AV News 192 - May 2013
Watching the sequences with a literal translation, I found I was spending so
much time reading the sub/supertitles, that the image had moved on before
I got a chance to enjoy it and take in any visual information. There was text
overload by one sequence which provided not only an on screen summary
of the story, but also supertitles to translate the song that accompanied the
images. Another AV had French supertitles translating the English words of
the song played throughout the sequence; obviously the author should have
removed these before sending their work to the Competition.
Adding text is now relatively easy, but needs to be managed appropriately.
Would a summary at the start of the sequence, in the language of the country
where the Competition is being held be sufficient, rather than sub/supertitles?
One sequence shown had a French language voiceover, a very good
summary in the Competition Programme, and subtitles in English; another
had a very good summary in the Competition Programme, but no
sub/supertitles. Interestingly, I found myself more engrossed in the AV that
had no sub/supertitles to distract me, and predicted it would be amongst the
award winners. However, the judges felt differently as the one with subtitles
won a major prize and the other came nowhere.
Is it a matter of personal preference or does it depend on how the text is
managed? My dream is that one day we'll all be able to buy an ‘app’ for our
smartphones or tablets, which will provide simultaneous translation through
our individual headphones.
But perhaps I've been watching too much Star Trek?
Winner - Beewun by Patrick Rottiers (FR)
The IAC Peter Coles Trophy
(Glass Art by Mike Lees to be retained by winner) & PAGB Gold Medal
Best First Time Entrant - Beewun by Patrick Rottiers (FR)
Pollock Medal (from the RPS AV Group)
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