Courses for beginners

No experience in audiovisual translation?
No worries! We have the right courses
to get you started.

  • Fundamentals of Subtitling

  • Timing Subtitles 101

  • Fundamentals of Dubbing

  • Introduction to Audio Description

  • Media Localization Primer

More advanced courses

If you already have some experience in media localisation, take your skills to the next level with our more advanced professional development courses

  • Subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing
    & Closed captioning

  • Template Creation

  • Master Subtitling Guidelines

  • Forced Narratives

  • How to create a macro

  • Audio Description Templates

20% OFF for Slator ToolBox subscribers

Use the coupon: TOOLBOX at the checkout
to claim your exclusive 20% discount

What you get from AVT Masterclass

You're just a few clicks away from getting access to our full suite of expert resources

  • Premium learning experience

    Gain access to our full suite of training materials created by experienced audiovisual translation trainers

  • Video tutorials

    Learn from our engaging video lectures and step-by-step screencasting tutorials

  • Hands-on approach

    Practise with our interactive quizzes and hands-on exercises

  • Downloadable resources

    Download our checklists and style guides for future use in your media localisation projects

  • Access from any device

    Our courses are fully mobile responsive, so you can take your course on the go from any phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer

  • Free trial of professional software

    In selected courses you get access to professional subtitling and/or audio description software: OOONA and/or EZTitles

You want to become a media localisation expert, but...

  • You have no time to attend a regular course?

    Our self-paced online courses give you total control over when you learn and how much time you spend on learning.

  • There is no course available in your area?

    AVT Masterclass offers global training in audiovisual translation and localisation. Join us from anywhere in the world and study AVT from the convenience of your home!

  • There is no course in your language?

    Our courses are universal and language-agnostic. Whether you translate from Chinese, Spanish or Arabic, our courses are right for you! You just need to speak English to understand the content.

Media Localisation Instructors

Łukasz Dutka is an audiovisual translator, subtitling trainer and expert in media accessibility. He's one of the founders of AVT Masterclass, a former director of the Global Alliance of Speech-to-Text Captioning, and a member of the Management Board of Dostepni.eu, an accessibility services provider. He studied applied linguistics as well as comparative literature. In 2012, he became an in-house subtitler for Polish public broadcaster and was responsible for SDH subtitling and semi-live subtitling of news broadcasts. As a member of Dostepni.eu team, he pioneered live subtitling through respeaking in Poland with the first accessible political and social events in 2013, first interlingual live subtitling in 2015 and first Polish television broadcast with live subtitling through respeaking in 2017. Since 2012, he has worked as a freelance subtitler and QC'er for leading localization companies, including working on many high-level titles. In 2019, he helped set up a live subtitling unit for Polsat, a leading TV broadcaster in Poland. He has nine years of experience in running training programmes for companies as well as teaching university-level courses on audiovisual translation, subtitling, subtitling for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and interpreting. He is a member of the Polish Association of Audiovisual Translators, the University of Warsaw Audiovisual Translation Lab (AVT Lab), European Society for Translation Studies (EST) and European Association for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST). Born by the mountains, he now lives by the ocean in a multilingual family that speaks Polish, English, Spanish, Italian, Swedish and Portuguese. He's a passionate movie-goer, reader, swimmer, chocolate-eater and a coffee addict.

Łukasz Dutka

AVT Masterclass Co-founder

Media Localisation Instructors

Agnieszka Walczak, PhD, is a translator, translator trainer and media accessibility expert. She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Warsaw. She graduated with honours, defending the first thesis in Poland on text-to-speech audio description. She has also completed postgraduate studies on audiovisual translation at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Defended at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Agnieszka’s doctoral dissertation focused on the reception of audio description and was produced within the framework of the European Project Hybrid Broadcast Broadband for All. She is a member of the TransMedia Catalonia Research Group and University of Warsaw Audiovisual Translation Lab (AVT Lab). Agnieszka is the author of over 15 publications on audiovisual translation. University lecturer for almost 10 years (Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Warsaw, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, University of Łódź). Agnieszka combines her academic expertise with experience in the audiovisual localization industry. She has been working as a freelance subtitler and audio describer for various linear and non-linear providers for over 10 years. She has also experience from working with global media production and post-production companies. Member of European Society for Translation Studies (EST), European Association for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST) and Polish Audiovisual Translators Association (STAW).

Agnieszka Walczak

AVT Masterclass Co-founder

Media Localisation Instructors

Prof. Agnieszka Szarkowska is a researcher and translator trainer, academic teacher and audiovisual translation consultant. Agnieszka works in the Institute of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warsaw, leads the research group Audiovisual Translation Lab (AVT Lab), and is also an Honorary Research Associate at University College London. With over 20 years of hands-on teaching experience, Agnieszka has trained hundreds of students internationally to become high-quality professionals in the audiovisual translation industry. Agnieszka is the author of over 70 publications on audiovisual translation and principal investigator of several research projects. She is also a member of the European Association for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST), European Society for Translation Studies (EST) and an honorary member of the Polish Audiovisual Translators Association (STAW).

