Politics – it’s most definitely the topic of the moment. Talk of new government, leadership crises and parties in disarray completely fill the airwaves. The seismic repercussions of the general election are still being felt and all the news channels are completely abuzz.

As ever for us frontline subtitlers, these are busy and high-profile times, with the usual quota of debate, interview and analysis. The next political landmark is the state opening of Parliament, taking place on 27th May. Events like this play a major role in our clients’ output, and it’s absolutely essential we get it right. With this in mind, I recently consulted some of our veteran subtitlers to find out the pitfalls of covering live politics, and break down what’s really needed to produce top quality stuff.  Here’s what I found out…

 

What are the challenges of subtitling live politics?

Politicians tend to be extremely verbose. Covering just one of them is work enough; put a few in a studio and the result can be carnage. To add to the confusion, Planet Westminster tends to speak differently from the rest of us. A mixture of legalese, qualification, hyperbole and stats, it’s enough to quickly fry a subtitler’s brain. How do you deal with it?

“With all the noise,” advises team leader Pip Nicholson, “it’s really important to focus on the person you’re subtitling and make coherent, complete sentences.” So, yes, there may be a lot going on, but calm heads are required. “Sometimes it’s hard to separate heart and head,” Pip agrees. “..so it’s a real knack to finish the sentence and continue like a pro.”

 

What kind of sensitivities must we have towards viewers?

Subtitling an overexcited politician is nobody’s idea of easy. There’s just so much coming out, at such a tremendous rate. Should we cover it all, verbatim? “When it comes to politics,” says trainer Ali Rankin, “viewers will often be much more sensitive to editorial decisions from subtitlers – i.e. what content has been left out. If you subtitle everything the Lib Dem says but not the Tory, for instance, it could potentially seem a form of censorship or political bias.”

 

So, how does one best edit fast paced politicking?

“Don’t edit any modifying language (might, possibly, etc.),” says live trainer Alex Potterill. “Politicians choose their words carefully. If a politician is quickly reeling off a list of examples and if you’re struggling for speed, it’s fine to edit some out if necessary…pick one or two bits of info which sum up the point and make sure you get them right.” Political output is typically thick with stats and numbers, so this is awesome advice from Alex. With the information coming so quick, many subtitlers find this approach a reasonable temporary measure.

 

How can we get around potential banana skins?

Numerous subtitlers talked about features which really bail you out. Foremost among these are temporary macros – three blank text boxes where a harried subtitler can type, then deploy that tricky name or acronym. Temp macros are a godsend for handling weird government quangos or bizarre zeitgeist terminology (anti-radicalisation, anyone?). Housestyles are another tool in our box of tricks – with a few taps of the keyboard a subtitler ensures a quick but accurate rendering of tricky words or phrases.

 

How do you best prepare for a section of live politics?

According to our best guys, good preparation involves a bit of digging around. For a section in Parliament there may be an Order of Business, but for wider ranging studio discussions basically anything could be mentioned. It often helps to identify the people due to appear, which constituency they represent and any special posts they may have held. Knowing what stories are in the news that week gives you the best chance of accurate output.

 

Rounding off…

There you have it – subtitling politics is most definitely a challenge. Politicians are slippery, the output fast, and the terminology tricky. That said, it’s clear we’ve got the people, tools and training to handle anything thrown our way. With professional preparation and our ever-improving live captioning platform, the odds are increasingly stacked in our favour.

Tom Caley, Live Subtitler