Speaker 1: Laria? Hello everyone and welcome to our new webinar. It's a pleasure for me to be here with you today hosting this session. Before we begin with today's agenda, I remind you that the webinar is being recorded, so in case you can't watch it live in full, you can finish it later. Also, feel free to share it with anyone you think might be interested. The video will soon be available for on-demand watch, with subscribers included. We will post the access links on our social media accounts shortly. The presentation is called Get the Most Out of Your Videos by Adding Subtitles and Captions, and will last about 40 minutes, in which I will cover the most important aspects of the topic so that you leave with actionable ideas that will enable you to make smart decisions. But before we get into the details, let me tell you a bit about me and Optimational and what we do here. My name is Antonia Tarkahauen, and I'm a Translation Project Manager. I have led projects in several languages, including Danish, German, Croatian, and Slovenian. Within Optimational, my main responsibility is managing projects on an end-to-end basis. Yes, this also means foreseeing risks and solutions, monitoring progress, analysing resources and risk situations, and, last but not least, keeping my team of linguists motivated. In case you want to get to know me better, or just drop by to say hello and expand your network, this is my LinkedIn account. As for Optimational, in case you don't know us yet, we are a provider of tailor-made, multilingual solutions made in Estonia, but we work with professionals from all over the world. Our main goal is to help our clients expand their business globally, and we do this by breaking down barriers, languages, and helping them to truly connect with their foreign audiences, prospects, and even staff members. How do we do this? Okay, through content translation and localisation. The cornerstones of our work are multilingual content strategies and CEO localisation. To enable our partners to increase visibility and market opportunities. If you want to get to know us better and take advantage of the tips and resources we regularly upload, be sure to follow us on our social media channels. So, fasten your seatbelts now. This is the roadmap we will be following with the content we have prepared for today. As you can see, there is a segment 100% prepared for questions and answers. So, if you have any doubts throughout the session, just write them down so as to remember them later, and during the Q&A, I'll reply. So, don't be shy, I will be happy to read your questions. Okay, let's get down to business now. We'll start with some interesting figures about video content. According to data published by Statista, 27.2% of online viewers worldwide watch more than 10 hours of online video weekly, and 15.4% watch them between 7 and 10 hours, which means that almost half of the world's population spends more than 7 weekly hours watching videos. Crazy, right? But this is hardly news, since it seems that video is in a golden age. The growing popularity of TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube and its new feature shorts are just some of the proof that videos are available to everyone. Not to mention what is happening with streaming. Let's look at this figure. There are currently 1.8 billion video streamers users in the world. Netflix presents itself as a modern alternative to current TV consumption needs as synchronous, sales-based, varied and ad-free. But they are no longer the only ones in the market. And the world of video game streaming is not just far behind. For example, eSports had in Europe alone more than 90 million viewers in one year. And we can go on. We have not yet mentioned the uptake of video in the work and educational environment, how they have helped to break down distances, improve the efficiency of remote working and create more learning possibilities. But I think it is clear that video content is highly relevant and very popular nowadays. So let's move to the next point. We look at this section very quickly. What industries are using video today? Well, practically all of them, but the ones that benefit the most are entertainment, business, art, politics, advertising, HR and more. What type of videos exist? All kinds, depending on their purpose. They can be corporate for influencing marketing, training, entertainment, vlogs, etc. Which videos need subtitling or captions? All of them, for sure, at least to provide a complete viewing experience. There are many more benefits and reasons to have them, which we'll get into in a moment. Moving on to the heart of this topic of this webinar, we're going to talk about subtitles and captions. Both are linguistic techniques that are encompassed within what is known as audiovisual translation or AVT. Other techniques that we are not going to talk about today, but which also fall into this discipline are dubbing, transcription, video game localization, very trendy nowadays, voiceover and audio description. But we have plenty of information of these types in our blogs. What do they all have in common? They aim to make content more user-friendly and enable it to reach more people. And although some people think that by translation we always mean going from language A to language B, we should remember that there is also interlingual translation, which is about putting into writing things that happen in the same language. I understand that with so many terms that may sound similar, it is complex to understand what technique is what. So, let's address one of the most important distinctions. What is the difference between subtitles and