An Arashi Fan’s Guide to the World of Fansubbing

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Have you ever wondered about what exactly goes into a fansub? Or how subbers and subbing teams go about producing their videos? I’m in the tl;dr mode today, so here you go!

An Arashi Fan’s Guide to the World of Fansubbing

Subbing (“sub” being the abbreviation of “subtitles”) is the process of attaching English subtitles onto a foreign television program, or in this case Japanese programs featuring Arashi. Traditional fansubs were produced using analog video editing equipment, but the subbing process was completely digitalized in recent years with the advent of technology.

The main processes in fansubbing are as follows:

1) Raw acquisition

2) Translating

3) Timing

4) Typesetting

5) Spotting

6) Encoding

Part 1: Acquiring a Raw

A raw is basically an unsubbed video. Raw acquisition in the past years have been made easy thanks to the work of LJ communities like DSS, ANJ and KnH, who in turn got their videos from Chinese websites like Weibo. (Just don’t ask me how the Weibo users got their videos.)

However, videos downloaded from Weibo typically range in the Gigabytes, as they come in the form of .TS files. Raw-providing LJ communities will then convert the file into smaller versions whilst retaining high video quality. They are truly indispensable to subbing communities because nothing would begin without them.

Part 2: Translating

This is my favorite part of the subbing process and basically where I started out as a subber, before branching off into other jobs. A translator takes the words spoken in Japanese and rewrites them into English. It sounds easy, but here’s an illustration of how a human translator would do it, versus Google Translate.

(Please note that all translators will do things a little differently, I’m just sharing my perspective. Japanese is my third language while English is my first, and our brains process language a little differently based on what our first language is.)

From Arashi ni Shiyagare, New Year SP

A human translator considers the context of the sentence which he/she is translating. For example, Nino says “Sou desu ne!” twice. Instead of writing, “That’s right!” twice to indicate his agreement, I chose to write it as “I would think so!” It’s the same number of words, but creates greater variety within the sentence and denotes a greater sense of agreement.

Another example would be Matchy’s use of the word “Golden Time”. Golden Time is a Japlish term, and would be more appropriately translated to into “Primetime” rather than having the English words copied over into the translation.

The conversation above lasted about 20 seconds, took me about 2 minutes to mentally translate it, then another 3 minutes to type it out as I'm listening to the speech. (I’m slow, I know.) And that’s not accounting for the time I spent on sentences that I have to replay over and over in order to catch a word I’m unfamiliar with, conducting background research or just trying to figure out the context of the situation.

A translation script for a 45 minute variety show (minus commercials) could have around 10,000 words. By the time I’ve finished the script I would have watched the show about 5 times.

Part 3: Timing

Timing, to me, is the most tedious part of the subbing process because it requires a lot of patience and precision, as well as some basic knowledge of Japanese. Experienced timers will be able to help spot missing sentences and sometimes do the favor of transcribing the missing Japanese speech. I use the program Aegisub for my timing and typesetting jobs.

I learnt all my timing skills from Youtube so I’ll just leave you with a beginner’s tutorial on timing. It’s pretty easy to pick up!

Part 4: Typesetting

Typesetting is all about beautifying the video. Communities which provide hardsubs often do so because they have typesetters who use special fonts for their videos which cannot be seen in another person’s computer. Japanese variety shows also have a tendency to use lots of captions themselves, so English subbing teams often have typesetters who will help in creating captions that complement or cover the existing Japanese captions.

Before:

After:

twosen is one of the most meticulous typesetters I know. Do check out her comments here on the intricacies of typesetting.

Part 5: Spotting

The spotting process can also be termed as the editing process. Basically, a translator will look over the video to see if the English lines have been timed according to the actual Japanese speech, check for missing sentences/words, and edit grammar or inaccurate translations.

Part 6: Encoding

Encoding is taking the subtitle file, which is currently separate from the video file, and sticking them together with all the lovely fonts and captions. It’s where the technical expertise of a subbing team comes into play, because competent encoders will get files down to tiny sizes, whilst retaining high video quality. It’s not as easy as just running a video through a program, there can be a lot of trouble shooting to do and it can be frustrating at times. I personally have very little experience in encoding, so that’s why you always see the same file types (.avi) coming from me, I know nuts about converting other file types.

THAT'S IT. (I think.)


And there you have it! It’s not a comprehensive guide, and I left out Karaoke Timing (a can of worms that I have yet to open because I HATE to time), but hopefully you have a better picture of what goes into a subbed video now. It’s not uncommon for a single subber to spend hours on just one episode of an Arashi show.

“Why do people spend so much for their time making fansubs?” you might ask, “Are you guys so hungry for the adulation that comes from the people who view your subs?

