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# 155 Why Everyone Is Using Subtitles Now with David Orrego-Carmona
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# 155 Why Everyone Is Using Subtitles Now with David Orrego-Carmona

Introduction to Audiovisual Translation

Overview: This section introduces the concept of audiovisual translation and its importance in the entertainment industry. It also covers David Orrego-Carmona's background and how he found his way into translation studies.

Background

  • David Orrego-Carmona is an Assistant Professor in Translation at the University of Warwick and a great Twitter follow (@dorrego with two Rs).
  • He studied translation in Colombia and wanted to travel, so he chose translation over language teaching.
  • He and some friends formed a research group on audiovisual translation and self-trained themselves to become subtitlers.
  • He also had training on translation technologies which helped him in his first in-house translator job.

University of Warwick Program

  • The program at the University of Warwick is a traditional UK program that integrates translation and cultural studies within a language department.
  • At the graduate level, they are developing a new pathway in translation studies to offer students the possibility to strengthen their links with the language industries.
  • At the undergraduate level, they teach French, German, Spanish and Italian.
  • At the Masters level, they are diversifying their portfolio by developing modules on translation technologies and audiovisual translation.

Profile of Students Joining Translation Programs

Overview: This section discusses the profile of students joining translation programs, with a focus on the Masters program at the speaker's university. It also touches on the popularity of the module on subtitling and the emergence of streaming services.

Student Profile

  • Most students in the Masters program are Chinese and European, and are interested in literary translation.
  • The module on subtitling is one of the most popular ones, and students are becoming more aware of the relevance of audiovisual translation.
  • Students mostly have a background in languages, which reflects the traditional program.

Reception of Non-Professional Subtitles

Overview: This section discusses the speaker's PhD research on the reception of non-professional subtitles using eye-tracking. It also covers the emergence of streaming services and how people are developing a more conscious approach to engaging with different modalities.

Research Findings

  • The speaker's research looked at the ecosystem of non-professional subtitling, including how the communities producing the subtitles come to be and how users react to them.
  • Technology influences the emergence of these communities, and they make proficient use of technologies and innovate to create their own production processes.
  • People are more conscious about the use of dubbing and subtitles, and adjust their demands to the subtitles differently.
  • People were aware of differences between professional and non-professional subtitles.
  • Eye-tracking data showed that the differences depending on the type of subtitles were not that relevant, but misspellings and low frequency words triggered more attention.
  • Fansubbing is still a big thing, but it has changed a lot due to the emergence of streaming services.

Changes in the Market for American TV Series and Films

Overview: This section discusses the changes in the market for American TV series and films, and how these changes have impacted the subtitling industry.

Impact of Subtitles on Distribution

  • Many groups are ripping the subtitles and redistributing them.
  • There are still hardcore communities that create different subtitles and different types of subtitles.
  • These communities are reducing due to all these changes in the market.

Multilingual Hit Shows

  • Netflix, Disney+, Apple, etc. have had some kind of hit shows like Squid Game coming in from Korea that the whole world watched, or 1899, where people were speaking a lot of different languages.
  • These shows have changed the perception of subtitling in academia and the industry.
  • People are talking more about subtitling and translation.
  • Netflix has been experimenting with this for a while.
  • Translation is seen as an essential part of the product.
  • People are consciously approaching subtitling as an essential part of their entertainment strategies.

Intralingual Subtitles

  • People are using more intralingual subtitles, so subtitles in the same language.
  • A recent poll in the UK showed that two-thirds of users between 18 and 24 years old use subtitles in English for English products.
  • The reach of the subtitling industry is incredible.
  • People understand that subtitles need to be there and that they are part of the product.
  • Subtitles that cater for the deaf and hard of hearing audiences are designed differently.
  • Hearing viewers have access to both the source and target translation in the same space.
  • Balancing the needs of different audiences and creating subtitles that cater for everyone is a challenge for the future.

Dubs vs Subs: The Big Debate

Overview: This section discusses the debate between dubs and subs, and how language knowledge can affect a viewer's experience. It also looks at the different options available to viewers and how they make an informed decision when it comes to translation.

Subtitles vs Dubs

  • Closed captions for the hard of hearing and clean subtitles are both options for viewers.
  • Different options should be offered to different age groups.
  • Intralingual subtitling presents a challenge as viewers have the capacity to access both.
  • People will compare the subtitles if they know the source language, but will trust them if they don't.

AI Captions

  • AI captions can be slow and difficult to follow.

The Debate

  • There is no straightforward answer to the dubs vs subs debate as it depends on factors such as familiarity and habituation.
  • With platforms like Netflix, viewers have more choices.
  • Both modes of translation are efficient and can convey meaning.
  • People will make an informed decision based on the options available to them.
  • Emotional connection to content can also influence a viewer's choice.

Machine Translation Among Non-Professional Translators

Overview: This section discusses the use of machine translation among non-professional translators, and the impact of automation on the day-to-day working conditions of professional translators.

Language Knowledge Affects Engagement with Machine Translation

  • People make a conscious use of machine translation and try to overcome their own language barriers or basic level of proficiency by implementing machine translation in an informed and educated way.
  • People pre-edit themselves, understanding that some language constructions in Spanish or Portuguese would be more cumbersome, so they write originals with simpler sentences for the machine to produce a better translation.

