Profession: “Audiovisual Translator”

Françoise L’Héveder of Cortextuel kindly interviewed me about the profession of audiovisual translator for her blog Parcours de traducteur (Translator Journeys).
A great idea to help people get to know us better.
Thank you, Françoise!

Translator Journeys – Pierre Souchar, expert in audiovisual translation

by Françoise L’Héveder | 7 Feb 2020 |

Pierre Souchar, audiovisual translation specialist

The 2020 series of Translator Journeys begins with Pierre Souchar, audiovisual translator. Combining technical skills in photography with a passion for languages and writing, Pierre gradually turned to audiovisual translation, and to subtitling in particular. He tells us about his career and shares the changes he has observed. Of course, his advice will be received with the greatest enthusiasm.

What has your career path been?

Before translation, I worked as a journalist and as a director of photography. And I still do the latter in my “spare time”.

A bilingual family

I came to translation for several reasons. First of all, my mother is a translator and, as they say in Spanish, hijo de gato caza ratón (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree). I also grew up in a French-Venezuelan household, where languages played an important role.

A bilingual family

A wide range of skills

I have a bachelor’s degree in journalism, a higher technician’s diploma in audiovisual production and a master’s degree in audiovisual translation. I translate from English into French and Spanish, and I am bilingual in French and Spanish.

Audiovisual translation

My move into translation happened in several stages. I first started when I was 25 yers old, helping my mother when she was overloaded with work. She was the one who trained me first.

Then, when I had children, I looked for a way to be present at home. Being a director of photography is fascinating but very demanding, with film shooting abroad and endless days. So I decided to train in audiovisual translation (at the ITIRI, University of Strasbourg), so as to keep a link with the audiovisual world. That was in 2007.

Subtitling

I set up as a freelance translator in 2009, and subtitling is one of my specialities. I also draw on my technical knowledge of cinema to translate manuals and press releases in this field.

Subtitling

How many years have you been working? Have you seen any changes?

Human translation versus machine translation: judgement and relevance

The main change I have seen in the profession is the belief, among many clients, that translation can be done automatically and, of course, within very short deadlines. The other day, a client asked me whether there wasn’t some software that could translate a film automatically… I couldn’t believe it! Especially as this was someone who knows the business a little.

Relevance, insight, intellectual agility

This trend weighs very heavily on the profession, and above all on prices. Admittedly, machine translation has improved a great deal in recent years, but it will never replace humans, because translation is nothing other than the translator’s constant judgement in choosing the best word, something an algorithm will never be able to replace. In audiovisual translation, even computer-assisted translation tools are of little use.

Amateur audiovisual translators: “fansubs”

Another change, more specific to audiovisual translation, is the presence of “fansubs”: people who love a TV series and translate it on the very evening it comes out in the United States. Most of the time, they have no training and do not master the target language.

Streaming platforms

And then there are the new streaming platforms, such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, which push prices down at the expense of quality. To see this, you only need to read the article by the French Association of Audiovisual Translators/Adapters (ATAA) on the subtitling of Alfonso Cuarón’s film Roma (here, in French).

In your view, what are the three essential qualities for working as a subtitler?

An “intelligent love” of languages

Loving languages passionately and intelligently

As with the translation of texts, the first quality would be a love of languages. And not an unconditional, starry-eyed love, but an intelligent love, always searching for the right expression and on the lookout for changes in the language; a love of writing in the clearest and simplest way possible, as close as possible to the original meaning.

Perfectionism, insight, the ability to condense

The second quality would be extreme perfectionism and insight. In audiovisual translation, many parameters come into play, such as the duration of the subtitle, what is or is not visible on screen and may not need translating, and the ability to condense. Our translation often doesn’t “fit” in the subtitle box. Sometimes it is enough to leave the translation to rest for a few hours, come back to it, and a more concise wording comes to mind. Most of the time, it is a much better translation.

Mastering the technical side of subtitling

Frame rate

And the last quality would be a taste for technology, especially nowadays. When you receive a video file, the first thing to do is check the frame rate*. We live in a digital world full of standards (one wonders why they are called “standard”!), and each standard has to be handled in a particular way.

*The frame rate of an animation is expressed in frames per second

Spotting

A good audiovisual translator or adapter must be able to do the “spotting”, that is, to set how long each subtitle stays on screen using specialised software, even though this task is often carried out by post-production labs. It is a crucial step, and the translator must be able to adjust it, while respecting the client’s technical specifications, in order to do their work as a translator-adapter.

The devil is in the details!

I also often say that “in our profession, mistrust is the rule!” When you receive a transcript, for example, it is essential to check it. Errors or omissions are often present and could lead us into a wrong translation.

What advice would you give to young translators and to people changing careers who are attracted to audiovisual translation?

Train in audiovisual translation to be a professional

Training: an asset for excellence

The first thing would be to get trained. In France we are lucky to have several training courses. In my view, it is difficult to succeed in audiovisual translation without prior training. Training allows us to gain experience and master the technical side before getting started. The client should not pay for our learning.

Train your eye and your mind

The second piece of advice would be to watch films in their original version with subtitles. And today, thanks to digital television, it is extremely easy. In cinemas, quality is generally good: the work is done by seasoned translators. On television it’s another story, but with poor translations or subtitles that are too short, you can always learn what not to do.

Have a decent pricing policy

And the last piece of advice would be not to be taken in by rates that are far too low. Audiovisual translation is time-consuming. Subtitling a 90-minute feature film in one week at €4 per minute is slavery! That represents more than 50 hours of poorly done work for €360, i.e. €7.20 an hour…

Having a pricing policy

Being passionate is essential, but that passion must not blind us and make us endlessly exploitable.