10 Video Subtitling Tips You Can Consider

Perhaps you are wondering that according to the research, the video was expected to account for a massive 81%?of total internet traffic. There is no doubt that video is the most popular type of online content the audience consumes.

?

Subtitle formatting is a tricky aspect and requires a lot of knowledge and expertise. A slight mistake in formatting can ruin the entire hard work, budget, and time you painstakingly put effort into developing and translating your work.?

?

The challenging part is that every project is unique. In the same way, the subtitle is different from one another. No two?subtitling is the same. Therefore,?a Video Subtitling Service Provider?is indeed vital.

? ? ? ? ?

10 Video Subtitling Tips You Can Consider?

1. Partnering With Provider To Plan Your Formatting Upfront?

It is a common practice seen when a new client frequently desires to start with translation right away. On many occasions, the timing of the video project is often very tight. We need it urgently; it makes a huge difference when you collaborate with your translation service provider to format your subtitles upfront. That is why it is a prudent step to plan early to get?things streamlined.

2. Go For Either Burned Subtitles or have a Separate File?

A question that often comes to mind is whether you?go for a subtitle separate files or burn into a video. In the case of burned-in subtitles incorporated into video files, you have better control regarding how the subtitles appear in your video. It also implies that users cannot turn the subtitles off. To achieve this, your service provider wants the final video file of the same quality. It is because you desire to provide the localized file.?

??

A subtitle is commonly in SRT format and is nothing but a text file. The translators translate it. In this format, you do not have much control regarding how the subtitles display on your screen, and users are in a position to switch off the subtitles. To do that,?your provider required a low-quality video rendering and a subtitle file that aligns with the timings.

3. Select Overlapping or Underneath?

?You must decide whether to subtitle what is shown on the video image or place it underneath. Letterboxing is an option some providers use. It means the black lines placed on the image's top and bottom.?

If you want this, you can place the subtitles underneath the video. Moreover, you can incorporate letterboxing into the video to ensure that it does not interfere with the image.

?

The alternate option is that subtitles can overlap with video images. This option is the most common. However, it does not mean we must mindfully observe how the text interacts with the image.

4.?Determine the appropriate font size For readability

When you are contemplating selecting the subtitle's font size, you have to strike a balance between visual appeal and readability. The best practice is to apply a bigger font, but care should be taken that font size is well aligned with your video.

?

The choice of font size is made in such a way that it helps the translation process. Bigger font size eats up valuable space and affects the timing and formatting. Here,?Video Subtitling companies?are important.

5. Use Proper Font Size For Subtitle?

It is often seen that Times New Roman may be a good fit for printing purposes but may not be that effective in the case of a specific subtitle project. Indeed, some are well enough compared to others. Similarly, some fonts are suited for specific languages, which may not be true for others. Some of the factors you may consider when choosing your fonts:

• Appearance
• Clarity of each letter
• Readability?
• ?Spacing?
• ?Letterers uniformity?

6. Use Background Colour Mindfully?

There is no doubt that background plays an important role in readability. You have to pay rapt attention because video images are frequently changing. For instance, suppose you are applying a white subtitle. It may so happen that a person?wearing a white shirt comes onto the screen during the video part. In that situation, white shirts merge into the subtitle, resulting in a disappearing subtitle that becomes ineffective. So, use the background color properly.

7. Use Shadow, outline, or Boxing When in Confusion?

The video may have different colors. It isn't clear how the background impacts the subtitle. In order to clear the confusion, it is better to choose one of the following. Here it goes:

• Outlines:??You have to provide a thin border that you should place around the font letters and offer some ways to distinguish with the background??
• ?Boxing:?It is a significant indicator by using a collared box around the text? ? ? ? ?
• Shadows:??A shadow is positioned just behind the text in a bid to appear that the font is floating in the video front, and it is a significant differentiator

8. Evaluate Subtitle Colour Contrast??

It is an important consideration, and you can put a certain amount of science into it. You can quickly find this using the tool WebAIM when a pair of font colors and backgrounds are readable. The test follows the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). However, it is not a proven way to text that color pairing is readable; it is a prudent beginning.

9. Focus on the Screen Text?

At the time of localization, your video subtitle text is not what you look at. You can also take proper care of screen text because it hampers localization on two counts:

• The on-screen text also poses a problem for readability. If the on-screen text overlaps the subtitle, the readability is greatly disturbed.
• In the case of not overlapping, it also created a problem for viewers because users need additional time to read screen and subtitle texts. It is also required that on-screen text translation. An extra step for localization warrants adjustment with your provider in advance.

10. Go For a Longer Subtitle

The time of the subtitle is considered vital and based on the video nature of the intended audience. BBC user experience specialist strongly recommends that videos directed to children should be much slower than adults.?

?

The project manager generally decides to add more words in subtitles and keep them on screen for a longer time. According to many, this approach is suitable for the audience to read rather than short subtitles popping on the screen. So,?Video Subtitling??Services?are vital here.??

Wrapping up?

Subtitling is comprehensive and requires expertise to develop. The mentioned tips will certainly help the organization to have an idea regarding how to go about making subtitles. Collaborating with?a video subtitling?company helps significantly? ? ? ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ??