Instruction: What are subtitles, how do you make them, and how do they work/In their basic form

Response:
Subtitles are textual content that appears on the screen as a video plays, usually at the bottom of the screen. They allow the viewer to read what's said within the audio track. Subtitles may either be in the same language as in the original audio, or they can be translated into a totally different language so as to address an even larger audience.
Three Reasons Why Creating Multilingual Subtitles Are Trickier Than You Think
Screens are only so bigIt does not matter what device people are viewing your content on, there is only so much on-screen space to work with. When people talk quickly when multiple people are speaking at the same time for particularly long sentences when any individual word is particularly longPeople can only read so quicklyAnother problem you have got is the reading ability of your audience. People can only read so quickly, which means each subtitle needs to remain on the screen for a certain period of time generally a longer period of time for longer.Translation alone is a tricky businessIf you have ever watched a subtitled film or played a subtitled game and thought to yourself that sounds a little weird, you have probably experienced an example of how tough translation itself can be. It means you have to use a vernacular term that can have a similar meaning.
Complete article on [Challenges Faced During Subtitling...]
Subtitles or Captions
At a quick look, subtitles and captions may seem to be the same thing. Both are text versions of the audio played in the video but when you look closer, there are differences. The most significant difference is that subtitles generally provide a transcript of the words spoken, while captions provide text depicting other sounds as well.
Imagine two people in a video that are having a conversation while they walk through town. Subtitles will tell you what they're saying; captions will also do that, in addition, they will include text for other sounds, like brief notations for a crowd cheering, a shoot snapping, or music playing. In this way, subtitles assume that the viewer can hear the audio, on the other hand, captions are intended for viewers who can't hear the audio. There are two types of captions, closed captions give the viewer the choice to turn them off, while open captions stay in place.


Instruction: Where And How Are Subtitles Used

Context: Learning resources on media production, voice acting and audio-visual translation, dubbing, subtitling and transcriprion

Response:
Subtitles are a very important tool for helping the hard-of-hearing and those who speak different languages other than the one used in a film or video. While they are often in the same language as the audio, they see wide use as language aids. Subtitle translation is used across a large variety of industries to provide audio-visual products for several different purposes. Let’s have a glance at these:
Educational films. Translated subtitles are an excellent way for teachers to expand their video library and improve the content offered to students.Language studies. For those learning a new language, translated subtitles can be very helpful. Depending on their learning preferences, the subtitles can be in the second language while the audio is in their native language or the other way around.Training videos. Translated subtitles are found in training videos on subjects from manufacturing to medicine. Using a professional translation agency is a must for the translation of the subtitles to be accurate and effective, otherwise, the video might not be safe to use or not well harmonized and executed to facilitate effective learning.Film festivals and screenings. Sometimes these settings will include subtitles shown on a different screen so that the film itself is not altered.News broadcasts. News media usually uses captions. Sometimes live broadcasts are captioned in real-time, with a stenographer listening to the audio and typing the captions rapidly. This is high-pressure work, especially when the translation of the caption is involved.Movies of all kinds. If you have a favorite foreign film, Professional subtitle translators worked to make the script you read well-designed, yet the accurate translation of the language spoken in the film.Marketing videos. Introducing translated subtitles to your marketing media is a high-impact way to drive up viewership. Subtitles catch the eye and are ideal for the increasing number of video content on social media that plays automatically without sound. Open Captions that are translated increase the Video SEO in those languages.TV shows. With a greater range of channels than ever and the advent of smart TVs, translated subtitles are in demand.Live events like speeches and concerts. A transcript of the translated address or lyrics can be shown on screens or software that can be used to translate live. Live machine translation can be faulty as there is no time for post-editing. But they can be revised after by a professional human translator to improve the quality.


Instruction: How Are Subtitles Prepared and Translated

Response:
Subtitling is a job that combines the use of technology with human expertise. It is not as simple as feeding a script into software that displays the text onscreen. Intent and context are vital. When translating subtitles, the translator does not only work with the script (which they may not have) but also with the video.This ensures a higher-quality product, as the translator will incorporate more contexts, localize, and suit the translation to the video content. The result may not be a literal translation but will convey the meaning better and result in a smoother end product. A professional translator will be aware of the need for accurate localization as well as the possibility of text expansion or contraction. Some languages appear longer than others in print, and the translator must condense the material to fit the screen without losing meaning.  Subtitle creation software, are available for personal and commercial use, with varying degrees of quality. Voice recognition technology is also used by some video hosts with mixed results. However, the best subtitles are usually made and translated by hand by professional translators.  The translated subtitles can then be burnt to the video by the subtitler providing the services, or delivered to the client who will, in turn, render and apply them to the video as they wish.
Complete article on [Guidelines To Creating The Perfect Subtitles...]


Instruction: What Is The Importance of Subtitling Today

Response: All businesses always try very hard to reach new clients. They do this by presenting their products and services in a way that speaks to those clients’ needs. With the prevalence of video as a marketing tool, and globalization as a result of internet media, having translated subtitles or captions for your videos is a wise move. With these tools, you can make your content accessible not only to those who speak various languages but also to those who are not able to hear the audio. Subtitle translation offers a large return on investment (ROI), and better search engine optimization. Subtitle files allow search engine spiders to find keywords relevant to your new audience’s search terms, thus increasing your global influence.


Instruction: Where Should You Get Your Subtitling Services

Response:
It's not advice-able to use language translation software or a bilingual employee to create your subtitles, this is because the quality is not guaranteed. Consider a professional translation company with experience in working with video translation, to produce content you will be proud to show off to the world.
How Can You Get The Best Out of Your Translation (Subtitling) Company
So you’ve decided you need translated subtitles for your video. What’s next? How can you get a good translation, within deadlines and on a tight budget? Try these guidelines:
Ask questions and request quotes. The right agency will guide you on matters like, whether your video needs subtitles or captions, suitable file types, and help you stay on schedule.Plan ahead. Start as early as possible so the project can be given the time and the care it needs.Be communicative. The translation company needs to be able to ask questions and get feedback.Provide plenty of source material. Make sure that you provide the translation company necessary video, script, and the files of any other titles and images used. If the video is already subtitled, include the video and original script anyway so as not to lose meaning and context.
Whether you plan skyscrapers, decorate cakes, or manufacture lawnmower parts, subtitling is a perfect way to strengthen your brand through your videos. With this type of multilingual content, your business can broaden its horizons and see returns as well as interest from other markets.


Instruction: What Does Dubbing Involve And How Do You Prepare For It

Response:
Do you intend to dub your film but you do not know how to start and what is required of you? Maybe it is your first time and you do not know how to go about it. If this is the case, then you are in the right place. In this article, I will walk you through all the prerequisites that you need to start dubbing your project. However, let us first have a brief overview of what exactly dubbing is.
We all know that dubbing is essentially the replacement of the original language of a film or TV show with another language. It sounds fairly simple, but good dubbing should always look like the content was recorded in the language the viewer hears. For this to happen, the timing of sentence length and the number of syllables used is of paramount importance so that the dialogue matches the on-screen lip movements. Not an easy task when no two languages are the same!When dubbing animations, the task is much more complicated and requires talented voice actors who have creative minds and very clear and flexible voices. The requirements are many. Sometimes the same actor might be requested to dub more than one character in the same title. S/he may be asked to sing children’s songs in a childlike voice or to simply portray the wind by making all the sounds that the wind makes.The vast majority of titles are produced with little to no consideration of nascent international versions. As a result, when the language is changed it is the responsibility of the dubbing company to create the revised script and perfect text, and then have the voice actors read it in a rhythm that coincides with the lip


Instruction: What Materials And Paperwork Do you Need To Prepare Beforehand, Before You Start Dubbing

Response:
If you are preparing your content for dubbing it is always a good
idea to prepare the following materials:
character profiles and synopsesvoice casting recommendationscast lists of the original actorsscripts and dialogue lists


Instruction: What Audio-Visual Materials Do You Needed, To Provide Prior To The Dubbing Process

Response:
video in the original languagemusic and effects (M&E) clean track, i.e. does not contain any sounds that need to be dubbedvideo without M&E and original dialogues if you also need a video mixtechnical guide – (kHz, bit, db, etc)
Consider the amount of signage and text you will include in your movie. If you decide to include those, then you will need to prepare textless titles as well. Each title card needs to be shot (recreated) blank and provided to the dubbing company with your source files.


