FAZT

04/11/2025

🎬 Vertical Videos: Captioning and Subtitling for Social Media

November 25-26

04/11/2025

🎬 Vertical videos: captioning and subtitling for Social Media

November 25-26

30/10/2025

What is the next course I will host for Translastars?

When: 3 November – 7 November 2025 (18.00 CET) – 2 h/day (direct sessions)

It will be Subtitling 360º: from beginner to pro( Edition IV)

Tired of just ‘knowing’ languages?

Turn your passion into a high-demand skill and build a flexible, rewarding career in subtitling.

This course provides the essential knowledge and advanced techniques you need to succeed.

You will learn how to time subtitles accurately and ensure readability.

We focus on Subtitle Edit, a free, and open-source tool.

P.S. Please note that Subtitle Edit is currently only compatible with Windows operating systems.

30/10/2025

Starts next Monday 🤩

07/02/2025

Este curso começa já na segunda-feira.

Mais informações no link abaixo:

https://www.translastars.com/course/legendagem-basico-ao-profissional

31/12/2024

Happy New Year ✨️

27/02/2024

🎬 Subtitling aims to make multimedia content accessible to all, but its quality is often criticized for failing to meet viewers' needs, such as being inaccurate or difficult to read.

⏹ Defining QUALITY in subtitling is complex. Different stakeholders like policymakers, language service providers, researchers, professional subtitlers and viewers prioritize different aspects.

⏺ Subtitling, as it involves translation, poses greater challenges when it comes to defining quality.

⏹ Omissions are usually errors in translations, but using text reduction techniques is part of the subtitling process and can't be considered an error.

▶ Subtitle quality is influenced by THREE main factors:

1️⃣ TECHNICAL ASPECTS
- Synchronization
- Display rate
- Minimum gap between frames
- Reading time
- Respecting shot changes
- Character limit per line

2️⃣ LINGUISTIC TRANSFER
- Misreading
- Excessive message reduction
- Awkward line breaks
- Typos
- Inadequate solutions to convey the source language and cultural references

3️⃣ PROFESSIONAL SUBTITLERS' WORKING CONDITIONS
- Poor wages
- Unreasonable deadlines
- Poor source materials
- Inadequate training

💡 This is the perspective of researchers. What factors do you consider important for quality subtitling?

Souce: Quality is in the eye of the stakeholders: what do professional subtitlers and viewers think about subtitling? By Agnieszka Szarkowska, Jorge Díaz Cintas & Olivia Gerber-Morón (link in the comments)

Image by brgfx on Freepik

22/02/2024

The 22nd of February is International Mother Language Day.

Here are some interesting facts about the Portuguese language:

✔ With over 290 million speakers, Portuguese is the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere.
✔ It is the official language of nine countries and one independent territory, Macao.
✔ Portuguese is the 8th most translated language in the world.
✔ The most translated Portuguese-speaking authors are Paulo Coelho, José Saramago, Jorge Amado, Fernando Pessoa, Leonardo Boff (theologian), Eça de Queirós, António Lobo Antunes, José Mauro de Vasconcelos, Clarisse Lispector, and Machado de Assis.
✔ Spanish, English, French, German, and Italian are the languages to which Portuguese translates the most, in that order.
✔ Portuguese is the 5th most used language on the internet, with 171,750,818 users in 2020.

Image: Caretos de Podence World Heritage

Source: Ciberdúvidas, and Internet World Stat

16/05/2023

🎞 At the last publication, we approached the subject CLIENTS AND RATES and how it is essential for subtitlers to focus on providing value and delivering quality work to clients who appreciate it.

🔥 Seyma Albarino brought great news from Finland.

🤝 The Language Experts Association has agreed to establish minimum rates for self-employed audiovisual (AV) translators for the first time.

This highlights the importance of fair pay for professionals. The agreement includes salary raises, additional payments for pensions, and expanded parental leave.

🍀Let's hope for more positive changes like this in the future.

Source: Albarino, Seyma, Finland’s Audiovisual Translators Win Higher Rates, Paid Leave in Historic Agreement, available at Slator webpage

In a historic collective agreement, Finland’s independent audiovisual translators win official minimum rates and additional benefits.

16/05/2023

My previous post was about text reduction for SUBTITLING.

💙 You have made my day with your lovely reactions and thoughtful insights.

👊 Thanks.

Today, I propose a reflection on clients and rates. I am looking forward to your thoughts.

We know subtitling is time-consuming and highly demanding regarding linguistic and technical knowledge.

❔ There are several potential CLIENTS to consider: direct clients or agencies?

❔And this takes us to the RATES. How to calculate them?

You need to determine your acceptable hourly wage. Focus on providing value and delivering quality work to clients who appreciate it.

🍀 Remember, the good things in life are free, but we also need to make a living.

06/04/2023

❗ Two quotes for this image:

💙"Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life" - Confucius

🏄‍♂️"The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun." – Phil Edwards.