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Subtitle (captioning)
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Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added information to help viewers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing to follow the dialog. Television teletext subtitles, which are hidden unless requested by the viewer from a menu or by selecting the relevant teletext page (e.g.
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Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added information to help viewers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing to follow the dialog. Television teletext subtitles, which are hidden unless requested by the viewer from a menu or by selecting the relevant teletext page (e.g. p888), always carry additional sound representations for deaf and hard of hearing viewers. Teletext subtitle language follows the original audio, except in multi-lingual countries where the broadcaster may provide subtitles in additional languages on other teletext pages.
Sometimes, mainly at film festivals, subtitles may be shown on a separate display below the screen, thus saving the film-maker from creating a subtitled copy for perhaps just one showing. Television subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing is closed captioning.
Creation of subtitles
Today professional subtitlers usually work with specialized computer software and hardware where the video is digitally stored on a hard disk, making each individual frame instantly accessible. Besides creating the subtitles, the subtitler usually also tells the computer software the exact positions where each subtitle should appear and disappear. For cinema film, this task is traditionally done by separate technicians. The end result is a subtitle file containing the actual subtitles as well as position markers indicating where each subtitle should appear and disappear. These markers are usually based on timecode if it is a work for electronic media (e.g. TV, video, DVD), or on film length (measured in feet and frames) if the subtitles are to be used for traditional cinema film.
The finished subtitle file is used to add the subtitles to the picture, either directly into the picture (open subtitles); embedded in the vertical interval and later superimposed on the picture by the end user with the help of an external decoder or a decoder built into the TV (closed subtitles on TV or video); or converted to tiff or bmp graphics that are later superimposed on the picture by the end user (closed subtitles on DVD).
Subtitles can also be created by individuals using freely-available subtitle-creation software like Subtitle Workshop and then hardcode them onto a video file with programs such as VirtualDub in combination with VSFilter which could also be used to show subtitles as softsubs in many software video players.
For multimedia-style Webcasting, check SMIL Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language.
Same language captions
Same language captions, i.e., without translation, are primarily intended as an aid for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Subtitles in the same language as the dialog are sometimes edited for reading speed and readability. This is especially true if they cover a situation where many people are speaking at the same time, or where speech is unstructured or contains redundancy.
Closed captions
Closed captioning is the American term for closed subtitles specifically intended for people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. These are a transcription rather than a translation, and usually contain descriptions of important non-dialog audio as well such as "(sighs)" or "(door creaks)". From the expression "closed captions" the word "caption" has in recent years come to mean a subtitle intended for the hard of hearing, be it "open" or "closed". In British English "subtitles" usually refers to subtitles for the hard-of-hearing (HoH), as translation subtitles are so rare on British cinema and TV; however, the term "HoH subtitles" is sometimes used when there is a need to make a distinction between the two.
Realtime
Programs such as news bulletins, current affairs programs, sport, some talk shows and political and special events utilize realtime or online captioning. Live captioning is increasingly common, especially in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a result of regulations that stipulate that virtually all TV eventually must be accessible for people who are deaf and hard–of–hearing.
Pre-prepared
Some programs may be prepared in their entirety several hours before broadcast, but with insufficient time to prepare a timecoded caption file for automatic play-out. Pre-prepared captions look very similar to offline captions, although the accuracy of cueing may be compromised slightly as the captions are not locked to program timecode.
Newsroom captioning involves the automatic transfer of text from the newsroom computer system to a device which outputs it as captions. It does work, but its suitability as an exclusive system would only apply to programs which had been scripted in their entirety on the newsroom computer system, such as short interstitial updates.
In the United States and Canada, some broadcasters have used it exclusively and simply left uncaptioned sections of the bulletin for which a script was unavailable. Newsroom captioning limits captions to pre-scripted materials and, therefore, does not cover 100% of the news, weather and sports segments of a typical local news broadcast. It does not cover such things as the weather and sports segments which are typically not pre-scripted, last second breaking news or changes to the scripts, ad lib conversations of the broadcasters, emergency or other live remote broadcasts by reporters in-the-field. By failing to cover items such as these, newsroom style captioning (or use of the TelePrompTer for captioning) typically results in coverage of less than 30% of a local news broadcast.
