What is subtitling? 

While watching any video, movie or TV show, be it online or on traditional broadcasting channels like television, sometimes we come across written texts at the bottom of the screen. These written texts are known as subtitles.

Most viewers prefer subtitles as they are very beneficial. Users can refer to subtitles if the spoken language is a foreign language or if they do not understand the original audio. Subtitles are of three types. Let us understand in brief about them. 

1. Open captions: 

This type of subtitle comes along with the video. They are always present at the bottom of the screen and they cannot be turned off by the user. 

2. Closed captions: 

This type of subtitle can be said to be the manual subtitle version. Here, the users have the flexibility to turn subtitles on and off. It gives freedom to the users as some may prefer to watch videos without subtitles. 

3. SDH (Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing): 

This is a special type of subtitle which originated in the United States. As the name suggests, it is mainly for deaf people. 

What is dubbing? 

Dubbing has opened endless opportunities in the world of filmmaking and entertainment. It is a post-production process which involves adding an audio track or other sounds to an already recorded film. Dubbing is used to translate foreign films into the audience’s spoken language. 

The translator carefully determines what words to add based on various factors like the script, lip movement, tone, etc. There are two types of dubbing namely animation dubbing and live-action dubbing. As the name suggests animation dubbing is used for animated content and live-action dubbing is used for real recorded videos. Animation dubbing gives voice actors greater flexibility as the animated faces are not as subtle as real faces. 

Many famous web series like Money Heist and Dark were recorded in their original languages but they have been made popular with the help of dubbing. Without dubbing, their reach would have not been this great. 

Moreover, it is found that viewers prefer dubbing more than subtitles as while viewing a dubbed video, they do not have to put a strain on their eyes by always gazing at the bottom of the screen and dubbed videos seem to be much more realistic and rich. 

We will furthermore discuss the pros and cons of dubbing and subtitling. 

Pros and cons of subtitling: 

Pros: 

1. You can listen to the original voice of the actors which gives the real feel of the movie: Most of us would want to watch the movies in the original voice of the actors. No one can replace Morgan Freeman’s voice. Also, In a recent study, it was found that 80% of viewers are more likely to finish video content with subtitles.

2. Subtitles help to improve language: Watching movies and reading subtitles at the same time helps to learn new words, improve vocabulary and brush up and improve overall language. 

3. Good for SEO: When subtitles are added as a different file instead of burning in the video, chances are it gets indexed well by the search engines and improves the Search Engine Optimization effectively. 

Cons: 

1. Lack of screen attention: While watching a movie with subtitles, viewers have to mostly gaze at the bottom of the screen which deviates them from watching the content properly on the screen. 

2. Cannot replace the original dialogues completely: Subtitles mainly omit some of the words of the original dialogue so they may not be so intriguing. 

3. Subtitles are mainly aimed at literate people: Only people who know how to read or write a language can take advantage of subtitles. People who are not literate cannot understand movies made in a different language. 

3 Pros and cons of dubbing: 

Pros: 

1. Accuracy: When dubbed, the localized version of the words are kept in mind. This allows the viewer to understand the language better. 

2) No struggle with reading: Viewers do not have to gaze at the bottom of the screen while watching movies. Hence, it can be said that dubbing does not put a strain on the eyes as subtitles do. 

3) More depth in videos: Dubbed videos appear to be much more realistic as compared to the ones with subtitles as the characters and their dialogues are portrayed better than simple textual interpretations. 

Cons: 

1. Expensive: Dubbing is way more expensive than subtitles. It is found that dubbing is 15 times more expensive than subtitling. 

2. Problems with synchronization: While dubbing, it is almost impossible to perfectly synchronize the audio with lip sync. 

3. Not beneficial for the hearing impaired: Dubbed movies are of no use to people who cannot hear, movies with SDH-type subtitles are the best choice. 

5 key differences between subtitling and dubbing: