April 2025 – present
Don’t Captionise Me! is a series of open conversations discussing the wide variety of conventions used for providing accessible subtitles. The aim of these conversations is to explore the different requirements that subtitle providers have and examine where best practice diverges and why. These talks are suitable for academic researchers studying access subtitling, individual subtitlers who create subtitle files, subtitle production companies, and media companies that use subtitles.

June 2025
Building on the experience in Leeds, we hosted screenings at the Watershed in Bristol. These events combined film showings with panel discussions and featured both traditional subtitles and innovative new approaches. The screenings aimed to spark conversation about the challenges of subtitling, explore what audiences want from subtitled media, and highlight the potential of more creative subtitling practices.

April – May 2025
Four screenings were held at the Hyde Park Picture House cinema in Leeds. Each event featured panel discussions and showcased both traditionally subtitled films and films using innovative subtitling approaches. The aim was to raise audience awareness of the challenges involved in subtitling, while also exploring audience expectations for subtitled media and the potential of new subtitling practices within the sector.

January 2025
We brought together industry partners, research collaborators, and academics at the University of Leeds to explore new ways of studying how audiences experience subtitled media. This open event showcased cutting-edge research from different disciplines and encouraged discussion on how to develop innovative methods. A key focus was moving beyond ‘viewer-oriented’ research, which looks at individuals, towards broader ‘audience-oriented’ research that captures collective experiences.

November 2024
Languages & the Media is a key event for professionals in the audiovisual industry to discuss the trends, technologies, and practices that influence media content creation, distribution, and consumption across different languages and cultures. Carol O’Sullivan was able to introduce the Network and the research agenda coming out of the launch event in Bristol.

Autumn 2024
The partners of the Network co-produced and launched a survey to better understand how people watch and experience subtitled media. The study explored audience needs, preferences, and expectations, providing valuable insights into viewing habits and perceptions of subtitling.

The survey is now closed, and the findings will be shared publicly in Autumn 2025.

September 2024
Carol O’Sullivan and Sara Ramos Pinto were invited to speak at the annual MUBI corporate event, where they presented both the work of the Network and their own individual research. Their talk, Subtitling Practices: Past and Future, introduced the latest academic insights to subtitling practitioners and sparked discussion on how research can inform and shape future industry practices.

June 2024
The workshop at the University of Bristol brought together our industry partners and research collaborators for a focused, closed event. Together, we mapped out each partner’s priorities and challenges, as well as their perspectives on audience needs and expectations. This collaborative work helped us shape a new research agenda and design a pilot data collection exercise with the support of our partner cinemas.