Fansubbing Jobs

What is fansub? According to wikipedia, fansub (short for fan-subtitled) is a version of a foreign film or foreign television program which has been translated by fans and subtitled into a language other than that of the original. Because distribution of fan-subtitled content is a violation of copyright laws in most countries, the ethical implications of producing, distributing, or watching fansubs are topics of much controversy. Have you ever wondered who are behind the subbed shows you are watching? And what kind of jobs they are doing to make a quality show and every fans happy and contented? Now is your chance to learn more about them. Every job has it's own work and criteria. So if you want to join any fansub groups, you better know them (job descriptions are made by zeldAIS): Timer - the art of timing the subs when the characters are saying or when (a) word(s) are displayed on screen. It is one of the most important backbone of fansubbing together with translations (you can't do other fields of fansubbing without this and translations at all). There are basically 2 kinds of Timers - pre-translation timer and post-translation timer. Pre-translation timers times the subs and leave blanks in them for the translator to fill in after (s)he finishes a video. The timer is not required to know the language being subbed. Post-translation timers times the subs after the translator have written the translated script. The timer, however, needs to know basic nihongo to be able to time the script correctly. With that said, we will be using Pre-Translation timing more. Translator - one of the most important backbone of fansubbing together with timing. He/She translates all necessary things to be subbed in the video. It is also important that the translator must be fluent enough in both languages he/she is translating. Note: Translators are GODS. (merciful Gods if i might add) Translation Checker - checks if the translations done by the translator is correct. Every good product will be made better if it has 2nd opinion Spot Translator - a translator wherein there are spots where the main translator can't figure out how to translate it (This spot was prolly coined in the Drama fansubbing Community) Editor - a position where it doesn't require fluency in the original language nor watching the raw video being subbed. Edits the subs and checks thoroughly punctuations, flow of words and especially grammar. Typesetter - the artistic position of fansubbing. Choosing the exact fonts appropriate for the show and making them pretty to be released. The typesetter, however, must consider the main goal of the subs - the viewers understand the subs. So if the font used are too overkill and hard to read, it's better off you just watch softsubs Tongue The typesetter must remember that he is like making a best supporting character in typesetting the subs. A typesetter must be creative - as nobody can teach anyone to be creative. Also, in most of the shows we will be doing, knowing \t overrides - or effects in the subs themselves - is a big big plus. Karaoke - combination of both timing and typesetting skills. A Karaoke can be either good or ugly. An overkill karaoke that has complicated effects but can't be read is a bad thing. It is also bad if the syllable timings are off. One must be very creative in using \t to make wow, but legible, effects. Encoder - Hardsubs the softsubs done by the previous staff. Must know technical aspects of good encoding - considering both the balance of audio and video with file size limitation. Quality Control - most of the subs here are almost the final product but everything from timing, simple translation, typesetting among others will be thoroughly checked by the QC'r. He/She must make sure that there are no more errors in the subs that will be released and will serve as the last line of defense. Splash Maker - Makes the cool images that are inserted in the beginning of the releases. If you're good at Photoshop/GIMP/etc. and you like to make graphics, this is for you. Sometimes you'll be provided with images you can use so you won't have to hunt for them. The most important thing: Raw Provider - For every fansubbed anime episode that has been released by a group, the episode must come from some electronic source, whether it is from a television broadcast that has been captured onto a hard drive or a DVD source that has either been purchased or ripped into an ISO file format. Without the raw video, there is no anime release. Source: jefusion, wikipedia, fansubbing blog