This research project develops a theoretical framework where the notion of translation method is defined in terms of a graphical and parametrical representation as a function of three parameters: constraints active in audiovisual translation, translation norms and translation techniques. The object of study consists of several independent American films shown in Spain, in dubbed and subtitled versions, the project being then a pilot or case study. Empirical data have been gathered through interviews to the translators of the films for the preliminary phase of the translation process; the compilation of almost 500 microtextual samples of the two translated versions provides the empirical data for the translation phase itself. The results of the study were obtained following a qualitative as well as a quantitative approach. In the latter case, rigorous statistical tools (like normality tests and hypotheses tests) show the similarities and differences between the translation methods for both the dubbed and the subtitled versions.