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Many filmmakers treat subtitles as just a small box to check at the end of production, but bad subtitles can really become a problem for your post-production timeline and budget.
Bad subtitles don’t just mean a few spelling mistakes. They can lead to your entire project being rejected by streaming platforms, causing expensive fixes, missed release dates, and angry viewers.
That’s why you should think about subtitles early on and take them as a serious step in your process. Let’s look at how poor subtitles can drain your budget and what you can do to fix it.
When subtitles aren’t done well, one of the biggest money problems is having to fix and resubmit them. If subtitles have grammar mistakes, wrong translations, or bad timing, they often need multiple rounds of fixes before they’re good enough. This wastes time and money, as editors, translators, and quality checkers have to spend extra hours fixing mistakes that could have been avoided with better quality control from the start.
For example, streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ have strict rules about subtitle quality. If your subtitles don’t meet their standards, they might reject your whole project, forcing you to redo everything and submit again. This not only costs more money but can make you miss your release dates, messing up your marketing plans and expected earnings.
Different platforms also have specific formatting requirements. Each platform needs different file formats, character limits per line, and positioning rules – Netflix, for example, allows a maximum of 42 characters per line, while other platforms might allow more or fewer. They also own style guides with specific font styles and placement rules that often conflict with each other, making reformatting poorly created subtitles a tedious, manual process.
The viewing environment creates additional challenges, as subtitles that work well on TV screens may look bad on mobile devices, requiring additional formatting work. Technical specifications make it even more complicated, with poor subtitles often failing to account for different color standards between HDR and SDR content.
Timing is crucial for subtitles. When they’re poorly timed, viewers struggle to follow the dialogue. If subtitles show up too early, too late, or stay on screen too long, editors must fix each one by hand to match the spoken words.
Bad subtitles cause timing problems in several ways. When the original typing-up of dialogue is wrong, with missing or made-up words, all the timing gets messed up. Even after fixing the words, someone has to go back and adjust all the timings again. Bad subtitles often have lines that are way too long, forcing editors to break them into smaller chunks and redo all the timing so viewers can actually read them.
Another headache happens when subtitles don’t show who’s talking. This means editors have to watch the whole show again, figure out who’s speaking when, and adjust all the timings as they add speaker labels. Important sound effects get missed too, like [DOOR SLAMS] or [PHONE RINGS], so editors need to go through again adding these sounds with the right timing.
Translation problems make timing even worse. When English gets translated to German, for example, the words might be much longer, but the subtitle still needs to match the speaking time. This means completely redoing the timing for the new language. Scene changes also get messed up in bad subtitles – they often stay on screen when the picture cuts to something new, which looks terrible and requires fixing frame by frame.
Subtitles tell viewers a lot about how much your production company cares about quality. When a film or TV show has bad subtitles, it creates image problems that go way beyond just that one project:
Professional reviewers now regularly mention subtitle quality in their reviews, especially for foreign films or dialogue-heavy shows. These negative comments become part of your permanent record, affecting how critics approach all your future releases.
When viewers talk about your production online, subtitle failures often take over the conversation instead of the story, acting, or visuals. This shifts attention away from your creative strengths to technical problems.
Many countries have strict accessibility laws requiring subtitles or closed captions for video content. The European Union enforces accessibility regulations through the European Accessibility Act, with member states implementing increasingly strict requirements. In the UK, Ofcom maintains rigorous standards for television subtitles, while countries like France, Germany, and Spain have developed their own specific regulatory frameworks.
If your production company doesn’t provide legally compliant subtitles, you might face substantial financial penalties from European regulatory authorities, ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of euros for accessibility violations, with particularly strict enforcement in Nordic countries and France. Non-compliant content may be completely blocked from distribution in European markets, particularly in public broadcasting channels. European disability advocacy groups actively pursue legal remedies when content fails to meet accessibility standards, with organizations in Germany, France, and the UK being particularly vigilant in monitoring compliance.
