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Module content and indicative topics:

This module discusses the intricacies behind the international distribution of films and introduces students to the concept of accessible filmmaking, which foregrounds the importance of translation and/or accessibility during the production of audiovisual programmes in order to provide access to a wider audience, including foreign viewers as well as sensory-impaired audiences (i.e. blind and deaf people), who require additional information (e.g. audio description or subtitles) to enjoy media content.

The aim of this module is to bring translation, access services and film studies together, by contextualising audiovisual translation and media accessibility as key activities within the filmmaking process. Throughout the module, students will become familiar with the different stages of this process, from development and pre-production to post-production and pre-distribution phases. Students will also be introduced to the specificities of practices aimed at making films accessible to foreign viewers (dubbing, subtitling, voiceover) as well as viewers with hearing impairments (subtitling and captioning for d/Deaf and hard of hearing viewers) or visual loss (audio description for people with limited access to visual information). They will also be able to undertake such practices themselves, in order to fully understand the challenges encountered and how they can impact the final product. The purpose is therefore to enable students to analyse, read, watch and conceive films differently, pre-empting challenges in relation to audiovisual translation and media accessibility.

The module is organised in seminars where students will be introduced to a wide range of topics related to the concepts of media accessibility, audiovisual translation and their importance in the internationalisation of films. Preparation for seminars will involve weekly readings, which will support and guide in-class discussion. Relevant examples of accessible and non-accessible filmic material will be shown and discussed in class in order to relate theoretical concepts to practical instances of filmmaking.

Some of the activities to be carried out in class will include the following:

• Provision of access services (audio description and intralingual subtitles) of selected audiovisual scenes.
• Comparison of dubbed and subtitled versions of the same scenes.
• Analysis of audiovisual scenes considering accessible filmmaking guidelines.
• Design of an appropriate workflow for the implementation of accessible filmmaking principles.
• Familiarisation with the professional conventions used in SDH, AD, subtitling and dubbing.
• Use of basic features of specialist software programs to provide access services.
• Familiarisation with key challenges faced in accessible filmmaking.
• Analysis of the relationship between image and text in multilingual films

Aims of the module

• To enable students to analyse, read, watch and conceive films differently, pre-empting challenges in relation to audiovisual translation and media accessibility.
• To broaden students’ awareness of the internationalisation process undergone by audiovisual material when traveling to other socio-cultural mediascapes.
• To become familiar with the characteristics of the main audiovisual translation modes and access services.
• To become familiar with the basic conventions used in the media industry and with how these could impact films as artistic and cultural artifacts.
• To become acquainted with specialist software programs used for the internationalisation of films.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this module students should:

1. Understand the main characteristics of the most widespread audiovisual translation modes and access services.
2. Be familiar with the professional conventions used in the implementation of dubbing, subtitling and access services.
3. Identify the semiotic relationships established between original soundtrack, image and written text in translated/accessible versions.
4. Produce a basic accessible version of a short scene of an audiovisual programme.
5. Be able to analyse films considering accessible filmmaking principles and guidelines.
6. Be familiar with the challenges of implementing accessible filmmaking principles throughout the different phases of the filmmaking process.