Programme overview
Introduction:
Subtitling and audiovisual translation, covering Arabic-English spotting, timing and QC, is a 5-day course for translators, subtitlers and media localisation staff that ends with a timed subtitle file, QC report and style sheet for a case video. Many units translate video dialogue like a document, then publish subtitles that flash past, break lines mid-phrase, reverse Arabic punctuation or omit sound cues deaf viewers need. Nominees already translate English and Arabic at work and spend each day in labs with open-source subtitle editors and real clips. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this subtitling and audiovisual translation course.
Course Objectives:
- Choose the audiovisual translation mode, subtitling, dubbing, voice-over or SDH, that suits a given clip, audience and release channel
- Spot and time subtitle cues against timecode and the audio waveform so that each subtitle respects minimum and maximum display time and shot changes
- Segment, condense and reformulate English and Arabic dialogue to a set line length and reading speed in characters per second without losing meaning
- Produce Arabic subtitles that display correctly right-to-left, with correct punctuation, numerals, register and cultural adaptation
- Adapt dubbing scripts for lip movement and write SDH subtitles and audio description notes for viewers with hearing or sight loss
- Post-edit machine-translated subtitle drafts and run a quality check against a subtitle style guide before delivery
Target Audience:
- Translators responsible for turning video dialogue, interviews and presentations into English or Arabic subtitles
- Media localisation staff responsible for preparing subtitle files, templates and versions for publication channels
- Content and communication staff responsible for subtitling training videos, campaigns and social media clips
- Subtitle reviewers responsible for checking timing, readability and accuracy before a video is released
- Accessibility and digital channel staff responsible for captions and SDH on organisational video libraries
Course Outline:
Day 1: Audiovisual Translation Modes and Screen Text Constraints
- Audiovisual Translation Mode Map From Subtitling to Voice-Over
- Interlingual Versus Intralingual Subtitles and Closed Caption Options
- Spatial and Temporal Constraints of the Two-Line Subtitle
- Polysemiotic Analysis of Image, Speech, Sound and On-Screen Text
- Baseline Subtitle Test on a Short Interview Clip
Day 2: Spotting, Timing, Segmentation and Reading Speed Rules
- Timecode, Frame Rates and In-Cue and Out-Cue Spotting
- Minimum Display Time, Shot Changes and Gap Frames
- Characters Per Second Reading Speed and Line Length Limits
- Line Break Segmentation by Syntactic and Semantic Units
- SubRip SRT and WebVTT File Structure and Cue Syntax
Day 3: Condensation, Arabic Subtitle Display and Software Workflow
- Condensation, Omission and Reformulation Strategies for Spoken Dialogue
- Arabic Right-to-Left Display With Unicode Bidirectional Marks
- Arabic Subtitle Punctuation, Numerals and Mixed Latin Terms
- Modern Standard Arabic Versus Dialect Register Choices on Screen
- Subtitle Edit Waveform Spotting, Templates and Pivot File Workflow
Day 4: Dubbing Adaptation, Accessibility, Machine Translation and Quality Risks
- Dubbing Script Adaptation for Lip Movement and Mouth Flaps
- SDH Speaker Labels, Sound Effect Tags and Music Cues
- Audio Description Script Basics for Gaps in Dialogue
- Machine-Translated Subtitle Draft Post-Editing and Resegmentation
- Cultural Adaptation of Humour, Idiom, Profanity and Sensitive Imagery
Day 5: Subtitling Lab on a Case Video and Subtitle QC Pack
- Case Video Brief, Glossary and Subtitle Style Sheet Setup
- Lab Spotting and Timing the Case Video in Aegisub
- Lab English-Arabic Subtitle Translation With Condensation Checks
- Peer QC Pass Using Reading Speed and Timing Error Reports
- Timed Subtitle File, QC Report and Style Sheet Completion
Skills You Will Gain:
- Subtitle Spotting and Cueing
- Reading Speed Calibration
- Dialogue Condensation
- Bidirectional Text Handling
- Dubbing Script Adaptation
- SDH Caption Writing
- Subtitle Post-Editing
- Subtitle Quality Review
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver a timed Arabic-English subtitle file, QC report and subtitle style sheet to the media or localisation lead as a reference for future video work
- Decide whether a clip needs subtitles, SDH, voice-over or dubbing, and which reading speed and line length the release channel calls for
- Avoid rejected deliveries, re-timing work and complaints caused by unreadable subtitles, reversed Arabic punctuation or missing sound cues
- Share the style sheet, SRT and WebVTT templates and QC error report format with other translators and video editors in the unit
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant hands the media or localisation lead a timed subtitle file, a QC report and a subtitle style sheet built on the case video. The lead uses the style sheet to set reading speed, line length, Arabic punctuation and SDH conventions for every new video, and uses the QC report format to accept or return subtitle files from translators and vendors. After the first full video is subtitled this way, the unit should review viewer feedback, re-timing effort and the error categories most often found at QC.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before a subtitling and audiovisual translation course?
Participants should already translate between English and Arabic at work and be comfortable handling video files on a laptop. No subtitling software experience is needed. Bringing a short clip and any existing subtitle guidelines from their unit lets them apply the labs to their own material.
How does subtitling and audiovisual translation differ from document translation or interpreting?
Subtitling works under screen space and display-time limits, so dialogue is spotted to timecode, condensed and split into short lines. Document translation has no time constraint, and interpreting renders speech orally in real time rather than as timed written text on screen.
Why do subtitling and audiovisual translation rely on a reading speed limit?
Viewers must read each subtitle while still watching the image. A characters-per-second limit, combined with minimum and maximum display times, keeps text on screen long enough to read, which is why subtitlers condense dialogue rather than translate every word.
What do participants take back from the subtitling and audiovisual translation course?
Participants take back a timed English-Arabic subtitle file for a case video, a QC report with categorised timing and translation errors, a subtitle style sheet, SRT and WebVTT templates and an SDH labelling checklist for their unit.