Regional streaming platforms like Arte, ZDF, BBC iPlayer, and Canal+ implement strict compliance checks, rejecting non-compliant content during quality control reviews. Many European public broadcasters require full accessibility compliance for any content they license or distribute, closing off significant revenue opportunities for productions that don’t meet standards.
Beyond standard subtitles, accessibility regulations increasingly require additional features that further impact your production budget and timeline. These extended requirements create another layer of compliance challenges that can significantly affect your distribution plans.
Language-specific implementation requirements: European regulations often specify requirements for each national language, with different standards for dubbing markets (Germany, France, Italy, Spain) versus subtitling markets (Nordics, Netherlands).
Public service broadcasting mandates: European public broadcasters often have stricter accessibility requirements than commercial entities, with some requiring 100% subtitling compliance and increasing percentages for audio description.
AVMSD implementation variations: The Audiovisual Media Services Directive establishes baseline accessibility requirements across the EU, but each member state implements specific technical standards and compliance timelines differently.
Multilingual caption requirements: Many European markets require subtitles in multiple languages simultaneously, with specific standards for how these should be formatted and displayed.
Certification and verification processes: Several European countries require formal verification of accessibility features by certified third parties before content distribution is permitted.
The complexity increases because European standards often differ significantly from those in other global markets. For instance, reading speed expectations vary widely between British, French, and German subtitle standards, requiring market-specific timing adjustments.
While everything we discussed can create issues for your timelines and budgets, there are ways to spot and prevent these issues early on.
Hiring a cheap vendor might save money upfront, but this mistake often leads to expensive corrections when poor-quality subtitles need fixing. These revisions delay your release and increase your overall expenses through multiple correction rounds.
The best subtitling partners have worked with major production companies and streaming platforms. This experience means they understand important requirements like formatting rules, character limits, and reading speeds. Good vendors check their work multiple times rather than just translating once before delivery. They’ll also handle different platform requirements, creating specialized subtitle versions that prevent reformatting work later.
Look for vendors who combine AI technology with human expertise. This approach can lower your costs but maintain the needed quality. Before making a commitment, test potential vendors with a small project to see their work quality, communication, and timeliness. This trial shows whether they’re right for your production needs.
Amberscript provides this balance between AI technology and human expertise, offering accurate subtitles with higher accuracy and faster turnaround times than traditional vendors. Request a quote from Amberscript today to see how our solutions can meet your production requirements while staying within budget.
Nothing wastes post-production money faster than fixing mistakes after submission. Rejected subtitles force teams to go back and correct issues, leading to expensive delays. The solution is to catch these errors early with strict quality checks.
A good quality control process should check for grammar and spelling mistakes, ensure subtitles are properly synced with dialogue, and include watching the video with subtitles to confirm everything looks right. Professional subtitling software can help flag common errors, but human reviewers should always do final checks to ensure subtitles read naturally.
Skipping quality control might seem like a way to save time, but it actually leads to costly fixes later.
Inconsistent subtitle formats create unnecessary editing work. To prevent this, establish clear guidelines for subtitle file formats, character limits, and timing rules before post-production begins. Using industry-standard formats like SRT, VTT, and SCC helps streamline the workflow and ensures compatibility with major distribution platforms.
Many production teams treat subtitling as an afterthought, leading to rushed work and increased costs. Instead, include subtitles in your post-production process alongside editing and sound design. By planning for subtitles early, you can avoid last-minute corrections and ensure a smoother workflow.
Subtitles don’t have to be a post-production nightmare. By choosing a reliable vendor, standardizing your approach, checking quality carefully, you can avoid the hidden costs of poorly executed subtitles. Treating subtitles as an important part of post-production ensures smoother distribution, better audience engagement, and more efficient work. All while keeping costs under control.
Don’t want your subtitles to be a nightmare and drain your budget? Request a quote from Amberscript today to see how our solutions can meet your production requirements while staying within budget.