I can’t speak for other subbers; while I certainly don’t mind people appreciating my work, a large part behind my motivation to sub lies in a desire to master the navigation between two languages and make a contribution to fandom. Maybe the whole idea of mastery sounds like an ego trip to you, but the ability to level up a certain skill can be very, very satisfying.

Comments

[goddess-of-ice.livejournal.com]

I wish I had the skill to contribute to the arashi fansub community! I think you're amazing for doing so much work and for being able to do that work in the first place. Thank you for all of your hard work!

[demiofpolerex.livejournal.com]

That was really interesting. I knew how much hard work went into every sub, but I didn't know the true extent. I guess I always took these things for granted, but seriously thanks!!!!! Thanks for everything you guys do. >.<

[ni-ju-yon.livejournal.com]

Maybe the whole idea of mastery sounds like an ego trip to you, but the ability to level up a certain skill can be very, very satisfying.

----> I agree with you 100%! :) I hope I can do that to in the future. ^_^ And thank you so much for sharing your work.

[nana-bunnica16.livejournal.com]

thanks for the info about fansubbing! i've been wondering for a while about this. now i understand the hardships of translators. minna-san, arigatou gozaimasu!! otsukare!! :D

[risa-kim.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot for sharing this one~ ^^
I hope lots of people would read it, and know that subbing is not an easy thing to do, and they would appreciate it by not claiming it as theirs, or even worse.. sell it..

I'm actually have an interest for subbing the videos.. It's totally like you said, that it's for learning process *of Japanese language* But yeah, I still have lots to learn... especially in term of kanji.. *hands down*

I totally agreed with what you said
our brains process language a little differently based on what our first language is

English is my 2nd language, and Japanese is my 3rd language... But I'm learning Japanese through English.. Just imagine how my head works.. LoL

Anyway, I really appreciate your initiative to share this article, I've been wanting to know more about how to sub~ ^^

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

It's great that you want to try your hand at it!

I basically learnt the whole subbing process myself by trial and error. Of course, I had friends who knew how to do it, so I'd ask them for advice from time to time.

Which process are you thinking of picking up? I think timing can be helpful in improving one's Japanese; you read an experienced translator's interpretation of the Japanese text, and in doing so pick up new words yourself.

It can be intimidating to learn a new language, so hang in there!

[angelasyp.livejournal.com]

fansubbing sounds fun and it's also not an easy job.

I really support you that timing is the most tedious part of the subbing process! :)

So it's really frustrating if someone steal your hardwork.

You are doing such a great job and keep up the good job. ^o^

Thanks so much.

[j-sei.livejournal.com]

I don't think you're slow in translating. For me, I need to replay the videos many times because of my listening skill which is barely (even in my own language). Japanese is my third language and English is my second, for that, I need to check dictionary to make sure that I am using the correct grammar and vocabulary, thus taking another minute on the same lines. I need to polish my English too after I read this post, because I do exactly like what you write, I translated "sou desune" to "That's right" and wrote it twice instead of using another sentence.

Beside translating, I do timing too and that's exactly where my patience gone. When I think I have done 10 minutes and apparently I just done 2 or so.

Thank you for this guide, I've learn a lot ^^

[jadey123.livejournal.com]

This was really interesting!
I have been learning Japanese myself for about a year now. And, I have been living in Japan (Osaka) for 4 months. This definitely looks like a great way to improve one's Japanese skills!

I hope to be able to contribute to subbing/fandom in the future! For now, I'm doing my best with verb tenses, grammatical structures, etc. :P

And, definitely - all the subbed videos are a great help!! I can practice listening to Japanese (somehow it's easier in a controlled, video format...with subtitles as opposed to real Osaka life!), and I can study without it feeling like "studying" :P So - thank you!! :D

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

It's great that you're considering learning how to sub. The subbing community needs new blood. (I'm just getting old, lol.)

Living in Japan is one of the best ways to pick up the language! Or rather, you have no choice because you're forced to.

[demy-arashi.livejournal.com]

"Just don’t ask me how the Weibo users got their videos"
Weibo users are truly amazing but they will remain a mystery for me!

Even though I know the steps by now, it was interesting to read. I don't dare to call myself a fansubber yet, since I'm new and I still have to learn a lot. The first time I decided to translate a 20 minute long video, I understood it was more difficult than I thought it would be. Even now, there are times when, no matter how hard I try, I'm not able to translate a certain sentence. I know what it means but my brain just refuses. Subbing is a great way to practice.

After translating everything, I discovered timing is even more difficult, since you have to be really patient (which I'm certainly not).

Why do people spend so much for their time making fansubs? My answer to that question would be: Mainly to improve my Japanese and the languages I know, to be a part of the fandom, spark up the community a little, and of course, there’s a temporary feeling of satisfaction when people enjoy your work.

Thank you for explaining everything!

