In my previous blog on pre-recorded subtitles I wrote about how we edit intelligently to make subtitles readable and the ways in which we can retain the flavour of the dialogue in a programme’s soundtrack.

In case you missed it, you can find it here.

Of course, not all sounds in a programme take the form of words and a great opportunity for subtitler creativity comes when labelling important noises such as PHONE RINGS or GUNSHOT. Your reaction to that might well be “Huh?” or “Hm!” but believe me that there is a certain joy in distinguishing a squeak from a squawk, a humming from a throbbing, or a moan from a groan. As with all subtitling, intelligence is required – it’s no use declaring BRADLEY FALLS TO HIS DEATH when Stacey hears a worrisome noise that sounds rather like a body hitting Albert Square. After all, did he fall or did he jump? And a label simply saying SPLAT probably won’t fit in with the ethos of the programme!

Pre-recorded subtitles also have to be coloured consistently to indicate different speakers. We only use four colours so keeping track of who’s cyan in a densely-populated episode of Shameless requires a good memory. Research has shown yellow and white to be the most readable colours with green the least readable of the four.

Subtitles have to be positioned sensibly to avoid obscuring crucial parts of the picture, such as graphics displaying a person’s name. While we can move the subtitles anywhere on the screen, it’s important not to move them too often because it’s distracting and makes them much less readable. We also try not to cover up people’s mouths because many hard-of-hearing viewers have lip-reading skills.

Textual inaccuracies are not tolerated, meaning intelligent research is another key subtitling skill. One of the trickiest programmes is University Challenge. Researching the correct answers isn’t too difficult, but working out what the contestants said when they got the answer wrong can be extremely tricky!

Taking all these factors into account, it may not surprise you to hear that subtitling 60 minutes of the Hollyoaks omnibus takes about eight hours. Yes, an entire working day. Crafting pre-recorded subtitles is so labour-intensive that it can be a real challenge for Red Bee to subtitle programmes that are edited very shortly before they air, such as Have I Got News For You. We’re constantly working with the broadcasters to receive programmes like this as early as possible to help us meet the challenge.

Does the amount of work involved in producing pre-recorded subtitles surprise you? Let me know what you think below!

Rachel Thorn, Subtitler.