Agnieszka Szarkowska

AVT Masterclass Co-founder

Audio Description Instructors

Anna Jankowska is a researcher in audiovisual translation and media accessibility. She now works at the University of Antwerp, where she co-manages the OPEN Expertise Centre for Accessible Media and Culture. Before that, she was a visiting scholar with the TransMedia Calatonia research group at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and worked at the Chair for Translation at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Defended at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland), Anna's doctoral dissertation focused on using translation to produce audio description scripts in multiple languages. Within her research work, she collaborated in developing the AudioMovie app, which provides audio description and audio subtitles in cinemas via mobile devices. She is a member of the European Society for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST) and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Audiovisual Translation. Anna combines her academic experience with practice in the audiovisual translation and media accessibility industry. She worked as a freelance audiovisual translator and audio described for over 10 years and co-founded and co-managed the Seventh Sense Foundation - an NGO that provides accessibility services, training, and consultancy. In her work, she collaborated with local clients and international localization services providers and, most importantly, with users of various accessibility services. She has 15 years of experience in training in audiovisual translation and media accessibility, both at university-level courses and running training programs for companies and institutions.

Anna Jankowska

Audio Description Instructors

Nina Reviers is a tenure-track professor in Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility at the University of Antwerp, where she co-manages the OPEN Expertise Centre for Accessible Media and Culture. She defended her Phd at the University of Antwerp in 2018. It focused on the linguistic profiling of the language of audio description in Dutch, and it was awarded the EST Young Scholar Prize in 2019. Her research addresses linguistic and multimodal aspects of audio description, (computer-aided translation) of audio description, integrated access for the (scenic) arts and technology for access. She is a member of the European Society for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST) and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Audiovisual Translation. Nina combines her academic experience with practice in media accessibility. She fosters a close collaboration with stakeholders as a key factor in her research and teaching activities. She has 10 years of experience as a trainer in subtitling and audio description, for university courses as well as courses for professional development for freelancers, companies and institutions.

Nina Reviers

Audio Description Instructors

Gert Vercauteren is a tenure track professor at the University of Antwerp, where he co-manages the OPEN Expertise Centre for Accessible Media and Culture. Defended at the University of Antwerp (2016) his PhD focuses on audio description and, more specifically, on selecting relevant information to be described. His current research centres on narratology in audio description with a particular focus on sound and cognitive load in/and audio description. He has over 20 years of experience as a trainer, and during this time, he taught media accessibility, translation technology, and audiovisual translation and communication. He also works as an audio describer, maintaining a close link with the audiovisual translation industry.

Gert Vercauteren

Project Management Instructors

Dr Lindsay Bywood is a Translation Studies academic, trainer and practitioner. She holds a PhD in subtitling from University College London, an MA in German and Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and an MA in Translation Studies from the University of Salford. Before becoming an academic she worked for many years in the audiovisual translation industry, including spells at several of the major international AVT companies. She has worked as a project manager in subtitling and dubbing, and trained many students in all aspects of AVT. She is Director of the European Association for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST), a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, and a member of the advisory committee for the Languages & The Media conference series. Her research has spanned the diachronic variation of subtitles in the German to English language pair, machine translation, subtitling and post-editing, inclusive design and audio description.

Lindsay Bywood

Project Management Instructors

Agnieszka Walczak, PhD, is a translator, translator trainer and media accessibility expert. She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Warsaw. She graduated with honours, defending the first thesis in Poland on text-to-speech audio description. She has also completed postgraduate studies on audiovisual translation at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Defended at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Agnieszka’s doctoral dissertation focused on the reception of audio description and was produced within the framework of the European Project Hybrid Broadcast Broadband for All. She is a member of the TransMedia Catalonia Research Group and University of Warsaw Audiovisual Translation Lab (AVT Lab). Agnieszka is the author of over 15 publications on audiovisual translation. University lecturer for almost 10 years (Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Warsaw, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, University of Łódź). Agnieszka combines her academic expertise with experience in the audiovisual localization industry. She has been working as a freelance subtitler and audio describer for various linear and non-linear providers for over 10 years. She has also experience from working with global media production and post-production companies. Member of European Society for Translation Studies (EST), European Association for Studies in Screen Translation (ESIST) and Polish Audiovisual Translators Association (STAW).

Agnieszka Walczak

AVT Masterclass Co-founder

Showcase your skills

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Once you complete the course, you'll receive a Certificate of Completion. Certificates are a great way to document your learning! You can share them on social media and use them with clients, employers or colleagues.
A woman holding a university diploma

The promise of AVT Masterclass

Build your career in audiovisual translation with us

  • EFFECTIVE - We use proven methods. Our trainers have already helped hundreds of students become successful audiovisual translation professionals.

  • FLEXIBLE - Learn online from the convenience of your home. You can focus on what's most useful to you and study at your own pace.

  • ENGAGING - Learning media localisation can be fun! Thanks to lots of examples and practical exercises, you will become an AVT professional in no time!

FAQ

Any questions?

  • Do I need to buy any subtitling and/or audio description software?

    No, we'll give you free 90-day access to professional software: OOONA and/or EZTitles.

  • How long do the courses take?

    It's up to you - the duration of the course depends on your individual needs and the time you have. Please remember that by signing up, you get a one-year access to the course and lifetime access to our social media learning community. Some courses include access to professional software for 90 days. See course descriptions for more details.

  • Can I get an invoice for my company?

    Sure! All you need to do is send us your organization details (name, address, VAT number) at [email protected]. Our accounting team will be back with the invoice.