Workshop on writing sub-titles for films

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 15

The PG department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Doaba College, Jalandhar, organised a one-day workshop on ‘writing sub-titles for films’.

Ramnita Sharda, a poetess, translator of acclaimed books published by Sahitya Academy and the sub-title writer of film ‘Dhiyan Marjaniyan’, winner of Film of the Globe Award, was invited as the resource person for the workshop. Dhiyan Marjaniyan is the first Hollywood production made in Punjabi, directed, screened at the Globe Film Festival at Silicon Valley, San Jose, it was one of the 250 entries in 77 langyages which made it to the film festival. Translated, Forgotten Daughters, it talks of the issue of female foeticide in Punjab and has already made it to 15 film festivals across the globe.

Sharda is also working on the dialogues for the Hindi dubbing of the film which is directed by Ashok Tangri.

While discussing the importance of sub-titles in making a film she said, subtitles played a vital role when films cross borders and were a significant part of inter-cultural and cross cultural communication across the globe.

Addressing students at the workshop, she said, “Films, though a visual medium, convey a lot through sound, dialogues and even silence. But it is still very important to understand the essence of poetry and drama for further translating a film. She added that translating a film is trans-creation for a target culture. Translating the dialogues of films - in other words writing sub-titles – is different from translating a novel or poetry.”

She said while certain dialogues need not to be translated, as they are self explanatory in films like ‘Kaminey’ the translation of dialogues is quite a challenge due to their colloquial nature.

“It was imperative to pay special attention on emotions, cultural elements while writing sub-titles. Lip syncing, grammar, duration of the dialogue, plot and visual narration should integrate seamlessly to communicate the essence of the film,” she emphasised. The various symbols and rules especially incorporated by BBC while writing for the sub titles were also discussed in detail during the workshop, followed by practical sub-title writing exercises, based on the dialogues of visuals from the movie Jab We Met. Sub titles of songs, especially item numbers, which do not move the narrative further, can be left to the discretion of the film maker, she further added. As many as 35 students from the department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Doaba College, along with faculty members attended the workshop. Principal Dr Naresh Kumar Dhiman and head of the Journalism and Mass Communication Dr Simran Sidhu, encouraged students to take up the sublime art of writing sub titles, which plays a vital role in getting a cinematic message across to global audiences.