Caption Colorado offers "real-time" closed captioning that utilizes unique technologies coupled with the talents of highly skilled captioners who use stenographic court reporting machines to transcribe the audio on-the-fly, as the words are spoken by the broadcasters. real-time captioning is not limited to pre-scripted materials and, therefore, covers 100% of the news, weather and sports segments of a typical local news broadcast. It will cover such things as the weather and sports segments which are typically not pre-scripted, last second breaking news or changes to the scripts, ad lib conversations of the broadcasters, emergency or other live remote broadcasts by reporters in-the-field. By failing to cover items such as these, newsroom style captioning (or use of the TelePrompTer for captioning) typically results in coverage of less than 30% of a local news broadcast. … 2002
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Live
Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) stenographers, who use a computer with using either stenotype or Velotype keyboards to transcribe stenographic input for presentation as captions within 2-3 seconds of the representing audio, must caption anything which is purely live and unscripted, however, the most recent developments include operators using voice recognition software and revoicing the dialog. Voice recognition technology has advanced so quickly in the United Kingdom that about 50% of all live captioning is through voice recognition as of 2005. Realtime captions look different from offline captions, as they are presented as a continuous flow of text as people speak.
Realtime stenographers are the most highly skilled in their profession. Stenography is a system of rendering words phonetically, and English, with its multitude of homophones (e.g. there, their, they’re), is particularly unsuited to easy transcriptions. Stenographers working in courts and inquiries usually have 24 hours in which to deliver their transcripts. Consequently they may enter the same phonetic stenographic codes for a variety of homophones, and fix up the spelling later. Realtime stenographers must deliver their transcriptions accurately and immediately. They must therefore develop techniques for keying homophones differently, and be unswayed by the pressures of delivering accurate product on immediate demand.
Submissions to recent captioning-related inquiries have revealed concerns from broadcasters about captioning sports. Captioning sports may also affect many different people because of the weather outside of it. In much sport captioning's absence, the submitted to the (NWPC), in November of 1998, three examples of sport captioning, each performed on tennis, rugby league and swimming programs:
- Heavily reduced: Captioners ignore commentary and provide only scores and essential information such as “try” or “out”.
- Significantly reduced: Captioners use QWERTY input to type summary captions yielding the essence of what the commentators are saying, delayed due to the limitations of QWERTY input.
- Comprehensive realtime: Captioners use stenography to caption the commentary in its entirety.
The NWPC concluded that the standard they accept is the comprehensive realtime method, which gives them access to the commentary in its entirety. Also, not all sports are live. Many events are pre-recorded hours before they are broadcast, allowing them a captioner to caption them using offline methods.
Hybrid
Because different programs are produced under different conditions, a case-by-case basis must consequently determine captioning methodology. Some bulletins may have a high incidence of truly live material, or insufficient access to video feeds and scripts may be provided to the captioning facility, making stenography unavoidable. Other bulletins may be pre-recorded just before going to air, making pre-prepared text preferable.
In Australia and the United Kingdom, hybrid methodologies have proven to be the best way to provide comprehensive, accurate and cost-effective captions on news and current affairs programs. News captioning applications currently available are designed to accept text from a variety of inputs: stenography, Velotype, QWERTY, ASCII import, and the newsroom computer. This allows one facility to handle a variety of online captioning requirements and to ensure that captioners properly caption all programs.
Current affairs programs usually require stenographic assistance. Even though the segments which comprise a current affairs program may be produced in advance, they are usually done so just before on-air time and their duration makes QWERTY input of text unfeasible.
News bulletins, on the other hand can often be captioned without stenographic input (unless there are live crosses or ad-libbing by the presenters). This is because:
- Most items are scripted on the newsroom computer system and this text can be electronically imported into the captioning system.
- Individual news stories are of short duration, so even if they are made available only just prior to broadcast, there is still time to QWERTY in text.
Offline
For non-live, or pre-recorded programs, television program providers can choose offline captioning. Captioners gear offline captioning toward the high-end television industry, providing highly customized captioning features, such as pop-on style captions, specialized screen placement, speaker identifications, italics, special characters, and sound effects.
For non-live, or pre-recorded programs, you can choose from two presentation styles models for offline captioning or transcription needs in English or Spanish.
Premiere Offline Captioning
Premiere Offline Captioning is geared toward the high-end television industry, providing highly customized captioning features, such as pop-on style captions, specialized screen placement, speaker identifications, italics, special characters, and sound effects.