Instruction: What Happens If You Do Not Have All The Required Material To Start Dubbing

Response: What happens if you do not have all the above material? Then work hand in hand with your dubbing partner to create the source package step by step. They are usually your best adviser and partner in this process. Make sure to choose a reliable dubbing partner who will help you move forward with your project within your desired time-frames. When planning your production, always schedule and reserve enough time for professional quality and unrushed content localization.Being culturally aware is a must in dubbing. A good dub is based on accurate translation, creative and efficient adaptation, a solid team comprising of a good director, sound engineer, mixer and actors. A good facility with newer equipment is a definite plus. Dubbing is an art. It is as close as it gets to produce the movie all over again. The voice actors’ performance should match the character, the image on the screen and the adapted script (read it as re-written) to make sense in the target language.


Instruction: What Should You Expect During Each Phase Of The Dubbing Process, What Will Be Your Input on Each Stage

Response:
There are, in fact, several phases that need to be
undertaken for the foreign language versioning of the original title before it
reaches the target regions in their native tongue.
File Preparation PhasePrior to reaching out to a dubbing company, you must first prepare the source package and the media materials in detail. This includes character profiles, voice casting recommendations, video files in the original language, and M&E clean tracks, for example. Translation PhaseOnce you have supplied the materials as outlined above to your dubbing partner, the translation teams will begin by translating the original story-line, text, and messages into the foreign language. It is important to understand that this procedure is far from a simple word to word translation. It requires skilled and native translators who are not only familiar with the target language, region, values, and customs but who also possess a creative and artistic mind. In fact, a dubbing project is essentially the recreation of the original title into a brand new foreign version. At times, scenes will be cut, or sections of the script changed so that the dubbed version matches exactly the customs, values and religious beliefs in the target region.Adaptation PhaseWhen the translation is complete, it is time for the director and the team to commence adapting the translated materials for recording. This may include matching the labials to editing the translated script for optimum text length.Casting PhaseFor the most part, the casting of voice actors is carried out in parallel to the adaptation process. Depending on the budget, the dubbing studio may test actors from its own database or perform larger casting and tests. If your title has a celebrity voice with an approved voice talent in your target territory, it is up to you to commission their services separately.Directing and Recording PhaseThis is when the real fun begins! However, before recording can commence, the chosen voice actors will have to repeatedly view segments of the title while voicing their lines from the prepared script. This will allow them to find the right rhythm to coincide with the on-screen lip movements. The role of the director and sound engineer in spotting any issue is vital at this stage as it helps to avoid multiple editions and recording calls. Once happy, the voice actors will then recreate their character under the guidance of the director and will record their lines. Truly this is a very laborious and difficult process, as apart from acting, they must be extremely familiar with lip-syncing techniques. Depending on the country this can be rhythm band, sound sections, beeps, and so on.Mixing PhaseThis is the final step of the dubbing process. Depending on the requirements of the client, the studio may need to do full video, M&E and audio mix, including graphics edition or M&E and audio mix. This is where the skills of the sound engineers working on the project are put to test. As you can see, dubbing is an art that requires skill, talent, creativity, and passion. The voice actors who play a key role in bringing movies, dramas, and other audio-video titles, to a worldwide audience, are very rarely recognized for their talents. Without these talented people who ensure that we get the best of international entertainment delivered to us in our native language, TV and cinema wouldn’t be as enjoyable and popular as it is today.
Complete article on [The Technical Process Of Dubbing
Background Of Transcription In General
When you hear the word transcription, depending on which industry you work in, then you might have a lot of different definitions for this word. Many people don’t have the idea that there are many types of transcription out there, but I will mention just three, which are mainly used from time to time. There is transcription in the medical industry, there is transcription in the film industry and last but not least there is transcription in the music industry. In this article, I will talk about transcription in the music industry, but I will also define the other forms of transcriptions so that at least you can have a rough idea.
Difference Between Medical, Film And Music Transcription
Transcription in the medical industry is part of the health sector that deals with rendering and editing doctor dictated reports, procedures, and notes in an electronic format to create script files. Transcription in the film industry is strictly known as the art of converting audio or video files into written text, and it can be in different formats. You can have them in a text format, word document, notes or whichever form of text you might be interested in. With that out of the way, we will delve deeper into the music form of transcription to understand it further and how it really works.Music transcription is defined as the art of exact note for note rendition of a piece of music written for one instrument and played on another for example notes written for a guitar can have a rendition and end up being played on a piano.  Normally note for note transcriptions are usually rare because depending on what a speaker had said if there were speech pauses then the context is lost.


Instruction: What is Exactly Does Music Transcription Involve

Response: More often than not music transcription is the kind that seeks to keep the character and context of the original while making some enhancement accommodations to support the capabilities and limitations of the instrument upon which the music will be accompanied with. While this rendition may still be called a “transcription”, it is more accurately an “arrangement”.  Certain parts of the music have been “arranged” to work better on the non-native instrument. Just like the word states, an arrangement is when different parts of the music are ‘arranged’ to work perfectly well with an instrument that was not intended for it. You note that the style and approach used in an arrangement depending on the genre of music being arranged. In the classical idiom it is considered arrogant and very rude to try “fix” or “rewrite” the music of brilliant composers such as Bach or Mozart.  With such a kind of music, the best thing to do is to employ adaptation that has the least or close to no alteration as possible in order not to change the feel of the music completely. In pop music, however, it would be okay, or even preferable, to stylize yet another version of “Yesterday”.  Here, it would be expected that the arranger may re-work chords, add notes and melodies, and change the form.In the pop music scene, one of the popular music that has been transcribed using the reorganizing and rewriting ways while steadily rising to the realm of art is the “Big Band” jazz style where the skill and imagination of the transcriptionist are central to the success of the resulting transcription. These versions are often more technically demanding than the original and blur the line between transcription and composition. In the classical world, Ravel’s famous arrangement of “Pictures at an Exhibition “from a piano solo to an orchestral piece shows great imagination and creativity and is also a good example of the “art of transcription”. In the classical world of music where guitars are concerned transcriptions and arrangements systems are really used and all the times because of how the guitar keys are set, they can be transcribed into another instrument without a lot of hassle. Segovia was famous for his transcriptions/ arrangements, as were Tarrega, Llobet, and others.  These transcriptions intended to keep the character of the composer’s original composition while adapting the music to the guitar’s idiosyncrasies. You can see this being illustrated in the music of J.S. Bach. Never once did he write any note for the instrument yet we still here amazing and wonderful transcription that he plays on his guitar. The art of transcription in music always comes mostly from the choices made during adaptation to the new instrument, in this case, being a guitar. The Tule Fog Catalog is one of the largest catalog filled up with transcription and arrangements which were taken from orchestra performances, and in very rare instances you would get one or two from piano works. In such cases, it’s usually impossible to do literal or close to literal transcriptions because they usually need a lot of changes and alterations for that kind of music to be effective on the guitar. From the tone color of the instrument to the chord voicing texture and most of all the Range of the instrument, we can have a rough idea of why it would be impossible. These are too many parameters to perfect.


