SUBTITLE - AUDIO - VOICE OVER - Thread poster: Isabelle Bruno
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Hello,
I have just finished a course in Subtitle and voice over.
I am sending C.V etc...and I am looking for project movies / series / conferences / etc...
It will French / Spanish or / and English.
In order to find agencies etc... what it is the best way to look :
Production Agency - subtitle etc..?
I will appreciate if you could give tips indor to send my C.V and get project...
Many thanks,
| | | | | This is a different market | Oct 18, 2015 |
Most of the translation agencies you'll find here on Proz know next to nothing about video.
Now and then they'll get video dubbing/subtitling assignments from their regular (text) translation clients, and the PM won't know how to ask the right questions. If you give them the right questions to ask, they'll often misunderstand - or not understand at all - the answers.
In all these years, I only had ONE case of a translation agency PM who got so enthusiastic about it, wh... See more Most of the translation agencies you'll find here on Proz know next to nothing about video.
Now and then they'll get video dubbing/subtitling assignments from their regular (text) translation clients, and the PM won't know how to ask the right questions. If you give them the right questions to ask, they'll often misunderstand - or not understand at all - the answers.
In all these years, I only had ONE case of a translation agency PM who got so enthusiastic about it, when we had a large project involving video editing (inserting numerous translated PPT slides in the raw video), dubbing in two languages, and interactive DVD authoring that, when we were through, he bought professional level software, and said he'd be converting all his family videos into watchable film productions.
All others are handing me over clueless requests from even more clueless clients who need to show some company video in a different language. These are corporate clients whose affairs do NOT involve video production; it is outsourced. In these cases, they'll require a turn-key service. If you don't go the whole nine yards in video, get partnered with people who can supplement your offer.
To give you the picture, after almost 30 years translating for dubbing (where I started), I don't do VO myself, not even recording with external talent. I have reliable, high quality partners to take care of that, some are still the same since my day one. On the other hand, in subtitling, since 2004 I've been personally covering all the possible services involved.
Then there are subtitling studios. In most cases they'll be working into several languages, so they'll ask you to translate on pre-transcribed, pre-segmented, pre-timed "templates". Of course, the pay there is a small fraction of what you get with corporate video, however the volume is ominous, and your productivity should be significantly higher.
How do you find them?
The first group will find you, if you offer uncompromising quality. This takes practice, however you can climb the learning curve faster if you work for someone more experienced who can make up for your beginner's mistakes.
You can join the second group if you accept their low rates, while delivering something that isn't too much below acceptable. Over time you'll get practice, and might improve your income very gradually.
You may find some material worth reading here. Most of it was written for the clueless clients in the first group above. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Isabelle Bruno 
Spain
Local time: 17:11
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | SUBTITLE - AUDIO - VOICE OVER - | Oct 18, 2015 |
Dear José,
First of all, thank you very much for your answer.
Could you give more information of meaning of each of those ones :
pre-transcribed-
pre-segmented
pre-timed "template.
What do you mena by PM ?
Many thanks indvance ?
Isabelle.
| | | | | What were you taught in that course? | Oct 18, 2015 |
Isabelle Bruno wrote:
Could you give more information of meaning of each of those ones :
pre-transcribed-
pre-segmented
pre-timed "template.
What do you mena by PM ?
My m.o. (corporate video) means that I'll get a digital video file (e.g. mpg, avi, etc.) or a DVD. I'll translate and time-spot it to get a subtitles file (e.g. srt, ssa, etc.), and then I'll burn these subs onto the video, to generate a subtitled digital video file or a DVD.
I work either way between EN and PT. Sometimes clients ask me to include (from/to) ES too, so I outsource that translation to a colleague, however translating and subtitling a video into TWO languages most always doubles the total cost.
Subtitling studios do it for many different languages at once, so they must try to cut costs by 'industrializing' the process. They get one person to transcribe the video in its original language, chop the script into subtitle-size chunks, time-spot this script, and build a table, usually on some MS-Word file or other format they can later convert automatically into the subtitles file of their choice. This is a subtitling 'template', a table with the following columns:
- subtitle reference number (optional, but most include it)
- time in
- time out
- subtitle
- (rare, optional) comments
Theoretically, one could use machine translation, perhaps PEMT, or maybe do it without ever watching the film. Considering the despicable rates some players in this trade offer, it might be the sanest thing to do. However there seems to be enough desperate, starving translators around to accept these rates. I can't name names here, though.
I had the privilege of translating many videos on templates for one of the very few (if subtitling studios that really cares about translation quality. To give you an idea, they pay per minute of playing time almost half of what I charge for translation (only) in my usual m.o. Most such studios pay considerably less. So you can do the math.
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Isabelle Bruno
Spain
Local time: 17:11
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | SOFWARE USED FOR SUBTITLE - | Oct 21, 2015 |
Hello Jose,
Many thanks for your answer, I have one more question.
I have one more question when programs most used as asked from small or big agencies.
During the course I have used SRT ( which has its limitations).
I know there are EZTitles, FAB, Spot Software or others.
Which one are most used ? or I must have for the future and focus on ?
Many thanks,
Isabelle
| | | | | On software... | Oct 21, 2015 |
Most translation agencies don't know squat about video, including subtitling. They'll either request a specific subtitle format their and-client has specified, or they'll want a complete, subtitled video.
If you intend to deliver the complete job, you'll have to use the file format your burning or DVD authoring software accepts.
There is plenty of good freeware, like Subtitle Workshop, Subtitle Edit, Media Subtitler and a bunch of others for time-spotting. They cover ab... See more Most translation agencies don't know squat about video, including subtitling. They'll either request a specific subtitle format their and-client has specified, or they'll want a complete, subtitled video.
If you intend to deliver the complete job, you'll have to use the file format your burning or DVD authoring software accepts.
There is plenty of good freeware, like Subtitle Workshop, Subtitle Edit, Media Subtitler and a bunch of others for time-spotting. They cover about 60 popular subtitle formats.
Spot carries a USD 4-digit price tag, however it delivers some proprietary subtitle formats used by some TV networks, apparently most in Europe. If you work for them, it will be a must-have. Just make sure they'll assign you enough work to make the investment viable.
US subtitling studios often use their own software, so you'll either work on these online, or they'll send you MS Word/Excel-compatible templates to translate. ▲ Collapse
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