Amateur dubbing and humour to promote well-being among hospitalised children and adolescents

Dubbing has always been an expensive and time-consuming mode of audiovisual translation (AVT) because of the complex processes it entails and the many professionals it requires. However, advances in technology have allowed dubbing to become easier and more cost- effective. Nowadays, computer software available on any personal computer can be used to create home-made dubbed versions of any audiovisual content. Nonetheless, thus far amateur dubbing has mostly been aimed at offering content that was unavailable on the mainstream market (fandubbing) or at parodying people and/or situations (fundubbing). This study focuses instead on an innovative pilot project carried out at Meyer Children’s Hospital in Florence, Italy, which promotes the use of non-professional dubbing to foster well-being among children and adolescents who have to cope with illness while staying in hospital. Amateur dubbing can invest participants with an active role, putting them at the centre of the dubbing process to experience positive emotions via humour and a host of images and characters. The present work explains the project’s systematic organisation and implementation, along with the technical and linguistic challenges it involves. Although in its infancy, this project appears to offer promising opportunities for replicability.