Instruction: What Are The Parameters In Music Transcription

Response:
Range:  If you understood what the range of the guitar is and what it does in music you would understand how hard it usually is to transcribe music from a piano works to fit in a guitar perfectly. This instrument has a roughly three-octave range. If you compare that number of range to that of a piano or an Orchestra, then you know that it is a huge reduction. Usually for this to even work and be as perfect as expected there has to be some compression of ranges, possibly a key change and most times, a bouncing of octaves to voice the music effectively on the guitar.Chord Voicing:  Musicians and sound engineers know that the tuning of the guitar usually makes certain types of chord voicing common to those of the piano and difficult if not impossible for those of other instruments. Depending on the instrument that you would want to create, a transcription for using the guitar might end up being hard and impossible to come up with a perfect rendition of the native instrument. These voicings will have to be modified to work on the guitar.Tone color:  The tonal color is one of the most important factors that must be considered during music transcriptions and the reason I say this is that tonal variations may completely alter the range in which certain music has. Certain ranges of the guitar can be too muddy or too bright for certain melodies and can obscure the intended musical effect of the original.  These sections will often need to be re-voiced in a transcription.  Certain music that takes advantage of an instrument’s tone color may not work well enough on the guitar.  For example, Chopin is beautiful on the piano but the tonal character of the writing is so piano specific that it doesn’t come off well in transcription to the guitar (or other instruments).Texture:  Orchestra music takes advantage of the different timbres of its instruments to create interest and depth.  When one removes these different timbres and reduces the number of instruments to a few or even a single instrument, things that work well because of this timbral variation can become repetitive and sometimes boring.  In certain instances, arrangers will remove sections that repeat with different timbres in the orchestra score when arranging for another instrument to avoid having the piece become monotonous.Reductions: Reduction is a new term that you might not understand, so I will expound on it. When an orchestra piece undergoes an arrangement from a single instrument compared to all the instruments used for the original piece, it is, then called an orchestra reduction. This means that the number of instruments on the original has been reduced to a certain number and thus reducing.  The ratios in terms of sheer numbers of instruments make it necessary to cut out large numbers of notes while still keeping as much of the essence of the original as possible.
You might wonder why all this is termed as the Art of transcription. Anything that includes the imagination, knowledge, skill, and creativity of the person doing the arranging or the transcription is referred to as an art and that is why it is known as the art of transcription. The imagination, knowledge, and skill of the arranger/transcriber in manipulating these parameters are collectively known as the “Art of Transcription”. Always remember that the parameters that should be considered before a music transcription is done are reductions, tonal color, chord voicing and the range compatibility of the native instrument to the target instrument.
A Synopsis Of  Translation
One topic that can’t really be specified on how long it’s existed is exactly what you thought, translation has over time been the topic that has been debated on by scholars and historians, though it is widely accepted that translation pre-dates the bible. The Bible talks about different languages and giving insight into interactions between people of different languages. The need for translation has been apparent since the earliest days of human interaction, whether it be for emotional trade or survival purposes. Over time, the demand for translation services has really increased, and this is because different entities in life have been trying to expand in different regions with a different spoken language which has been promoted by translation so much that with the need of penetration to foreign markets, marketing material and business documents need to also be translated.
The Early History of Translation
Throughout history, when speaking about translations, there are two terms that come to mind and I will elaborate on them first before I continue with this write-up. The word ‘translation’ comes from a Latin term which means “to bring or carry across” while the other relevant word is in relation to those words is from the Ancient Greek word of ‘metaphrasis’ which means “to speak across” and from this, the term ‘metaphrase’ was born, which means a “word-for-word translation”.  Through the translation works some argue repeatedly that the knowledge and finding of Greek academics resulted from the translation work of Arabic scholars. It is believed that back then when the Greeks were conquered most of their works if not all were taken by the Arabic scholars who in turn translated them and made them their own. This was done for the scientific, entertainment and philosophical works. After that translation continued and the Arabic translation was further translated into Latin during the Middle Ages, mostly throughout Spain and the resulting works provided the foundations of Renaissance academics. With the beginning of translation in ancient Greek, this opened a way for it to continue into religious translations and texts which I will elaborate on further below.
Religious Translations and Text
As a greater audience grew for religious texts and spiritual texts across the board, so did translation, which became greater and greater. The desire to spread religion to and inspire people through faith and gospel of God, the need for the religious texts to be translated into more languages in order for people to understand became even higher. The very first translated religious texts is believed to have been the Old Testament which was translated into Greek in the 3rd century BC. This particular translation refers to the ‘Septuagint’, which was a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, with Septuagint coming from the Latin word ‘Septuaginta’, which means seventy. This text is therefore often referred to as the ‘Greek Old Testament’.  It’s incredible how lack of modern practices and tools this translation was carried out by approximately 70 scholars who through a lot of difficulties we're able to translate and convert the text into Greek and this became the basis for future translations of the bible in multiple languages.From this, we can see how important the role religion played in the development of translation was. This led to the church naming Saint Jerome as the patron saint of translation who later created a Latin Bible in the 4th century AD. That’s the bible that present-day Catholic church members use. Different churches started coming up, and the need to translate the religious texts to European languages heightened. From the protestant church to the Pentecostal to the seventh day Adventist church, there was a huge need for the religious texts to be translated. It was clear though that the two main churches were Roman Catholicism and Protestantism who have a different disparity in texts and major differences between crucial words and passages in the Bible.
Famous Language Translators Throughout Time.
Translation is the job that doesn’t need people who do it to be known or in the limelight. As much as a lot of work does really go into the services they provide, most of them are not known and since long ago many people have been doing translations. In this segment, I’ll be able to mention a couple of people who have paved the way for present-day translators with the overly incredible dissemination of ideas and knowledgeable theories they presented over the years. The lists include translators like: -
William Tyndale, who was executed in a small town in Belgium in 1536 with his crime being that he translated the Bible to the English language. He literally died fighting for his faith, which is a classic understanding of what being a martyr is. Tyndale who was an English scholar will go down in history as one pioneer in translating the Bible into the English language, as we have it now. He died on October 1536, near Vilvoorde Duchy of Brabant.Chinese monk Xuanzang who in 645 AD was credited with having translated 74 volumes on Indian Buddhist scripts into Chinese. He was a scholar and a translator who traveled to India in the seventh century and described the interactions between Chinese Buddhism and Indian Buddhism during the early Tang dynasty. He dies on 5th February 664 AD, in Yintai District. Tongchuan China.Constance Garnett was a British translator in the nineteenth-century Russian literature who translated Russian classics including Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, and Gogol into English towards the end of the 19th Century. He died on 17th December 1946 in Crockham Hill, United Kingdom.Gregory Rabassa was an American literary translator who translated many Latin documents into English throughout the 20th Century. He was a lecturer for many years at Columbia University and Queens College. He died on 13th June 2016 in Branford, Connecticut, United States.
Modern-Day Language Translation Practices and Understanding.
Fast forward from the Industrial revolution of translation, the economy developed at a quick rate and evolved into a machine with potential for global success. New machinery with applicable and useful software allowed for production of texts and documents to be fast and the business-related materials, which meant that more time could be invested in evolving a company and translating material to enter foreign markets.  Since the 18th Century, a new and evolved form of translation was experienced which formalized translation services, but the dawn of modern practice came with the widespread introduction of the internet.The internet has really brought about easy access to a lot of translated texts and even made it possible for one to get direct word-for-word translations in different languages. This has promoted the ability to understand and comprehend texts and documents from all over the world, be it contemporary or historical pieces. Crucially, there has been a huge growth in people feeling the need to understand the culture of the original country and that of the audience which is being targeted with any material being translated. This has all been made by enhanced tools and practices.As much as word-for-word translation can lose meaning along the way the mere fact that one can have a translation app for many languages and the tip of their hands only means that the art of translation has really come of age and no one will be killed like how William Tyndale was when he translated the Bible to the English language in the 1536.Although some instant translation services are capable only of metaphase translation (literal word-for-word translation), specialist firms, platforms, and translators can translate texts and spoken word into multiple languages whilst observing the relevance and culture of the target receiver.The availability of the internet has really made the world a global village where anyone and everyone can get access to a lot of texts and documents written in different languages and the fact that one can automatically access the translated version to the language of their liking is something that can’t go without notice. Translators from back then would really be proud of what has been done with the art that is translation. All the changes are amazing and it couldn’t be any other way.
Translation Services At A Turning Point
Across businesses worldwide, there is an increasing demand for translation driven by:
an increase in demand for non-English languages,increase in products and services from non-English countries reaching foreign markets,an in vertical-specific translation use cases, and.A reduction of translation, driven by improvements in AI technology and the rise of cloud-based translation platforms. These lower costs support a growing “long tail” of businesses that can profitably offer services in multiple languages.
Annual enterprise spending on translation services is expected to grow to US$45b billion by 2020, primarily driven by increasing globalization and an increasing amount of text being generated worldwide.
This growth is also being stimulated by new technology. Many organizations are using artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of machine translation (MT) to reduce the costs of translation. AI-enabled automated translation platforms like Google Translate, Microsoft Translator, and the recently released Amazon Translate have in the last 24 months taken a great leap forward in accuracy. This is for two reasons: one, they build on recent breakthrough improvements in neural machine translation (NMT) algorithms, and two; they have access to a much larger amount of language data from search engines, social networks, and e-commerce sites.Typically, these translations are offered for free and supported by ads, so the users are happy with whatever quality they can get, and the consequences of errors are low.In contrast, the accuracy of these existing systems is not adequate for many business use cases, such as creating a user interface in a new language, translating a tax document, or creating a user manual for a product in a new language. Yet AI is also having a big impact here, where human-in-the-loop uses cases allow the AI system to do an initial translation that is then refined by a human expert. Although this isn’t driving translation pricing all the way to zero, this technology is having a profound impact on the translation marketplace, which is transforming in shape because of these forces.
The Future Of  Translation


Instruction: Will AI Lead To The End Of Translation Jobs

Response: The recent acceleration in machine translation sophistication and reliability leads some observers to speculate that machines will essentially remove the need for expensive human translation even in the enterprise market, eliminating tens of thousands of jobs in product and service localization, publishing, marketing, and myriad other fields, even as the demand for translation explodes.


