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Guides for film distributors
Working notes on subtitle and dub delivery from the Fonti Studio pipeline: broadcast specs, AI-dub rights, and what it takes to pass platform QC on the first submission. Every claim is grounded in a primary source and one real delivery number.
Netflix DTT (Direct Timed Text): what the program is, who the partners are, and how subtitles actually reach Netflix
Netflix DTT stands for Direct Timed Text: the vendor program through which Netflix commissions its own subtitle localization. What DTT is, who the partners are, how translators get in, and the route subtitles take when your film is licensed rather than commissioned.
Netflix subtitling: who makes the subtitles on a Netflix title, what a licensor has to deliver, and how vendors get in
Who subtitles a Netflix title (licensor or Netflix vendors), what a licensed delivery must contain, how subtitlers get Netflix work, why languages go missing.
Subtitle translation: why translating an SRT file cue by cue gives you a file that looks right and reads wrong
Why one-click SRT translation produces subtitles that look right and read wrong, what a professional subtitle translation pass does instead, and what it costs.
Closed captions vs subtitles: what each term means on a film delivery, open vs closed captions, where SDH and forced narrative fit, and which file your buyer actually wants
Subtitles translate dialogue; closed captions transcribe it with sound cues and switch off; open captions are burned in. What each means on a film delivery.
Hoe werkt AI-nasynchronisatie voor bioscoopfilms onder de EU AI Act?
AI-nasynchronisatie kan een bioscoopfilm op uitzendkwaliteit in een andere taal zetten, met de stemmen van de originele cast. Hoe de techniek werkt, wat artikel 50 van de EU AI Act sinds 2 augustus 2026 vereist, wiens toestemming nodig is, en wat het kost.
AI dubbing vs traditional dubbing studios: an honest comparison for independent films
A traditional studio dub is five figures per language and months of lead time. A self-serve AI tool renders a file that plays but not a master that passes QC. The honest comparison for independent films, failure mode by failure mode, and the decision rule for when each model is the right call.
Fonti Studio vs Deepdub, Dubformer, CAMB.AI, Flawless, and Papercup: who does what in AI dubbing
An honest map of the AI dubbing market in 2026: what Deepdub, Dubformer, CAMB.AI, Flawless, and Papercup (now RWS) each actually sell, what they cost, when each is the right choice, and where Fonti Studio fits for independent film distributors.
The AFM delivery checklist: what a sales agent needs ready per territory before the market, and what can wait
A working checklist of the localization and materials deliverables a sales agent needs before and after a film market: what buyers expect in the room, what belongs in the delivery schedule, and what genuinely can wait until a deal closes.
Subtitle formats explained: SRT, WebVTT, TTML/IMSC, EBU-TT-D, STL, SCC and PAC, and which one your buyer actually wants
What each subtitle format is for: SRT, WebVTT, TTML and the IMSC profiles, EBU-TT-D, EBU STL, SCC and Screen PAC. Which formats store time and which store frames, why that distinction breaks deliveries, and how to pick the right one for a buyer.
Subtitles gradually out of sync? The frame-rate mismatch (23.976 vs 24 vs 25 fps) that passes every spot check and fails the film
Why subtitles gradually go out of sync over a feature's runtime, how frame-rate mismatches between 23.976, 24, and 25 fps creep into deliveries, how to fix the drift, and how to diagnose its signature before your buyer's QC does.
Forced subtitles, explained: what a forced narrative (FN) track is, when a delivery needs one, and why rejections trace back to it
What forced subtitles (forced narrative, or FN, subtitles) actually are, why platforms require them as a separate file, how they differ from SDH and burned-in text, and the three ways FN deliveries fail QC.
SAG-AFTRA's AI rules in 2026: what a foreign-language dub of a US feature now requires
The 2026 SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Agreement adds foreign-language dubbing to the digital-replica consent regime. Here is the AI contract language, the clearance chain a US-content acquisition now requires, and where the warranty sits.
