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Subtitle Workshop: how to save line breaks | Subtitle Workshop version?

May 22, 2016, 11:56 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Subtitle Workshop: how to save line breaks
Poster: José Henrique Lamensdorf
Post title: Subtitle Workshop version?

I know of three major SW versions:
v2.51 - from Uruguay - still works fine, but a bit old
V4.0 - from Uruguay - an attempted rewrite from scratch, does NOT work well, incomplete
V6.0 - from Bulgaria - IMO the best currently available

My usual m.o. is SSA.
After a long "parameters preamble", two subtitles look like this (two lines only - I've added a line between them for you to see) on the Windows Notepad:

[b]Dialogue: Marked=0,0:00:35.49,0:00:38.26,Default,NTP,0000,0000,0000,!Effect,A paixão pela invenção\Nnunca morre.

Dialogue: Marked=0,0:00:38.39,0:00:41.83,Default,NTP,0000,0000,0000,!Effect,É divertido imaginar alguma coisa\Ne depois criá-la de verdade.[/b]

The line break char is obviously \N

I saved that same file as SRT. The same pair of subtitles looks like this (no extra lines added) on the Windows Notepad:

[b]2
00:00:35,490 --> 00:00:38,260
A paixão pela invenção
nunca morre.

3
00:00:38,390 --> 00:00:41,830
É divertido imaginar alguma coisa
e depois criá-la de verdade.[/b]

So the line break char is a hard [Enter].

In the SW window, on the subtitles list, the line break char is the | ("pipeline") char, in ABNT2 keyboards Shift+\. In the text box below, it's a standard line break [Enter]. This applies to both (SSA/SRT) file formats, as well as any other. If you don't see them, you won't get them.

Some players and subtitle burning software programs will break long subtitles if you configure them to do so.

Hope this sheds some light.
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Subtitle Workshop: how to save line breaks | Subtitle Workshop File Formats

May 22, 2016, 1:20 pm
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Subtitle Workshop: how to save line breaks
Poster: Janaina Ribeiro
Post title: Subtitle Workshop File Formats

Dear Max and José,

Thank you so much for your help and support.

By the way, I am using the 6.0 version. I saved the file as 2.0 Sub Reviewer and it worked fine, the breaks were saved when I reopened the file.

Now, I don't know if there will be any problem as the format saved was *.sub.srf .

The agency asked me to deliver it in a *.sub format.

Do you have any idea if this might get in the way of opening the subtitles in a different software application?

Thanks again, hoping to master this software cause I am so addicted to subtitling already!
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Feedback from translator / subtitlers

May 25, 2016, 8:45 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Feedback from translator / subtitlers
Poster: diogobarroso

I'm finishing a Master's degree in Translation and Subtitling and I would need some feedback from professional subtitlers on some questions about the reality of the job, since I would like to include that input on my thesis. Any opinion, even if short, is highly valuable for me. Thank you!

- How does the translation/subtitling industry operates in terms of supply and demand?

- Who are the main clients for a freelance translator/subtitler?

- Ups and downs of working as a freelancer in this area? (income, deadlines, amount of work, etc.).

- What are the main difficulties for professionals in this area?

- What is your favourite working method? (in terms of working phase sequence)

- Are translator/subtitlers underpaid? Why? How to fight that?

Thank you very much for your attention!

Diogo Barroso
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Feedback from translator / subtitlers | Response

May 25, 2016, 10:01 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Feedback from translator / subtitlers
Poster: José Henrique Lamensdorf
Post title: Response

[quote]diogobarroso wrote:
- How does the translation/subtitling industry operates in terms of supply and demand?[/quote]

There is excessive underqualified supply.
All too often I see translators posting on forums (e.g. Proz, Facebook etc.) questions like:
[*] I've been hired to subtitle a video. How do I get started?
[*] I just love movies! As a translator, I'd like to get into subtitling. What software would do it for me?
[*] How much do you guys charge to translate & subtitle a video? (... assuming that they don't have to learn anything to do it)

Fansubbers abound. As they give the output from their hobby for free, make it available online for download, they don't get feedback, and consequently their quality cannot be expected to improve.

There are two major markets I know of: movies/TV and corporate.

[b]Movies/TV[/b] is mostly concerned, of course, with feature films and TV series/programs distributed worldwide, in many languages at a time. The only way to make their subtitling feasible is by means of templates, i.e. transcribed and pre-spotted subtitles for translation.

Though this compromises quality, it is the only economical solution for more than 3-4 different target languages. Translators work mostly on text, while following (and sometimes not) the video.

