Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Why translate a text when what it needs is subtitling?
Poster: Jean Dimitriadis
Hello,
I sometimes receive texts/scripts to translate that are intended for use in video subtitles.
Well, I find this method highly impractical. It does not make any sense.
Why on earth separate the translation from the subtitling part?
How can you guarantee that the translation will be fit for purpose when the linguist doesn’t have access to the video and can’t take the required limitations (timing, characters per line, characters per second, etc.) into account? Or, even better, be able to tweak the time spotting for every language individually.
A corporate client might not understand the implications, or see the difference between translation and subtitling. But shouldn’t translation agencies know better and educate the client regarding the strategy to adopt?
For me, there will be no more translating text blocks when the purpose is to later integrate these text blocks into subtitles.
Processes do impact quality, and I just feel that separating the translation stage from the subtitling stage really hurts the final product, and requires double work.
What do you think?
[Edited at 2018-10-26 10:56 GMT]
[Edited at 2018-10-26 10:57 GMT]
Topic: Why translate a text when what it needs is subtitling?
Poster: Jean Dimitriadis
Hello,
I sometimes receive texts/scripts to translate that are intended for use in video subtitles.
Well, I find this method highly impractical. It does not make any sense.
Why on earth separate the translation from the subtitling part?
How can you guarantee that the translation will be fit for purpose when the linguist doesn’t have access to the video and can’t take the required limitations (timing, characters per line, characters per second, etc.) into account? Or, even better, be able to tweak the time spotting for every language individually.
A corporate client might not understand the implications, or see the difference between translation and subtitling. But shouldn’t translation agencies know better and educate the client regarding the strategy to adopt?
For me, there will be no more translating text blocks when the purpose is to later integrate these text blocks into subtitles.
Processes do impact quality, and I just feel that separating the translation stage from the subtitling stage really hurts the final product, and requires double work.
What do you think?
[Edited at 2018-10-26 10:56 GMT]
[Edited at 2018-10-26 10:57 GMT]