captions? Okay, captions. They are the textual version of multimedia content. That is to say, as a transcription, they put in writing the spoken part of what happens in a video. They also make explicit the sound effects of the original soundtrack in order to provide content, especially for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Speaking of which, did you know that over 1.5 billion people globally live with hearing loss? That's nearly 20% of the total population. This makes clear not only what the purpose of caption services is, but also their true importance. As regards subtitles, they are the translation of dialogues, monologues, and other texts that occur in the video. That is, if the video contains speeches in English, the subtitle could be in Danish, Spanish, Japanese, etc. The goal is to foster inclusion for foreign viewers. Considering pace of globalization nowadays, having subtitles is more than a nice touch. It's like a travel ticket to new parts. So, I already mentioned that one of the benefits of having subtitles and captions is to make content more accessible to all audiences. That is, in turn, increases the number of people watching your videos. However, there are even more benefits. Let's see. Creative referral chances. If your content is enjoyed by more people, then good old words of mouth will do a good deal of the marketing work. Better viewing experience. Sometimes, we can't or don't want to watch the content at high volume. With subtitles and captions, videos can be watched even if they are on mute. It would be very nice if people in public transport would use it more. Diversification of options. Whether dubbing is available or not, keeping the option diversified is always a good alternative to keep the audience interested and giving the chance to choose if read or listen. Improved CEO. Search engines don't roll videos for spoken keywords, but they can be identified from your subtitles and captions, which helps with search rankings. Also, a video that is fully accessible can guide more people to visit your websites. Okay. Now, let's go through some of the advantages of these two AVT techniques over others, such as dubbing. First, a disclaimer. There is no worse or better. Sometimes, one technique is more suitable for certain purposes than the other. But, if you could use either option, you would find that subtitles and captions have the following strengths. They allow you to repurpose text. For instance, you could use part of the subtitle materials as quotes for your blogs or as advice ideas for social media posts. They can be edited easily. If you have to edit a fragment of the dubbing for whatever reason, it wouldn't be as simple as the written text. Content can be localized. This is key for creating more engaging material. You can localize jokes, idiomatic expressions, etc. Consider that. For example, people from Mexico and from Spain don't always use the same metaphor or references. They can be a basis for scaling translations. If you already have a CC and plan to add subtitles in foreign languages, those existing closed captions can serve as base material to make the process smoother and faster, of course. And, convenient prices. Rates always depend on the characteristics of each project, but in general, subtitling and CC are cheaper than double and voiceover services. We have already looked at the different benefits and advantages. Now, we are going to answer a big question. What makes a quality subtitle and caption? What are the aspects that professional translators take into account? At the very least, the following aspects should be considered. CPS stands for character percent and measures the speed at which words appear in subtitles. The aim is to make the text more comfortable to read. The number displayed of lines. Typically, one or two lines of text should be seen on screen and left specifically requested by customers. Additionally, there is a kind of golden rule for this, which is the two-third ratio. If two lines are used, the length of the first one should not exceed two-thirds of the second one. That is to say, the bottom line should be longer so the image is less obscure. So, think when you watch any film, if you have two lines, what happens? Location of boxes, which are the black rectangles where the lines of the text can be placed on top, they are put in different places depending on the context and content of the video. Synchronization of video and audio with subtitles and captions. Needless to say, they must be perfect or else it will lead to confusion. Color. Usually, subtitles and CC are white, but there are specific cases where the use of colors is recommended. Exposure time, that is the on-screen duration of subs and captions, text must have. We have standards, but they may vary according to the requirement of each project. And this is just to mention a few aspects, but there is much more like FPS, font, character size, file extension, and so on. So, as we have seen, subtitles may seem like an easy task from the outside, but in fact it's quite complex and requires not only language skills, but also knowledge of the best practices. Just consider these scenarios. If a character makes a long speech, can the subtitle line be good anywhere? Or do we need to write down everything literally? And with the several characters speaking at the same time, at the same moment, how do we create clear but precise texts? Mistakes are unforgettable, and if they are seen on screen, even more so. If not, let's look at these cases. Okay, here there is an inaccuracy. The CC should be saying Benedict Cumberbatch, the actor. Here, we have too many lines, it's uncomfortable, and