Premiere Offline involves a five-step design and editing process, and does much more than simply display the text of a program. Premiere Offline helps the viewer follow a story line, become aware of mood and feeling, and allows them to fully enjoy the entire viewing experience. Premiere Offline is the preferred presentation style for entertainment-type programming. … 2002
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Offline captioning involves a five-step design and editing process, and does much more than simply display the text of a program. Offline captioning helps the viewer follow a story line, become aware of mood and feeling, and allows them to fully enjoy the entire viewing experience. Offline captioning is the preferred presentation style for entertainment-type programming.
SDH
"SDH" is an American term the DVD industry introduced. It is an acronym for "Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing", and refers to regular subtitles in the original language where important non-dialog audio has been added, as well as speaker identification, useful when the viewer cannot otherwise visually tell who is saying what.
The only significant difference for the user between "SDH" subtitles and "closed captions" is their appearance: SDH subtitles usually are displayed with the same proportional font used for the translation subtitles on the DVD; however, closed captions are displayed as white text on a black band, which blocks a large portion of the view. Closed captioning is falling out of favor as many users have no difficulty reading SDH subtitles, which are text with contrast outline. In addition, DVD subtitles can specify many colors, on the same character: primary, outline, shadow, and background. This allows subtitlers to display subtitles on a usually translucent band for easier reading, however, this is rare, since most subtitles use an outline and shadow instead, in order to block a smaller portion of the picture. Closed captions may still supersede DVD subtitles, since many SDH subtitles present all of the text centered, while closed captions usually specify position on the screen: centered, left align, right align, top, etc. This is very helpful for speaker identification and overlapping conversation. Some SDH subtitles do have positioning, but it is not as common.
DVDs for the US market now sometimes have three forms of English subtitles: SDH subtitles, English subtitles, helpful for viewers who are Hearing and whose first language may not be English (although they are usually an exact transcript and not edited into Simple English), and closed caption data that is decoded by the end-user’s closed caption decoder.
High definition disc media (HD DVD, Blu-ray disc) uses SDH subtitles as the sole method because technical specifications do not require HD to support line 21 closed captions. Some blu-ray discs, however, are said to carry a closed caption stream that only displays through standard definition connections. Many HDTVs allow the end–user to customize the captions, including the ability to remove the black band.
Use by those not deaf or hard-of-hearing
Although same-language subtitles and captions are produced primarily with the deaf and hard-of-hearing in mind, many hearing film and television viewers choose to use them. This is often done because the presence of closed captioning and subtitles ensures that not one word of dialog will be missed. Bars and other noisy public places often turn make closed captions visible for patrons where dialogue would otherwise be drowned out. Films and television shows often have subtitles displayed in the same language, if the speaker has a speech disability and/or an accent. In addition, captions may further reveal information that would be difficult to pick up on otherwise. Some examples of this would be the song lyrics; dialog spoken quietly or by those with unfamiliar accents; or supportive, minor dialog from background characters. It is argued that such additional information and detail will enhance the overall experience and allow the viewer a better grasp on the material. Furthermore, people learning a foreign language may sometimes use same-language subtitles to better understand the dialog while not having to resort to a translation.
Asia
In some Asian television programming, captioning is considered a part of the genre, and has evolved beyond simply capturing what is being said. The captions are used artistically; it is common to see the words appear one by one as they are spoken, in a multitude of fonts, colors, and sizes that capture the spirit of what is being said. Languages like Japanese also have a rich vocabulary of onomatopoeia which are used in captioning.
East Asia
In some East Asian countries, such as China, Korea and Japan, subtitling is common in some genres of television. In these languages, written text is less ambiguous than spoken text, so subtitling may offer a distinct advantage to aid comprehension. Furthermore, the various spoken dialects of Chinese are mutually incomprehensible, but all understand the one standard form of written Chinese. Subtitling means someone who only understands one dialect could watch a show filmed in another. Subtitling is also common in taped interviews during news broadcasts, as accents in East Asian languages can be difficult to understand.
South Asia
In India, Same Language Subtitling (SLS) are common for films and music videos. SLS refers to the idea of subtitling in the same language as the audio. SLS is highlighted in perfect timing, as they are sung (or spoken). The idea of SLS was initiated to shore up literacy rates as SLS makes reading practice an incidental, automatic, and subconscious part of popular TV entertainment. His idea was well received by the Government of India who now uses SLS on several national channels, including Doordarshan.
Translation
Subtitles can be used to translate dialog from a foreign language to the native language of the audience. It is the quickest and the cheapest method of translating content, and is usually praised for the possibility to hear the original dialog and voices of the actors.