[b]Corporate[/b] video comes mostly from companies whose core business does not include video production. Most often their subsidiaries overseas will ousource subtitling of their institutional, training, product launch, etc. videos for local use.

In this case, a script is seldom available, and the highest quality is paramount. Subtitlers work directly from the video alone.

Of course, there is a wide gradient between one and the other, and anything may happen there.

[quote]- Who are the main clients for a freelance translator/subtitler?[/quote]

Subtitling studios, TV networks or stations, video producers, training companies, corporations.

[quote]- Ups and downs of working as a freelancer in this area? (income, deadlines, amount of work, etc.).[/quote]

Varying demand at decent rates vs. unlimited demand at low rates.
Feast and famine cycles all the time.

Sometimes absurd demands from people who have no clue on what it takes.

Worst example ever was someone from a TV station who called me at 9:00 AM, saying [i]"I have a 60-minute documentary in English, which must be aired today at 5:00 PM today, subtitled in Portuguese. We know it's hard to do in such a short time, but the sponsor is willing to pay any generously reasonable amount to have it done by then."[/i] I told him that it would take me AT LEAST six hours to translate, AT LEAST two hours to spot, which is enough to use all the time available. No time left for downloading and later uploading, and even if I covered my CPU with gold, it would take a quite a while to render the subtitles. So, no deal!

Clients, of course, strive for the lowest rates. Good clients now and then take a stab at a cheaper translator, get into trouble, and then say [i]"Never again!"[/i] A few years later they'll have forgotten the incident, and will do it again.

[quote]- What are the main difficulties for professionals in this area?[/quote]

- Poor quality videos
- Clients thinking "it must be easy", if there are so many fansubbers everywhere
- People offering sloppy work for peanuts
- TV networks accepting sloppy work because the sponsors will pay the same anyway
- No universal standards for subtitling, in spite of some crazy "theoretical" rules
- Abusively priced software vs. superb freeware available

[quote]- What is your favourite working method? (in terms of working phase sequence)[/quote]

I came from the translation for dubbing realm; worked there for 17 years before venturing into subtitling. No special reason, just opportunity and demand. I specialize in corporate video, do feature films and TV series only now and then.

So my m.o. for subtitling was adapted from translation for dubbing (where my mission ends when I have a dubbing script).
1. Translation - using Express Scribe & the Windows Notepad, already working on conciseness and subtitle breaks.
2. Converting TXT into SSA - using Media Subtitler; takes a snap, but solves any charset issues.
3. Rough time spotting and line-breaking - using Subtitle Workshop; includes spell checking, reviewing, further conciseness.
4. Fine time spotting - using Subtitle Edit.
5. Burning - using Virtual Dub and Lee Avery's Subtitler plugin.

[quote]- Are translator/subtitlers underpaid? Why? How to fight that?[/quote]

I'm sure they are (underpaid) from the output I often see on cable TV.

The most likely reason IMO is that sponsors don't include in their media agreements any clause on subtitling quality. If the spectator can't understand squat because of poor translation/subtitling, moves to another channel as soon as the first intermission comes up, and therefore misses all the other ads from the sponsor there, the latter will pay the network exactly the same.

The only way I see to fight that is with quality, but few companies see a reason for high quality in subtitles.
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Feedback from translator / subtitlers | Thank you!

May 26, 2016, 3:22 pm
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Feedback from translator / subtitlers
Poster: diogobarroso
Post title: Thank you!

José Henrique, muito obrigado pelo seu feedback!

I work for a dubbing/subtitling company in Portugal and I deal with pretty much the same issues you have mentioned. This job is definitely underpaid for the amount of work it takes and I'm trying to figure out if there is any possible idea on how to improve rates and quality within this field (there's obviously high demand), such as some sort of professional regulation that could establish specific standards for subtitling.

Also, when you work for the Movies/TV market, I assume that you work for an intermediary company that provides you the scripts and videos, or is it possible to work as a freelancer directly with that industry? (provided you have good connections maybe?)
The main TV channels in Portugal, as anywhere else, have their own subtitling crew.

When you talk about "templates", you mean the scripts with entry times?

Once again, thank you for your answers!
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Swift Softel and Windows 10

June 15, 2016, 1:22 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Swift Softel and Windows 10
Poster: Faustine Roux

Hello to subtitlers,

Do any of you know whether Swift Create by Softel/Miranda is compatible with Windows 10 ?
My old computer (Windows 7) switched to Windows 10 without my consent, and I am worried my work PC will do the same eventually.
I work with Swift v6.054, if that helps.

Thank you for your answers.

