Eye-tracking, subtitling and accessible filmmaking

Film translation, more often referred to as audiovisual translation (AVT), has traditionally been included within translation studies, which in turn originated in the field of linguistics, away from the more visually oriented area of film studies. However, over the past few years, there have been signs of a growing connection between film and translation. The increasingly common presence of multilingualism in original films and the creative use of on-screen titling in TV series is making translation, and particularly subtitling, more visible in the film and television industry. This presents an opportunity for film (and television) scholars to work together with AVT scholars or at least to turn their attention to translation and compare the reception of films between original and foreign viewers. The present chapter hopes to find answers by exploring how eye-tracking research in film can contribute to translation and vice versa, and by presenting accessible filmmaking as a framework that can enable and foster this collaboration in terms of practice, training and eye-tracking-based research.