How fixed is fixed language in audiovisual translation?

This paper focuses on the translation of audiovisual “texts”, particularly for television, with special emphasis given to the audiovisual genre of documentary films and their subtitled and voice-over versions in Portuguese. It results from a doctorate pilot study conducted on the fixed language used in two available versions of a documentary originally in English, “The Real Da Vinci Code”, which was broadcast first in a subtitled version (in RTP2) and a week later in a voice-over version (in RTP1). It is my intention to show the way the many possible manifestations of fixed language – ranging from collocations to idiomatic expressions – are dealt with when the translator is working either for subtitling or for voice-over. I wish to question issues such as: did the translator identify an item of fixed language?; did the translator translate it or did s/he omit it?; did the translator attempt to foreignise it or domesticate it?; did the translator produce language which is natural to the viewer/ listener or does it sound unnatural