Instruction: Why Is It Unlikely That AI Will Lead To The End Of Human Translation Jobs

Response:
Although the hype around recent improvements is largely justified, that machines will destroy language services as an industry and drastically reduce the need for translation and globalization teams is not likely.  There are several reasons:
As described above, the bar for successful language translation in the enterprise is substantially higher than for consumer applications.Even within the enterprise, the bar is rising for these reasons: More languages and dialects must be handled.More specialty vertical markets, such as the law and healthcare, must be served. There is an increase in the need for more specialty horizontal document types, such as for documents describing decisions, requirements, and systems.Translating the functional aspects of a product (e.g. menus and documentation) is a specialized practice and one for which consumer approaches to translation do not readily apply.Current language translation technologies will not improve at the current pace unabated. The biggest recent advances have come from leveraging massive corpora of already-translated materials to learn translation models that can translate similar content in the future. Many enterprise cases are much more specific in terms of context and discipline, and also have lower volumes of already-translated data for these narrower contexts. These are technical challenges that AI algorithms are only today beginning to address, and new technology transfer ―if not also new R&D―are required to reach the next level in driving business value.The number of languages that can be profitably translated is increasing with the new lower-cost, AI-supported approach, as we describe in more detail below. Hence, even as the costs for translating higher-priority languages might come down, the volume of emerging-priority languages continues to rise. These less-translated languages have less training data, making the automation problem harder, as noted above.


Instruction: Can AI Be An Opportunity Rather Than A Threat To Human Translation

Response:
As if the changes in the industry wrought by AI weren’t enough, in addition, the rise of cloud-based machine translation platforms also promises to further drive down the cost of enterprise translation. Platforms merge functionality needed by multiple ecosystem partners in a system analogous to Amazon’s providing marketing functionality for its network of product suppliers.While the two forces of AI and cloud-based platforms might appear on the surface to create an existential threat for language services providers (LSPs) and for human translators they will create a massive opportunity for those with the foresight and agility to pivot quickly into the new reality.Lower costs will increase the number of enterprises that can consider sophisticated translation services they haven’t previously been able to justify, driving a sharp increase in demand. Rather than eliminating the need for human translators with specific language, cultural, and vertical domain expertise, cloud-based AI-powered platforms will instead enable massive improvements in human translators’ capacity (languages, verticals, and horizontals, as above), efficiency, and accuracy.Providers prepared to transition away from high-cost, hard-to-scale translation models and take advantage of enterprise-focused translation platforms will handle more volume, continue to offer the value-added expertise that differentiates the enterprise and consumer translation markets, and more easily and quickly add new languages.From an employment point of view, although there will be a massive shift in the work performed by a typical translator, for the reasons given above, we do not foresee a substantial decrease in the need for their services.
Translating The Long Tail
The number of languages and language pairs now handled by the most advanced translation platforms represents only a small fraction of the languages spoken across even the developed world. But translating content into languages beyond the 40 supported by the largest language service providers (LSP) and by enterprise software vendors has, to date, been difficult or impossible to cost-justify: for most companies, the cost and time required to add just one new language to a product have been measured in the millions of dollars and years of time. Those barriers are about to be shattered by the combination of scale efficiencies enabled by cloud-based platforms and translator productivity improvements enabled by machine translation.While some of these long-tail language markets are growing quickly, few will ever represent enough revenue to justify the cost under the existing on-premises deployment, non-AI technology model. However, with platform economics and AI-enabled efficiencies dropping the cost, translation providers will recoup the financial and time investment required to add new languages while still keeping translation prices affordable for a much larger set of customers. The economics will also allow providers to vastly increase the volume of translation they can handle, helping to maintain revenue and margins even as prices drop.
The mix of languages that need to be translated is shifting. Today, while English is the top language used on the internet, less than a third of about 4 billion Internet users are English speakers.
Going forward, the number of new language opportunities is substantial and represents a new market for many businesses. According to Common Sense Advisory (CSA), enterprises will need to translate content into a steadily increasing number of “niche” languages to reach small but fast-growing economies. Where approximately 14 languages reach about 75% of global Internet users today, reaching the next 20% requires adding about 40 more. By 2027, the firm estimates that enterprises will need to translate into over 60 languages to reach 96% of the online population.More data on this point: while English remains the primary language of international business and the Internet, a commonly cited forecast that appeared as early as 2005 projected that the next billion Internet users would not be native English speakers. Visual Capitalist traces the entire status of language usage today. World language authority Ethnologic estimates that English is a second language for about 60% of all English speakers. If you have ever learned a foreign language, you will appreciate how much easier it is to understand your native language. That translates into more effective communication and higher business value for whoever does the translation.While no one expects every linguistic group will be covered soon, new patterns of trade will soon drive requirements for some unexpected languages and language pairs. Defaulting to English as a common language in place of local languages will become less viable as these markets are opened up.Also consider that there are over 20 major languages in India, written in a dozen different scripts, and estimates of over 720 dialects. Twenty-six regional languages in India are spoken by over 1 million people who don’t speak Hindi. And although it may not be obvious, some of these regional languages are more valuable than Hindi in terms of the speakers’ literacy and economic status.Beyond adding entirely new languages, the move to a platform model will also ultimately make translating within languages–between dialects and specialist jargons–affordable, further extending the long-tail opportunity.Altogether, this combination of today’s decreasing hegemony of English along with non-Western centric developments in global business means that there is an increasing demand for translation between many new language pairs, and this demand will last for years to come.


Instruction: What is SDH

Response:
These kinds of subtitles are particularly not closed captions neither are they subtitles subtitles and I write that in double to create an emphasis on why they are no subtitles. People who work in the film industry and from time to time get to work on translation, localization and subtitling jobs should have been able to hear about subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, usually by its acronym SDH.
Many people would wonder why there are specific subtitles for the deaf to an extent where they even have a name for them and would also wonder what might be so special about them. There seems to be a lot of confusion about SDH, but it’s crucial to understand this service since it’s quickly becoming a staple of video localization.
In this article, I will explain what it means when you hear the word SDH and how it makes video audio content more accessible to people who are deaf and have difficulties in hearing and also how professionals who deal with translation and localization can tap into that service and upgrade their skills.


Instruction: What Are Subtitles And Closed Captions? How Are They Related To SDH

Response:
For starters; we will know and understand what SDH is.
SDH or what we all know as subtitles for the deaf is a recent innovation that provides film video and audio accessibility to people struggling with hearing disabilities. To further explain this, it’s important to know the difference between subtitles and closed captions and how they are related to these SDH.
I will be able to briefly explain what
subtitles and closed captions are.
Closed captions are subtitles intended for viewers who are deaf or are hard-of-hearing which provides a text for any audible information in a film or video also known as audibles. These closed captions people these days refer to in short as a dialogue.
Subtitles are specific to a target audience that should provide translated linguistic content for different video and audio languages. Most of this is dialogue or voice-over, of course, but it also includes things like signs, newspaper headlines, or on-screen titles, which wouldn’t be covered by captions since they’re not audible information.
You should note that subtitles are usually a different language to the original film language, while captions maintain the same language as the original film.
Now that we understand what closed captions and subtitles are, it’s okay to let you know that SDH combines the qualities and criteria’s followed by both the captions and subtitles. It combines the audible and linguist form and comes up with one file for those people who are deaf.
After the two aspects are combined to come up with a script, it is further translated for foreign language audiences and makes the films easily accessible and enjoyed by the deaf and hard-of-hearing in different parts of the world. A good example with clear illustrations of the SDH can be viewed in the film "Night of the Living Dead" (1968, directed by George A. Romero, in the public domain).


Instruction: What is the history of SDH

Response: SDH is one form of subtitle that has a different content and context when compared to subtitles and captions, but it really came out of technical necessity way back then when it became a thing.  The history of the SDH technology stems back from the days of digital delivery authoring systems like DVDs which essentially never supported standard captioning formats so it was only right for developers to improvise and create a system that would work well for them by leveraging subtitles technical specs and visual formats. And thus the introduction of SDH. SDH was just captions for English-language movies & shows by another name. With the multimedia translation boom driven by online distribution, they’ve become a new localization deliverable with expanded accessibility.


Instruction: Is it possible to translate caption files and make SDH

Response: If this were possible, then a lot of film production companies would really have it easy when catering for the deaf and they would always have them included when producing different films, but that is not the case. So answering the question, no, it is not possible to translate captions to SDH format. It’s good to note that captions do not include non-audible content like newspaper headlines, forced narratives or titles. You can’t get SDH from just translating a captions file. Likewise, captioning treats content slightly differently (for example, naming speakers), so you can’t just add audible content to an existing subs file–it requires more work than that.


Instruction: Is the SDH format inclusive of an entire audience in terms of accessibility

Response: It would really be great if a specific format can be introduced which will cater for all audience in either but you should remember that there are blind or sight-impaired users out there who would also love to enjoy all these films that people without such problems get to enjoy and that is why SDH is specifically designed to fit and cater for their needs. There might be plans to ensure that one specific format is introduced to cater to all audiences and be inclusive, but until then we will have the SDH, subtitles and closed captions.  There are a lot of companies out there who provide all these services, so it’s always good to get professional advice before settling in a specific format.


