Subtitle & Caption Workflows
For a film festival drawing an international crowd, subtitles and captions are the unsung heroes that bridge language and accessibility gaps. Done right, they allow every attendee – from a local viewer to a visiting journalist or a Deaf cinephile – to fully immerse in the cinematic experience. Done poorly, however, they can frustrate audiences, derail screenings, and even spark public relations issues on social media. Festival producers must treat subtitle and caption workflows as a core part of festival planning, not an afterthought. The world’s most experienced festival organizers have learned through trial and error that investing effort into subtitles and captions is investing in audience satisfaction.
From vetting every subtitle file for accuracy to keeping a subtitle technician on standby, successful film festivals take no chances. The following best practices – drawn from festivals across the globe – will help ensure smooth, accessible screenings for all. These tips cover everything from venue considerations to marketing your accessible screenings, and they apply to boutique indie film festivals and blockbuster international festivals alike.
Require Vetted Subtitle Files or Quality Burned-In Subtitles
One of the first steps in preparing films for your festival is obtaining high-quality subtitle or caption files from the filmmakers. As a standard policy, require that every film in a language not understood by your primary audience (or any film that needs accessibility captions) comes with professionally vetted subtitle files. Common formats include SRT (SubRip) or DFXP (Distribution Format Exchange Profile, a type of timed-text XML) – these are widely accepted and easy to integrate into digital cinema systems. If a separate subtitle file isn’t available, insist on a version of the film with burned-in subtitles (permanently embedded in the picture) that meet your specifications.
“Vetted” means the subtitles have been thoroughly proofread and time-checked. There’s nothing worse than discovering too late that a film’s subtitles are riddled with translation errors or sync issues. At the 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival, for example, some screenings suffered from subtitles that didn’t match the dialogue or appeared long after the actors spoke (www.globaltimes.cn). Viewers were left confused, and the festival faced a wave of online complaints. The lesson? Don’t assume the subtitles you receive are perfect – double-check them (or have a bilingual expert check) for accuracy, timing, and cultural nuances. If the film’s dialogue references local idioms or jokes, a vetting process ensures the subtitles convey the intended meaning to your audience.
When accepting films, clearly communicate your festival’s subtitle requirements. Major festivals set a strong example here. The Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), for instance, requires foreign submissions to include two subtitle tracks – one in English and one in German – provided as open captions burned into the film (with safe margins, at least a 5% offset from the bottom of the frame, to avoid any cut-off) (www.capitalcaptions.com). Even if your festival doesn’t require dual-language subtitles, it’s wise to set similar guidelines. Require that burned-in subtitles are placed low enough to not block the film’s visuals but high enough to remain fully visible on screen. A good rule of thumb is to keep subtitles within the central 90% of the picture area.
If you’re running an international festival, consider the language needs of your audience. Many festivals in non-English-speaking countries opt to display two sets of subtitles on screen – typically the local language plus English – so that both local attendees and international visitors (including press and industry guests) can follow along. This approach, while requiring more preparation, greatly expands who can enjoy the film. It’s perfectly fine to request multiple subtitle files from filmmakers (e.g. one in English, one in the local tongue) if your festival serves a bilingual audience. Just be sure to test how dual subtitles appear (for example, one language at the bottom and another above it) to confirm they remain readable (more on testing below).
Finally, don’t neglect closed captions for accessibility. Closed captions (which include not just dialogue but also descriptors for sounds or music, formatted for Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers) might be required if your festival uses personal captioning devices or streams films online. Some top-tier festivals now explicitly stipulate closed-caption files from all filmmakers as part of the delivery package. For instance, Sundance Film Festival requests that all filmmakers provide a closed-captioned version of their film for any screening that isn’t open-caption (fest25.sundance.org). As a festival organizer, you can adopt a similar stance: ask for a Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (SDH) file or include it as a required element of the digital cinema package. By setting these expectations early and making them part of your submission guidelines, you ensure that accessibility isn’t an afterthought.
Test Timing Across Reels and Verify Readability
Securing subtitle files is only half the battle – the other half is ensuring they display correctly in your venues. A meticulous testing workflow is essential. Schedule time before the festival (or before each screening block) to test the subtitles in the actual auditorium with the actual playback system. This means running each film (or at least significant portions of it) with its subtitles on screen to check for synchronization, formatting, and visibility.
One critical check is timing across reels or segments. If a film is delivered in multiple parts (as sometimes happens with longer films or legacy 35mm prints), make sure the subtitle timing aligns properly at each transition. Often, festivals receive Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) where the film is split internally into “reels” or separate files. A subtitle file might lose sync if there’s any break or if the starting timecode of a part isn’t as expected. During testing, watch the points where reels change: do the first subtitles after the break appear at the correct moment? If you spot a delay or an overlap (subtitles from the previous part still on screen, or new dialogue starts with no subtitle), you may need to adjust the timing or split the subtitle file for each reel. It’s far better to catch these issues in an empty theater than with a live audience.