PS: I'd call the hotline, but since they merged with Grass Valley, they are a little bit difficult to reach.
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Swift Softel and Windows 10 | (it might still be possible to revert back to Windows 7)

June 15, 2016, 1:54 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Swift Softel and Windows 10
Poster: Michael J.W. Beijer
Post title: (it might still be possible to revert back to Windows 7)

[quote]Faustine Roux wrote:

Hello to subtitlers,

Do any of you know whether Swift Create by Softel/Miranda is compatible with Windows 10 ?
My old computer (Windows 7) switched to Windows 10 without my consent, and I am worried my work PC will do the same eventually.
I work with Swift v6.054, if that helps.

Thank you for your answers.

PS: I'd call the hotline, but since they merged with Grass Valley, they are a little bit difficult to reach. [/quote]

Slightly off-topic perhaps, but if you still have the following folder on your computer:

C:\Windows.old

… you might still be able to revert back to Windows 7!

Michael
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Swift Softel and Windows 10 | How to prevent Windows 10 "update"

June 15, 2016, 2:26 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Swift Softel and Windows 10
Poster: Sven Petersson
Post title: How to prevent Windows 10 "update"

Use the GWX Control Panel!
[url removed]
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Swift Softel and Windows 10 | Thank you, but...

June 15, 2016, 2:39 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Swift Softel and Windows 10
Poster: Faustine Roux
Post title: Thank you, but...

Thank you for the information on how to stop Windows 10, but I'm afraid I'm not a IT specialist and I don't like messing with the programs in my computer.
I am just wondering if Swift is compatible with Windows 10.
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Eng. Closed Caption Freelance Rates

June 19, 2016, 3:58 pm
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Eng. Closed Caption Freelance Rates
Poster: seelybeely

Hello everyone,

I'm a closed captioner with a years experience, and I just purchased my own Swift-Create License for L21 - 608/708 Closed Captions in order to do freelance work remotely for the two captioning companies I used to work at across the country (US). I notice a lot of posts asking about a typical freelance subtitle rates, but couldn't find one specific to captioning so I thought I'd pose the question to you all about the following:

Generally speaking, the types of videos I'd be doing caption work would be: films, scripted TV, reality TV, and documentaries. With that in mind, how much would you personally charge a company (both per video-minute AND hourly) to:
a) Originate English closed captions for those four genres. And how much for each of those?
b) Reformatting old, English closed caption files.
c) QC-ing English closed caption files.

If this has been answered already, feel free to link me to a different thread on this message board. But if I could get a direct response to these specific questions I'd be super grateful.

Have a great day!
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TranStation experts? | I need some help with transtation

June 20, 2016, 8:09 pm
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: TranStation experts?
Poster: NestorRasgado
Post title: I need some help with transtation

Apparently it is an easy to use program, but I just can¿t use it properly.
How do I merge the subs with the video?
I already did the spotting but the subs just don't appear on the screen.
Can anybody help? I've tried everything.
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Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently

June 21, 2016, 9:19 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently
Poster: Brooke Cochran

I have been working for a client for a few months and my speed has certainly increased. BUT I saw posts here that say some people can translate ten minutes of video in one hour which is WAY more efficient!

I thought I worked pretty efficiently, but, to hear that others work faster... Well, I'm fascinated.

Do you have any tips? Software you use? A method you love?

For me, I translate in Excel with the ST in one column and the TT in another and a column containing a character count formula. And just type away, lots of backspacing and revising, though, to make things match. Of course, I have the video open, too, and compare my translation with it throughout the process.

It currently takes me about four hours to provide a solid, proofread, final version of ten minutes of video. Note: I'm working with a time coded script in the source language, so I translate into to the target language and make sure the characters, line breaks, etc. match the provided time code and will read smoothly.
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Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently | Don't rush it.

June 22, 2016, 4:13 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently
Poster: Faustine Roux
Post title: Don't rush it.

I doubt those who subtitle 10 minutes of video per hour are producing good subtitles.
It takes time to find the right translation, with the right meaning, style, register, while making sure it will be easy to read, not cross any shot change unnecessarily, follow the rhythm of the film, etc.

Subtitling is not "just writing a translation at the bottom of a screen". It's much more than that and it takes time to do it well. Professional subtitling software will enable you to produce accurately timed subtitles and to check your reading speed. They don't "help you be faster", they are necessary to do a good job, provided you already know how to produce good subtitles.

Translating a maximum of 5 min of video per hour is acceptable, and quite fast to be honest. If it's not profitable, charge a higher rate or find new clients.