Instruction: Are There Any Challenges Experienced During Production Of SDH

Response:
I can tell you for sure that any technical format that involves the use of software and what not must have challenges from time to time if not two or three then one. The SDH format is no different, and it has two challenges that I will discuss below. As we mentioned earlier on, there are always a lot of confusions between closed captions and SDH and it should always be understood that SDH must be done from a linguistic and an accessibility perspective that puts the deaf and hard-of-hearing one should make sure that the person who offers this service to them is a professional and experienced audio and video translation provider.
Another form of audiovisual translation like dubbing which doesn’t involve any text format has made it a priority to add that extra step of including SDH which shows how filmmakers are ready to provide inclusivity for all audiences. If so, the translations in the SDH and the dubbing must be in the same linguistic content and be synchronized as well. This specifically means that a lot of things have to be cleared with the SDH before dubbing is locked, things like the time codes which show when an actor starts and ends a statement. If this is not taken into consideration, there will be discrepancies in the timing and linguistic segmentation.
Second, while ideally the SDH would be translated separately from the dubbing to maximize the quality of each delivery (especially since the latter can require heavy editing for lip-sync) often SDH is used by hard-of-hearing viewers in conjunction with the same-language audio track, as support for phrases or sound effects they miss. When this happens, there would be a lot of mistakes that would appear between the actual audio and the SDH which may interfere with the viewing experience for a lot of views, therefore, it’s important for the two to match.
Technically, SDH can be provided in just about any text format, like SRT, STL & WebVTT, making it ideal for online media streaming. A point to note though is that a lot of dubbing companies prefer using them in the SRT format, which usually the easiest format to work with.


Instruction: Is the SDH service already available in the market

Response:
Yes, it is, and it has been a while now, for people who find this service important for them then they definitely have noticed it, if you haven’t already seen then it only means that you did not have the prior information of its existence and since now you can either request for it or confirm if it’s there in the films you watch.
A lot of film companies out there in different countries are in the tries to make this accessible in their countries. Some countries already have access to it and have had it for a while now, and the others are drafting or expanding on them. In the US, the ADA requires that more and more online content become accessibility-compliant. Remember that this service highly depends on the legal requirement of a particular country and whether is supported or a lot of steps are needed before it is approved. For a relatively small investment, corporations, e-Learning authors and studios can make their content accessible to a larger audience. That's a win-win in the localization work and also providing inclusivity for all kinds of audiences around the globe only means that content is easily accessed and its engagement level goes higher.
Subtitles, are specific to a target audience which are intended to provide translated linguistic content for different video and audio languages. Most of this is dialogue or voice-over as well, of course, but it also includes things like signs, newspaper headlines, or on-screen titles, which wouldn’t be covered by captions since they’re not audible information.
Closed captions are a form of subtitles intended for viewers who are deaf or are hard-of-hearing which provides a text for any audible information in a film or video also known as audibles. These closed captions are what people these days refer to in short as a dialogue.
SDH are subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, they make video audio content more accessible to people who are dead and have difficulties in hearing.
SDH combines the qualities and criteria’s followed by both the captions and subtitles. It combines the audible and linguist form and comes up with one file for those people who are deaf.  After the two aspects are combined to come up with a script, it is further translated for foreign language audiences and makes the films easily accessible and enjoyed by the deaf and hard-of hearing in different parts of the world.
An Overview Of The Growth Of Subtitling From The Present To The Future
When someone mentions the word subtitling, it takes many people a minute or two before they can find out what exactly it is and this is. Subtitling is a fairly new form of writing in human history. From way back when our ancestors would use chiseled tablets to know where we have movable writing, the intention of writing has always been to capture and communicate language.


Instruction: Where Are We From, And Where Are We Going, With The Art Of Subtitling

Response:
The way we send out information or to communicate speaks miles on how far we have come as a civilized people. With the internet bringing about a global village where everyone and anyone can access different written and translated articles in different foreign languages. Subtitles have made it easy for people to have access and understand the different video contents put out there from different countries and in different languages. Translated subtitles are a mark of an increasingly globalized world, while same-language subtitles are a mark of an increasingly accessible one.  Subtitles look like they are an easy thing to do but what people don’t know is that a lot goes into the production of subtitles before films are presented to the public at large, from positioning and syncing to the delicate art of localization, a lot of effort goes into creating subtitles that are perfectly translated and synced with the original audio and also make them easy to comprehend and not distracting to the content’s audience. The styles, guidelines, and standards of this form of writing are still being forged today. As the world and different film cultures evolve, so must subtitle. We can share information fast and easily and thus this has led to everyone being able to find themselves engaging with an audio or video is in a different language and so the need for subtitles and captions has been wanting than ever before. People are constantly coming up with new ways to greet each other, to share humor, and to connect. For that reason, professional subtitlers have to stay at the cutting edge of their language to enhance the viewers’ enjoyment. As with any other form of creation that makes life easier for consumers, so does subtitling. More often than not, there are exceptions that go against the rules and guidelines of subtitling as online video creators innovate in parallel to make things better. When subtitling the fast-paced cadence unique to YouTubers or speech with slang, dialects, and accents, professional subtitlers have to make discerning decisions to keep the reading rates at a steady pace and to prepare content to reach local audiences.  Behind all the work that is subtitling, that is from placing time codes for the subtitles to the accuracy in translation, to the writing system, language use, and the dialect, there are real people who have real needs that have to be met in order for them to understand and comprehend what is being communicated in the subtitles.  Subtitling is as hard as the word itself sounds, I say this because the whole concept of subtitling has been simplified by people thinking it’s just translations and then syncing. That is true to some extent, but the translation needed is high quality and a professional translator who knows what they are doing will tell you what is expected of them when doing translations for subtitles. Sometimes, videos subtitled for global audiences need localization, not just translation; a common scenario is when subtitlers replace original products or concepts with local ones. For example, different countries use different expressions to mean different to other countries so if a certain language is being translated for a local language of a certain country meanings need to be kept as the original form in order to 100% communicate what is intended and the context of the message received well by the target audience. This also applies for brand names and different foods. Subtitles are increasingly visible and present in our online experience, from subtitled auto-play ads on social media to the familiar CC icon at the bottom of some streaming video players. If you haven’t noticed then I will inform you that YouTube which is the video giant app where a lot of content creators post their video contents, has introduced the availability of subtitle previews which is a game-changer for their content consumers, the only thing left is for them to introduce translatable subtitles software and incorporate it with the app. We will look at the different evolution stages of subtitles in the following categories: -    Before filmDuring the silent movie eraAccessibility and Literacy
Subtitles Before Film
Subtitles have always been with us even before film production and television programs but not in how we know it nowadays. The whole art of displaying texts alongside performances can be seen with opera performances, information in the form of texts was usually included in live performances to help the local people understand and engage with the performances if they were productions in foreign languages. Born out of Italian madrigal tradition, many operatic composers continued to favor Italian as the language for the libretto of their operas. Local audiences in Germany, or in Mozart’s own Austria for example, had difficulty understanding the works performed in front them. To help close this gap in understanding, the text was displayed on a separate screen above the stage for the audience to see a translation of the performance into their native language. Because of its position above the stage, this text was called a “surtitle” or “supertitle.” This tradition is carried on today in a handful of modern theatre companies and at international film festivals.
Subtitles In The Silent Movie Era
The art of film has really moved from different stages over time and it moving from the experimental efforts of the two Lumiere brothers and Thomas Edison the form of film narration became the most sort after kind of production to connect audiences with the more nuanced stories of the time. Back then what they used where Inter-titles which were text-only clips which were spliced into films to explain and expound more on the main points of the film and fill in the narrative space of the silent cinema.  With time using the inter-titles became an art in its own form which would promote artistic humor and invite an extra sense of humor and emotions on top of an actor’s performance. Introducing sound in film changed a lot of things in the error of silent films which led to the use of inter-titles to reduce.  We can still see hints of the inter-title tradition carried on after the silent film era in movies and TV shows like “The Shining,” “Frasier,” and even “Spongebob Squarepants.” The purpose of inter-titles in modern works is usually to indicate the passage of time or change in the location instead of providing narration and exposition.
Subtitles For Accessibility And Literacy.
I believe that this is the stage of subtitles that the world is in right now. Many people who have a hearing impairment and have difficulties processing sound audio find the availability of subtitles a huge help for them. Subtitles have also made work easier for a lot of content creators where they allow their content to be accessed all over the world with the help of translated subtitles for different languages and audiences. For creators with multilingual audiences, hiring someone to translate subtitles is often the more popular option compared with the practices of dubbing or lectoring. Here, dubbing is the process replacing original speakers with voice actors in the intended target language while lectoring is a supplementary narration that is played alongside the original audio. Using subtitles has really come of age, and as the film industry continues evolving, we can only expect bigger and better ways incorporated with the subtitles. From the texts from during performances to inter-titles during silent movies to the current form of subtitles, the future of film is promising. Dubbing being a more complex form of audio translation which is also highly used in the film production industry to reach a much bigger audience specific to a certain language, while subtitling is a form of written translation we can’t wait to see what will come up next as we look out for the upgrade in how subtitles will be used or introduction of different software’s being used and how they will be presented on the screens as we enjoy our films. It really is exciting to watch out for all the changes that may happen. The film industry is going far, and we are here to experience its evolution.


