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2022/2023

Audio Description and Subtitling for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing B-A

Code: 44379 ECTS Credits: 9
Degree Type Year Semester
4315982 Audiovisual Translation OB 0 2

Contact

Name:
Cristóbal Cabeza Cáceres
Email:
cristobal.cabeza@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)

Teachers

Teresa Pitarch Porcar

Prerequisites

If the student is doing the master in two years, s/he must have completed the Dubbing and Subtitling module before doing the Audio description and Subtitle for the Deaf module.

Objectives and Contextualisation

  • Learning the history and legal context in Catalonia, Spain and Europe in terms of subtitling for the deaf and audio description.
  • Learning the reality of the user.
  • Understanding and analyzing audiovisual products of various types.
  • Getting documented.
  • Making subtitles for the deaf and audio descriptions of various types with their appropriate register.
  • Mastering the software, techniques and features of subtitles for the deaf and audio description.

Competences

  • Act in accordance with the code of ethics of the profession.
  • Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  • Critically analyse the structural and thematic aspects of cinema screenplays.
  • Discern the different modes and textual genres of audiovisual translation and media accessibility and their characteristics.
  • Manage projects in audiovisual translation, accessibility, multimedia localisation, and translation of web pages and video games.
  • Master strategies for the correction, linguistic revision and post-edition of audiovisual products.
  • Recognise the translation problems specific to the different modes of audiovisual products and use the knowledge acquired to solve them.
  • Translate and make accessible audiovisual products, multimedia products, web pages, video games and software.
  • Use specific software to translate and make accessible audiovisual products, multimedia products and video games.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Acquire practice in subtitling processes for deaf people and the production of audio description guides.
  2. Act in accordance with the code of ethics of the profession.
  3. Analyse the cinematographic product to judge which elements should be included in the audio description.
  4. Be able to use subtitling programs to create subtitles for deaf people.
  5. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  6. Identify and correct errors in subtitling products for deaf people and audio descriptions.
  7. Identify the principal challenges of media accessibility.
  8. Recognise the economic and professional aspects of the accessibility industry.
  9. Recognise the principal characteristics of audio description.
  10. Recognise the principal characteristics of subtitling for deaf people.
  11. Solve problems related to identification of characters and description of actions in an audiovisual product to be audio-described.
  12. Solve problems related to the identification of the speaker and the description of sounds in subtitles for deaf people.
  13. Use software to carry out audio descriptions.
  14. Work in and lead teams engaging in media accessibility.
  15. Write subtitles for the deaf and audio descriptions that fulfill the industry's professional standards.

Content

Audio description

Introductory block
• What is the AD? History of the AD.
• Users and expectations.
• Regulations and laws.
• Audio description of credits and logos.

Theoretical-practical block
• Audio description of characters, with special attention to gender perspective.
• Audio description of linear actions and non-linear actions.
• Audio description of complex actions.
• General practice: AD of children's products.
• General practice: AD of humorous and sexual contents.
• General practice: AD of the beginning of a movie.
• AD of performing arts (theater and opera).
• Labour market.

Subtitling for the deaf

Introductory block
• Subtitling for the deaf: definition, origins and types of subtitles.
• The subtitles for the deaf in Spain: national panorama and regional panorama.
• Laws, regulations and initiatives that help eliminate barriers.
• The deaf receiver.
• Subtitling practice for the hearing impaired: technical dimension.
• Subtitling practice for the hearing impaired: orthotypographic dimension.

Theoretical and practical block
• The working method in SDH.
• Reading speed and reduction in SDH.
• Identification of characters and didascalias.
• Sounds and music.
• Products for a children's audience.
• Duubed and voiced-over documentaries.
• The linguistic aspects of the SDH in colloquial and comedy products.
• Other types of products.
• The labour market.

Methodology

An active methodology with activities of various types is used. The instruments of the UAB Virtual Campus are used.

Possible methodologies:

  • Doing audio description and subtitles for the deaf.
  • Doing audio description projects and subtitling for the deaf projects.
  • Exercises.
  • Presentations of individual / group work.
  • Debates (in person or in forums).
  • Cooperative learning techniques.

The didactic activities are organized in three blocks, according to the degree of autonomy required of the student:
- Directed activities: they require the direction of a lecturer.
- Supervised activities: they require the occasional supervision of a lecturer.
- Autonomous activities: the student organizes their time and effort autonomously (individually or in groups).