it covers too much of the video. The idea here, the two-third radio golden rule, doesn't apply in this case. Here, we have a very long subtitle, it's like never ends. Another issue with inaccuracy in the caption, they should say here crab, not crap. Here, the file extension is inappropriate for special characters, causing problems. Another issue related to the creation of quality subtitles and captions is expertise in the use of the most appropriate technological tools. It is much more than just using a notepad or word document and pausing the video every two seconds. A professional translator masters software tools such as Subtitle Edit, Subtitle Workshop, Handbrake, Format Factory, Oona, Amara, Subtitle, Next, and more. And sometimes we also use CAD tools, for example, Quality Assurance Tech. The idea of this is not to bombard you with fancy software names, but to show you that with the creation of subtitles and CC for your videos, in a professional way, there are skilled linguists prepared in every possible way, and that is to guarantee quality. Okay, before we move on, I'd like to clarify something. You may find the acronym CC as standing for captions, but more correctly, it refers to closed captions, which is one of the two types available. Simply put, they are ones that you can turn on and off wherever you want it. The other type, open captions, is when the text is burned into the video file, so it's always visible and can't be disabled at will. This type is more common in TV programs than in streaming content. Well, to round off the topic of quality and to hear towards the end of this webinar, let's answer a key question. What you might be wondering about? Why choose professional subtitles and caption services? Because with them, you can enhance your brand credibility, convey the image of a reliable company, show empathy for your users, prospects, and customers, improve your business inclusiveness efforts, upgrade your CEO strategy, and re-signify the resources invested in video creation. So, this is the end. Well, almost. Now it's time for questions and answers. Are there any questions you'd like to share? Okay, let's see. You are quite shy now. Okay. Here, can machine translation be used as a tool for subtitling? Okay, it's a very good question. Although machine translation is a great tool for translation, we cannot rely on them for subtitling. Yes, the quality may be compromised. Remember that we have different points as regards quality in subtitling. For example, the CPS and the exposure time. So, there are specific requirements for a project that might be done by a professional, and, for example, it's difficult that a machine translation recognizes an idiom, for example. Okay, thank you. We have here another question. Okay. What happens if a subtitle does not contain a word of word, or if the subtitle has to be faithful and literal? Okay. This is a typical question that leads to confusion and people having it in general. Faithful, I could say yes, but not word for word, but to the overall message. That's why it doesn't need to be literal. Remember that closed captions and subtitles are not the same. They are similar, but not the same. As we mentioned before, subtitling is a technique that requires certain standards, again, such as CPS, exposure time, and the number of lines, among others. And to meet these standards, sometimes it is necessary to make minor adjustments, such as paraphrasing or simplifying, as long as it does not affect the message's meaning. Yes? Am I clear? I hope so. Okay. Here we have another one. Okay. Could it signify a change using subtitles in mainstreaming? Okay, definitely. The number of people watching your videos can increase a lot. Remember that subtitling doesn't mean that you have to always use the subtitles from language A to language B. Yes? Keep in mind that sometimes people don't or can't understand what's going on and leave the streaming out of frustration and eventually may not even try to watch it again. But there are also many people who do understand, but still prefer to read or can't turn the volume up. Remember, public transport, it would be very difficult to hear us streaming. So, subtitles will be a very good option. In short, you will improve the accessibility of your videos by a lot, and you can improve a better experience, as everyone as well. Remember that the idea is to be user-friendly and to create a very good and holistic, let's say, viewing experience. So, having subtitles will definitely mean something to your streaming, and of course, it will increase your audience. That's for sure. Okay. One more. Okay. What was your main challenge in subtitling? Okay. Well, as a PM, I don't do myself the subtitles, but I think that the main challenge for me is to train the team of linguists, of course, keeping them motivated, and that they have in mind this difference between closed caption and subtitling. It's not the same, and subtitling, it doesn't mean that you have to translate verbatim, yes? There are different techniques, such as paraphrasing, synonym, using the resources that we have on the video, yes, on the image, so we can meet the quality standards for subtitle. Yes. Okay. Okay. I hope that you have enjoyed this session. Thank you. That's all for now. Thanks for joining me today, and I hope you enjoyed this session. I would like to make you one last request, if it's not too much to ask. We have prepared a survey to get your thoughts on this webinar, so be nice. If you have one more minute available and feel like answering, could you please enter this link and leave us your comment? 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