlers to enhance their practical skill set, to improve their career opportunities and the collective standing of the profession, to discuss translation dilemmas and to inform academia. We end by proposing some concrete next steps for the development of a subtitling community, and the possible role of academics and subtitlers within such an initiative.\u0000Lay Summary\u0000Working as a subtitler can be challenging in many ways: technological developments such as machine translation are changing the work rapidly, working conditions are sometimes demanding, and the work can be lonely because it is often done on a freelance basis. Therefore, subtitlers could benefit from new ways to work together, share information and advocate for better working conditions. It could also be useful to build closer contacts with researchers who have an interest in subtitling. Contacts with academia would allow practitioners to learn how research might benefit them and to contribute to future projects. This article presents a proposal for forming a community of practitioners and academics. As a first step, we conducted a survey with subtitlers based in the UK and Ireland to find out what topics practitioners would like to discuss with academics. The responses indicate that many practitioners want to enhance their practical skills by learning about topics such as new technology, and they want to network and improve their working conditions. There is also some interest in learning about and contributing to research. Based on these responses, we will conclude the article by introducing a new community of subtitlers and practitioners we are launching: SubComm.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"40 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132062122","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":"Quality Control of Subtitles","authors":"Kristijan Nikolic","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i3.2021.182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i3.2021.182","url":null,"abstract":"Quality control of subtitles is a relatively unresearched field, even though it has a significant influence on the overall quality, and thus viewers’ experience of subtitles. It is carried out in different ways: various language service providers and broadcasters have different procedures, for instance, it sometimes solely involves proofreading. An online questionnaire has been distributed among professionals involved in the production chain of subtitles: broadcasters, streaming and video-on-demand services, vendors also known as language service providers, subtitlers, quality controllers and proofreaders.The hope is that this report will enable professionals involved in quality control of subtitles to further enhance their quality control procedures. The results of this research could also be used in experimental investigation of viewers’ perception of quality in subtitling by using the same research methods applied in this study.\u0000Lay Summary\u0000We do not know much about the quality control of subtitles on which many viewers depend to be able to follow TV content in foreign languages, or because they are deaf or hard-of-hearing. I conducted research by means of an online questionnaire among professionals and organisations involved in the production of subtitles to check how and whether they ensure viewers get subtitles of the highest possible quality. One of the main findings of the survey is that all professionals involved in the subtitling process think that the quality of subtitles is important, and that freelance subtitlers largely don’t think their clients pay enough attention to subtitling quality. The questionnaire was sent to TV and streaming broadcasters, agencies that work as intermediaries between broadcasters and subtitlers, quality controllers and proofreaders. Based on the findings of this survey, I have recommended several steps that can be taken to ensure better quality subtitles.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"102 3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131228264","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":"Generic Fluency in Professional Subtitling:","authors":"Suvi Korpi","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i3.2021.183","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i3.2021.183","url":null,"abstract":"This article evaluates the translation of neologies in professional subtitling of audiovisual science fiction from the point of view of genre-specific features. Neologies are seen to be the most important linguistic element of science fiction as they produce the science fiction genre-specific cognitive estrangement and hence cognitively estrange the viewer from reality. Evaluating the translation of neologies is thus used as a tool to evaluate the transfer of the source text genre to the target text and to hypothesise whether the target text meets the expectations of the viewers. When the neologies are retained as genre-specific features of science fiction, the target text genre is seen to be generically fluent and the target text meets the viewer’s expectations. Even though the translation solutions which render the genre unfluent (misplace the science fiction cognitive estrangement produced by the source text) are in minority in the study material, the neologies can be seen to normalise towards common language in the translation process. This means that as neologies are considered as one of the producers of the science fiction genre-specific cognitive estrangement, the source text genre becomes less accessible for the target text viewer.\u0000Lay summary\u0000Science fiction is one of the most popular contemporary film and tv-series genres. The audience has expectations on the content of a science fiction film or tv-series based on their previous experiences with the genre, in other words, the genre-specific features. This article evaluates the translation of neologies in professional subtitling of audiovisual science fiction from the point of view of these genre-specific features. Neologies are seen to be the voice of science fiction as they cognitively estrange the viewer from reality. Evaluating the translation of neologies is used as a tool to evaluate the transfer of the source text (the original tv-series) genre to the target text (the subtitled tv-series) and to hypothesise whether the translation meets the expectations of the viewers. When the dialogue’s neologies are retained in the subtitles, the target text is seen to meet the viewer’s expectations. The study revealed that the neologies can be seen to normalise towards common language in the translation process. This means that as neologies are considered as one of the producers of the science fiction genre-specific cognitive estrangement, the source text genre becomes less accessible for the target text viewer.