Poor subtitling is the quickest way to waste the hard work and money invested in your audiovisual production. Be wary of improvised services. Good quality subtitles are those you don’t remember reading after viewing your favorite film or series. In order for that to happen, they have to be flawless from a language point of view (translation and adaptation), and they also have to meet very stringent guidelines that have been developed based on eye-tracking studies examining viewers’ eye movements during audiovisual screenings (technical requirements).

Such guidelines have to do with:

• Accurate IN and OUT times, time to audio
• Reading speed
• Syntax division
• Smart text condensation
• Speech rhythm compliance
• Number of characters per line
• Number of lines per subtitle
• Frame rate management
• Frame interval between subtitles
• Minimum and maximum exposure
• Working around shot and scene changes
• Other individual aspects to consider based on the particular AV content

Leave subtitling to the pros for top-quality, beautiful subtitles.