I hope that helps.
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Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently | Faustine 's right

June 22, 2016, 4:40 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently
Poster: Sylvano
Post title: Faustine 's right

Subtitles should be made (cueing + translating/typing) using a software dedicated to subtitling. With this, you can set a lot of things (cps, fps, min and max durations, line length, etc.) and, above all, check in real time the result of what you're doing and whether it works, on-screen, while you play the video.
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Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently | -

June 22, 2016, 6:26 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently
Poster: Max Deryagin
Post title: -

[quote]Brooke Cochran wrote:

I have been working for a client for a few months and my speed has certainly increased. BUT I saw posts here that say some people can translate ten minutes of video in one hour which is WAY more efficient!

I thought I worked pretty efficiently, but, to hear that others work faster... Well, I'm fascinated.

Do you have any tips? Software you use? A method you love?

For me, I translate in Excel with the ST in one column and the TT in another and a column containing a character count formula. And just type away, lots of backspacing and revising, though, to make things match. Of course, I have the video open, too, and compare my translation with it throughout the process.

It currently takes me about four hours to provide a solid, proofread, final version of ten minutes of video. Note: I'm working with a time coded script in the source language, so I translate into to the target language and make sure the characters, line breaks, etc. match the provided time code and will read smoothly. [/quote]

Hi Brooke,

It is only possible to translate 10 minutes of video material per hour if you do corporate with terminology that you know by heart. You can manage it because, as opposed to films, there is no symbolism, no allusions, no change of register/mood/rhythm, no stylization for different historical periods etc. Plus, the spotting requirements are much more relaxed, which means you don't have to condense as much or stress about shot changes. All the major challenges of film translation are not present, so you can just type away.

For anything non-corporate, I would say that even 5 minutes an hour is quite a stretch, but it depends on the material at hand.

And yes, professional software significantly speeds up the process by semi-automating the "backspacing and revising" part.

[Edited at 2016-06-22 13:28 GMT]
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Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently | Agree.

June 22, 2016, 11:22 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently
Poster: Lingua 5B
Post title: Agree.

[quote]Faustine Roux wrote:

I doubt those who subtitle 10 minutes of video per hour are producing good subtitles.
It takes time to find the right translation, with the right meaning, style, register, while making sure it will be easy to read, not cross any shot change unnecessarily, follow the rhythm of the film, etc.

Subtitling is not "just writing a translation at the bottom of a screen". It's much more than that and it takes time to do it well. Professional subtitling software will enable you to produce accurately timed subtitles and to check your reading speed. They don't "help you be faster", they are necessary to do a good job, provided you already know how to produce good subtitles.

Translating a maximum of 5 min of video per hour is acceptable, and quite fast to be honest. If it's not profitable, charge a higher rate or find new clients.

I hope that helps. [/quote]

And for this complex and comprehensive process I am constantly being offered $2 per video minute, which is why I never do subtitling projects.
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Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently | Tips for translating subtitles more efficiently

June 23, 2016, 3:45 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently
Poster: Kalyanasundar subramaniam
Post title: Tips for translating subtitles more efficiently

I agree with Sylvano . You must use a dedicated subtitle software .That would solve many of your problems. I would suggest you to use Subtitle Edit . This is an open source software,where you can have the Original subtitle with time code and the translated subtitle in the same page side by side . The translated subtitle would use the original time codes . You can save the file in many different types of subtitle formats and time formats.In Subtitle Edit you can set your requirements like characters per line,line breaks, minimum duration ,maximum duration,minimum time lag between subtitles etc.If you exceed the limit set by you it would give an alarm by changing the color of the text.

I am from India .I do 15 minutes of video/film subtitling in one hour. I hope this reply would help you.
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Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently | Thanks

June 23, 2016, 9:34 pm
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Tips for Translating Subtitles More Efficiently
Poster: Brooke Cochran
Post title: Thanks

Thank you to everyone for your input!

I started working with subtitling software today.

I wasn't sure how it would work, since I'm not being paid to do the spotting/cuing/timecoding, but it really is making things easier and faster.
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Swift Softel and Windows 10 | It does work

June 28, 2016, 2:42 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Swift Softel and Windows 10
Poster: kmtext
Post title: It does work

Hi, Faustine,

I've been using Swift (V6 & V8) with Windows 10 for a few months now with no major issues. I've actually had more problems with V8 due to the usual insufficient testing before release and lack of support after!

V6 still works as well as ever though.
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Swift Softel and Windows 10 | Thank you

June 28, 2016, 9:33 am
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Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Swift Softel and Windows 10
Poster: Faustine Roux
Post title: Thank you

Thank you! That's reassuring.
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