Code of Good Subtitling Practice – Part 2
11) Given the fact that many TV viewers are hearing-impaired, “superfluous” information, such as names, interjections from the off, etc., should also be subtitled.
12) Songs must be subtitled where relevant.
13) Obvious repetition of names and common comprehensible phrases need not always be subtitled.
14) The in- and out-times of subtitles must follow the speech rhythm of the film dialogue, taking cuts and sound bridges into consideration.
15) Language distribution within and over subtitles must consider cuts and sound bridges; the subtitles must underline surprise or suspense and in no way undermine it.
16) The duration of all subtitles within a production must adhere to a regular viewer reading rhythm.
17) Spotting must reflect the rhythm of the film.
18) No subtitle should appear for less than one second or, with the exception of songs, stay on the screen for longer than seven seconds.
19) The number of lines in any subtitle must be limited to two.
20) Wherever two lines of unequal length are used, the upper line should preferably be shorter to keep as much of the image free as possible and in left-justified subtitles in order to reduce unnecessary eye movement.
Code of Good Subtitling Practice
On this post, I will be giving 10 tips on good subtitling practice. Everyone is free to share their ideas and comment.
1) Subtitlers must always work with a (video, DVD, etc.) copy of the production and if possible, should have a copy of the dialogue list and a glossary of unusual words, names and special references. Read more…
New Updates on My Deviant Art Page
I’ve been longing to add some new pictures on my Deviant Art page, so I’ve decided to search for my old picture files. Since after office hours, I get to have a few minutes to relax and read feeds, it is also a time when I upload some art stuff on my page.I also want to share some of my pictures on this blog.
Feel free to visit my deviant art page.
Exciting Way to Check for Errors
Proofreading need not always be terrifying. It’s a chance to improve your skills and develop a positive attitude.
In the office, we’ve made proofreading more exciting by compiling a list of common errors.
We then use it for future reference and make a good laugh out of unique ones like Incredible Huck instead of Incredible Hulk and yolk instead of yoke.
A Faster Way to Translate
Because of the demand and time pressure we experience during translation, our Supervisors decided to accelerate the translation process by using live voice translation as a means to pre-translate a video. This is helpful by eliminating the time consumed on actual translation process. It can also simplify the translation and concentrate more on the target audience.
How to Speed up the Translation Process
This past few weeks, often we see ourselves on rush to beat our deadline. In the past, I can remember sleepless nights just to finish a single project, but thank God we are able to speed up the process. We held meetings and seminars to iron out the problems. During those meetings, we formulated ways to speed up the process and to increase the quality of our work. Suggestions came in concerning proper distribution of tasks, translation seminars and many more. I tell you they were never easy.
Speeding up the translation process is like a big department store. You need to create different sections of concern. Imagine yourself in a mall looking for some items like clothes, shoes, and bags. There are different sections for children clothes and teen clothes. Very much like transcription and translation. You need to have a different teams working on transcription and translation. As they say, experts on that field. You can be able to train master transcribers able to type at lightning speeds.
In your average bookstore, books are grouped per category. You have a different section for children’s books and adult books and even games for kids. They are grouped per subject and category. Translations can also be grouped per category, basically per language. We have different translators per program to familiarize the translator. We created teams who will be responsible for a specific program. We don’t mix them up so we will not create troubles during deadlines.
We Always Prepare After the Worst
This is just another personal observation.
We all know the effects of the recent typhoons that flooded major parts of Luzon in the Philippines.
I’ve read a couple of news articles blaming the government for what happened. While others blame themselves. I did not write this to blame anyone, but I just want to express my feeling by asking a couple of question and just answer them in our hearts.
Have we done our best to prepare for the worst? Do we practice safety precautions and practice safety procedures? Are we preparing ourselves for disaster and calamities?
Let us start asking ourselves before blaming anyone. Let us start thinking ahead and prepare.
After we’ve witnessed the aftermath of these things, do we just prepare after the worst?
Updates – Passport Delivery Service
We all love shortcuts, the fact that we have instant coffee and instant noodles is because we want it fast and affordable.
Before, if you want to get a passport, it means a whole day of standing in line and waiting, but not anymore. Just recently, Pilipinas Teleserv opened a new option that changes everything.
It’s called DFA Express Passport Delivery Service. Not all Filipinos are aware of the service. The long queues explain everything.
I tried the service third week of August and I had my passport delivered yesterday, September 12, roughly two weeks.
The good:
1. You just need to go to DFA just once for your signature and thumb print.
2. No more waiting, I only spent 30 minutes, if it had not been for my yellowish picture, I’m done in just 20.
Although a bit pricey than the usual, it saves you time and energy for the long queues.
Who’s the True You?
I’ve been wonderin’, back in the old times, there are no such thing as identification cards or I.D.’s. When I say old, I mean the primitive times when paper is not readily available.
Yes, I know that I.D.’s help prove the identity of a person. But now, it seems that I.D.’s are more important than the person who carry them.
I thought about it when my friend had a hard time with a bank transaction. It’s normal for banks to ask for I.D.’s for proper identification, and he did provide his birth certificate for he had nothing. Funny thing is, the teller had this remark: “So, you’re not citizen of this country.” Why? Does having an ID prove you are? I’m just asking.
In our country, your most credible identification is your passport. But let me remind you, you can’t get a passport without providing 2 other I.D.’s. In that case, you need a driver’s license and a company I.D. But what if you don’t have a company I.D.? Yes, that’s a problem. You can’t have a passport. So you need a driver’s license. But there are also requirements on getting a driver’s license. It seems, having one I.D. is a never-ending battle. One document leading to another.
I’m not against I.D.’s, I just don’t like how you get them. Can we just have one universal I.D. to simplify everything? Just a thought. Maybe it’s possible. Between your I.D. and you, I was just thinking’ who’s the true you?