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Activities correction 15 0.6 1, 7, 6, 12, 11, 5
Critical analysis of products 12 0.48 3, 7, 6, 9, 10, 11, 5
Presentation of theoretical content 15 0.6 3, 7, 9, 10
Type: Supervised      
Debates and reflection activities on relevant aspects 10 0.4 3, 2, 7, 6, 9, 10, 5
Preparation of exercises and assignments 10 0.4 1, 3, 15, 7, 14, 8, 9, 10, 12, 11, 4, 13
Presentation of critical analysis of products and joint reflection 10 0.4 3, 2, 7, 6, 14, 5
Type: Autonomous      
Autonomous work (exercises with software, analysis of products, documentation, constructions of oral / virtual presentations, corrections, reading of bibliography, etc.) 153 6.12 1, 3, 2, 15, 7, 6, 14, 8, 9, 10, 12, 11, 5, 4, 13

Assessment

Related matters

The above information on assessment, assessment activities and their weighting is merely a guide. The subject's lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins.

Review

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

Missed/failed assessment activities

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for.

The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities.

Classification as "not assessable"

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.

Misconduct in assessment activities

Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. Inthe case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the students involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject.

Students may not retake assessment activities in which they are found to have engaged in misconduct. Plagiarism is considered to mean presenting all or part of an author's work, whether published in print or in digital format, as one's own, i.e. without citing it. Copying is considered to mean reproducing all or a substantial part of another student's work. In cases of copying in which it is impossible to determine which of two students has copied the work of the other, both will be penalised.

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
1. Active participation (exercises, class) 15 0 0 1, 3, 2, 15, 7, 6, 14, 8, 9, 10, 12, 11, 5, 4, 13
2. Group assignment 15 0 0 1, 3, 2, 15, 7, 6, 14, 9, 10, 12, 11, 5
3. Assignment 30 0 0 1, 3, 2, 15, 7, 6, 14, 8, 9, 10, 12, 11, 5, 4, 13
4. Final assignment 40 0 0 1, 3, 2, 15, 7, 6, 14, 8, 9, 10, 12, 11, 5, 4, 13

Bibliography

Selected bibliography

For more references, see BITRA: https://aplicacionesua.cpd.ua.es/tra_int/usu/buscar.asp [Keywords "accessibility" and "audio description" / "subtitles"]

 

Bibliography on Audio description [SPS below]

AENOR (2005): Norma UNE: 153020. Audiodescripción para personas con discapacidad visual. Requisitos para la audiodescripción y elaboración de audioguías. Madrid: AENOR.

Fryer, Louise (2016): An Introduction to Audio Description. A Practical Guide. New York: Routledge.

Maszerowska, Anna; Matamala, Anna & Orero, Pilar (2014) (eds.): Audio Description: New perspectives illustrated. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

Puigdomènech, Laura; Matamala, Anna & Orero, Pilar (2007): "Bases per a un futur protocol d'audiodescripció per a l'àmbit català". Non-published document. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Remael, Aline & Vercauteren, Gert (2007): "Audio Describing the Exposition Phase of Films. Teaching Students What to Choose". TRANS: Revista de Traductología, 11, 73-94.

Snyder, Joel (2014). The Visual Made Verbal. A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description. Arlington: American Council of the Blind.

Vercauteren, Gert (2007): "Towards a European Guideline for Audio Description", in Díaz-Cintas, Jorge; Pilar Orero & Aline Remael (eds.): Media for All. Accessibility in Audiovisual Translation. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 139-150.

 

Bibliography on SDH

AENOR (2012): Subtitulado para personas sordas y personas con discapacidad auditiva. Norma. UNE 153010:2012, Madrid: Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación (AENOR).

Arnáiz Uzquiza, Verónica (2012): “Los parámetros queidentifican el subtitulado para sordos. Análisisy clasificación”. MonTI,4:103-132.

Bartoll, Eduard (2008): Paràmetres per a una taxonomia de la subtitulació. PhD. Barcelona, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Available at: http://www.tdx.cat/handle/10803/7572 

Díaz Cintas, Jorge (2003): Teoría y práctica de la subtitulación: Inglés-Español, Barcelona: Ariel.

Jiménez Hurtado, Catalina (ed.) (2007): Traducción y accesibilidad. Subtitulación para sordos y audiodescripción para ciegos: nuevas modalidades de Traducción Audiovisual, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Matamala, Ana & Orero, Pilar (eds.) (2010): Listening to subtitles: subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Software

Subtitle Edit