EU AI Act Article 50: disclosure obligations for AI-dubbed feature distribution in 2026
From 2 August 2026, Article 50 of the EU AI Act makes AI-dub disclosure a delivery requirement. Who marks the file, who tells the viewer, whether an AI dub counts as a deepfake, and what a distributor puts on the deck when licensing an AI-dubbed feature into Europe.
How much does film localization cost in 2026? Subtitle and dubbing costs for an indie feature, a flat-fee breakdown
What subtitles, dubs, and trailer subs actually cost an indie distributor delivering a feature into three to seven territories in 2026: legacy per-minute rates, AI tool pricing and its hidden meter, why per-minute pricing burns thin margins, and a flat-fee breakdown.
AI dubbing quality control: the pitch QA gate that catches what composite scores don't
A single composite quality score for an AI dub averages out the one cue where a male character breaks into falsetto. Here is the AI dubbing quality control gate that catches it: a dual-statistic F0 check, median plus 90th-percentile excursion, run on every cue.
es-419 explained: what "Spanish (Latin America)" means on a delivery schedule, and when you need it instead of es-ES
What the es-419 language code means, why Latin American Spanish is written as a UN region number, how it differs from es-ES and es-MX, and how to decide which Spanish (and which Portuguese, and which French) a territory sale actually needs.
Bilingual subtitles (dual-language stacked subs) for Belgian, Swiss and Quebec theatrical release
Belgian, Swiss and Quebec theatrical releases often demand bilingual subtitles: two languages stacked on one cue. What a dual-language subtitle file actually contains, how it renders, the line-budget constraint that governs it, and why Fonti Studio ships it free.
Amazon's AI dubbing pull-downs: why Prime Video's AI dubs failed twice, and the three quality gates that would have caught it
Amazon pulled AI-dubbed Korean dramas from Prime Video in 2024 and AI-dubbed anime (Banana Fish, No Game No Life Zero, Vinland Saga) in December 2025, within days of launch. Here are the three engineering gates that catch the exact failures viewers heard, and why a composite score alone misses them.
SDH subtitles: what "English SDH" means, how SDH differs from closed captions, and when a delivery needs it
What SDH (subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing) actually contains, what the "English SDH" label on a player means, how SDH differs from closed captions and forced subtitles, and when a film delivery is required to include it.
LUFS, true peak and LRA explained: the three loudness numbers your AI dub vendor isn't measuring
What LUFS, true peak (dBTP) and LRA actually measure, the loudness specs that set them (EBU R128, ATSC A/85, Netflix dialog-gated), why AI dubs fail them, and how Fonti masters against all three.
AI voice cloning without consent: the Berlin court ruling, and why we only clone the original cast
In August 2025, the Berlin District Court awarded €4,000 for the unauthorised AI voice cloning of a dub actor. Italy's ANAD clause is even stricter. Here is the load-bearing policy choice, clone the original cast only, that keeps Fonti Studio dubs on the right side of those rulings.
The translation glossary (KNP): the one document that stops your character's name changing spelling in episode five
What a Key Names and Phrases glossary is, why platforms require one, how terminology drift happens across episodes and languages, and how a locked glossary is built and enforced before a single line is translated.
The Combined Continuity and Spotting List (CCSL): what it is, how it differs from a dialogue list and a spotting list, and why your localization vendor asks for it first
What a Combined Continuity and Spotting List (CCSL) actually contains, how it differs from a dialogue list and a spotting list, why it lets a localization vendor lock proper-noun spelling across a whole deliverable before a line is translated, and what changes when you don't have one.
Netflix subtitle requirements: what indie distributors get wrong about the Branded Delivery spec
A working guide to the Netflix subtitle requirements under the Branded Delivery spec, for indie distributors who can't afford a rejected QC. The Timed Text Style Guide numbers, where AI captioners fail, and what gets a feature shipped on first submission.
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