Audiovisual Adaptation Project - English

Teacher(s)

Rivas Ginel Maria Isabel;

Language

French
> English-friendly

Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet. 
The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.

Main themes

Intralingual or interlingual subtitling of films, series, cartoons, documentaries, interviews, programmes, informative or promotional documents, and intralingual or interlingual surtitling of plays, operas or musicals. 

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Contribution of teaching unit to learning outcomes assigned to programme  This unit contributes to the acquisition and development of the following learning outcomes, as assigned to the Master's degree in translation:  analyse a source document, identify potential textual and cognitive difficulties and assess the strategies and resources needed to reformulate it in line with communicative needs (1 – Translation);  summarise, rephrase, restructure, and shorten a message and adapt it to market needs rapidly and accurately in at least one target language, using written and/or spoken communication (2 – Translation);  implement the instructions, style guides, or conventions relevant to a particular translation (5 – Translation);  translate general and domain-specific material in one or several fields from one or several source languages into their target language(s), producing a ‘fit for purpose’ translation (6 – Translation);  translate different types of material on and for different kinds of media and target audiences, using appropriate tools and techniques (7 – Translation);  check, review, revise and evaluate their own work and that of others according to standard or work-specific quality objectives and assess the appropriateness of using tools for the work at hand (11 – Translation);  pre-process, process and manage files and other media/sources as part of the translation workflow, e.g., web and multimedia files (17 – Technology).  Specific learning outcomes on completion of teaching unit  On completing this unit the student is able to:  manage the translation process from English into French strictly respecting deadlines, client instructions, and the specific international quality standards that apply to a particular medium;  work interactively with other team members;  supply a finished product.

Content

The course Audiovisual Adaptation Seminar – English focuses on intensive practice in subtitling and surtitling, supported by a theoretical framework that guides and analyses translation decisions. Students will work on subtitling tasks in specialised contexts (medical, wildlife, culinary, etc.) and explore different types of subtitling according to their purposes (informative, marketing, children’s content) and target audiences. Particular attention will be given to the specific requirements of subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH) and accessibility standards. Theoretical components will complement practice by providing essential reference points such as formatting conventions, technical constraints, and translation strategies. Practical assignments, carried out mainly with EZTitles©, will be reviewed and corrected collectively to strengthen both technical expertise and critical reflection.

Teaching methods

In-person classes, computer lab equipped with EZTitles© software.
Attendance is compulsory.
Individual and group work for learning and formative feedback.
 

Evaluation methods

For the January examination session, the summative assessment is organised during the semester and takes the form of an individual practical subtitling assignment.
Individual and group activities will be carried out during the semester for formative purposes and will receive regular feedback. Group work does not form part of the summative assessment.
In the event of failure, the September examination session will consist of an individual practical assignment.
Attendance is compulsory.
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), if used, must be used responsibly and in accordance with the principles of academic and scientific integrity. Since scientific integrity requires sources to be acknowledged, any use of GenAI must always be reported precisely and in detail. GenAI uses that comply with academic standards are defined in the institutional document “Utilisation des Intelligences Artificielles Génératives. Note à l’attention des étudiantes et étudiants de l’UCLouvain”.
Whether disclosed or not, the use of GenAI tools will be considered inconsistent with academic standards when it leads, in particular, to citing bibliographical sources that have not been consulted or to including references whose validity has not been verified or that do not exist. Where inappropriate use of GenAI is suspected, the course holder may verify the authenticity of the submitted work and, pursuant to Article 148 of the RGEE and with the agreement of the examination board, require an additional assessment. Any unauthorised use of GenAI may be considered an irregularity within the meaning of Article 107 of the UCLouvain RGEE.
Rules on plagiarism: in assessed work, students must strictly comply with academic referencing rules. In particular, they must not copy text without quotation marks and/or acknowledgement of the source; reproduce graphs, data or illustrations without acknowledging the source; reformulate or summarise an author’s original idea without acknowledging the source; translate a source, in whole or in part, without referencing it; present another person’s work as their own; or purchase work. Failure to comply with these rules may result in the sanctions provided for by the RGEE where an irregularity or plagiarism is established by the examination board.
 

Other information

Course materials will be available on Moodle.

Online resources

Glossary of Professional Audiovisual Translation:
https://www.ataa.fr/documents/ET-HS2-complet.pdf
Charter on the Quality of Subtitling for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People (2011):
https://www.arcom.fr/se-documenter/espace-juridique/textes-juridiques/charte-relative-la-qualite-du-sous-titrage-destination-des-personnes-sourdes-ou-malentendantes-decembre-2011
International Guidelines and Policies on Audiovisual Translation (ESIST – European Association for Studies in Screen Translation):
https://esist.org/resources/avt-guidelines-and-policies/
ADLAB – Best Practice Guide and Learning Manual in Audio Description (with Exercises):
http://www.adlabproject.eu/Docs/adlab%20book/
Current Trends in Audiovisual Translation Research:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0907676X.2022.2069226#d1e247
 

Bibliography

1. Baños, Rocío & Dallı, Harun & Diaz-Cintas, Jorge. (2025). Pivot subtitling workflows in the age of streaming platforms. The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research. 17. 16-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.12807/ti.117202.2025.a02
2. Baños, Rocío & Diaz-Cintas, Jorge. (2023). Exploring new forms of audiovisual translation in the age of digital media: cybersubtitling and cyberdubbing. The Translator. 29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2023.2274119
3. Bolaños García-Escribano, Alejandro & Diaz-Cintas, Jorge & Massidda, Serenella. (2021). Subtitlers on the Cloud: The Use of Professional Web-based Systems in Subtitling Practice and Training. Tradumàtica tecnologies de la traducció. 19. 1-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.5565/rev/tradumatica.276
4. Gambier, Yves. (2019). Audiovisual translation and reception. Slovo.ru: Baltic accent. http://dx.doi.org/10.5922/2225-5346-2019-1-4

Faculty or entity

> LSTI