Production Package

To prepare a video file for subtitles, use this table: It is essential to align the text perfectly with the timing of the voiceover. The subtitles must start exactly when the voiceover starts and stop when the voiceover ends, so they can be properly aligned when you get the translation. To test this out, export it as an English subtitle and import it into the tool for creating subtitles.

To check the subtitles, you can use VLC player. Put the video file and the subtitles in the same folder. If VLC doesn't ‘pull' the subtitle, navigate using the “subtitle” menu..

When you get back the subtitle file, create a new text document. Take the translated column with all the text and numbers and paste it into the new text document. Save the new text document with the extension “.srt”.

Follow best practice by putting the first two letters of the language of the subtitles in the file name. Example: “Safe planning_FR.srt” (for French subtitles).

Sometimes, if you encounter an asterisk (*) symbol, it means that the encoding of the subtitle is not correct for the language and it will need to be transcoded to UTF-8 Unicode. To do that, use this free online tool subtitletools.com

The method of putting a subtitle file directly into the video, so that you have one file (video) instead of two (video + subtitles), is called “hardcoding subtitles into the video”. The exact process is explained here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP2gIeWWCec. You need VLC video player to do this.

To ensure that your text is aligned properly, you can check it in Google Translate. Paste the column from the excel file that has the translation or the .srt file into the first Google Translate box and select the language of the translation. In the other box, select English or your native language, if you feel that it would help. The suggestion is to set it to English, since Google Translate is most accurate for English.

Try not to have too much text on each subtitle so there is room for translation. Before sending, check the Englist.srt file and make sure you don't have more than two rows of text for each subtitle.

Translations typically take up more space and take longer to read. It is important to ensure that the user has enough time to read the translated subtitles. To do this, make sure that the subtitles stay on the screen for at least two to five seconds longer than needed for the original language, depending on the size of the text box. Shorter text boxes should be extended by at least two seconds and longer ones for five seconds. That way, when they are translated, users will have enough time to read them.

When you are checking/reading the subtitles, read as slowly as possible and check with colleagues that are not familiar with the material to see if it is too fast for them. When are familiar with content, we can read it quickly. Reduce the speed as much as you can for users.