With my last piece being lost, here is a rewritten article about timing and its relation in fansubbing.
The role of a timer in the grand scheme of things is one I feel is quite overrated. I've gone about doing it and it's a tedious job to do but it is by no means the toughest or most difficult job, which I feel a lot of people out there in fansubbing land portray it to be. I'll say it again, I believe the role of translating is by far the toughest job when it comes to fansubbing and timing doesn't come close. I'm not sure any roles do.
When it comes to timing, I think it is worth noting that there are some distinctions to be made within the role. Broadly speaking you have timing relating to karaoke and then timing relating to the actual show itself. Out of these two, the job of the karaoke timer is far more boring.
The one timing the show has it easy, mark the point at where a sentence begins and then again where it ends. If two people are talking over each other then you'll have to make allowances for that but it's not too tough or difficult to do. When it comes to the person timing the karaoke, it can be a real nightmare. You have to do the above, which is straightforward but then you need to go into timing each and every syllable. So you'll be playing the same bit of sound back and forth ensuring you get it spot on within fractions of a second.
Now this is not really tough but, as I have said, very boring and tedious. I suppose you can say it is tough as you need to keep your discipline throughout. That said on both occasions you are clear when something is right or wrong. There is nothing left to interpretation, it's quite cut and dried. That means you don't need to invest yourself into it a great deal. A translator, on the other hand, will have to deal with possible variations or meanings of words and sentences. It's all a judgement call and requires an understanding of the show and characters to get it just right. I've seen it with Yume translating something, he may come to me and ask for help and we'll throw about suggestions and ideas for an age ensuring we make sense in English but keep as true to the Japanese as possible. Trying to strike the best balance.
Coming back to timing, Yume and I have used Sabbu to get timings and to ensure they are as precise as possible (this is a great deal more important for karaoke as the effects are dependent on you doing a good job here). I have read some timers saying they sit there with the show running on VLC or Winamp and just jot down the times and that's about it. I mean it really is as simple as that, so why do people feel the need to say that timing is so hard or tough? With karaoke timing, I will agree the job is harder and tougher than timing the show but again it's not too much more involving or requiring a great deal of understanding of characters and their intent.
So what am I saying? Basically I just want translators to get a bit more due than they seem to be given in fansubbing circles. I've seen some translators unfairly given very bad treatment and placed under great stress (this is something I will touch on in my next fansub related piece). I've seen timers, encoders and all sorts get so much praise and told how tough their jobs are but in reality it's very simple. It could very well be due to the other jobs being filled out by group owners with translators being hired hands, so they need to feel in control and in charge of things by saying the have a tough role to do.
These types of roles need to be done and it is important, no doubt about it, but come on be realistic about things. What would be nice is if people really didn't need to go on about what job is toughest and feel the need to boost their worth over what it is. It'd sure save me from rambling and ranting.
The role of a timer in the grand scheme of things is one I feel is quite overrated. I've gone about doing it and it's a tedious job to do but it is by no means the toughest or most difficult job, which I feel a lot of people out there in fansubbing land portray it to be. I'll say it again, I believe the role of translating is by far the toughest job when it comes to fansubbing and timing doesn't come close. I'm not sure any roles do.
When it comes to timing, I think it is worth noting that there are some distinctions to be made within the role. Broadly speaking you have timing relating to karaoke and then timing relating to the actual show itself. Out of these two, the job of the karaoke timer is far more boring.
The one timing the show has it easy, mark the point at where a sentence begins and then again where it ends. If two people are talking over each other then you'll have to make allowances for that but it's not too tough or difficult to do. When it comes to the person timing the karaoke, it can be a real nightmare. You have to do the above, which is straightforward but then you need to go into timing each and every syllable. So you'll be playing the same bit of sound back and forth ensuring you get it spot on within fractions of a second.
Now this is not really tough but, as I have said, very boring and tedious. I suppose you can say it is tough as you need to keep your discipline throughout. That said on both occasions you are clear when something is right or wrong. There is nothing left to interpretation, it's quite cut and dried. That means you don't need to invest yourself into it a great deal. A translator, on the other hand, will have to deal with possible variations or meanings of words and sentences. It's all a judgement call and requires an understanding of the show and characters to get it just right. I've seen it with Yume translating something, he may come to me and ask for help and we'll throw about suggestions and ideas for an age ensuring we make sense in English but keep as true to the Japanese as possible. Trying to strike the best balance.
Coming back to timing, Yume and I have used Sabbu to get timings and to ensure they are as precise as possible (this is a great deal more important for karaoke as the effects are dependent on you doing a good job here). I have read some timers saying they sit there with the show running on VLC or Winamp and just jot down the times and that's about it. I mean it really is as simple as that, so why do people feel the need to say that timing is so hard or tough? With karaoke timing, I will agree the job is harder and tougher than timing the show but again it's not too much more involving or requiring a great deal of understanding of characters and their intent.
So what am I saying? Basically I just want translators to get a bit more due than they seem to be given in fansubbing circles. I've seen some translators unfairly given very bad treatment and placed under great stress (this is something I will touch on in my next fansub related piece). I've seen timers, encoders and all sorts get so much praise and told how tough their jobs are but in reality it's very simple. It could very well be due to the other jobs being filled out by group owners with translators being hired hands, so they need to feel in control and in charge of things by saying the have a tough role to do.
These types of roles need to be done and it is important, no doubt about it, but come on be realistic about things. What would be nice is if people really didn't need to go on about what job is toughest and feel the need to boost their worth over what it is. It'd sure save me from rambling and ranting.
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