Programme makershave major problemsfinding linguists whounderstand the TV-making craft14 TheLinguistFEBRUARY/MARCH www.iol.org.ukFEATURESSusie Valerio takes us inside the high-pressureenvironment of TV interpreting As a rule, people who are interviewed withthe help of an interpreter are either famousor play an important role in high-profilestories. in production terms, interpreters andtranslators come as very expensive budgetitems. the hourly rate of an agencyinterpreter or translator is higher than that ofmost assistant producers, and an interpreteron full rate for a whole day can easily bemore expensive than the director. So it will come as no surprise thatinterpreters and translators are used verysparingly. producers prefer to hire productionpeople who have language skills becausethey will do two jobs in one. they only callprofessional linguists when the story isimportant enough to justify the extra costs. however, working for the media is not onlyabout interpreting for the stars. on footballassignments for the champions League, forinstance, interpreters are often called in toassist the club's press office with queries fromforeign journalists. they may be asked to dostadium announcements or even to help withsecurity issues involving foreign fans. the work also brings huge responsibility, aseverything the interpreter says is in the publicdomain within a very short space of time. inan age of increasingly aggressive mediatactics, the interpreter is frequently called onto act as mediator, often prompted byproducers and interviewees to 'guide' thestory they are covering by slightly adaptingquestions and answers in order to fit aparticular brief. Discretion, attention to detailand common sense are paramount. A way into the professioni began working as a media interpreter in1998, after finishing a BA in Drama, Film andquotes into 20-30 second time-codedsections to enable editing may seem obviousto me, but it would not occur to a 'normal'translator. Nor would most translators think toadapt interviews to the language of specificgenres in order to facilitate scripting, or knowhow to operate the machines in the case ofon-site translation at the pre-editing stages. Interpreting the gameAfter working for two years as a freelance tVtranslator, i began working as a researcher,assistant producer and live footballinterpreter. i was approached by an agencyspecialising in soccer and began to work onhigh-profile games in the championsLeague, premier League and Uefa cup, and have since covered most of the gamesplayed by the Brazilian national team inthe Uk. interpreters are often hired by the hostteam and, as information can leak very easily,almost no information is given prior to theassignment. instead, interpreters need toread up on the tournament they are coveringand the club they are working for beforearriving for the job. Making a mistake with aplayer's name when sitting next to the likes ofFabio capello or Jose Mourinho, at a pressconference with the cameras rolling, wouldbe unthinkable. the work is always dynamic and there tendto be many additions to the original jobdescription. interpreters are generally hiredfor a certain number of hours on a fixed feeand expected to help with whateverlanguage support is needed during thattime -from consecutive interpreting forinterviews to helping with the accreditation offoreign journalists. Interpreting in the limelighttelevision Studies. A friend who worked as aproducer for a big television company askedme to translate some interviews for aninternational football show, aired in morethan 100 countries. i was concerned that iwas not a trained interpreter but was toldthat my knowledge of programme makingwas much more important than any linguistictraining. i later learned that programmemakers have major problems findingtranslators and interpreters who understandthe technical aspects of the tV-making craft. the extremely fast-paced environmentmeans that they cannot afford to waste timeexplaining technicalities. Breaking down© iStockphoto

Vol/51 No/1 2012FEBRUARY/MARchTheLinguist15FEATURESitself. interpreters often work in pairs in orderto cover different areas of the stadium, andalways report to the host's press officer. Weare generally the main point of contact forany foreign press who have queries or needhelp setting up equipment, transmission linesor internet connections. Media interpreting for large-scale footballtournaments requires a high level of flexibility,nerves of steel and the ability to adapt veryquickly to ever-changing circumstances, but itis a hugely satisfying experience. Sitting nextto Brazil's Manager with more than 30cameras and microphones pointing at youcan be very stressful but it is never boring.Live on airWhile interpreting the early live coverage ofthe Madeleine Mccann police inquiry for theBBc World Service, i was under suchpressure that i had heart palpitations. Whenyou are doing live television, there is verylittle warning and almost no preparation, soeven the most seasoned professional canstruggle to keep calm and collected. on my first Mccann assignment, i arrivedat the BBc studios and was rushed to setwithin minutes. i was given headphones tolisten to the first statements ever given by theportuguese police and told that they wouldgive me a feed from portugal. however, noamount of training or preparation could havecompensated for the fact that i had to listento both instructions at the same time. on one side, i could faintly hear the wordsof the portuguese police, which i was meantto be interpreting. on the other, i could hearloud background chatter coming from theroom where the press conference was takingplace. i also had a stage manager giving meinstructions on set, while the 6 o'clock newsbroadcast my voice for the whole planet tohear. My heart was racing and my handswere shaking but i somehow managed to getthrough it. in my opinion, deep breathingwas what saved the day.CAUGHT ON FILMSusie interprets forPortuguese midfielder HugoViana during the Uefa Cup Accuracy is extremely important, but moreoften than not, the media interpreter is alsoused as an 'information gate keeper' -ashield, if you like. it is expected thatjournalists will ask unwanted questions aboutplayers, tactics, contract renewals, salariesand so on, and on several occasions i havebeen told to tone down questions to avoidpublic controversy. players and managers are trained to handle the media, but shouldthey let slip a secret by mistake, theinterpreter might be instructed by the hiringpress office to alter the wording in theinterpreting, or even to leave out the juicydetail in its entirety. the client tends to see the interpreter asan ally -someone who can protect theinterviewee from unwelcome questions. it ismuch easier to refuse to answer if you do itvia a 'neutral' party. At a press conference, forinstance, a nod from the football managermay mean that the interpreter should tell thejournalists to change the topic. When i wasinterpreting for a player recently, the questionof salary came up. i translated the questionbut also discretely reminded him that we hadboth been instructed by the press officer todiffuse any money issues by saying thatsalaries were a private matter. An average football interpreting jobconsists of live interpreting for pressconferences, either seated on the main tablewith football managers and players, or in abooth, doing simultaneous interpreting forthe press and for camera feeds; interpretingindividual radio, television and printinterviews; helping out in the 'mixed zone'(where athletes meet with the media after anevent); and doing any foreign languagestadium announcements during the match. It may seem obvious, but remember to breathe! Breathing properly is the key tosuccessful public speaking: it improves focus, sharpens the mind and preventscamera shyness. . Focus on the moment. If you give enough attention to the task at hand you willforget that you are speaking on camera to, say, David Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo. . Familiarise yourself with basic journalism skills, especially interview techniques. Signingup for short evening courses or simply reading up on the topic could go a long way.Any media knowledge will boost your confidence on high-profile assignments, and willbe a great advantage when dealing with the press. . Use industry websites. The most used site for production jobs in the UK iswww.productionbase.co.uk. Members can apply for jobs, advertise their services andaccess a vast database of production companies.Tips for newcomers