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126566285","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":"Food for Thought on Conducting Research Projects on Media Accessibility During the Covid-19 Pandemic and the New Normal","authors":"Şirin Okyayuz","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.190","url":null,"abstract":"The following practice report is based on observational experiences of a project group running a research project on accessibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project aimed to provide accessibility using plain language in children’s programs on a public television channel. The project included three groups of end-users: Deaf, hard of hearing, and visually impaired children. An overview of the project is presented to provide background for the practice report. The second part of the report deals with changes encountered in the running of the project during the pandemic: compensating for the lack of interactivity, social interaction and collective experience; using video conferencing; monitoring research; at-home research spaces and technological availability; network availability and performance; dealing with home computers; communication load; workload and work-life balance. Some key concepts of actor-network theory are used to analyse new actors, networks and shifts encountered in the process of implementing the project in the “new normal” in comparison to its planned implementation pre-COVID-19. In conclusion, a summary of possible options is cited to provide food for thought in running such projects.\u0000 \u0000Lay summary\u0000The following practice report is based on the observations of a group running a research project on accessibility for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and blind children to children’s programs during the Covid-19 pandemic. We aimed to provide accessibility using plain language (easy to understand and easy to follow language in subtitles, through sign language and audiodescription) in children’s’ programs on a public television channel. Initially, an overview of the project is presented to provide background, then the changes encountered in the running of the project due to the pandemic are studied. Some of the issues discussed are: How to compensate for the lack of interactivity and social interaction since there was no face-to-face interaction; using video conferencing, monitoring research; at home research spaces and technology availability; issues about network availability and performance; dealing with home computers; communication load, and workload. Some key concepts of the actor-network theory (ANT) are used to explain changes. ANT is concerned with exploring how networks come into existence, looking into which relations exist, how those relations are sustained, how actors come together to constitute and maintain a network and how networks maintain impermanent stability. In conclusion, a summary of possible options is cited to provide food for thought in running such projects.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114368011","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":"Respecting the GDPR in Online Interviewed Focus Groups","authors":"Carolina Goberna Caride","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.175","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.175","url":null,"abstract":"Since March 2020 the Corona virus has limited personal encounters due to social distancing measures. Thus, many data collection techniques relying on face-to-face interaction, like interviews or Focus Groups (FG), are now being practised in online environments. Such change requires the implementation of innovative measures to comply with Regulation EU 2016/679 (GDPR) and obey national data protection laws. Processing personal data of voluntary participants has to have a lawful ground and a clear purpose behind it. Moreover, the researcher has to respect legal requirements and principles for processing personal data, provide the participants with information about the research procedure and apply security measures to avoid risks to the rights and freedoms of individuals. This process has to apply to any interaction mediated by Web-Conferencing Systems (WCS). The purpose of this paper is to describe the legal requirements for conducting online interviews or FG under social distancing conditions. The project of reference for the application of these requirements is the EU Horizon2020 HELIOS project consisting of the development of a decentralised social media platform.\u0000Lay summary\u0000At universities or in industry researchers can interview people personally to test, for instance, the use of a specific technology. The objective is to collect data for future improvements. In 2020 people all over the world found themselves in a pandemic. The Covid-19 limited social meetings with beloved ones and also restricted the work of scientific researchers. Individual or group interviews could not take place in presence. Thus, a solution was seen in online conferencing platforms such as Zoom. Modifying the space and the way in which an interview takes place poses some legal challenges regarding data protection. Such conversations with individuals always have to apply European and national data protection laws. Among other things, this means that there needs to be a specific legal reason to process personal data and a specific purpose behind the interview. Additionally, the researcher has to inform participants about all the legal terms, legal guarantees and research procedure. All this applies as well if online conferencing platforms are used. In this article, you can find a description of the necessary legal steps to develop online interviews with individuals or focus groups and fulfil European data protection requirements.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130135300","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 in Online User Testing","authors":"Estella Oncins","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.176","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.176","url":null,"abstract":"The current COVID-19 crisis has revealed the crucial role of online communication technologies in providing unique opportunities to carry out qualitative research in online user-based testing. The ability to provide a shared common space for participants living in different parts of the world and to record discursive data in text format accurately, makes these tools crucial in gathering qualitative data for research studies (Turney & Pocknee, 2005). Although the accessibility of the online communication platforms is improving, they still present significant challenges for all users, especially when running synchronous meeting sessions with participants in remote settings (Dodds & Hess, 2020).","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129563676","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":"Testing Times","authors":"P. Orero, D. Hernández Falagán","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.207","url":null,"abstract":"That COVID-19 touched all walks of life is an understatement. With the risk of sounding frivolous, compared with other impacts, COVID-19 had direct implications in research, and particularly in funded research activities with a strict schedule. Luckily, in the field of audiovisual translation we do not require any live samples or animals to be fed while in lockdown. Still, experimental programmed tests with people required alternative approaches. This special issue presents the social distancing challenges faced in user-centric research methodologies when human interaction is required.