Simultaneous interpreting of spoken elements of the script of an audiovisual text at the time of screening is considered to be a last resort option in audiovisual translation, given the multiple disadvantages it represents in comparison with subtitling or dubbing for the translator/interpreter, the audience and the organisers of any given event or screening. In practice, professional interpreters are sometimes called upon for this type of on-the-spot translation at film festivals where lack of time, or other prevailing circumstances, rules out the use of dubbing or subtitling (Diaz Cintas, 2001: 38). The rather negative view on the usefulness of interpreting in an AVT context is diametrically opposed to the extremely high level of linguistic, cultural and translation competence required in any simultaneous interpreter aiming to provide such a translation, coupled with the additional need for film knowledge and competence. This dichotomy has led us to examine the possibility of incorporating simultaneous interpreting of audiovisual texts into the syllabus of the Master in Audiovisual Translation, Subtitling for the Deaf and Audio description at the Translation (MSA) and Interpreting Faculty of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), and finally to incorporate this discipline as a module in its own right.
This paper presents the overlap existing between simultaneous interpreting and dubbing on the one hand, given the oral nature of both translations, and subtitling on the other, given the need to synthesise the contents of the message transmitted. It then goes on to outline the objectives of the module included in the MSA, the selection of texts used (and the criteria for the selection), the methodology followed and some conclusions about the results obtained, including student evaluation of the module. It concludes with a more general discussion of the skills required for translators of audiovisual texts in general.

Heather ADAMS is a lecturer at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain). She has coordinated the Máster en Traducción Audiovisual, Subtitulado para sordos y Audiodescripción (MSA) [Master in Audiovisual Translation, Subtitling for the Deaf and Audio description at the Translation (MSA)] at the same university, where she has been the lecturer responsible for the module devoted to interpreting in audiovisual settings. She is currently working on her PhD thesis on advertisements for financial products. Apart from audiovisual translation, her research fields include the translation of advertising discourse, translation into the foreign language and the teaching of foreign languages in Translation Studies.