Instruction: Why Do You Need Video (Audio) Transcription In Your Business

Response: There are different content that people love consuming in several ways. For example, some people prefer to get their information by reading blogs, while other people like to get information via podcasts (reading may not be their cup of tea, or they get bored fast). Finally, we have those who prefer watching videos, which is the most preferred option. Everybody has a reason they prefer consuming content through either of these three ways. When a business puts content out there, I believe it’s not just for the sake of it. They have a target audience or an aim that they would like to achieve. This content can be re-purposed to different formats, to reach out to an even wider audience, generating a passive income for the business in the long run. This is where the term transcription comes into play. Transcription is the only way a business or an organization can repurpose their audio or video content to a textual format, this can be further made into a blog post. In this article, we will see how transcription can help generate long term passive income for a business.


Instruction: Why Should You Transcribe Your Audio-Visual Content

Response:
You may wonder why people would want to engage with transcribed content and I’m guessing that is why you are so I will fill you in.
Everybody loves listening to podcasts and watching video content from time to because you get the perfect feel and even feel you are within and in the conversation but as much as there are people who love watching videos and listening to audios there is a percentage of your audience who love consuming their content by reading through text formats and since transcription changes your videos from video and audio to text than it’s important to use transcription services. Apart from preferences and all, there are people who are deaf or have a hard time comprehending information when it’s in form of an audio clip or a video, transcribing your work to a text format makes it easier for people who have this disability to also engage in your content which further generates a high engagement rate for your business. And it also brings about inclusivity, which is something that is being fought for hard nowadays.More times than not people wouldn’t want to listen to an audio or watch a video for different reasons and a good example would be when one is in a busy, noisy place and watching or listening to the audio would be a hustle and strenuous or when one is in a silent place and they do not have their earphones close by and also doesn’t want to be a bother to the people surrounding them, getting the same content they want to really watch in text format and be able to read away would really come in handy for them.With the internet making the world a global village, just imagine how many people come across different contents and more times than not they cannot consume the content because maybe as much as it might be in their native language a person either has a thick accent, or the audio is not clear enough such a person would really appreciate if the content would be in text format in order for them to at least understand it well. This also applies to audio or video content in foreign languages they can be transcribed and translated to the English language. Another reason transcribe your audio and video content is the mere fact that you can be able to include clickable links for all your other blogs or writing articles that you might have on your website. What this does is that it really shoots up the level of audience engagement in your business because of the links they can click and thus increasing the readability of your website which if you ask me is great for any business. This also makes it possible to promote your referral links and make a few coins here and there.Almost everyone in the world uses the Google search engine, if not everybody. I’m sure we all know how easy it is to get specific word related articles with just a simple search click, and this is something hard to do for audio or video content.  Most times for one to get access to the information they are looking for on a video or an audio file they have to keep on forwarding and rewinding, which becomes overwhelming. When you have your file in a text format, it’s very easy for your audience to search for particular information without feeling like they are engaging in a task.Another benefit of transcribing your audio and video content is how easy it becomes for people to search for the particular information you are trying to pass in your content through search engine optimization. Perhaps writing video and audio titles also helps with search engine optimization, but it’s not on the same scale as written text content. With search engine optimization it's easy if not easier for the content to be picked up by search engines and ranked on the search engine page results like SERPs.Ever wondered why most people love going through written text format when looking for information than sitting through a 50 minutes’ podcast or video content? Well, it is because some readers like myself know that written content easily highlights important information. However much an audio or video file might have subtitles you still have to rewind and forward twice before you reach the point that the information you are looking for is whereas for written format it’s just easy to sift through and get what you are looking for. A transcribed text content will come in handy for people who don’t enjoy wasting time looking for certain information.


Instruction: How Can Transcribed Content Create Passive Income For You And Your Business

Response:
In conclusion, I will touch on simple ways in which you can use transcribed content to create passive income for you and your business. Below you will find a couple of ways.
In an age where everyone has a YouTube page and putting out video content, it would be very smart if one can transcribe their information YouTube content into blog posts and given time that blog will start generating an income.A lot of companies offer training calls which end up just being that after the training, taking these training calls and making them E-learning courses that people can access for a small cost eventually becomes a form of passive income. When you produce your courses, they can generate long-term passive income for your business. Working with online learning platforms where people need to buy them for them to access them will be even better because then people can determine that it is not a scam to get their money. A good online learning platform you can try is Udemy.I attend a lot of business-related lectures with mind-blowing information and facts that I would 100% but if I could access them online or wherever. So if you are a person who always gives business lectures, it is advisable to convert those lectures into white papers that people can have access to, easily. One can get a professional audio transcriptionist who will help them with the service and then eventually use statistics and reference points to the transcripts to make them authoritative standard industry-standard white papers.With all these people who use webinars to pass information about different things, one can make a killing if they just transcribe their webinar series into an E-book which people can buy at a price and it’s good to note that if you specialize in topics which many people would want to get accustomed to then you will laugh all the way to the bank. Be sure to include the images and slideshows as part of your e-book. Also, provide clickable links to resources where readers can find more information about the topic at hand.
Being able to convert a particular form of content into different content that many people can enjoy and engage with only brings more business for your business, so re-purposing audio or video content into transcripts is great for generating passive income. The above summarizes ideas you can start working on today to get passive income from your existing video or audio content.


