Why Subtitle Translation Is The Best Way to Maximizing Your Audience?

[:en]The history of subtitles dates back to the development of sound cinema. Many industry representatives reacted negatively to the first dubbed films’ appearance because “talking” films were understood only by people who knew the language, in contrast to the universal silent film, whose audience was not limited by language barriers.

According to the most pragmatic sceptics, this innovation threatened to sharply reduce the export of films to other countries and, as a result, a significant reduction in income. However, technological progress took over, and films began to gain voices.

Until the end of the 20th century, the process of subtitling was quite painstaking and time-consuming. Still, with the development of new technologies, it became more and more simple, and today it is possible to use subtitle translation services and achieve your goals. You just need to take care of the correct, compact, and readable translation.

What is subtitle translation for?

Quite often, the text at the bottom of the screen helps us understand a foreign language when there is no dubbed translation or if you want to watch your favourite foreign film or TV series in the original dubbing. For example, many connoisseurs of Indian animation who do not speak the language prefer to watch anime with subtitles to enjoy everything. So, subtitle translation is of utmost importance to make the audiences understand.

How can subtitle translation be used to increase profits?

Nowadays, video materials have a noticeable advantage over other presenting information. The format of video blogs on the YouTube platform and in popular social networks is becoming increasingly common. All sorts of video tutorials, manuals, and reviews are widely demanded on the network.

Accordingly, the producers of such video products, whether bloggers, online course developers, or companies, are interested in maximizing their audience and increasing the number of views. The easiest, most logical, and effective way to achieve this goal is to include subtitles in different languages for your videos.

Also Read: Do You Want To Achieve The Most For Your Business? Use Translation API

What should be considered when translating subtitles?

There are certain rules and subtleties in subtitle translation. Firstly, the translator must take into account the text and the video sequence so that the content of the subtitles and the picture on the screen correspond to each other.

Secondly, it is important to fit the text within a certain time frame and the allotted space. To do this, you need to use simple, readable syntactic constructions that convey the meaning of the original as accurately as possible. Each subtitle should be a separate sentence or a more or less complete thought.

Per the specifics of human perception, subtitles should be quite compact (no more than two lines) and concise (up to 30-35 printed characters per line); the duration of their placement on the screen can take from 1 to 7 seconds. The pause between subtitles should be at least four frames. All this is necessary so that a person can read the text, comprehend what he has read and switch his attention from one subtitle to another.

Also Read: Website Localization – A Closer Look On How It Works

What materials and information should the customer provide?

To get a high-quality subtitle translation in the shortest possible time and at no additional cost, you should provide the translator with the actual video itself and a subtitle file that contains text in the source language, divided into small segments with timestamps (time codes).

The customer can create a subtitle file on his own or entrust this work to a specialist. If the subtitle file is not provided, the translator will have to translate the text by ear, which will increase the cost and the execution time. The client should provide information about the style of presentation, the target audience for which the video is intended, and the preferred translation of terms, if necessary.

Bottom Line

Translating subtitles is a complex process. Many technical, grammatical, linguistic, and stylistic nuances cannot be neglected. Subtitles are a means of communication with a foreign language audience, and it is imperative that they are understandable, reliable, and perceived adequately. Therefore, if your video content requires a decent translation, you should contact qualified translators with relevant experience.[:]