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"85 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127028844","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":"Researching Displaced Persons During COVID-19","authors":"Maria Jiménez-Andrés, Nourhan Alemam","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i2.2021.174","url":null,"abstract":"Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created additional barriers to human interactions. For those conducting research with displaced persons, the barriers posed by COVID-19 add up to the existing linguistic, cultural, geographical and ethical obstacles that this type of research involves. In most cases, researchers have resorted to technological solutions to bridge the communication gap caused by the pandemic. However, the heterogeneous profiles and disadvantaged circumstances of displaced persons require further considerations and planning. This paper examines the experiences of researchers conducting research with displaced persons during COVID. It outlines the special considerations taken and provides recommendations for those conducting research in similar contexts. The communities that engaged in this research were based in Greece, Poland, Italy, Lebanon and Spain. While the focus of the study is displaced persons, the insights presented can be of benefit to those conducting research with other vulnerable groups.\u0000 \u0000Lay summary\u0000The COVID-19 pandemic has affected human interaction. Research often involves face-to-face contact with participants and other agents, which COVID-19 prevented. The mobility restrictions and safety regulations have difficulted data collection. Many processes have been moved online, but not everybody can interact successfully with technology i.e., some people do not have access to devices or internet, others do not have the skills required. Other barriers can be linguistic or cultural. Researchers must ensure that the research is safe and accessible to participants.\u0000This study presents how researchers working with migrants in the field of Media Accessibility have adapted their studies during COVID-19. The study reports on the results of a questionnaire distributed among researchers working on three projects conducted in European countries and Lebanon. The results show that more time was invested in data collection, and that flexibility and innovation were key to the success of the projects. The paper explains how researchers made data collection tools accessible to participants to ensure that participants could take part in the study. The considerations taken could be applied beyond the pandemic as it is adaptable to other research contexts, testing environments, diverse audiences, and disciplines.  ","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126812895","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":"Enhancing Audio Description: Inclusive Cinematic Experiences Through Sound Design","authors":"Mariana López, G. Kearney, Krisztian Hofstadter","doi":"10.47476/jat.v4i1.2021.154","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v4i1.2021.154","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores the creation of an alternative to traditional Audio Description for visually impaired film and television audiences. The Enhanced Audio Description (EAD) methods utilise sound design as the main vehicle for accessibility and advocate for the integration of accessibility practices to filmmaking workflows.  Moreover, this integrated strategy results in an organic form of accessibility that can cater for both visually impaired and sighted audiences, championing inclusive cinematic experiences.  The present article reflects on the discussions held during focus groups in which mixed audiences of visually impaired and sighted people watched the same film, with the same EAD soundtrack over headphones.  The discussions highlight the potential of the format as an example of universal design and accessible filmmaking, which can be enjoyed regardless of audience’s sight condition and can be offered alongside traditional Audio Description (AD) in order to cater for different aesthetic preferences.\u0000Lay summary\u0000Audio Description (AD) is a third person commentary added to film and television productions to make them accessible for visually impaired audiences.  Traditionally, AD is added to productions after they have been completed, meaning that the creative and accessibility teams do not work together to produce the accessible version of the production.  This paper explores an alternative to traditional AD, called Enhanced Audio Description (EAD), whose methods are integrated to filmmaking workflows.  EAD moves away from a focus on verbal descriptions and instead focuses on sound design strategies.  In EAD the traditional third person commentary is replaced by the combination of three techniques.  The first is the addition of sound effects to provide information on actions, convey abstract scenes as well as indicate time, place, and the presence of characters. The second is the use of binaural audio (3D audio over headphones) to convey the position of characters and objects portrayed on the screen. Finally, first-person narration is used to portray feelings, gestures, colours as well as certain actions. The application of EAD methods results in a form of accessibility that can cater for both visually impaired and sighted audiences, championing inclusive cinematic experiences. Focus groups with audiences of visually impaired and sighted people demonstrated the potential of the format to be widely enjoyed, and to be offered alongside traditional Audio Description (AD) in order to provide accessible experiences which cater for different aesthetic preferences.","PeriodicalId":203332,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Audiovisual Translation","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121711454","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}