What's the difference between subtitling and translation?

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What's the difference between subtitling and translation?

Whilst there is a certain amount of overlap, there are a few major differences between the two.

• Time coding

  Straightforward translations do not normally require time coding. Some media translations do, for example when we translate a voice over or a transcription, but generally these are to be read out by a voice over artist and there are no constraints in terms of formatting or the number of words. In subtitling, time coding is one of the most important jobs and should be carried out by an experienced 'spotter'. We determine the start and end times by going through the footage frame by frame using professional software.

• Delivery formats

  Translations can be supplied to us in common file formats such as Microsoft Word. You will receive them in the same format as you supplied them. If you need subtitles, we'll need the footage and we will deliver specific subitle files. We handle a variety of video and audio formats. You can send us a DVD, harddrive or upload your materials to an FTP. Please supply scripts if you have them, this will save money and time.

• Delivery of subtitles

  Depending on what happens with the footage, there are a number of ways we can deliver the subtitles for you (see 'Which subtitling formats can you deliver?').
  Broadcast and post production companies will require subtitles in particular subtitling formats that can only be generated by professional subtitling software. Media Lingo will, in most cases, liaise with the broadcast facility and / or the DVD authoring company to agree on the most efficient ways of supplying the subtitles.

• Required skillsets

  Once all the in and out times have been set and the soundtrack has been transcribed, we need to make sure that the onscreen content and speech is rendered into two lines of 37 characters, and within the in and out time. This almost always means speech needs to be compressed, and it takes a skilled subtitler to do this efficienly without losing any meaning.

  
  Once the 'master script' is complete, this is exported for translation. This means the translator can translate the copy in a Word document, but will still need to stay within the 37 characters per line. In many languages text expands as English is quite an efficient language, so translating with this constraint adds another complication for the translator. Once the file has been translated and proofread, this is imported back into the subtitling software which then generates a subtitling file for the post production stage.

  So, if translation and subtitling are so different, why do we offer both?