Multimedia is all around us. It has become our reality, the way we communicate and interact with the rest of the world.

We can barely conceive of our own image, our identity as intellectuals, and our stance as professional translators without thinking in terms of the multimedia reality we live in.

The main goal behind this blog is to show that the field we call Multimedia or Audiovisual Translation is not a separate niche, or a subcategory of “actual” translation, the one that deals with words printed on paper (or a file that resembles one). It might well be the other way around. Or at least that’s where we’re heading.

Just open your eyes and look around! See it in the interactive newspaper in your tablet, read the latest article in your e-reader, hear opinions in a vlog, share it as an animated video on your favorite social media, make it accessible through on-demand captions, see how-to instructions in a YouTube video, teach it in a webinar, sell it in your multimedia website.

All of this information needs to be translated into countless languages in countless different ways, by professionals who truly understand how each of these multiple media work.

For an increasing amount of uses and purposes, a text is no longer a mere string of static words over a white surface, intended for silent reading. In different types of media, language comes alive as an integrated component, a moving, talking, clickable part of the content.

And that cannot be seen as a small niche for tech-savvy kids to play with. It’s not only about optional entertainment or short-lived viral videos. It’s not just what you see on TV.

Professional translators need to know more about multimedia, need to speak its language. Regardless of what your field of specialization is, we are all translating in the Multimedia Age.

This blog is about translation, but in its broadest sense. Let’s look around us and explore this multimedia world, and think about how qualified translators can be a part of it.

By the way, this text is way too static.

Feel free to suggest interesting readings, videos, and insights to be discussed here. (Almost) anything goes!