Ask me anything about subtitling

Amel Abdullah wrote:

Is there a free software program I can download and use to learn subtitling? I am looking for something that includes adequate tutorials.

Mirta E. Tula wrote:

Hi Max,

First of all, thanks a lot for your willingness to share your knowledge. It is much appreciated.

I've always wondered where I could find free but solid material on the basics of subtitling such as
guidelines, the do's and the don'ts and so on.

Thank you again!
Cheers,
Mirta

Lauriso wrote:

Hi Max! That's very nice of you.

My question is regarding direct speech. I'm translating subtitles of a recorded theatre play, and there is a lot of direct speech. Should I translate it with all the grammar rules and punctuation?

For example

"There. Now I'm dead", / he thought.
VS
There. Now I'm dead, / he thought. (?)

Max Deryagin wrote:

I hope this subforum's other frequenters will give you more links to tutorials/guides/manuals related to subtitling.

Max Deryagin wrote:



Hi Lauriso,

Yes, you should use quotes, as it is more convenient for the viewer.

Also, please keep in mind that when it comes to theatrical plays, because of the (sometimes) high pace of speech, you'll have to condense your translations via synonymization, paraphrasing, idiomization and omission, so that your viewers could keep up with the rapidly changing subtitles.

Lauriso wrote:

Thanks Max, but what about direct speech that's stretched over many lines? Should I put every line in quotations marks, or just add them at the beginning and end of a certain character talking?

Also, often there are long dialogues uninterrupted by the narrator, and then they turn to thoughts, which are still "spoken" by the character. It's a little confusing.

Also, this thread might turn too complicated in time.

Max Deryagin wrote:



Hi Mirta,

There are a number of different kinds of subtitles which come in different media (e.g. TV, DVD, Web, cinema, venues etc.), and so there are different guidelines to learn and follow.

If we're talking about intralingual subtitling/captioning (=transcription of the audio portion of a video intended for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), then there are lots of cool manuals and guides. My favorites are

1. DCMP Captioning Key: http://www.captioningkey.org/
2. CAB Protocol: http://www.cab-acr.ca/english/social/captioning/captioning.pdf
3. BBC's Editorial Guidelines: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/futuremedia/accessibility/subtitling_guides/online_sub_editorial_guidelines_vs1_1.pdf
4. Ofcom's Guidelines (quite outdated but still a good read): http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/itc/itc_publications/codes_guidance/standards_for_subtitling/index.asp.html

When it comes to interlingual subtitling (=textual translation of the words spoken, sung or shown in a video into the native language of the intended audience), I don't know of free comprehensive guides or manuals. Much of what you'll read in the aforementioned guides for captioning also applies to intralingual subtitling, but the rest is rather difficult to pinpoint. I suggest that you read through subtitling-related articles in JoSTrans: http://www.jostrans.org/index.php (use the search field to find them). There are more than two dozen articles about subtitle translation there; reading them will give you a fairly good idea of the inner works of this translation field.

I hope this subforum's other frequenters will give you more links to tutorials/guides/manuals related to subtitling.

[Edited at 2015-03-21 11:56 GMT]

Ana Guimaraes wrote:

Hi,
I have a question about subtitling rates in the USA. Does anyone know how much translators get paid in US dollars? I mean, a junior translator rate to a senior one.
Thanks
Ana Carla