With a growing awareness of the importance of closed captions and subtitles, there is a need for universal consistency and standards of excellence. Here are a few key guidelines, proposed by Mary Carroll and Jan Ivarsson in their 1992 book, Subtitling, that Aberdeen implements to achieve quality subtitles.
Video Copy and Glossary: Subtitlers should indeed work from a video copy of the production. Providing a glossary of unusual words, names, and specialized terms ensures accuracy and consistency across the subtitles.
Compression of Dialogue: When dialogue must be compressed for subtitling, it's essential that the meaning remains clear and coherent.
Translating On-Screen Text: All critical on-screen text, like signs or notices, should be translated. It's also beneficial to include what might be considered "superfluous" information, such as off-screen voices and names, to assist hearing-impaired viewers.
Subtitling Songs: Songs should be subtitled when they are relevant to the content or contribute to the understanding of the narrative.
Timing of Subtitles: Subtitles should align closely with the rhythm of the dialogue, editing cuts, and sound bridges in the film. They should appear and disappear in sync with the audio to preserve the natural flow of conversation.
Emphasizing Key Elements in Subtitles: Subtitles should effectively convey elements of surprise or suspense without undermining them. This involves careful placement and timing relative to the visual and auditory cues in the content.
Reading Rhythm: The duration of subtitles should accommodate the average viewer's reading speed—generally not appearing for less than one second or more than seven seconds, except in the case of songs.
Synchronization: There should be a close correlation between what is spoken in the film and what is subtitled, with efforts made to synchronize the source and target languages as closely as possible.
Legibility of Subtitles: Subtitles must be easy to read, with clear lettering and a suitable font. Techniques like adding a drop shadow or background box can enhance readability.
Consistency in Positioning: The placement of subtitles should be consistent throughout the production, aiding in viewer comprehension and minimizing distraction.
Character Limit: The number of characters per line should be compatible with the subtitling system and should be legible on any screen size.
One of the number-one questions I get from prospective clients or even friends is the question: What is the difference between roll-up captioning, pop-on captioning, and subtitling? Also, people often think that captioning is the same thing as subtitling, which it isn't. To take this question even further, I will explain in what cases each one is ideally used.*
Captioning VS. Subtitling
Captioning was created so deaf or hard-of-hearing viewers could read along to TV shows. A technology needed to be created that was accessible to the deaf viewer, but not obligatory for hearing viewers. So today, closed captioning is decoded by a decoder chip in the television and it must be activated to view. Captions are white letters with a black background. The font looks similar to Courier New.
Subtitling, on the other hand, was originally created so viewers of programming in a language other than their own could read along in their own language. Unlike captions, subtitles cannot be turned on or off through a TV decoder chip. They are burned on the video. If you are watching subtitles on a DVD or Blu-ray Disc, they can be turned on or off through the menu. Subtitles can be different fonts or colors and usually do not have a black or transparent background.
Roll-up Captioning
What is it?
Roll-up captions scroll up the screen line by line usually two to three lines at a time. It is the most basic form of captioning, as it usually does not include extensive sound effect description nor speaker identification.
When is it used?
Roll-up captioning is mainly used for ALL live programming and for post-production broadcast programming that only has one speaker (not very common).
For an example of roll-up captioning, view the video on this page: roll-up video
Pop-On Captioning
What is it?
Pop-on captions pop on and off the screen one caption at a time. They typically look like a square box and each caption usually consists of two to three lines. Pop-on captions should include sound effect descriptions as well as movement for speaker identification.
When is it used?
Pop-on captions should be used for pre-recorded broadcast programming with multiple speakers.
For an example of pop-on captioning view the video on this page: pop-on video
Subtitling
What is it?
Subtitles pop on and off the screen just like pop-on captions but they typically do not have a black background and can be any font and color.
When is it used?
Subtitles should always be used for DVD and Blu-ray Discs as they can be turned on and off through the menu. They should also be used for broadcasts in countries where the programming is of a language other than the country's primary language.
For an example of subtitles view the video on this page: subtitling video
*Please note that this article's aim is to be a general explanation for the person that has no prior knowledge of the topic. It does not go into depth on the technical differences between captioning and subtitling. I specifically talk about captions for broadcasting and not other purposes like online video, et cetera. When I speak about captioning, I am referring to Line 21 (analog) captioning, not captioning for HD.
Many companies in need of translation usually do not understand what they need. Given this ignorance, they may come up with the idea of getting translations done automatically by a computer software. Once this is tried and tested for the first time, it is usually the last time, because the translation does not serve its original purpose: to communicate effectively with its target audience.
