We're currently working on the English subtitles for our feature film, Lost Penny.
To help us with this task, we are using a program called Subtitle Edit. This is a free-ware program that does the job quite well, especially with regards to the fact that it's free. (Highly recommended.)
Here are a few things you may not know about the art of subtitling a movie:
1. Subtitling a movie is a long and rather tedious process. Even with a program to help out, you still need a human to input the dialogue. Basically, each line is entered individually.
2. Having the script is helpful. ("Copy and paste" is your friend.) However, you have to be aware that the shooting script can morph. An actor sometimes delivers a line differently than it was written. Or various scenes have been moved around (or been completely omitted) in the final cut.
3. You have to pay attention to key sound effects that need to be entered. While not strictly for subtitles, it is necessary for closed captions.
4. Sometimes actors speak quickly, and on top of each other. That's hard to subtitle. You can't have the subtitle just flash up on the screen. It takes time for a person to read a subtitle.
5. Having both audio spikes and video to aid in the placement of the subtitles is extremely helpful. (Subtitle Edit has both. As you can see in the photo above, the audio spike is in red.)
And with that, it's back to work on those subtitles. Stay tuned...
To help us with this task, we are using a program called Subtitle Edit. This is a free-ware program that does the job quite well, especially with regards to the fact that it's free. (Highly recommended.)
Here are a few things you may not know about the art of subtitling a movie:
1. Subtitling a movie is a long and rather tedious process. Even with a program to help out, you still need a human to input the dialogue. Basically, each line is entered individually.
2. Having the script is helpful. ("Copy and paste" is your friend.) However, you have to be aware that the shooting script can morph. An actor sometimes delivers a line differently than it was written. Or various scenes have been moved around (or been completely omitted) in the final cut.
3. You have to pay attention to key sound effects that need to be entered. While not strictly for subtitles, it is necessary for closed captions.
4. Sometimes actors speak quickly, and on top of each other. That's hard to subtitle. You can't have the subtitle just flash up on the screen. It takes time for a person to read a subtitle.
5. Having both audio spikes and video to aid in the placement of the subtitles is extremely helpful. (Subtitle Edit has both. As you can see in the photo above, the audio spike is in red.)
And with that, it's back to work on those subtitles. Stay tuned...