Instruction: What Are The Benefits Of Subtitles To The Audience

Response:
Subtitles have really come of age, I bet you cannot remember when you got a film and it did not have an option to use subtitles or not, below we will discuss different reasons use subtitles when watching a film and some benefits.
Learning new languages faster and being able to follow through with the storyline. Many people I know have truly praised subtitles and confessed on how easy it has been learning a new language by watching a series back to back or even listening to music videos with subtitles. If you or a friend has an interest in learning a new foreign language or just improving your skills in a language you already know, it’s advisable to get films that have subtitles in the particular language that you would love to learn or improve in. Reading textbooks and novels gets boring so get yourself a film genre that you enjoy and go about your way sharpening your skills and being entertained at the same time. Remember that this only works when the subtitles in question are in your target language.Easier access to different cultures across the globe. The fun part about learning new languages with the help of subtitles is that you can engross yourself in other people’s cultures, with a great grasp in a foreign language it’s easy to understand the culture and beliefs of the people who speak that language. I can proudly say that learning to speak Portuguese has really come in handy in allowing me to understand the Portuguese people's culture at a deeper level than I could have ever imagined. I believe that most people take for granted the ability to easily access other people’s culture which can be forfeited if we watch films with subtitles and get to know these international languages and even perfecting it to a point of no return “literary”Being able to watch international award-winning movies. Using subtitles has made it possible for people to access and enjoy watching most international award-winning films which might be in languages that are not easily accessible by other people around the globe which is a thing that never used to happen a long time ago.Provide clarity of any technical terminology, full names and brand names. The reality of the matter is that most times people never get to hear the names and terminologies used in a film because of either thick accents or mistranslations but with the help of subtitles, one can read the terminologies with no hassle. If it’s a film about law or medicine or architecture, it becomes hard to understand the jargon used to fit the different fields and someone who is not familiar with that jargon might have a hard time comprehending the film or even enjoying it. With subtitles, you can say goodbye to such hassles because it makes everything easy and simplified to read and understand. You can avoid the constant rewinding and forwarding of a film because you did not fully understand the statement mentioned, which is no fun for anyone. Sure, they can spell it out for you, but how many times have you struggled to keep up with the spelling of a long word. A great example of a film that has a difficult word for a normal person to understand is Lord of the Rings, where the fictional names of places and characters are not very obvious? It’s slightly easier to keep up with the story about how “Glorfindel leaving Rivendell” or when “Beregond sees the light in the tower of Minas Tirith” with subtitles.Better experience for those with learning disabilities, attention deficits, or autism. It would be terrible for the film industry to ignore the fact that there are many people who have disabilities and learning difficulties who would also love to watch and understand some of their productions.  According to one research, captions and transcripts are helpful to those with learning difficulties. Almost 75% of individuals in this category have come out to praise how subtitles have been a great help and acted as a learning aid for them. And there are countless other researches, including one by The University of South Florida St. Petersburg Distance Learning Accessibility Committee, where there is strong support for subtitle and captions for films and music videos in their online courses because of how beneficial they are to all students, with or without disabilities. To comprehend any strong accent, mumbling, loud background noise. When listening to anyone speak let alone in films, it becomes hard for someone to comprehend anything if the speaker has a strong accent, there is a lot of outside mumbling or loud background noise, all these 100% affect the listening and comprehension of others and also when learning new languages this may pose as an enormous fallback so the use of subtitles in such cases always comes in handy. The subtitle always plays a big role in understanding what was not loud enough or clear enough or either said and pronounced properly. A great example would be in a film a crowd scene where everybody saying something, if anyone in the group is mumbling, then we will struggle… and if that happens in the middle of loud background noise, then I think we’re all screwed. If it were possible to get live subtitles in our day-to-day lives, then listening comprehension would a problem that we would not be experiencing.An easy way to watch videos in sound-sensitive environments, like offices and libraries. Imagine wanting to watch a video in a silent place where silence is highly upheld and you don’t have headphone or earphones, you definitely wouldn’t be able to understand anything by just watching the movement of the lips and also it would be fun, sounds like a hard task trying to read the lips of characters in a video. We’ve all been there, in that scenario that I just explained and it really is a bummer, you can try to ask for your neighbor’s earphones but high chances are most of the time that your neighbor is also using theirs. This is where the use of subtitles comes in place and also people get to understand and see their importance. People always say that you don’t see the importance of something unless you have to use it. Subtitles are also very important in public noisy places, not only silent places, even with the help of earphones the background noise might make it hard for one to hear what is being said on a video and thus subtitles become helpful. Remember that it is very rude to listen to a loud video in a silent place, so don’t do it.Online videos with subtitles provide better user engagement and experience. I don’t know about you, but I have noticed that a lot of videos on these online platforms have used subtitles more than how it has been over the past years. The thing is many people might feel the need to press on a video and watch it from the subtitles they see when in passing, this really promotes the engagement and experience level of the consumers of that content. According to Facebook, closed captions can increase video view time by an average of 12%. Some reasons might be because of the reasons above, like being in sound-sensitive environments. Regardless of that reason many people wouldn’t sit through a 10 minutes’ video with no sound and no subtitles so film and creative content creators need to incorporate subtitles on their contents or else they will lose a lot of views. Since we live in an era where video contents are everywhere and consumed even more than ever before, creating a positive user experience is even more critical than ever before.Easier to translate to other languages. People don’t know this, but it’s very easy to translate films with subtitles to other languages and one would love because the availability of an already transcribed script makes this easy. The scripts can easily be translated by sending it off to a translation service like Rev.com. Once you have received the file back-translated in the languages of your choice, you have further opportunity to reach another target market if you upload onto YouTube or if you want it for personal reasons like for learning languages.
We can all conclude that using subtitles in our films and videos has more benefits than anyone can think of. Above I have mentioned just but a few of the most important benefits of using subtitles and how they simplify life and how we engage with a lot of the film productions out here. I 100% believe that every film producer should strive to use subtitles more or make them accessible because they will win more.
-  Learning new languages faster and being able to follow through with the story line. -  Easier access to different cultures across the globe.-  Being able to watch international award winning movies. -  Provide clarity of any technical terminology, full names and brand names.-  Better experience for those with learning disabilities, attention deficits or autism.-  To comprehend any strong accents, mumbling, loud background noise.-  An easy way to watch videos in sound-sensitive environments, like offices and libraries.- Online videos with subtitles provide better user engagement and experience.-  Easier to translate to other languages.


Instruction: What Are the Available Subtitle Schemes, And The Different User Preferences

Response:
Case Study
Word on the film streets is that it’s better to use foreign language subtitles when watching foreign film productions as compared to using native language subtitles. The benefits of doing this always extend to learning foreign languages and being able to comprehend the meanings of the original film before the subtitle. A very good example would be seen where research was done in Portugal where many people could comprehend and easily process English sentences after watching English material with English subtitles than they were after watching English material with Portuguese subtitles.English-speaking students who were learning French had a slightly greater improvement in vocabulary recognition after watching French films using French subtitles, compared to students who watched the French films with English subtitles. The study also shows that the students enjoyed, connected and had fun watching the original material more.The Philippine college students who were learning English could not have any significant experience or improvement in their listening and comprehension skills after watching English videos using English subtitles compared to watching it with Pilipino subtitles.From the three examples above we can and precisely conclude that it's highly preferable to use foreign-language subtitles as opposed to native language subtitles though the differences might not be big, it just shows that the former is more effective. It’s also good to note that one’s preference for what works well for them depends on what exactly is a foreign language to them and what is a native language. The study also shows that while most people highly benefit and have quality and better learning experiences from foreign-language subtitles, students who are just beginners might struggle with them. If you have only limited proficiency in your target language, it might be better for you to use subtitles in your native language first until you feel comfortable having or in the native language.I will further discuss other types of subtitles here so you can get a better understanding of what subtitles are being used in the film you might watch; they say knowledge is power so why don’t I empower you with this knowledge. There are two types of subtitles in the film industry, namely: -Reverse subtitlesDual subtitlesThese two types of subtitles referred to as viewing schemes are not commonly used, and that’s why most people might not know much about them.


Instruction: What Are the Different Subtitle Schemes Used In Film

Response:
Reverse Subtitles.
Reverse Subtitles are the particular subtitles are the ones which appear in a foreign language together with a soundtrack in the Native language, this means that the foreign language subtitles were layered over native language soundtrack during production.In some areas of language learning, such as vocabulary learning, these subtitles can be preferable to native-language subtitles on a foreign-language soundtrack. In addition, they are beneficial since they offer a great way to get some relatively passive exposure to your target language; just enable the foreign-language subtitles while watching your regular shows, and you’ll notice yourself using them more and more, as you pick up bigger units of texts.Another important advantage of reverse subtitles that most people might not know is that most times it’s easier to find films with subtitles in your Native language as compared to those in the target language that you are trying to learn. A good example would be how most English Native speakers have a lot of films with subtitles in the English language as compared to if they tried to find film subtitles in Spanish or French or even. The vice versa would also be true for a Portuguese native speaker in Portugal trying to find Portuguese film subtitles. That would be easier for them in more ways than imaginable.Anything with advantages never misses having disadvantages and reverse subtitles have a couple of disadvantages that I will mention, most times using reverse subtitles only means that that because it makes things easier for a native speaker, it doesn’t develop the proficiency of a person in important areas of a language to listen and comprehending skills. Thus though, does not mean that one’s stays clear of these subtitles, it only means that broadening the spectrum and using other types of subtitles will ensure that you stay on top of the game and have a wide balance. What this means is that the reverse subtitles are beneficial and are beneficial for a certain amount of time, and switching things up from time to time only means that you can work around its limitations. If you’re a beginner, they offer a great way to achieve exposure to your target language in a comfortable environment that encourages things such as vocabulary acquisition. However, because using them means that you’re not exposed to the sounds of your foreign language, as your language proficiency grows, start using other types of subtitles too.
Dual Subtitles
From the word dual, you can tell that it’s ‘something to do with two or a pair or any word you can think of that represents two.
Dual subtitles are the kind that uses a foreign soundtrack together with subtitles in both the foreign and the native language. This means that these subtitles provide the most information out of many subtitles. This is helpful and disadvantageous at the same time if that is even a word, this is because these dual subtitles give a learner more valuable input but the problem comes in when one cannot process all this input in a one hour film becomes a bit confusing and overwhelming. We know very well that the human mind has not been created in a way that we can multitask only so it’s advisable for a learner to follow through with one language might be the foreign or the native language subtitles while referring to the other subtitles only in specific cases or when trying to understand or comprehend furtherer with translation. For example, this means that if you’re focusing on the foreign-language subtitles, then you will probably look at the native-language subtitles only where you need a translation for a certain word or phrase.Note that some platforms offer special dual subtitles, where you only see the foreign-language subtitles normally, but hovering over a specific word shows you its native-language translation while pausing the show.Dual subtitles can be highly valuable as long as one can find a platform that works well and is to their advantage, and as long as using it doesn’t cause you to feel overwhelmed while watching your show.
What To Consider When Choosing A Subtitle Scheme.
It’s very important to note, depending on which level you are in learning or trying to understand a language, you can choose a subtitle that will make it easier for you to comprehend whether the native or the foreign language. As you improve your proficiency in the target language, you will handle more foreign-language input, but as with any other learning, this is a process that takes time. With time, it’s easy to pick up what works better for you and what does not. However, it’s important to also note that preferences vary from person to person. What works out amazingly well for you might not be the case for me, and vice versa. This means that different people learn in different ways, and can benefit more from using different materials. When choosing which subtitles to use, experiment and try different things until you find the solution that works best for you.Finally, always be keen to consider the most important factor which is the ability for the subtitles to have a level of engagement is more of a learning process than an overwhelming process because subtitles in films get overwhelming. If you won’t engage with the material in the target language, then you won’t be able to learn it.If you ever watch a film where it’s more complicated and difficult for you to follow through, it’s better to throw in the towel and pick up something that is easier for you to grasp. Films are made for people to enjoy and relax with, not for the overwhelming and complicating an individual’s watching process. The key thing to look out for is the level of engagement you get from a film and it’s subtitles.Therefore, if you find yourself not watching things because the material is too difficult, it’s better to switch to something that you’re comfortable with (e.g. native-language subtitles), as long as it means that you’re engaging with foreign-language material. However, know that language learning can be difficult sometimes and that eventually, you need to advance to the more complex material, even if it seems scary at first.
Summary and conclusions
If you’re watching movies, TV shows, or any other material in your target foreign language, it’s better to watch it with subtitles than without them.Foreign-language subtitles are a slightly more effective study aid than native-language subtitles. However, if you’re a beginner, you will probably need subtitles in the native language at first, until you get to a stage where you can cope with having both the soundtrack and the subtitles be in the foreign language.Two other helpful types of subtitles are reverse subtitles, where foreign-language subtitles appear together with a native-language soundtrack, and dual subtitles, where the foreign-language soundtrack appears together with subtitles in both the foreign and the native language.Your choice of subtitles will probably change over time, as your foreign-language proficiency grows. In addition, different people prefer different subtitles, so experiment to see what works for you.When it comes to learning, the main thing you should focus on is increasing the time spent engaging with material in your foreign language. When choosing which subtitles to use, pick the ones that increase your motivation to watch things in your foreign language, since the more material you watch, the more you will learn.