Testing also helps uncover technical glitches. Sometimes a subtitle file might not load at all due to a formatting error or an incompatible file type. Other times, characters with accents or non-Latin scripts (e.g. Chinese or Arabic text) might display as garbled symbols if the encoding isn’t handled properly. By doing a trial run, your tech team can spot these problems and correct them – for example, by converting the file to a standard UTF-8 text encoding, or by obtaining a different file format – long before showtime.
Another crucial aspect to test is readability from the back row. What looks fine on a computer monitor could be too small or faint on a large cinema screen, especially for people sitting farther away. During your tech check, have someone stand at the very back of the auditorium and give feedback: Can they read the subtitles comfortably? Is the font size large enough and the typeface clear? Most digital subtitle systems use a legible sans-serif font by default, but if the film has burned-in subtitles, you’re at the mercy of whatever font and size the filmmakers chose. If a film’s built-in subtitles are tiny or overly stylized, consider reaching out to the filmmaker about providing an alternative file or improvise a workaround (like using an overlay subtitle projector or a secondary video layer) to improve legibility. The contrast of the subtitle text against the film matters as well. Standard practice is white or yellow text with a black outline or shadow, which remains visible on both dark and light scenes. Check that the subtitles – whether open or closed – follow this practice. If not, they might vanish against certain backgrounds, a flaw that careful testing will catch.
Pay attention to subtitle timing during these tests. Subtitles should appear and disappear with enough lead time for average viewers to read them. If characters speak rapidly and the subtitles are flashing by too quickly, you might need to advise the filmmaker to break long lines into two shorter consecutive titles, or adjust the display duration slightly (with permission). Similarly, watch out for “subtitle overload” – moments where several people speaking at once lead to too much text on screen. If a single subtitle contains two or more people’s dialogue separated by line breaks, make sure it’s still understandable and not overwhelming. The general guideline is no more than two lines of text on screen at once, and no more than about 32 characters per line for comfortable readability. By enforcing these standards and catching exceptions during tech checks, you ensure that subtitles complement the film rather than distract from it.
Perform these checks for every film, even those in the festival’s primary language if you are providing same-language captions for accessibility or clarity. It’s tedious, but catching a timing error or an illegible font beforehand can save your festival from an embarrassing hiccup. In the age of instant social media feedback, a subtitle mishap can become a talking point you don’t want. Protect your festival’s reputation by making quality control a non-negotiable part of your subtitle workflow.
Offer Open-Caption Screenings and Press-Friendly Options
Accessibility and inclusivity should be at the forefront of modern film festival planning. One way to serve Deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members (as well as anyone who might appreciate captions, such as non-native speakers or attendees who prefer reading dialogue) is to schedule open-caption screenings. Open captions are subtitles that are visible to everyone on screen (essentially the same as burned-in captions), as opposed to closed captions that require special individual devices or glasses. By offering select open-caption sessions, you make your festival more welcoming to a broader community and send a message that everyone is invited to enjoy the films.
Many festivals have started doing this. Sundance Film Festival, for example, now commits to at least one open-caption in-person screening of every film whenever possible, using a version with English SDH subtitles for any non-English dialogue (fest25.sundance.org). Other festivals, like the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), designate specific days or showtimes for open-caption screenings – SIFF now offers open captions for all films on certain Tuesdays and Sundays to better welcome Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences (www.siff.net). These initiatives have been applauded by attendees and demonstrate how community engagement can be woven into technical planning: by actively inviting underserved groups to be part of the festival audience, you build goodwill and expand your reach.
When planning open-caption showings, clearly mark them in your program guide, website, and social media announcements. Use accessibility icons or labels (e.g. an “OC” badge) so that people who need captions can easily identify these sessions. It’s also a good idea to coordinate with local organizations for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing; letting those communities know about captioned screenings will help spread the word. Some festivals have even partnered with advocacy groups to host special captioned events, which can generate positive press and community support.
In addition to serving the general audience, think about the needs of press and industry guests at your festival. Providing “access copies” with subtitles can be incredibly helpful for film critics, journalists, and jurors. For instance, if international press are covering your festival, they might struggle to fully appreciate films that aren’t in a language they understand unless those films have English subtitles. Ensure that all press screenings of foreign-language films are captioned or subtitled. If a particular press or jury member has a hearing impairment, accommodate them with either open captions or a personal closed-caption device (and make sure to test these devices in advance!). A high-profile incident in 2023 highlighted this issue: at Sundance, a deaf juror (Academy Award-winner Marlee Matlin) walked out of a premiere when the provided closed-caption device malfunctioned despite having been tested beforehand (apnews.com). This incident underscored the importance of robust caption support – festivals must not only provide accessibility tools but also have backup plans when technology fails. To avoid such situations, some festivals offer secure online screeners or DVDs with subtitles to press upon request, allowing them to re-watch scenes with captions if needed for accuracy in reviews.
