Reel fun: Improving your Subtitles

Reel Fun: Improving your Subtitles

Ana SalottiMA in Translation and Interpreting [email protected] Fun: Improving your Subtitles

Reel Fun: Improving your subs

Roadmap of my presentationFacts of the subtitling marketFundamentals in subtitling theory and practiceDiscuss bad subtitles Explain why See how we can improve themAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsSubtitling industry is huge, increasing and changing Widest audience possible Internet and video streaming platforms Subs are cheaper than dubbingand probably more effectiveOpportunitiesfor translatorsAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsLets face realities!Too many translators without trainingToo many fansubbers

Non-professional peopleGuided by instinct and passionOvernight Dont follow rulesInaccuracies BUT: We are prosToo quick to readWe are trained

Ana Salotti [email protected]


How I work:Online subtitling platformOpen-source subtitling softwareAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsAna Salotti [email protected] Workshop

Reel Fun: Improving your subsAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsWhat is a subtitle? Written text that accompanies and depends on audiovisual material

Foundations of subtitling theory& practice Walking cane Support Subs should be unobtrusive and efficientAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsSubtitles are a mix between ORAL and WRITTEN language

Different way of workingClose to attention to particular aspects


Translation of an oral event Viewer becomes an actual reader


Reading speedTimingLine breaksSubtitle dependency on AV contentConsistency with clients guidelinesAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsReading Speed Average adult reading speed15-20 characters per second Maximum length32-42 characters per line Max./Min. duration on screen no less than 1 second no more than 7 secondsMinimum gap between subs: 2 frames Milliseconds = 0.001 seconds25 fps = 25 frames per 1,000 milliseconds2 frames = 80 milliseconds


Reel Fun: Improving your subsAna Salotti [email protected] speed issues: video clip

Reel Fun: Improving your subs00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:24,164

Problems 2.5 seconds 61 characters 24.4 cps20 cps is ideal,but not needed every time Inaccuracy SolutionCondense


Reel Fun: Improving your subsReading speed problems can be corrected condensing info increasing the out timeUNLESS shot change

joining/dividing subsSolutionCorrect and condense Im in Vice As que Conjunction prepare for next sub Ana Salotti [email protected]

Como soy de Antivicio, Laguertame hizo subir a mi habitacin

Reel Fun: Improving your subs00:10:24,209 --> 00:10:25,522 Problems >1 second 35 characters 27 cpsSolutionFrom previous sub


y quedarme adentro

22 characters in 1 sec

Reel Fun: Improving your subs00:10:25,539 --> 00:10:28,143Problems 2.3 seconds 52 characters After 2 long subs Sarcasm lostSolutionNeed to unburden reader/viewerMore concise and clearer for sarcasm


Dios no quieraque te preste atencin

Reel Fun: Improving your subsAna Salotti [email protected] should not forget subtitle dependency on visual info.Here:

Never underestimate the viewers skills topick up visual andaudio cues

Reel Fun: Improving your subs00:11:10,531 --> 00:11:12,231Problems 1.7 seconds 40 characters 23 cpsSolutionCondenseMs tarde by luegoAlgunas ideas by ideas

Ana Salotti [email protected] puedo robarte ideas luego?

29 characters

Reel Fun: Improving your subs00:11:12,247 --> 00:11:14,252Problems 1.7 seconds 64 characters 32 cpsSolutionCondenseMaybe lose somethingTry replace long words by shorter ones.

Ana Salotti [email protected] me vuelvoms inteligente cuando hablamos49 characters

Reel Fun: Improving your subsReading speed overruling precision better for viewer to read the whole sub

If not: frustrating& tiring

Avoid at all costsAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsTo sum up Reading SpeedReader needs to finish reading understand in one reading in seconds

No complex syntaxLong words are to be avoidedCondenseNo interjections and onomatopoeic sounds Conjunctions, a luxury only if reading speed is not compromisedNo repetitions of wordsAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subs2. TIMING Should appear before the person opens their mouthShould disappear when they stop talkingOut-time may be adjustedto help reading speedExcept in a shot change

In-time cannot be adjusted to aid reading speed Ana Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsAna Salotti [email protected] issues: video clip

Reel Fun: Improving your subsNotice any mismatch? Any shot change where the subs didnt work?What about a quick succession of subtitles, jumping?

VisualSubSync will helpAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsVisualSubSyncAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsVisualSubSyncAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsJumping subs on VisualSubSyncAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsJumping subs on VisualSubSync: Closer lookAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsShot change: BeginningAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsShot change: EndAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsAnother aspect in Timing Quick-paced dialogues n-dash- Limited to one line per utterance

Another case:Ana Salotti [email protected]

- No puedes involucrarte emocionalmentecomo lo haces. - Siempre dices eso.

Either condenseOr create 2 subsSabes lo que pienso. No puedes involucrarte emocionalmente,cuando hay algn asesinato de mujeres.- Siempre dices eso.

Reel Fun: Improving your subsLINE BREAKS Dont divide any which way Break lines logically

Helps understandingDont end a line with: * prepositions* articles* pronouns*conjunctions* verb to be


Grammatically bound structures that form a unity should stay together

Reel Fun: Improving your subsBad line breaksBetter

Ana Salotti [email protected])No hay nada de sangre ni dentroni fuera del cuerpo.

2)Buscamos a undesgraciado ladrn traficante.

3)Es Doakes al nico quele provoco escalofros?

4)La vctima masculina estabaparada aqu.1)No hay nada de sangre ni dentro ni fuera del cuerpo.

2)Buscamosa un desgraciado ladrn traficante.

3)Es Doakes al nicoque le provoco escalofros?

4)La vctima masculinaestaba parada aqu.

Reel Fun: Improving your subsBad line breaksBetter

Ana Salotti [email protected])Entonces pasar yjugaremos cartas. Pquer?

6)La polica arrest ami valet favorito.

7)pero cuando sellega al acto puntualsiempre me parece tan......indignante.5)Entonces pasary jugaremos cartas. Pquer?

6)La polica detuvo a mi valet favorito.

7)pero cuando se llegaal acto puntualsiempre me parece tan......indignante.

Reel Fun: Improving your subs4. SUBTITLE DEPENDENCY ON MEDIAwritten text that supports AV materialAV gives subtitles their context Ana Salotti [email protected]

Never translate subtitles without watching the video

Reel Fun: Improving your subsTwo examples where the AV info was neglected1)ProblemNot paying attention to AVMaybe missing youSolutionAna Salotti [email protected]

Deberas aprender

Reel Fun: Improving your subsTwo examples where the AV info was neglected2) Short video clip


Reel Fun: Improving your subsTwo examples where the AV info was neglected2) ProblemNot considering AV context for be on my backSolutionAna Salotti [email protected]

Dicen que el nico modoen que puedo cerrar un caso

es boca arriba


Video, audio and subtitles as a unity

Wanna see the video clips with the revisions? Ana Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subs5. Clients subtitling guidelinesDifferent clients,different guidelines Max. characters per line Min. gap between subs Deal with n-dashes and ellipses differently Deal with swear words differentlyPrefer or not acronyms and abbreviations

The bottom line: Read and understand guidelines wellAna Salotti [email protected]

Reel Fun: Improving your subsFive Aspects to Pay Close Attention to Improve Quality: Reading speedTimingLine breaksSubtitle dependency on AV contentConsistency with clients guidelines

Thank you!Ana Salotti [email protected]

Reel fun: Improving your Subtitles

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