Instruction: What Is The Impact  Of Subtitling In The Society Among Us

Response: Since the introduction of subtitles, it’s very clear and without a doubt that it brought about a change in how people relate to films. People have been able to engage easily with international foreign films that they wouldn’t before subtitles became a thing.Depending on what language the subtitles are one is able to watch a totally different language film and enjoy the whole content without getting confused or overwhelmed with the foreign language because of subtitles. While subtitles facilitate understanding, the work that goes behind subtitling is painstakingly long and precise.Subtitling is a form of audiovisual translation. Professionals with prior experience are the best when it comes to subtitles because the art of subtitling follows specific criteria, rules, and specifications.Professionally done subtitling requires the skills of linguistic specialists who are highly trained to understand the complex process of translating different types of program genres and content. They have the skill to keep the context and meaning of the original material within the subtitles they add.


Instruction: How Are Subtitles Created

Response: If you thought creating and production of subtitles is as simple as it sounds, then I suggest you think again and do your research well in order to get the right information. It’s way more and complex than directly translating a script and placing it on the lower part of the screen in a film. Subtitling is translation work that has time and space restrictions. Translators are always urged to have prior interaction with the materials they would work with, in order to have a basic understanding on the level of language used so as to be able to maintain the context and meaning of the original video, as they convey the translated script into the target languages. It not only deals with script translation alone. One has to in-cooperate the audio and video. Special parameters also have to be considered, during translation using subtitles. at times a single line translated as a single subtitle might exceed the expected parameters which become a huge problem during layering of the subtitles in line with the audio. This simply means that the translator has to consider the positioning and timing, the limits of the characters-per-line, as well as the reading speed.


Instruction: What Are The Limitations And Constraints Of Subtitles

Response:
Most of the time, the space allocated for the translation is always limited to two lines of subtitles. which the standard space across all boards.  Usually, the subtitles are positioned and centered at the bottom of the visible screen. In a video, the maximum number of characters that can fit is 70 characters. This means each line can only accommodate 35 characters inclusive of symbols and spaces. Subtitles also have time limits. Subtitles have a minimum length of one second. The maximum duration subtitles seen on screen is six seconds. However, though these parameters are standard, they can always be changed to meet a requirement, that a film might have.  While there is a minimum and maximum limit to the number of characters and the subtitle's duration, there is also a direct relation between them. This means that there are exceptions, based on the subtitle and how well (and quickly) it can be read.  Reading Speed of the Viewer is Important.  If you watch films with subtitles you are aware that certain reading speed is expected in order for one to get a clear understanding of what is being said on the subtitles. This means that the average reading speed of an individual is what determines the actual number of characters in the subtitle and its duration remaining on screen. People are different and so is their reading and comprehension speed so a subtitle which is 6 seconds might take some people less time than others. This put into consideration, the average speed is usually an estimate. Basically, three words per second is the average estimated reading speed. The average viewer needs about four seconds to read two lines of subtitles containing 70 characters or approximately 12 words. When the time is short, minimal characters should be used.  In order for a subtitle to be perfectly synchronized with a video’s audio, it’s usually advisable for a translator to try and calculate the time in which a subtitle appears and disappears from a screen in a process called spotting. This does help at times but at times it inaccurate because of how fast seconds move past. Something else that needs consideration is the changes in the camera shot which also usually affects the duration of the subtitles. When there is a change of shot, the viewer is inclined to re-read the subtitle. So scene and shot changes are added to the rest of the factors a translator has to look out for.
Facts About Subtitling.
You might ask whether subtitling is cost-effective or it’s expensive, the reality is compared to most of the other audiovisual translation methods, subtitling is the most cost-effective. As a result, most film companies tend to embrace it more than all the other forms of audiovisual translation.   In recent years, many TV dramas from other countries became more accessible because they were subtitled. In recent years a lot of streaming sites have come which create subtitled films targeting online international audiences.   For commercial purposes, professional translators are hired to produce subtitles for films so as to ensure high quality and accurate translation of their content, so that they can be to be distributed to a number of global audiences. For subtitled films to be commercialized a lot of heads have to come together to ensure that that actually happens and these heads are those of the scriptwriter, director, artists, editors, cinematographers, costume designers, set designers, musical directors, makeup artists, production crew, and more. But while it has been around for ages, one of the collaborators that are not often given much attention is the subtitling team.


Instruction: Is Subtitling an Art

Response:
Subtitling is and can always be considered an art because it really is an art. All the processes that are involved in making sure that films are subtitled and synchronized with the video's audio is not a child’s play. There are several challenges that translators face while producing subtitles and thus making it a creative process that helps films to reach out to a wider audience.
When filmmakers re-film a particular story that was originally filmed in another language, their work is admittedly made easy by the assistance of subtitles which make them understand movies from different parts of the globe. As an expressive type of art, it’s only right that it received, understood and enjoyed by many kinds of audiences and able to express the culture and story from one part of the world to the other.


Instruction: What Are Some Challenges You Will Definitely Face During The Process Of Subtitling

Response:
To further show how difficult the art of subtitling is, I’ll be able to mention two main factors that are essential in the process of subtitling that you have never thought of before.
Expression of Emotion Do you know how hard it is to express emotions in writing? Yes, just think of how hard it becomes for you to show anger in a text without emoji’s but subtitlers have to do exactly that and show that whatever the subtitle shows are exactly in line with what is being shown and heard from a film.  The words being used must always be perfectly handpicked by the translator and the editor because without making careful choices of words to use the audience might find a hard time grasping the concept of a scene.Difficult words to translate.Someone who is a translator can tell you without a doubt how hard it is to translate certain words and expressions from one language to another. This comes to be because of the fact that one word might mean a certain thing in one language and another thing in another language. Most times cultural jokes, idioms, poems are not able to be translated well which most times lead to a film losing context and the original meaning.Some words where translators have difficulty translating into other languages include mind-boggling, flabbergasted, glisten, gleam, glare, rustle, logic, insight, impeach, bully, vicarious, etc. Of course, it goes both ways. The Portuguese word "jarrete" is "back of the knees" in English, while "tez" is "face skin.""Another thing is that some words in one language might be a single word and when translated they turn to be two or three words which brings a problem with synching. Some single English words may need more words when translated. For example, "shallow" (water) in English will be "peu profond" in French. There are English words that need a lengthy description instead of a direct translation.With all that said, we should all be able to agree and understand that subtitle really is an art which must be taken as so and highly appreciated.