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all your hard work! I appreciate the raw videos that you share.

Learning a new language can be very challenging and rewarding. My problem now, however, is that most of the Japanese I speak is Johnny's Japanese. I learnt the hard way that there are certain phrases which can be spoken by Arashi but not by regular girls.

[astra-54.livejournal.com]

when it was stated like this, indeed, subbing works look so complicated nee~ :0

but, in the other hand, no matter how tedious it is, I like to time ♥ xD
maybe because I REALLY learned it from the scratch by myself back then... and to think how stupid I was back then... I didn't even looked for the tutorial on youtube; I READ all the tutorial I could find ... *face palm*

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

XD I can never sit through reading manuals! And I figured someone MUST have done a Youtube tutorial. I learnt all my essential life skills like subbing and putting on makeup from Youtube. XD

[kimichichan.livejournal.com]

thank you for the guide! this will be very useful for many fans, because I had wondering the same thing when the first time I joined fandom :)
I've tried subbing many times in the past but there's almost nothing I finished until the end because lack of time. English isn't my first language, so it's a lot of hard work, but it's really fun in the same time. I get to learn a lot, and to explain it by my own words to make others understand is very interesting.
I started subbing because I want my fangirl friends that don't really know Japanese to also understand what Arashi's talking about when we watch them together, because I keep pausing the video to explain the words for them little by little, and it's absolutely inconvenient. so fansubbers are really a big help to fandom. it's sad to see people that misusing other people's hard work for their own profit. I hope there are many fans that would realize that being a fansubber is using a lot effort and start to use the works properly after reading this :D

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

It's great that you started subbing because you wanted to explain something to your friends. I think that's where a lot of subbers come from, wanting to explain what Arashi is saying to a non-Japanese audience.

[amyhboomerang.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info. I want to try sub-work sometime, so getting to see what all goes into it is actually a good introduction for me into thinking about the time and experience I'd need before I try applying to help with a community. :)

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Oh that's great! Just curious, what role are you thinking of applying for?

[ippiki-tama.livejournal.com]

wow~~~ that a lot of work!! i know subbing so hard and need much time, but don't really know about the process..

really thanks for subbing community..

ganbatte!!!!

[naeusix.livejournal.com]

This is an insightful read, have always wondered how the magic happens behind the scenes. Wish I could have the skills and resources to be a part of the process and contribute to the fandom though! You guys rock!

[ky09.livejournal.com]

i've tried timing once. like a 30 minutes show (plus commercials and no timing for the captions/signs), and i took like a week to finish it. ~___~ really opened my eyes to how hard subbing work is. but i found it really fun! i spent like any free time i had when i timed that video. :3

this was a really interesting read! thanks for sharing this. :D

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Yes, subbing can be really addictive!

I can time really quickly or slowly, depending on my level of motivation (which is very low when it comes to timing work).

[aichan-2.livejournal.com]

wow.. it sounds difficult for me.

but i think you guys are awesome. it's not an easy job to do..

but, thank you so much for dedicated some part of your life in this fandom..

seriously, i really appreciated it.

thank you guys. please keep up a good work..

[arasukishi.livejournal.com]

"The ability to level up a certain skill can be very, very satisfying." Agree with this completely. I have a friend, a very 'rational' one, who claims that one's reasons for contributing to society do not matter - only that fact that one contributes in the first place. But meh. That's just us.

Thank you very much for this primer. I actually, very recently, just started helping a subbing group - they somehow accepted me as an editor. I was shocked at the amount of work that goes into subbing. A single show that lasted about two hours took me an entire week - in between the chuchu of my RL - to run through. And, gawd, I was just editing. Or well, spotting.

The bit I love best here is translating. I can tell it's got a special place in your heart. I'm not a native English speaker, so while I think my English is decent I find it hardly natural - I feel like a talking textbook sometimes. I marvel at that little chart with the Google Translate vis-a-vis Human comparison. Funnily enough, my sentences would resemble Google Translate's more. Huh.

Thank you for sharing this!

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Your English sounds fine enough to me!

I don't mind spotting, it's the quickest task. However, by that point I would have watched the video around 10 times (if I'm doing the translating and timing as well), so I just put it on fast forward to check whether the lines and timing are okay.

[twosen.livejournal.com]

*wholeheartedly applauds*

Slightly off-topic, but I'd love to have a discussion on the finer points of translation sometime. I wonder if I'd consider Japanese as my third, fourth or fifth language though - it's the fifth language I've tried to learn, but it's pretty much on par with my second or third language by now.

I still consider myself monolingual though~ XD

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Dearie, do you mind copying your comment from my LJ and pasting it here? The entry there is F-locked, so I theoretically can't link to your comment there. I forgot about that.

