The challenge
This was a rather unusual assignment, undertaken for one of my premium clients, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). I regularly translate for them all kinds of content, from presentations and speeches to brochures, promotional booklets and SEO-optimised texts for their Polish website (daad.pl).
Although I do not specialise in audiovisual translation, the client decided to entrust me with the translation of subtitles for their new video campaign on YouTube.
For this project I received a transcript of the German audio, completed with the timestamps for the original subtitles hard coded into the video file.
My task was to convert the copy into flawless, time-stamped Polish captions.
Working with the original video file with hard-coded subtitles in German, I created a spotted *.srt file with Polish subtitles.
Translating &
re-syncing subtitles
Video translation requires the translator to perform a number of tasks in addition to the core translation work.
The very first step that has to be carried out is the transcription of the video content, along with time-stamping. This is an essential part of the process, as it ensures that the translated copy can be perfectly paired with the video, without falling out of sync.
However, for this job I got already pre-spotted subtitles from the client. It was a great benefit as I could fully concentrate on the actual translation task.
The result
I delivered a flawless video translation service to the client, with time-coded Polish subtitles that match up correctly with what’s happening on the screen.
And here is the result:
→ youtu.be/Keb5wDPXc7E
Video translation is something of a fine art. From transcription to subtitling and time-stamping, it requires exceptional attention to detail if the translated video file is to live up to the quality of the original.
If you have audiovisual recordings or transcripts in German that need to be translated into Polish, just email me for a quick quote.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Content matters.
Give it every chance to succeed.