"Closed caption file" = SRT file?
Thread poster: DIANNE BEREST
DIANNE BEREST
DIANNE BEREST  Identity Verified
Montenegro
Local time: 09:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
Mar 27, 2020

Hi guys. Would appreciate your help with this. I've never created or translated subtitles and a long-time customer is asking for me to prepare translated subtitles of the responses (not the questions) of a filmed interview. She says:
• The transcription should be provided in a word or excel document with a timestamp every 3-5 seconds. That will allow me to position the subtitles accurately with the proper timing.
• Some translators, who are accustomed with video production,
... See more
Hi guys. Would appreciate your help with this. I've never created or translated subtitles and a long-time customer is asking for me to prepare translated subtitles of the responses (not the questions) of a filmed interview. She says:
• The transcription should be provided in a word or excel document with a timestamp every 3-5 seconds. That will allow me to position the subtitles accurately with the proper timing.
• Some translators, who are accustomed with video production, provide their transcription in the form of a closed-caption file.

Of course I'd prefer to give her the subtitles in a "closed-caption file" as apparently that is the preferred option, but I'm not sure what that is. Is it an SRT file?

Thanks very much!
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 09:30
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Ask the client the file extension or a sample file Mar 28, 2020

DIANNE BEREST wrote:
She says: Some translators, who are accustomed with video production, provide their transcription in the form of a closed-caption file.


I am not a subtitler or subtitle translator, but:

I think the best thing is to ask the client what the file format of her chosen closed captions file is, or to send you an example of one. The reason I say this is because (a) different companies, softwares and countries use the terms "subtitles" and "captions" and "closed captions" to mean different things and (b) there are many, many subtitle and caption file formats, so even if you do deliver the work in one of those formats, it may be that the client is expecting a different one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_captioning
https://www.rev.com/blog/close-caption-file-format-guide-for-youtube-vimeo-netflix-and-more


Morano El-Kholy
 
DIANNE BEREST
DIANNE BEREST  Identity Verified
Montenegro
Local time: 09:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Makes total sense Mar 28, 2020

You're absolutely right Samuel. Much better to do that than guess what she wants. Thanks for the suggestion!

 
Sarper Aman
Sarper Aman  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 11:30
Member (2019)
English to Turkish
+ ...
Closed vs Open Mar 28, 2020

Hello Dianne,

Closed Caption or CC simply means, you can turn it on and off with a remote or like on Youtube. Open Caption is when the subtitles are burned into the video, you can't turn it off, it's always on. Yes, SRT is one of the forms you can use. What I don't understand is, as a subtitle translator, "with a timestamp every 3-5 seconds." You put the subtitle box when it's needed, not in every 3-5 seconds. Maybe they want you to do it roughly, then they do the fine tuning, I don
... See more
Hello Dianne,

Closed Caption or CC simply means, you can turn it on and off with a remote or like on Youtube. Open Caption is when the subtitles are burned into the video, you can't turn it off, it's always on. Yes, SRT is one of the forms you can use. What I don't understand is, as a subtitle translator, "with a timestamp every 3-5 seconds." You put the subtitle box when it's needed, not in every 3-5 seconds. Maybe they want you to do it roughly, then they do the fine tuning, I don't know.
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DIANNE BEREST
DIANNE BEREST  Identity Verified
Montenegro
Local time: 09:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Timestamp timing Mar 28, 2020

Hello Sarper,

Thanks for the information. I also wondered about the timing, although I looked up samples of subtitles with timestamps and there seem to be both types - those that have timestamps according to the audio (as needed), and others that are regularly-spaced/timed.


 
Sarper Aman
Sarper Aman  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 11:30
Member (2019)
English to Turkish
+ ...
... Mar 29, 2020

Honestly, I don't understand what you mean by "regularly spaced/timed". So they pop-up on the screen in every certain time? Like in every 10-20 seconds? Maybe it is specific to that video. I have no idea and didnt see anything like that. If it doesn't have a sensitive information, you can email it to me so I can check. But other than "subtitles for audio", we also use kind of "informative subtitles" which are called Narrative, Forced Narrative or FN. You see them in the movies, things like "3 da... See more
Honestly, I don't understand what you mean by "regularly spaced/timed". So they pop-up on the screen in every certain time? Like in every 10-20 seconds? Maybe it is specific to that video. I have no idea and didnt see anything like that. If it doesn't have a sensitive information, you can email it to me so I can check. But other than "subtitles for audio", we also use kind of "informative subtitles" which are called Narrative, Forced Narrative or FN. You see them in the movies, things like "3 days ago" "Chicago 2010" or "Hospital" or "dialogue in a foreign langugage". There are some other types. What we do is roughly, putting an "in-time" when the audio starts and "out-time" when the audio finishes. One subtitle should not be longer than 6-7 seconds. I'm putting a Netflix Timed Text Style here, so this can give you also some basic timed text style of subtitling.

https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/215758617-Timed-Text-Style-Guide-General-Requirements

This is a general page. You can also find your language specific guidelines here.
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DIANNE BEREST
DIANNE BEREST  Identity Verified
Montenegro
Local time: 09:30
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Great info Mar 29, 2020

Thanks again, Sarper! Very useful information. What I was referring to was the timestamps on the file (SRT file, for example), not the subtitles in the video.

 


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"Closed caption file" = SRT file?







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