In this era of globalization, it becomes more imperative to understand each other by mitigating the communication barriers. In this way, developed countries will be able to share their developments with underdeveloped countries making the world a liveable place for humanity and creating peace in the global world. This resulted in the formation of jobs like subtitle translator.
When we look back at history, subtitling was created in the 1900s. It was developed for films to convey the message of dialogues to the audience. At that time, movies were silent. They had no voice so it became a rational means of getting your message conveyed to the audience. Facial expressions and body language were not enough to communicate your message and theme. So here comes the subtitle to engage viewers with the movie. Over time, the job of subtitler has gone through many changes. Subtitles are complex because they must communicate your message accurately. For this matter, they are using technology to mitigate communication barriers. Do you want to know what the subtitle is?
What is a Subtitler?
A subtitler can be a person or software. If a person is a subtitler then he is called translator subtitlers or a translator. A translator or subtitler is a person that translates the dialogues from one language to another. Moreover, it helps in the alteration from video and audio. If it is a SaaS software, then it works as software to help in developing subtitles for games, documentaries, songs, movies, and many more.
Do You Want to Become a Subtitler?
Subtitling is a very fascinating and creative option to select. If you want to become a subtitle then you must possess certain skills, otherwise, your career as a Subtitler will be at stake. Do you want to know how to develop the right skills? How to find a job related to subtitling? What competencies are necessary to boost your career? Before going for the subtitling field, analyze whether this work is right for you.
If you have the following qualities then you can easily become a subtitle translator.
- Have a great love for languages
- Proficient in grammar
- Motivation for a job, in this way deadlines of the project, are easily met.
- Be flexible and have patience
- Have prior experience of translation and transcreation.
Developing the Skills
Unlike any other profession, subtitling requires a certain skill set. If you are using the software then you must learn how to use the software to contract the translation in a specific line beneath the video. Moreover, you must learn how to convey the message at a specific time. It seems very difficult at first and you might be thinking of pursuing any degree in this field but don’t worry. You can easily develop the skills from the courses that are available online such as GoSub.
GoSub.tv is one of the best platforms to select subtitling courses from entry-level to the advanced level. After going through these courses, you can start working as a subtitle translator.
Language Proficiency and Use of TED Talks
Being proficient in a language is one of the foremost skills to become a successful subtitler. You must be proficient in different languages with knowledge of grammar and various dialects. Before selecting this as your career, test yourself whether you can do this yourself. For this, you can take the assistance of TED Talks. In TED talks there is a community of volunteers that can help you in the subtitling videos in more than 30 languages. To your surprise, anyone can sign to subtitle the videos and for your convenience, instructions are given on how to translate videos with the help of free subtitling software.
Subtitle Translator Should be Good at Intersemiotic Translation
We all know about Inter-linguistic translation but do you know what intersemiotic translation is. It is a translation of media and sign systems. For instance, in videos, some facial expressions and gestures can add meaning to the content. Subtitle translators should be good at both visual marks like gestures that can add value to the speech. They can do both things by reading through spoken messages, sound, and images and then convert the message into written form. Therefore subtitle translators should be good at inter-semiotic translation.
Subtitle Translator Can do Creative Synthesis
There are many restrictions for which a subtitle translator should consider like spacing and timing. The most important thing that the subtitle translators should consider is how to prioritize the message and how to cut and add information so that it can resonate with the soundtrack if it is available. Moreover, they should also keep in mind that viewers don’t have to rush on reading the subtitles. Subtitle translators can develop this skill if they learn the art of creative synthesis. It will help the subtitle translators to keep themselves true to the original speech, style of speech, and quirks of the text.
Considering Technical Aspects
Subtitling translation is associated with technology. Just like other fields, technology plays a significant role in subtitling. The subtitle translator should know how to sort out format problems. For this purpose video or filmmakers should work closely with Subtitle translators to avoid any errors before the release of the video or movie.
Start looking for Subtitling Jobs on Social Media
Although subtitling is creative and interesting work you might find the problem in looking for jobs. You can start your research online by looking into social media. You must make your LinkedIn and Twitter profile and start conversing with other subtitle translators. It will give you a big advantage especially when you are looking for interlingual subtitling. This is because it might be possible that the connection that you have made is dealing with Malay to English translation and you are good at Spanish to English translation. Therefore a Subtitler that knows required Spanish to English translation then he can refer you to a specific entertainment company without any second thought. At present, social media is being used as a powerful recruitment tool. One of its best platforms is LinkedIn which is professional and contains real-time good vacancies.
Start Looking for a Job with the Help of Subtitling Companies
Another best place to look for a subtitle translator job is subtitling companies. Two of the companies are Ericson and Media Lingo. These are the two significant names among the pool of companies that usually have subtitling positions. You can also read blogs of these companies to know about how to get a subtitling job. If you find a company with whom you want to work with but they don’t have any opening vacancy then do email them your resume so that they can contact you whenever the vacancy is available. Moreover, if you don’t want to work with the company then you can become a freelance subtitler. For this, you must connect with Linkedin to show yourself as a freelance subtitler. There are many filmmakers, directors, and videographers that are looking for subtitle translators to work for their projects so that they can release their movies in foreign markets easily.
Wrapping Up:
The above-mentioned tips will certainly help you to become an adept subtitle translator. If you enjoy this creative work then your hard work and sheer dedication will make you a successful subtitle translator. So, are you ready?
