English Italian translations in simil sync

Translations and adaptation of documentaries in similar sync and voice over with perfect synchronic adaptation of the reality product

Traduzione-IN - Traduzioni simil sync inglese italiano

Sync translations of reality documentaries

from English to Italian

Below are some guidelines containing graphic and stylistic indications for the translation of documentary scripts. This information must be followed by translators specialized in audiovisual products during the processing of reality documentaries in simil sync, that is when the actor/voice actor begins to speak together with the character he/she plays and ends up not respecting the lip, or in voiceover, in the circumstance in which the voice actor enters a few seconds later of a narrating character and finishes speaking a few seconds before the same.

How we proceed in the sync-like translation from English to Italian

As a rule, the verb tense into which to translate is the past (remote and near past); sometimes, however, the choice of the translator falls on the historical present, to make the discourse more fluent always following the lines of the original scripts
Before starting each series, "fixed" phrases are defined to be included in all the scripts (the initial ending, the initial and final sentence are unchanged in all episodes)
If there are clips taken from original films played by actors these will be subtitled, so a translation of them is sufficient
Adapt the translated text so that the scurrilous jargon in Italian corresponds to the original one in English (this is to be able to put the BEEP in the mix at the same time as the original)
To facilitate and optimize the work of the actors and the director in the recording studio, the audiovisual translator must always enter the pronunciations (expressed with the IPA international phonetic alphabet) of words in a foreign language
Each time reference must be respected based on what is stated in the original texts
Translated files must be named in the same way: Fghrjthi_00_trans_dub_ITA (00 = episode number)
Sixty characters per line including spaces, FONT Times New Roman DIM 14
Mark long breaks with /
While short breaks must be marked with .....
Mark voice-over with VO and live broadcasts with DIR
Maximum precision (at the frame!!!) is required for the TC at the beginning of the stroke
For very long phrases it is good to indicate the TimeCode even within the beat (where there are pauses)
Carefully check that the names of the characters indicated in the original script correspond perfectly to those on the screen
The audiovisual translation must be carried out and adapted so that it is exactly as long as the original respecting the pauses present in the dialogues
During the adaptation phase of the texts, to test your writing it is necessary to read it normally, without being misled by the possible fast rhythm of the original speech
At the top of the script insert the list of characters specifying gender and age.

In both productions (simil sync and voice-over) the essential thing is to keep the content and comply with the times and scrupulously following these indications means the results will come quickly.

Interlingual and intra-linguistic subtitling

Subtitling is a TAV procedure that aims to correctly pass the contents from an oral to a written channel. At Translation-IN we carry out both intra-lingual subtitling (with a translation service) and interlingual subtitling (to support those impaired of hearing). In subtitles for hearing people, we determine the formatting, synchronization, sentence segmentation rules, rhythm and translation strategies to be implemented upfront. In regard to subtitles for the impaired of hearing we apply the legislation and the state of the art in force in Italy and abroad. We follow the formatting instructions, the use of labels and the SDH or CC subtitles required by each individual customer.

Let’s take a context in which there are two people, an interviewer and an interviewee, talking in two different languages. The spoken languages of both languages will be inserted In the subtitling files so that the video can become intelligible even to the deaf.

Translations and adaptation of audiovisual texts in simil sync from English to Italian

Line counting and tabulation software for proper programming and summoning speakers during a recording session of an audiovisual product

This specific program for the audiovisual sector is designed to work on WINDOWS XP and OFFICE 2003 systems. In fact, it has been found that the program may not work properly on hardware with another operating system or other version of Office.

Configuration Specifications for Microsoft Word

Tests have established that the settings of MICROSOFT WORD suitable for creating scripts and documents for intra-lingual translations and adaptations used in counting software must follow certain rules. To get an optimal average of characters in each line your Word must therefore be configured as follows:

Set the ARIAL font size 11
Margins and tabs must be set as follows:
Go to FORMAT – PARAGRAPH with the setting of the following values:
In the TABS entry, set the parameters correctly.

How to realize a script in accordance with the law

Synchronic adaptation - respecting the rhythm of dialogues and images

After setting up your PC – the next thing to do is compile the list of characters in order of appearance according to age, gender and possibly other distinctive features.

The identification of each character often corresponds to the summoning of an individual actor; that's why it is essential to fill in the first page properly with all the characters, identifying them with precision and rigor. e.g. When more than one waiter appears in a documentary, it is necessary to specify this by naming, for example, waiter 1 – waiter 2 – waiter 3 etc. The production secretary has the task of organizing the summoning of the actors/speakers – if by mistake a single waiter is indicated when two or three appear, it is clear that the registration plan will be inadequate and will suffer delays.
The actors are summoned and remunerated according to the number of turns (40 lines) assigned; that's why it is very important to insert the correct number of rings (or progressive numbers - inserted one on each page) and attribute the correct character - the production secretary uses a software that by reading these indications can show the number of shifts to be assigned to each actor.

Setting up the page

In accordance with the above, this process takes place using a program that automatically counts the lines and prepares the plan for dubbing; but to be effective, the script must be set following precise instructions. For a similar sync, the number of characters between English and Italian in each sentence must be equal, with +/-10% tolerance. It is not necessary to indicate the frames that make up the seconds of the images.

Within a documentary there are often graphic insertions translated and delivered in a separate file (name of the characters, supers that refer to data and information that appear in overlay).

The next step is the first and faithful intralingual translation of the hard-copy texts, inserting the initial, final and intermediate TCs for each piece that composes the dialogues. As a rule, attention must be paid to the lengths of sentences, since they frequently turn out to be too long.

Being in harmony with the narrative

The Challenge of Screen Translation

Now let's move on to the adaptation phase – therefore the most "creative" of the audiovisual translator. Before adapting the texts, it is necessary to view the video at least 3 times to grasp most of the details. In general, the texts translated from the hard-copy script are too long to be voiced compared to the video (audiovisuals never translate literally, as can happen for the translation of manuals or for the translation of contracts). Hard-copy text and video may have small differences and it is always the latter that is authentic since it is the one that will accompany the speech in Italian.

We therefore recommend adapting about 20 seconds at a time and then reading the translated text aloud, simultaneously viewing the corresponding video piece, then adapting it definitively – often superfluous pieces have to be cut or terms that sound inappropriate with what is displayed changed. The name of cities, neighborhoods, places (e.g. New York) or anything else that might be implied are never repeated numerous times.

Voice-over translation or sync-like dubbing

It is necessary to optimize Italian, making it as fluid as happens in the spoken language. Therefore, concise, precise and appropriate texts are required for the form of dialogue because the use of audio that harmoniously follows the flow of images, spoken language and circumstances must not be neglected.

Rule No. 1) Conciseness - obvious parts must be cut out - the text must always tend to be concise. Never verbose or literal!
Rule N°2) Observation - the video must be carefully watched the text is reviewed; it must be read to check that it is in harmony with audio and images (at intervals of 20 seconds)
Rule N°3) Common sense - common sense must be used when cutting and changing words, fully adapting them to Italian.

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