The takeaway is that accommodating subtitles and captions for press and industry is part of delivering a professional festival experience. It helps your festival get more accurate and favorable coverage (since reviewers won’t mishear lines or miss nuances) and it signals respect for all participants. Whether it’s an open-caption version of a film reserved for a press viewing, or simply making subtitle files available for fact-checking, these small gestures can have a big impact on how your festival is perceived by media and VIP guests.
Lastly, if your festival has an online component or streams films for remote audiences, ensure that your video platform supports captions or subtitles. All online screeners and virtual premieres should include an option to toggle captions on. This mirrors what you do in person and maintains accessibility standards across all viewing formats.
Keep a Subtitle Technician on Call (and Have Backup Plans)
Even with all the preparation in the world, things can go wrong at the worst time – a subtitle file might refuse to play, the projector might crop the text oddly, or a last-minute film addition could show up without any subtitles. That’s why having a subtitle technician on call during your festival is a smart safety net. This could be a staff member or a hired specialist who is well-versed in the technical aspects of subtitle playback and captioning systems, ready to jump in if something breaks.
What can a subtitle tech do? If a subtitle track is out of sync when a film starts, a skilled technician can quickly adjust the timing offset or load a corrected file on the fly (better to have a brief pause than to let an entire film run with bad sync). If the subtitles suddenly display garbled text – say, due to an encoding issue with special characters – the tech can swap in a backup file with the correct character encoding. In a scenario where a film’s dialogue is hard to hear or heavily accented and an audience member requests captions, a subtitle operator could even activate an assistive caption device or overlay provided you have one ready. Think of this role as an insurance policy: you hope you won’t need to call them in, but you’ll be glad they’re there if something unexpected happens.
Plan for some worst-case scenarios by preparing backups. Keep duplicate copies of all subtitle files (perhaps on a separate USB drive or cloud storage) in case the main copy is corrupted. If your festival’s content is on DCPs, have a laptop with subtitle playback software and the video file as a backup for emergency use – this could save a screening if the DCP’s subtitles fail. Another backup strategy is to have printed transcripts or dialog lists for each foreign-language film. In an extreme situation (for example, if no subtitles will display at all), you could use these to read out translations or provide them to a translator to summarize live. It’s not ideal, but it ensures the audience isn’t completely lost.
Crucially, ensure your technical crew communicates in real-time. If a projectionist notices that a subtitle is missing or malfunctioning, they should feel empowered to stop the show momentarily and call in the subtitle tech or switch to a backup solution. Audiences are generally understanding if a festival addresses an issue transparently and fixes it. It’s far worse to let a film play out incomprehensibly.
Large festivals often have multiple people dedicated to managing subtitles – one large international festival even deployed a team of student volunteers to manually project translated subtitles for each screening. While you might not need or have the resources for a big team, the underlying principle is to designate someone for this responsibility. Make sure this person has the schedule and all the subtitle files in advance, and ideally let them be part of the testing phase so they are intimately familiar with each program’s needs.
In terms of equipment, if your festival is using wireless closed-caption devices or glasses for audience members, assign your subtitle tech to check them each day. Have spare batteries or spare devices ready. As noted earlier, even tested devices can fail without warning, so a backup (like an open-caption copy of the film ready to go, or an alternate device) can rescue the situation.
By investing in a subtitle technician and backup plans, you’re investing in the smooth execution of your event. It’s a comparatively low expense that can prevent major disappointments. In the end, successful festival production is all about risk management – and subtitle/caption issues are a risk you can mitigate with the right foresight and team in place.
Key Takeaways
- Enforce Subtitle Requirements: Require every applicable film to come with high-quality subtitle files (e.g. SRT, DFXP) or a version with subtitles burned-in. Set clear format guidelines and safe-margin rules upfront to avoid any on-screen cut-off or formatting issues.
- Quality Check and Test Everything: Integrate subtitles testing into your schedule. Run each film in the venue to ensure subtitles sync correctly (especially if the film is split into reels) and that text is easily readable from the back row. Fix any timing or style problems before the audience arrives.
- Prioritize Accessibility: Make your festival inclusive by offering open-caption screenings for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences (and anyone who benefits from captions). Advertise these sessions clearly. Provide captioned screeners or transcripts to press and jury members so they can engage with the films fully and report accurately.
- Have Expert Support & Backups: Always have a knowledgeable subtitle/caption technician available during screenings. Prepare backup subtitle files, alternate playback methods, and even printed dialogue lists for emergencies. With a plan B (and C) in place, you can handle any subtitle mishap swiftly and keep the show on track.
- Collaborate and Communicate: Work closely with filmmakers, technical staff, and accessibility consultants to ensure subtitle and caption needs are met. Good communication and clear expectations will prevent most problems and help everyone – from directors to audience members – have a positive festival experience.
16th September 2025