Translation of subtitling is sometimes very different from the translation of written text. Usually, when a film or a TV program is subtitled, the subtitler watches the picture and listens to the audio sentence by sentence. The subtitler may or may not have access to a written transcript of the dialog. Especially in commercial subtitles, the subtitler often interprets what is meant, rather than translating how it is said, i.e. meaning being more important than form. The audience does not always appreciate this, and it can be frustrating to those who know some of the spoken language, due to the fact that spoken language may contain verbal padding or culturally implied meanings, in confusing words, if not adapted in the written subtitles. The subtitler does this when the dialog must be condensed in order to achieve an acceptable reading speed. i.e. purpose being more important than form.
Especially in fansubs, the subtitler may translate both form and meaning. The subtitler may also choose to display a note in the subtitles, usually in parentheses (“)”). This allows the subtitler to preserve form and achieve an acceptable reading speed, by leaving the note on the screen, even after the character has finished speaking, to both preserve form and allow for understanding. For example, the Japanese language has multiple first-person pronouns (see Japanese pronouns), and using one instead of another implies a different degree of politeness. In order to compensate, when translating to English, the subtitler may reformulate the sentence, add appropriate words and/or use notes.
Captioning
Realtime
Realtime translation subtitling, usually involving simultaneous interpreter listening to the dialog quickly translating, while a stenographer types, is rare. The unavoidable delay, typing errors, lack of editing, and high costs regard very little need for translation subtitling. Allowing the interpreter to directly speak to the viewers is usually both cheaper and quicker, however, the translation is not accessible to people who are deaf and hard–of–hearing.
Offline
Some subtitlers purposely provide edited subtitles or captions, to match the needs of their audience, for learners of the spoken dialog as a second or foreign language, visual learners, beginning readers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and for people with learning and/or mental disabilities. For example, for many of its films and television programs, PBS displays standard captions representing speech the program audio, word-for-word, if the viewer selects "CC1", by using the television remote control or on-screen menu, however, they also provide edited captions to present simplified sentences at a slower rate, if the viewer selects "CC2". Programs with a very diverse audience also often have captions in another language. This is common with popular Spanish soap operas. Since CC1 and CC2 share bandwidth, the FCC recommends translation subtitles be placed in CC3. CC4, which shares bandwidth with CC3, is also available, but programs very seldom use it.
Subtitles vs. dubbing and lectoring
The two alternative methods of 'translating' films in a foreign language are dubbing, in which other actors record over the voices of the original actors in a different language, and lectoring, a form of voice-over for fiction material where a narrator tells the audience what the actors are saying while their voices can be heard in the background. Lectoring is common for television in Russia, Poland, and a few other East European countries, while cinemas in these countries commonly show films dubbed or subtitled.
The preference for dubbing or subtitling in various countries is largely based on decisions taken in the late 1920s and early 1930s. With the arrival of sound film, the film importers in Germany, Italy, France and Spain decided to dub the foreign voices, while the rest of Europe elected to display the dialog as translated subtitles. The choice was largely due to financial reasons (subtitling is inexpensive and quick, while dubbing is very expensive and thus requires a very large audience to justify the cost), but during the 1930s it also became a political preference in Germany, Italy and Spain; an expedient form of censorship that ensured that foreign views and ideas could be stopped from reaching the local audience, as dubbing makes it possible to create a dialogue which is totally different from the original. In Spain the compulsory dubbing was also employed for encouraging the use of Spanish language (Castilian) among non-Spanish-speaking population (languages such as Galician, Catalan and Basque were forbidden and prosecuted during Franco's dictatorship).
Dubbing is still the norm and favored form in these four countries, but the proportion of subtitling is slowly growing, mainly to save cost and turnaround-time, but also due to a growing acceptance among younger generations, who are better readers and increasingly have a basic knowledge of English (the dominant language in film and TV) and thus prefer to hear the original dialogue.
Nevertheless, in Spain, for example, only public TV channels show subtitled foreign films, usually at late night. It is extremely rare that any Spanish TV channel shows subtitled versions of TV programs, series or documentaries. In addition, only a small proportion of cinemas shows subtitled films. Films talking in Galician, Catalan or Basque are always dubbed, not subtitled, when they are showed in the rest of the country. Some non-Spanish-speaking TV stations subtitle interviews in Spanish; others do not.
