Not every translator can do it. Subtitling is a real specialist field. It’s not just about translation; you need to give a concise representation of what is said. Some spoken text has to be included in the subtitles, while other parts can be left out. And the reader needs to be able to follow the plot at all times, so the crux of the spoken text must always be retained. These are precisely the choices that require expert knowledge.
When text animations appear on-screen, you don’t want to subtitle them. We translate the text and our video editor edits the animation for you. We translate text animations into numerous languages every month for one of our customers and deliver a fully edited video for each language. Our customer no longer needs to worry about whether the right words are in the right place; we take care of that for them. Read more about subtitling and video editing: blog post.
HHCE generally delivers subtitles in a subtitle file, which contains the text of the subtitles and a precise indication of when each subtitle needs to appear on-screen. Sometimes subtitles need to be added to a video permanently. This is known as ‘burning in’ and we can take care of that too.
...I know everything about that
Subtitling is a special branch of translation that lets me puzzle away with words to my heart’s content. Videos are played without sound more and more often, so correct subtitles that fit on-screen are crucial. The trick is to know what to leave out, while still retaining the key message.
