Film subtitling services from spotting to spec delivery
Features, shorts and documentaries subtitled by native AV specialists, delivered festival-, platform- or broadcast-compliant, in 25+ languages.
Film subtitling services carry a finished film to new audiences: dialogue list, spotting, translation by native AV specialists, review against the picture and delivery in festival, platform or broadcast formats. Orion Translations subtitles features, shorts and documentaries in more than 25 languages, with team experience on Netflix and Sony productions.
Subtitles are the print most of the world watches
Outside its home market, a film is its subtitles: the jury reads them, the platform buyer reads them, and every viewer beyond the original language lives inside those two lines. A screenplay honed for years can be flattened in a week of careless subtitling, and no one who matters will blame the subtitles; they will blame the film.
Our film work treats the subtitle track as part of the filmmaking: native AV translators working against the picture, register and rhythm preserved under reading-speed constraints, a second subtitler reviewing every reel, and files verified against the destination spec before they ship.
From locked picture to compliant file
| Stage | What happens | Typical time (feature) |
|---|---|---|
| Dialogue list / transcription | Created if none exists, timecoded | 1 day |
| Spotting | Subtitles timed to the cut and reading speed | 1 day |
| Translation | Native AV specialist, against the picture | 2-3 days |
| Review | Second subtitler, full pass with video | 1 day |
| Delivery | Festival / TTML / EBU-STL / SDH per spec | Same day |
How much do film subtitling services cost?
Per minute of runtime, set by dialogue density and origination versus template translation; multi-language packages from one master template are the economical route for distribution slates. Screener or dialogue list to info@oriontranslations.com; fixed per-language quote within one business day, SDH priced alongside.
Festivals, platforms, broadcast: three different deliveries
A festival print, a Netflix-compliant TTML and a broadcaster's EBU-STL are three different technical objects built from one translation. We maintain the master and generate destination files as your distribution grows, so the film's language work is done once and delivered many times. Series follow their own continuity craft at subtitling of series.
The full release package
Films travelling seriously need layers: SDH versions for accessibility, dubbing for voiced territories, script translation for sales and coproduction, all under one glossary via our film localization service, so every version of the film tells the same story.
Your film, undiminished, in every language it screens in.
Get started
Request a Quote
Upload your document and tell us what you need. We respond within one business day with a fixed price and delivery date. No hidden costs. No obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Everything between the finished film and its subtitled release: transcription and dialogue list if none exists, spotting (timing each subtitle to the cut), translation by native AV specialists, second-subtitler review against the picture, and delivery in the festival, platform or broadcast format the destination requires.
- Per minute of runtime, driven by dialogue density and whether we originate from scratch or translate an existing template; a dialogue-heavy drama costs more per minute than a contemplative documentary. A feature is a modest line in a distribution budget. Screener to the quote form gets a fixed price within one business day.
- Typically 3 to 5 working days per language including review against the picture; shorts run 24 to 72 hours. Festival submission deadlines are treated as fixed dates in the quote, and multi-language deliveries run in parallel from one master template.
- Festivals usually take clean SRT or a burned-in print to their spec; platforms want TTML/IMSC (Netflix-compliant where applicable) with SDH versions; broadcasters ask for EBU-STL or SCC. We verify each file against the destination specification before delivery, so nothing bounces at QC.
- By editorial craft: compression that keeps information and register inside reading-speed limits, careful choices about which overlapping line the viewer needs, and consistency in how recurring speech patterns are rendered. This is precisely where AV specialists separate from generic translators, and where machine subtitles collapse.
- Yes, natively in both: English-language films subtitled into Castilian or Latin American Spanish per territory, and Spanish-language films subtitled into English for festivals and global platforms, each by native subtitlers of the target language.
- Yes: SDH subtitles with speaker labels and sound description are produced from the same master, satisfying platform accessibility requirements without a second vendor or a second timing pass. Dubbing, when the territory calls for it, runs through the same glossary.