In many Latin American countries, local network television will show dubbed versions of English-language programs and movies, while cable stations (often international) more commonly broadcast subtitled material. Preference for subtitles or dubbing varies according to individual taste and reading ability, and theaters may order two prints of the most popular films, allowing moviegoers to chose between dubbing or subtitles. Animation and children's programming, however, is nearly universally dubbed, as in other regions.
In the traditional subtitling countries, dubbing is generally regarded as something very strange and unnatural and is only used for animated films and TV programs intended for pre-school children. As animated films are "dubbed" even in their original language and ambient noise and effects are usually recorded on a separate sound track, dubbing a low quality production into a second language produces little or no noticeable effect on the viewing experience. In dubbed live-action television or film, however, viewers are often distracted by the fact that the audio does not match the actors' lip movements. Furthermore, the dubbed voices may seem detached, inappropriate for the character, or overly expressive, and some ambient sounds may not be transferred to the dubbed track, creating a less enjoyable viewing experience.
Subtitling as a practice
In several countries or regions nearly all foreign language TV programs are subtitled, instead of dubbed, notably in:
- Albania
- Arabic countries (In Lebanon both Arabic and French are shown simultaneously )
- Argentina
- Australia
- Belgium (Subtitles in Dutch in Flanders, dubbed into French in Wallonia, sometimes bilingual [Dutch-French] subtitles in movie theaters)
- Bolivia - Spanish
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil (cable/satellite TV only)
- Bulgaria
- Colombia (cable/satellite TV only)
- Cuba
- Costa Rica (cable/satellite TV, and on some national channels like Channel 7)
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Greece
- Hong Kong (Dubbing in Cantonese often happens, but subtitling is also common, since these foreign programs are often broadcast in multiple languages.)
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Israel Non-Hebrew television programmes and films are always translated into Hebrew with subtitles. Bilingual Hebrew/Arabic or Hebrew/Russian subtitling, showing translation into both languages simultaneously, is very common on public TV channels. Dubbing is restricted to programmes and films aimed at children below school age. As of 2008 the closed captioning industry in Israel is on the rise since a law has been approved, stating that all the Hebrew programmes of The Israeli Television must be subtitled for the hearing impaired. Moreover, in recent years it became a norm in other channels and broadcasting bodies in Israel.
- Ireland
- Japan (live-action only)
- Macedonia
- Malaysia (Subtitles programming of various languages to Malay, as well as various Malay-language live action programs to English. Usually, animation is exempted from subtitling. Indian and Chinese movies usually have subs of more than one languages).
- Montenegro
- The Netherlands
- Norway
- Peru (in Aymara and Quechua)
- Portugal
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovenia
- Singapore (Even though the official language of Singapore is English, and the indigenous language is Malay, many TV programmes have Chinese subtitles for the benefit of immigrants from China, now settled for many generations).
- South Africa (in Afrikaans, Sesotho, Xhosa and Zulu)
- South Korea
- Sweden
- Taiwan
- Turkey (Ethnical languages of the country in TRT 3)
- Ukraine (TV shows in Russian are often shown with Ukrainian subtitles)
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay (cable/satellite TV only)
It is also common that television services in minority languages subtitle their programmes in the dominating language as well. Examples include the Welsh S4C and Irish TG4 who subtitle in English and the Swedish FST5 who subtitle in Finnish.
In Wallonia (Belgium) films are usually dubbed, but sometimes they are played on two channels at the same time: one dubbed (on La Une) and the other subtitled (on La Deux), but due to low ratings not much anymore.
In Australia, one FTA network, SBS airs its foreign-language shows subtitled in English.
Categories
Subtitles in the same language on the same production can be in different categories:
- Narrative This is the most common type of subtitle. Narrative subtitles are those in which all the foreign language dialog and on-screen text is translated to the local tongue.
- Forced These are common on DVDs. Forced subtitles only provide subtitles when the characters speak a foreign or alien language.
- Content Content subtitles are a North American Secondary Industry (non-Hollywood, often low-budget) staple. They add content dictation that is missing from filmed action or dialogue. Due to the general low budget allowances in such films, it is often more feasible to add the overlay subtitles to fill in information. They appear most commonly seen on America's Maverick films as Forced Subtitles, and on Canada's MapleLeaf films as optional subtitles.
- Titles only Dubbed programs use this sort of subtitle. Titles only provide only the text for any untranslated on-screen text.