A discussion on the finer points of translation? I'm not sure if I can do that. I have a hard enough time figuring out what the sentence actually meant in the first time. orz

I actually tried my hand at Spanish (4th language) before giving it up. The verb conjugations were crazy. I can read, write and speak confidently in English and Mandarin, which actually helps a lot when it comes to learning Japanese. For the Kanji which I don't know, I just read them as Chinese characters and they are more or less the same. I'm aiming to be able to speak confidently in grammatically Japanese within a year...

[kiriezero.livejournal.com]

wow! thank you for this! I always wondered what was the job of some prosseses, mainly typesetting, spotting (a real mystery!!!) and encoding (but I understood this one the other time you explained it to me :P)
sounds so tedious~ I really appreciate fansub teams work and that you still love the shows even after watching them over and over and over again @.@ actually, I wouldn't mind at all if "adulation" were the reason behind, subbers are working for free, using their time, I think a "thank you" or an apreciation comment is the least we can give them in return *shrugs*

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

that you still love the shows even after watching them over and over and over again

If I'm subbing a show by myself, like what I did with the AniShi Suzuki Fuku-kun episode, I make sure that I love the episode enough to want to watch it at least 10 times. If not the project just ends up incomplete, like the many projects that you see in my side bar. I get subber's fatigue, LOL.

[albarashian.livejournal.com]

It's nice of you to share this, because a lot of people aren't familiar with the process and it's kind of hard convincing them that subbing isn't a walk in the park but actually needs tons of patience because a 5 minute video can take like half an hour or more for the whole process.
Maybe this way there will be less complaining about subbing teams being slow. And people who'd like to try subbing can actually learn the basics first before beginning. I had no idea about the process when I started and I didn't even ask for help from the others, but thank God it didn't turn into a huge failure XD
And I don't even wanna get to the part where I actually learned the episode by heart and walked around the house repeating their words lol

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping this post will serve as a platform for interested would-be subbers to learn about the process. I was initially daunted by the idea of timing until I actually started using Aegisub, albeit not very proficiently.

I'm not sure that people will stop complaining. In this day and age, we're too used to instant gratification. I still remember the days when I had a dial-up modem and all I could do on my computer was to read fanfiction. XD

[ratfratz.livejournal.com]

Thank you for writing!
Very interesting and nice to read, even if you already have basic knowledge^^

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed. I was trying to explain the basics without going into the long boring details that geeks like myself would enjoy. XD

[helenmaldon.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the interesting guide! :D
This might sound like an exaggeration, but the fact that people create fansubs is seriously one of the things that restores my faith in humanity. I've never thought that subbers were unfairly looking for an ego-trip--whenever I think about the fact that people do ALL this work for free, I honestly feel amazed and it proves to me that people in this world aren't just motivated by money--people really do things to be skilled and to share their passions with others ^^

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

It does sound like an exaggeration but I get where you're coming from. Maybe it is an ego trip at the end of it; I feel good about producing work that's of a certain quality. It is very important that we keep doing it for free. Fansubs are illegal and making profit off it would just garner unwarranted attention.

[anyssxoxo.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot for sharing! It gives a clear picture to me and it increases my respect to the subbing communities. Really, this hard work gives a lot of happiness to the fans, and while the fansubbers learn more when you guys are doing the job, we get the benefits to learn and improve our understanding of Japanese language through your subs too! :)

[kanu-x.livejournal.com]

You guys, and all subbers, do amazing work. I knew it'd be a tedious process, but to actually know a little about the process is pretty humbling. And not only this. I am always surprised and grateful when subbers do research and include notes about stuff mentioned in the show that fans might not necessarily know. The AniShi New Years one is one such instance. Thank you!

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

twosen is Queen of Research. She LOVES writing up such stuff, so do drop her a note of appreciation if you can. She wasn't sure if she should post the program notes together with the video, but I told her that fans like you would benefit from it.

[simply-junsu.livejournal.com]

I learn Japanese through watching Arashi shows with fansubs for a year! So you could say my Japanese teachers are all the Arashi fansubbers. I feel grateful to them.
I used to help translate some Arashi shows as well.
Btw, regarding translation style, mine is different from most of the established Arashi subbers, including you. I like to translate the words as literally as possible. Even though to native English speaker it might come off as a little strange and choppy, but I want to convey the native feel of Japanese speech, which is different from English. I don't know whether it's good or bad, but it's kind of my own ideal.

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

As a native English speaker, I feel very awkward whenever I encounter English sentences structured like Japanese. I try to mimic (though not always successfully) English translations of Japanese books available out there, it helps to give a feel of what I ought to do.

It reminds me of the days when I read different translations of the Bible (from literal to very dynamic translations), in the end I settled for a moderate stance between the two extremes, which didn't make my head hurt when it came to interpreting the English, and yet still retained the flavor of the Greek or Hebrew text.