One of our clients in the film industry approached us with an enquiry about the translation of a multilingual documentary. The film, which lasted over 90 minutes, featured English, German and Polish dialogues. The client commissioned the creation of four language versions of the film: English, French, German and Polish.
The task was made all the more difficult by the fact that they had also ordered four language versions of the subtitles:
- Polish subtitles for the English and German dialogues
- German subtitles for the English and Polish dialogues
- English subtitles for the German and Polish dialogues
- French subtitles for the Polish dialogues
They helpfully provided a partial transcription of the dialogues in English and Polish.
We started our work by defining the scope of the translation and dividing up the material among our suppliers.
The translators were chosen for their specialisation abilities and knowledge of the required software for preparing and translating film subtitles.
The project manager who oversaw the work on this assignment verified the completeness of the text sent by the client for the video transcript, and split the content according to the language combinations.
The translators worked by relying on the film and using the text from the transcript when parts of the film were not very clear.
After the translations were complete, the content was then submitted for linguistic correction. Proofreading was carried out by native speakers of English, French German and Polish, who also had a recording if they needed to interpret the context accordingly.
The next stage of the work involved checking the spacing of the lettering by a graphic designer, also employed by our agency for such tasks. Some of the subtitles still needed to be adapted for the film.
Once the proofreading part of the process had been completed, two independent members of the Quality Control Team checked the completeness of the translation and the correctness of the subtitles displayed in each of the requested languages.
The client finally received 4 files in the .srt format, with ready-made subtitles in 4 language combinations.
Working on the translation of the film was logistically challenging due to the client’s complex guidelines. In addition to the linguistic and technical skills, it also required our translators to be extremely meticulous and accurate.
If you need a film or video translated, just ask us.
At Skrivanek, we provide translations into more than 70 languages. We also use new technologies to meet the ever-changing expectations of our customers, allowing us to carry out audiovisual translations using specialised software for film subtitling, as well as also offering voiceover and dubbing services.
The individual approach we use to meet your needs, as well as the flexibility of our team, sets our agency apart from other service providers.