- Bonus Bonus subtitles are an additional set of text blurbs that are added to DVDs. They are similar to Blu-ray Disc's in-movie content or to the "info nuggets" in VH1 Pop-up Video. Often shown in popup or balloon form, they point out humorous blunders in the filming or background/behind-the-scenes information to what is appearing on screen.
- Localized Localized subtitles are a separate subtitle track that uses expanded references (i.e. "The sake [a Harsh Japanese Wine] was excellent as was the Wasabi") or can replace the standardized subtitle track with a localized (see localization form replacing references to local custom. i.e from above, "The wine was excellent as was the spicy dip").
- Extended/Expanded Extended subtitles combine the standard subtitle track with the localization subtitle track. Originally found only on Celestial DVDs in the early 2000s, the format has expanded to many export-intended releases from China, Japan, India and Taiwan. The term "Expanded Subtitle" is owned by Celestial, with Extended being used by other companies.
Types
While distributing content, subtitles can appear in one of 3 types:
- Hard (also known as hardsubs or open subtitles). The subtitle text is irreversibly merged in original video frames, and so no special equipment or software is required for playback. Hence, very complex transition effects and animation can be implemented, such as karaoke song lyrics using various colors, fonts, sizes, animation (like a bouncing ball) etc. to follow the lyrics. However, these subtitles cannot be turned off unless the original video is also included in the distribution as they are now part of the original frame, and thus it is impossible to have several variants of subtitling, such as in multiple languages.
- Prerendered subtitles are separate video frames that are overlaid on the original video stream while playing. Prerendered subtitles are used on DVD (though they are contained in the same file as the video stream). It is possible to turn them off or have multiple language subtitles and switch among them, but the player has to support such subtitles to display them. Also, subtitles are usually encoded as images with minimal bitrate and number of colors; they usually lack anti-aliased font rasterization. Also, changing such subtitles is hard, but special OCR software, such as SubRip exists to convert such subtitles to "soft" ones.
- Soft (also known as softsubs or closed subtitles) are separate instructions, usually a specially marked up text with time stamps to be displayed during playback. It requires player support and, moreover, there are multiple incompatible (but usually reciprocally convertible) subtitle file formats. Softsubs are relatively easy to create and change, and thus are frequently used for fansubs. Text rendering quality can vary depending on the player, but is generally higher than prerendered subtitles. Also, some formats introduce text encoding troubles for the end-user, especially if very different languages are used simultaneously (for example, Latin and Asian scripts).
In other categorization, digital video subtitles are sometimes called internal, if they're embedded in a single video file container along with video and audio streams, and external if they are distributed as separate file (that is less convenient, but it is easier to edit/change such file).
Comparison table| Feature | Hard | Prerendered | Soft | | Can be turned off/on | | | | | Multiple subtitle variants (for example, languages) | 'Though all displayed at the same time | | | | Editable | | Difficult, but possible | | | Player requirements | None | Majority of players support DVD subtitles | Usually requires installation of special software, unless national regulators mandate its distribution | | Visual appearance, colors, font quality | Low, depends on video resolution/compression | Low | Low to High, depends on player and subtitle file format | | Transitions, karaoke and other special effects | Highest | Low | Depends on player and subtitle file format, but generally poor | | Distribution | Inside original video | Separate low-bitrate video stream, commonly multiplexed | Relatively small subtitle file or instructions stream, multiplexed or separate | | Additional overhead | None, though subtitles added by re-encoding of the original video may degrade overall image quality, and the sharp edges of text may introduce artifacts in surrounding video | High | Low |
Subtitle formats
For software video players
Comparison table| Name | Extension | Type | Text Styling | Metadata | Timings | Timing Precision | | AQTitle | .aqt | Text-based | | | Framings | Dependent on Frame |
|---|
| JACOSub | .jss | Text-based | | | Elapsed Time | 10 Milliseconds |
|---|
| MicroDVD | .sub | Text-based | | | Framings | Dependent on Frame |
|---|
| MPEG-4 Timed Text | .ttxt | XML | | | Elapsed Time | 1 Millisecond |
|---|
| MPSub | .sub | Text-based | | | Sequential Time | 10 Milliseconds |
|---|
| Ogg Writ | N/A (mixed with audio/video stream) | Text-based | | | Sequential Granules | Dependent on Bitstream |
|---|
| Phoenix Subtitle | .pjs | Text-based | | | Framings | Dependent on Frame |
|---|
| PowerDivX | .psb | Text-based | | | Elapsed Time | 1 Second |
|---|
| RealText | .rt | HTML-based | | | Elapsed Time | 10 Milliseconds |
|---|
| SAMI | .smi | HTML-based | | | Framings | Dependent on Frame |
|---|
| Structured Subtitle Format | .ssf | XML | | | Elapsed Time | 1 Millisecond |
|---|
| SubRip | .srt | Text-based | | | Elapsed Time | 1 Millisecond |
|---|
| (Advanced) SubStation Alpha | .ssa or .ass (advanced) | Text-based | | | Elapsed Time | 10 Milliseconds |
|---|
| SubViewer | .sub | Text-based | | | Elapsed Time | 10 Milliseconds |
|---|
| Universal Subtitle Format | .usf | XML | | | Elapsed Time | 1 Millisecond |
|---|
| VobSub | .sub + .idx | Image-based | N/A | N/A | Elapsed Time | 1 Millisecond |
|---|
| XSUB | N/A (embedded in .divx container) | Image-based | N/A | N/A | Elapsed Time | 1 Millisecond |
|---|
There are still many more not very common formats. Most of them are Text-based and have the extension .txt.
