Interview Mary Carroll & Volker Hagemeier, Titelbild

Volker, what is Titelbild planning for this year’s Berlinale?

VH: Come to the Zoo Palast on Sunday evening, February 10, for the 7 pm Panorama screening of Leon Ichaso’s Piñero (USA). We plan to demonstrate BeamTitling® to the public at that screening. Miramax asked us to beam German subtitles onto Piñero (USA), and we’re delighted to do so. All things considered, it means more viewers for the film.

How long has Titelbild been involved in beaming subtitles onto the screen?

VH: BeamTitling®, a registered name, was developed and perfected over the past three years, beginning in 1999. Its aim is to achieve single frame precision by superimposing subtitles on any film format during cinema projection. The system can project subtitles in any language and leaves your film unscathed. It is ideal for festivals, cultural centers and film societies.

Is the Panorama screening your first official demonstration?

VH: No. Just before the Christmas holidays, we held a presentation of BeamTitling® here in Berlin for Thierry Frémaux, the artistic director of the Cannes festival, and Stephanie Weiss of the Export-Union des Deutschen Films. Thorsten Ritter of Bavaria Film International requested the session. The response was quite positive. I should add that BeamTitling® is not just a process ­ it’s also a complete travelling unit in a portable compact case that can be carried around, leased out, or purchased for a modest fee.

Mary, how many hats do the two of you wear at Titelbild?

MC: Four: Titelbild, Cinetitel, BeamTitling®, Language Consultancy. If you want to add on In House Training Courses and Subtitler Exchange programs, then maybe six. Titelbild is the parent company, a subtitling service founded in 1990 and based in Berlin-Charlottenburg. We feel that our subtitlers are among the most experienced and best-trained in the business, and they work only into their own language.

When was Cinetitel added to the company?

VH: Titelbild is the software side of the business, Cinetitel the hardware. Cinetitel does the hardware laser engraving on film, which includes all the technical preparation that goes into the process. Founded in 1995, and based at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, the technology used by Cinetitel is the best available for brilliant subtitles with sharp edges. Titelbild and Cinetitel joined forces in 1995 to provide a complete subtitling service to all video formats and laser engraving of 16 and 35 mm film.

I understand that you’ve recently restructured Titelbild to include Language Consultancy.

MC: That’s our fourth hat, if you will. Language Consultancy and Titelbild GmbH merged on 1 October 2001. Again, it was a logical progression towards this decision to fuse all areas of language transfer, thus providing customers with a single point of call for all their language needs. The combined range of services now includes all kinds of translations and language transfer for the media such as voiceovers and subtitling for film, video, TV and DVD.

What exactly is Language Consultancy?

MC: When I founded Language Consultancy back in 1981, English and German were its focal point. But the language spectrum soon broadened considerably. Today, the firm offers a whole range of services, such as editing, proofreading, and translating, specializing in vocational training, urban studies, the environment, economics, marketing, the EU, and medical translations. The language team, who all work into their native tongue, have accumulated a wealth of experience in translating contracts, academic and legal texts, teaching material, technical documentation, corporate strategies, glossaries, dictionaries, certificates, reports and testimonials. Quality assurance and control are key elements, which have enabled the firm to extend its market far beyond Berlin.

How many »Languages and the Media« conferences have you organized in Berlin?

MC: Three in the past. Our next three-day conference, scheduled 4 - 6 December 2002 at the Hotel InterContinental, is on »Viewers, Languages and Marketing«. One of the themes, »Language and Marketing Strategies«, emphasizes a need to help the hard-of-hearing and other minorities among viewers. Other themes are »Distribution and Technology« and »Quality in Subtitling«. We expect around 300 participants. You can find all the details about the conference, and about Titelbild as a whole, on our website: www.titelbild.de. A multilingual homepage, it’s currently in seven languages ­ English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Croatian, and Turkish ­ with a few more in the pipeline.

How many languages can Titelbild handle?

MC: We offer more than 60 different language combinations for translation and subtitling. Our In-House Training Courses are usually in English, German, or French. But we’ve also done training courses for Arabic and Japanese groups as well. And we have an ongoing Subtitler Exchange program with SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) in Sydney, Australia. Occasionally, I accept lecture invitations ­ like at the University of Leeds or here in Germany.

And how many people do you employ?

VH: Right now our staff numbers 26. That doesn’t include another 70 - 80 freelancers ­ depending on the work load. At the moment, during the Berlinale, we're pretty busy.

Thank you for the interview, and all the best for Titelbild.

­ Editors