Subtitling software question Thread poster: Raquel Bragança
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Hello to you all!
I recently started in subtitling eng-port. As I did not have any previous experience I joined the local tv station as freelance and I am learning with someone with a long experience.
My question deals with software because we use PANDA Sub. System and the software I have heard about has the timecode (I hope I´m not wrong) and you just translate the film using that. The software we use for VHS is completely different. After translating the film... See more Hello to you all!
I recently started in subtitling eng-port. As I did not have any previous experience I joined the local tv station as freelance and I am learning with someone with a long experience.
My question deals with software because we use PANDA Sub. System and the software I have heard about has the timecode (I hope I´m not wrong) and you just translate the film using that. The software we use for VHS is completely different. After translating the film, we have to introduce the sub. while listening to the movie clicking on the keyboard, If we don't get it right, we have to go back to a frame where there was no sub. and start from there again.
Does anyone use this system? I would appreciate some advice how to get the task right with fewer mistakes.
Thanks
Kel ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jenns (X)
Local time: 19:30
English to French
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What other kinds of software are there in the market that you can buy online?
| | | | Nora Diaz 
Mexico
Local time: 18:30
Member (2002)
English to Spanish
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| You can do it all with your computer | May 25, 2007 |
I used to do what you're describing many years ago. It's a painstaking process and it takes forever, plus you have to be working with someone with video editing experience all the time.
I do occasional subtitling for direct clients, and now I do it entirely with my computer, and no longer need to work with a video editor (a person, I mean). If the source video is good quality, the end result is good quality as well. I make it clear to my clients that I can add subtitles to their vid... See more I used to do what you're describing many years ago. It's a painstaking process and it takes forever, plus you have to be working with someone with video editing experience all the time.
I do occasional subtitling for direct clients, and now I do it entirely with my computer, and no longer need to work with a video editor (a person, I mean). If the source video is good quality, the end result is good quality as well. I make it clear to my clients that I can add subtitles to their video, but I can't improve image quality. Having said that, I don't affect image quality either.
I use several software applications to do a subtitling job, and I'm sure what you use will depend on your needs and your hardware, but here's a list of the steps I follow (most of these tools are shareware and you can find them online by Googling them; the only one you need to buy is Nero):
1. Rip the DVD to my computer using DVD Shrink (or capture the video if the source is not a DVD).
2. Extract audio file
3. Translate, produce subtitles and timecode them using SubStation Alpha.
4. Convert subtitles to *.srt format using Subtitle Workshop
5. Convert *.srt subtitle file to *.sup file with SubtitleCreator.
6. Demultiplex original DVD using PgcDemux
7. Author new DVD using IfoEdit (this is the step where you actually add the subtitles you created in step 3)
8. Burn DVD with Nero
The end result is a DVD with selectable subtitles, that is, the user can enable or disable the subtitles with their remote.
Since it's a non-linear process, if there's something you don't like in the end result, or if you want to change a subtitle, you modify the subtitle file and redo step 7, then burn.
I hope that helps!
Nora ▲ Collapse
| | | | Raquel Bragança
Local time: 09:30
English to Portuguese
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TOPIC STARTER
Perhaps I did not explain myself clearly.
I have no choice of which software or hardware to use because it's what they have here in China. It's an in-house task, I only translate at home, everything else is completed at the tv station by me.
Nora, since you had the experience with that kind of subtitling, can you share with me some helpful hints on how to improve my performance?
Thank you a lot!
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Nora Diaz
Mexico
Local time: 18:30
Member (2002)
English to Spanish
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| Not much insight here, I'm afraid | May 26, 2007 |
Hi, Raquel,
Well, I'm afraid I can't be of much help, but I could try and tell you how I used to do it, and maybe you can compare with your current method.
When I used to do this, I would first watch the movie and write the translated text to a file. This took a looong time, because I simply watched the VHS tape, paused it, rewound it, etc., with a regular remote control and typed the target text into a file, phrase by phrase. This is one area where I can think of an im... See more Hi, Raquel,
Well, I'm afraid I can't be of much help, but I could try and tell you how I used to do it, and maybe you can compare with your current method.
When I used to do this, I would first watch the movie and write the translated text to a file. This took a looong time, because I simply watched the VHS tape, paused it, rewound it, etc., with a regular remote control and typed the target text into a file, phrase by phrase. This is one area where I can think of an improvement with current technology. Today I have a transcriptionist's pedal (easy to get, not too expensive), that you connect to a computer, and it lets you pause, rewind and fast forward the video so you can transcribe/translate more easily, since your hands are free and your foot helps control the video playback. I understand what you're saying about not having this available at your current workplace, but maybe that's a small investment you can make to make your life easier. I ordered my pedal online and it didn't cost more than 70 USD. By the way, a different type of pedal used to be available that you could connect to a tape player, and it would do something similar, maybe you can find one of those online.
Then, after I had the text file ready, the next thing I did was type caption by caption into a character generator. Like I said, this was many years ago, and the character generators we used had a limited memory, so you could only enter a limited number of captions, approximately 20 minutes of film, so after entering those captions into the text generator, which was basically just a keyboard with a memory that was connected to all the video equipment, the video editing person would run the tape and I would have to listen and hit a key every time a subtitle was supposed to appear on screen. Like you mention in your initial post, if I hit the key before or after I was supposed to, the video editor would have to rewind the tape to an appropriate point and we would start over from there.
Actually adding the subtitles to the video didn't take that long. What I always found to be the worst parts, timewise, was translating from the tape, first of all, and then having to retype all the text into the character generator. Of course you could watch the tape and enter the text directly into the character generator, but that would tie up the video editing equipment and the video editor during the translation process.
Nora ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mac Kissack (X)
Local time: 19:30
English to German
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| If found out we are neighbours | May 27, 2007 |
Hi, Nora.
Looking for some subtitling software I found a link to this discussion and noticed you live in México City.
I do to, more precisely in Naucalpan, close to the border to Delegación Miguel Hidalgo.
Hope to get to know you.
Have a nice time.
| | | | Nora Diaz
Mexico
Local time: 18:30
Member (2002)
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Not exactly in Mexico City | May 28, 2007 |
Hi, Mac,
I live in Mexico, but not in Mexico City. I'm in Chihuahua, close to the U.S.-Mexico border.
: )
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