For media
Subtitles created for TV broadcast are stored in a variety of file formats. The majority of these formats are proprietary to the vendors of subtitle insertion systems.
Broadcast subtitle formats include
.PAC
.RAC
.CHK
.AYA
.890
.CIP
.CAP
.ULT
.USF
.CIN
.L32
.ST4
.ST7
.TIT
.STL
The EBU format defined by Technical Reference 3264-E is an 'open' format intended for subtitle exchange between broadcasters. Files in this format have the extension .stl.
The Timed Text format currently being drafted by the W3C (called DFXP) is also proposed as an 'open' format for subtitle exchange.
Subtitles as a source of humor
Occasionally, movies will use subtitles as a source of humor.
- In Annie Hall the characters of Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are having a conversation; their real thoughts are shown in subtitles.
- In Austin Powers in Goldmember, Japanese dialog is subtitled using white type that blends in with white objects in the background. An example is when white binders turn the subtitle "Please eat some shitake [sic] mushrooms" into "Please eat some shit." After many cases of this, Mr. Roboto says "Why don't I just speak English?", in English. In the same film, Austin and Nigel Powers directly speak in Cockney English to make the content of their conversation unintelligible; subtitles appear for the first part of the conversation, but then cease and are replaced with a series of question marks.
- In The Yellow Submarine, the Beatles use the subtitles of All you need is love to defeat a giant glove.
- In The Impostors one character speaks in a foreign language, while another character hides under the bed. Although the hidden character cannot understand what is being spoken, he can read the subtitles. Since the subtitles are overlaid on the film, they appear to be reversed from his point of view. His attempt to puzzle out these subtitles enhances the humor of the scene.
- The movie Airplane! and its sequel feature two inner-city African Americans speaking in barely comprehensible jive, with English subtitles. However, the movie viewer can sense that the subtitles do not match the context of the speech; when they talk in sexually explicit slang, inaccurate sanitized text appears below. Read the conversation here
- The Carl Reiner comedy The Man with Two Brains also features comedic use of subtitles. After stopping Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr (Steve Martin) for speeding, a German police officer realizes that Hfuhruhurr can speak English. He asks his colleague in their squad car to turn off the subtitles, and indicates toward the bottom of the screen, commenting that "This is better - we have more room down there now".
- In the opening credits of Monty Python and the Holy Grail the Swedish subtitler switches to English and promotes his country, until the introduction is cut off and the subtitler "sacked". In the DVD version of the same film, the viewer could choose, instead of hearing aid and local languages, lines from Shakespeare's Henry IV, part 5 that vaguely resemble the lines that are actually being spoken in film, if they are "people who hate the film".
- In Scary Movie 4, there is a scene where the actors speak in faux Japanese (nonsensical words which mostly consist of Japanese company names), but the content of the subtitles is the "real" conversation.
- In Not Another Teen Movie the nude foreign exchange student character Areola speaks lightly accented English, but her dialog is subtitled anyway. Also, the text is spaced in such a way that a view of her bare breasts is unhindered.
- Simon Ellis' 2000 short film Telling Lies juxtaposes a soundtrack of a man telling lies on the telephone against subtitles which expose the truth.