Impact of Automation on Professional Translators

  • Systems require people to have a high understanding of how the systems work in order to access and assess the information they get.
  • Systems are designed to provide a frictionless experience, but this can limit the opportunity to engage and challenge the output.
  • Recent graduates have a more positive attitude towards automation, as they understand that it will give them more opportunities to get jobs and choose the type of jobs they want to do.

Subtitling in the Digital Age

Overview: This section discusses the changes in the subtitling industry due to the rise of digital media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. It also covers the challenges of creating subtitles for these platforms and how to approach them.

Subtitling in the Digital Age

  • The subtitling industry has changed significantly due to the rise of digital media platforms.
  • These platforms require a different approach to subtitling, as they have different requirements than traditional media.
  • Subtitling should be seen as a problem-solving exercise, where the goal is to come up with solutions that meet the requirements of the platform.
  • One-word captions or subtitles are becoming increasingly popular on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, but this can be detrimental to comprehension.
  • This type of captioning is often used as an attention-grabber rather than for content, and it is important to consider the wider context of media consumption when creating subtitles.
  • Academics face unique challenges when it comes to grading papers written by ChatGPT, as they must consider the implications of automated writing.

Impact of ChatGPT on Academic Integrity

Overview: This section discusses the impact of ChatGPT on academic integrity and the need to develop new modes of assessment that integrate this technology.

Social Responsibility

  • There are issues at different levels when it comes to ChatGPT, with the assessment issue being the most pressing.
  • The social responsibility of this type of technology is a major concern, as it requires additional manpower to identify and bring forward cases of plagiarism.

Integrating ChatGPT into Assessment

  • Integrating ChatGPT into forms of assessment can help students use and critically use these tools and reflect on their practices.
  • It can also provide additional feedback and sources for students to access feedback themselves and improve their work.

Rethinking Teaching

  • ChatGPT can help us rethink teaching more broadly, as assessment is often the only method used to evaluate students.
  • We need to develop basic skills to ensure students have the time to become good translators before they become post-editors.

OpenAI's Whisper API

Overview: This section discusses OpenAI's Whisper API and its relevance to subtitling and live captioning.

Relevance of Whisper API

  • It is important to keep an eye on Whisper API, both for the consequences or the impact on training, and the professional landscape in general.
  • The ability to respeak the product in order to create live subtitles has become quite the standard, but Whisper API may change this.

Impact on Training

  • Very good translators are needed to add an expert layer on top of a well-trained machine translation.
  • If Whisper API becomes more widely available, we need to reassess whether there is still a need to train re-speakers, and if so, how to train post-editors for the output of systems like Whisper.

Automation and the Professional Landscape

Overview: This section discusses how automation is changing the professional landscape and the need for language professionals to have basic coding skills in 2023.

Coding Skills

  • We don't offer coding skills at Warwick, but understanding how coding works is important for language professionals to communicate with other professionals who develop resources for translators.
  • Knowing Python programming skills would be an asset to some translators, but there are other skills that are more relevant.
  • Multilingual copyrighting, SEO, project management, and negotiation skills are all important aspects of the translation curriculum.
  • Coding may not be necessary for everyone, but it can be an asset to some.

Roadmap for 2023 and Beyond

Overview: This section discusses the research projects and collaborations planned for 2023 and beyond.

Research Projects

  • Working on an eye-tracking project to assess subtitle reading and isolate different variables that affect the subtitle reading process.
  • Researching machine translation as used by local authorities, NGOs, and charities to develop policies and white papers to help them better assess and integrate these resources.
Video description

In this week’s SlatorPod, we are joined by David Orrego-Carmona, Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick to discuss his research on language technologies, audiovisual translation, and users of translation. David shares his background studying translation in Colombia and how it led to the formation of a research group focusing on audiovisual translation and subtitling. He outlines how he is developing Translation Studies at Warwick, not only to teach students about translation and culture, but so they can have a direct link to the industry. David reveals the key findings from his PhD on the production of interlingual subtitles, where he used eye-tracking to track reading behaviors of non-professional and professional subtitles. He talks about how multilingual content like Netflix’s Sense8 and 1899 is changing the perception of subtitling. David challenges the idea of the invisibility of subtitles as users between the age of 18 and 24 in the UK are more likely to use intralingual subtitles in English. David gives his thoughts on the age-old debate of subtitling versus dubbing, where there is no right answer as both modes of translation are efficient and can convey meaning. He talks about how non-professional translators are implementing machine translation in a more informed and educated way through pre-editing. David discusses why it’s important for students to learn about the requirements of different media in subtitling, including short-form content like YouTube and TikTok. He touches on the impact of ChatGPT on academia, from plagiarism to integrating large language models into the curriculum. The pod rounds off with David’s current research projects, the first on understanding how people watch subtitles and the second on how machine translation is used by local authorities, NGOs, and charities in the UK. David Orrego-Carmona: https://orrego-carmona.com/ Chapter Markers: 00:00:00 Intro and Agenda 00:01:00 Background and Route to Academia 00:03:20 Translation Program at University of Warwick 00:05:05 Typical Translation Student Profile 00:06:11 Non-Professional Subtitling Research 00:09:38 Fansubbing 00:10:53 Impact of Multilingual Content 00:17:42 Dubbing Versus Subtitling 00:21:40 Machine Translation Research 00:24:47 Impact of Automation on Workflow 00:26:26 Short Form Subtitles 00:30:14 ChatGPT in Academia 00:35:02 Subtitle Generation with Whisper 00:36:57 Teaching Programming 00:39:33 Research Roadmap for 2023