The author writes this article because of the fact that media translation is an elusive topic: its practice not only changes and evolves with the times, it also varies greatly within national boundaries, and internationally. The author believes the only way of confronting the profusion of material is through the description and mapping of the various practices, making use of flexible methods, capable of incorporating change and variation, as well as interdisciplinary concerns. Other concerns underlying this article are the author’s interest in translation for the cinema and television. The author’s choice of De President van Robbeneiland is dictated by the fact that the author lives in Flanders and by her interest in the way the film combines two types of verbal translation: subtitling and voice-over commentary. A case in point.