- Animutations commonly use subtitles to present the comical "fake lyrics" (English words that sound close to what is actually being sung in the song in the non-English language). These fake lyrics are a major staple of the Animutation genre.
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels contains a scene spoken entirely in cockney rhyming slang that is subtitled in standard English.
- In an episode of Angry Beavers, at one point Norbert begins to speak with such a heavy European accent that his words are subtitled on the bottom of the screen. Daggett actually touches the subtitles, shoving them out of the way.
- The film Crank contains a scene where Jason Statham's character understands an Asian character's line of dialogue from reading the on-screen subtitle. The subtitle is even in reverse when his character reads the line. Later, an exclamation made by another Asian character is subtitled, but both the spoken words and the subtitles are in Chinese.
- In Fatal Instinct, also directed by Carl Reiner, one scene involving two characters talking about their murder plan in Yiddish to prevent anyone from knowing about it, only to be foiled by a man on the bench reading the on-screen subtitles.
- Ken Loach released the film Riff-Raff into American theatres with subtitles not only so people could understand the thick Scottish accents, but also to make fun of how most Americans needed the subtitles just to understand the dialogue (this is mentioned in the theatrical trailer). Loach has continued this process with some of his other films.
- In Bobby Lee's "Tae Do," a parody of Korean dramas on Mad TV episode, the subtitles make more sense of the story than the Korean language being spoken. The subtitles are made to appear as though written by someone with a poor understanding of grammar and are often intentionally made longer than what they actually say in the drama. For example an actor says "Sarang" ("I love you"), but the subtitle was so long that it covered the whole screen.
- In Missing References, Journalists interview supposed Afghan terrorists in English, but one of them gets subtitled and sees it, and gets mad because he takes as an insult the fact that he is the only one who gets subtitled.
One unintentional source of humor in subtitles comes from illegal DVDs produced in non-English-speaking countries (esp. China). These DVDs often contain poorly-worded subtitle tracks, possibly produced by machine translation, with humorous results. One of the better-known examples is a copy of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith whose opening title was subtitled, "Star war: The backstroke of the west".
Controversy
One recent controversy about the necessity of subtitles involved the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ. All the dialog in this film was in Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew. Gibson initially intended not to include subtitles in the belief that the audience already knew the story, but the distributors ordered him to include them by arguing that audiences would refuse to watch a film whose dialog was entirely untranslated.
Another controversy arising out of bad subtitling was of Bollywood's Lagaan. There was a reference to the Hindu God Hanuman as Monkey in one of the foreign release prints in English. This resulted in widespread protests, leading distributors to change the subtitling and issue an apology.
Yet another controversy surrounded Dreamworks' original DVD release of the anime Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, as the DVD did not have a subtitle track; only "closed captioning for the hearing impaired", which included text descriptions of audio events such as "[tires screech]" and "[birds cry]". So much customer dissatisfaction followed, that when Dreamworks made a revision of the DVD which finally did include proper subtitles, they offered free replacement to customers who had already bought the original release.
Natsuko Toda, a prominent subtitle translator in Japan, is known for her stylized and sometimes dogmatic Japanese translation. In Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace, she called the character Jar Jar Binks a native of the planet Local, when Obi-Wan Kenobi says he is 'a local'. There were some more significant errors in the theatrical releases of the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies, which Toda translated without reading the original books. One of the most prominent contextual errors she made was killing off a king, the father of Boromir, in The Fellowship of the Ring, with her misguided translation. Such errors caused an uproar among the well established fans of the books in Japan, which eventually lead to a fan petition to the Japanese distributer to correct the mistakes. Word reached director Peter Jackson, and when the DVD versions came out, these mistakes were corrected with the assistance of Taeko Nakamura, a translator who was an assistant to Teiji Seta the translator of the Lord of the Rings books into Japanese.
New technology and research
Esist is a non-profit organization which has members interested in research for subtitling.
Media Movers, Inc. has developed proprietary software which renders automated timing (spotting) for audio/video content. They are also in research for "automated translation" for multiple languages for any content.
TM Systems received Emmy awards in 2002 and 2007 for their dubbing and subtitling software.
See also
Further reading
- "A semiolinguistic study of subtitling for an Automatically Processed Concise Writing (©APCW-ECAO) with an audiovisual application.” Paris-X Nanterre University ; National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS/ENS). France, 2005. Doctoral Thesis summa cum laude to be downloaded (pdf) at http://www.paulmemmi.com/?article=2&lang=en
External links
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