Abstract

This project addresses one aspect of audiovisual translation: documentary subtitling. It proposes an approach to documentary subtitling that takes into account the specific characteristics of documentary. It identifies three key issues arising from those characteristics: the shared authorship role played by filmmaker and participant; the image-text interaction in the visual channel; and the presence of impromptu speech, as distinct from film dialogue. The impact of these issues on subtitling is discussed through an analysis of three documentaries produced or co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada: Bacon, le film (Bacon, the Film) , directed by Hugo Latulippe (2002); Édith et Michel (Édith and Michel) , directed by Jocelyne Clarke (2004); and Le méchant trip (Exiles in Lotusland) , directed by Ilan Saragosti (2005)