Consider the following before you decide to purchase an automated translation software:
I will give you the example of Spanish, as this is a language that I am fluent in. Think first about the register the language is using. In Spanish, there are two ways of addressing people, formal and informal. In English, there is only one. Not only do pronouns change depending upon the register being used, but verbs and other words change too. The software does not know what kind of register the people are using, and therefore poorly communicates entire sentences.
Then there is the word choice from the software. Imagine a newscaster. The language and the choice of words would be completely different than if the same words were being used while a father speaks to his son. This is because the software does not recognize who the speaker is, who he is addressing, if there is a difference in rank, social status, or the like. Think of English. Imagine kids playing soccer in the street in a low-class neighborhood. These children would not use the same vocabulary as a headmaster would who is addressing a teacher. All this is not taken into consideration by software that translates word-by-word.
Think of grammar differences between languages. In English the second person of the personal pronoun takes the same form for singular and plural: "you." In Spanish, there are four forms, two for singular (formal and informal) and two for plural (formal and informal). The software does not recognize this difference, making the conjugation of the verb that accompany the pronoun incorrect, because the verb in English almost always remains the same. Automated software does not know these nuances.
Your audience will most likely be from a given region of the target language. For example, in South America each country uses a different variant of Spanish. The nouns vary completely from one country to another. Just think of the differences between Australian, Canadian, British, and American English. Even though you still understand each other, every country has its own linguistic nuances.
Try it for yourself. Go to a website in a different language and copy some text. Go to Google translate. Paste the foreign language text and translate into English. Read the translation, and you will see my point exactly.
A good translation depends completely on the translator's ability to capture the essence of the text by using creativity--something only the human brain can achieve. Translating is an art. Software just puts words together, leaving much to be desired.
I usually don’t write about specific projects we work on, but the “Hearing Everett” project was particularly moving. One of the most unique aspects of the film for me, working for a closed-captioning company, is that the film illustrates a family helping the deaf in Mexico. Throughout the closed captioning and the subtitling of the project we worked through five different phases: transcription, caption editing, translation, subtitle editing, and quality assurance. Each person involved in creating the “words” for the film was extremely moved to say the least. While I was reviewing the subtitling, I caught myself reaching for the tissue box to wipe the tears from my cheeks pretty much throughout the entire review process. See what our Spanish translator, Enrico, had to say about his experience with the film:
Without a doubt, it is a remarkable, touching documentary.
I was blessed with the opportunity to translate this powerful testimony and I am certain it will greatly impact the people that get to see it the way it impacted us (I shared it with my wife) while working on it.
It made us realize once again the power and grace of our Omnipotent Lord. We truly believe God gave the old Everett and his family the grace and strength to keep on going after so many setbacks. He just took up the cross and followed while others (as me) just stand by and see in awe.
Best regards,
Enrico
Aberdeen was blessed to work on this project because James-Kirk Johnson, the Executive Producer of the film and Director of Operations for Strong Tower Ministries, contacted us after discovering our company through mutual contacts. Before we got involved in the project I visited one of James’ projects in Tijuana, Mexico, The Purple Palace, and was moved by the orphanage they had built and by the hearts of the children. Working on this project and seeing other things their ministry is doing helped me realize how much I can do to contribute, and the many opportunities there are right in my own backyard. Find out how you can help by visiting: strongtowerministries.info or hearingeverett.com
This past week, I felt how important time code was when authoring captions and subtitles to DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring systems. Consistency is the name of the game. As a producer, editor, DVD authoring person, et cetera, you must be sure that the video your captioning company receives from the onset of the project, has the final time code.
Ask yourself some questions: Is the first frame of the video the same timecode on all video versions? Does the first spoken word start at the same time code? Does the last frame of the video end at the same time code? Am I authoring in drop, non-drop, FILM, et cetera? Pick one and stick with it for the entire project. The standard time code for authoring systems is drop (29.97 fps) and I recommend that you use this from the onset of the process. Your editing system may have a different default time code than your authoring system, so make sure they are the same. Have any edits been made from the initial video you gave your captioning company? Minor edits will affect the captioning or subtitling in a major way.
You may be wondering what the big deal is and why it isn’t simple for the captioning company to adjust. It’s just simply trying to coordinate changes, especially if we don’t know what is differences are between files. Sometimes it is an easy re-ripple of time code or a conversion from drop to non-drop time code. Sometimes, the final videos are so different that the time spent re-sending new captioning and subtitle files can be as laborious as actually creating them in the first place. The time it takes for the authoring person to re-render and check new files over and over again is time taken away from the final delivery of the authored DVD or Blu-ray Disc. The bottom line is this—send your captioning company the real deal the first time around.
