Ever been impatient to the point of settling for a poor fan subbing that ruined your love for a show? We all have. Thinking of relying on automated subtitles for your next recorded conference? Think twice. There is more to a bad viewing experience than translation mistakes, so beware: your bilingual tech-savvy 20-year-old cousin may not give you the expected results. Here are 8 reasons why you should hire a professional translator specialized in subtitling.
1. Everything can be subtitled
TV shows, movies, documentaries, corporate videos, product presentations, interviews… Despite being different, they all have one thing in common: they can talk about ANYTHING. Subtitles being a medium and not a topic, there are just as many fields as there are things in life. Therefore, the content may be technical and imply a specialized lingo you need to know or be able to find for accuracy. And only a linguist knows how to properly search for and use the right terminology.
2. The perfect translation is not (always) the perfect solution
One idea can be expressed a million different ways. And sometimes, you will find the greatest formulation without being able to use it because of constraints such as limited space or high talking speed. In this case, the subtitler needs to skillfully play with words to come up with a shorter solution that will faithfully deliver the message in a natural manner.
3. To tell or not to tell
In order to stay concise at all times, the subtitling expert needs to be able to identify the elements that are pertinent to the plot. All irrelevant information must be ignored whenever there is not enough time or space to write everything down. Preserving the comfort of the viewing experience is one of the linguist’s priorities.
4. The rules you shall not break
Ever wondered why it was so easy for you to follow a text while enjoying fully all the action onscreen?
Subtitles are not some random words placed one after the other that are divided in two lines when space runs out. Syntactic and grammatical rules allow the line breaks to “make sense”, quite literally. Guidelines and protocols are essential to offer you a comfortable reading experience.
If this subtitle is
clear and easy to read,
This one is a
bit of a mess.
5. Decisions and creativity
Humor and cultural references are very common in movies and TV shows. These elements are essential for the full enjoyment and/or understanding of a program. As one cannot explain them in a footnote like in any regular text, decisions must be made. Should I stay loyal to the original? Should I adapt to my target audience? Should I make something up? One bad move can ruin the immersion into a feature. That is why a professional audiovisual translator knows how to analyze a variety of situations and choose what is best for the viewers.
6. The right place at the right time
Subtitles are not just boxes appearing at the bottom center of the screen. If they appear simultaneously to the speaker’s speech, the image matters as well. Different factors will impact their placement like shot changes, or important onscreen elements such as a billboard or a mouth. Subtitles are an aid to the image and should never overlap or jeopardize its understanding. That is why they can be placed on top of the screen when applicable, or right under the speaker if they appear on the screen in the case of subtitling for the hearing impaired.
7. The subtitler, a tech-savvy expert
In audiovisual translation, being an excellent translator and knowing the subtitling protocols is not enough. Subtitlingsoftware are a major part of this technical task that may require some training before you master all their features. Characters per line, reading speed, frames per second… No detail must be left to chance. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to use tools such as Aegisub, EZTitles, or be ready to adapt to a company’s own subtitling program.
8. Step by step
Finally, after all that reading, you’ll guess it: the subtitling process takes a lot of time!
The perfect scenario is divided in 5 steps:
- A preliminary viewing to better understand the content of the video, the tone, and the plot and relationships between the characters if it is a fiction. This might seem unnecessary, but it will significantly accelerate the translation process and ensure accuracy.
- The transcription of the interventions and onscreen text (if no script is provided). This step can be extremely time-consuming based on the quality of the audio, the ability to distinguish all speakers (fiction vs reality and TV shows), the talking speed, and finally, the language. The transcription of a one-hour interview can take up to 6 hours when completed in good conditions.
- The spotting, which consists in dividing the transcription into segments, based on the time and duration of the intervention, as well as shot changes.
- The translation of the transcription, thoroughly following the previously created segments, as well as time and space limitations.
- The global reviewing of the subtitling, to correct potential errors, guarantee consistency in tone and terminology, and verify that the spotting provides a comfortable viewing experience.
Conclusion
Subtitling is a complex exercise that requires both linguistic and technical skills, as well as a logical and creative mind. It is important to be aware of the know-how and time needed to produce high-quality subtitles. These two factors will have a strong impact on the quality and response to your materials, so make sure they do not turn into bad advertising!
Bonus: subtitling your videos will improve your SEO, so now is the time to consider it.
Why not discuss together your project and how it would benefit from a high-quality tailor-made subtitling? Do not hesitate to contact me: I will gladly share my experience with you and help you make the most of it