Buzz
Regardless of the language you speak, the pleasure of watching movies is universal. However, the financial constraints faced by most movies often limit their ability to provide translations in multiple languages, potentially hindering viewer comprehension depending on their location. Whether you wish to add subtitles to your favorite films or undertake the task of subtitling a movie yourself, the process of translating a movie, while not overly complex, demands time and patience.
This guide focuses on adding subtitles to a movie lacking them. If you seek guidance on enabling subtitles while watching a movie, please refer here.
Procedures
Obtaining New Subtitles
Search the internet for 'Your Movie + Language + Subtitles' to locate the appropriate file. Utilize your preferred search engine to seek out subtitles in your desired language. For instance, if you require Indonesian subtitles for the film X-Men: First Class, you might search for 'X-Men: First Class Indonesian Subtitles.' The initial website you encounter should suffice, as these files are typically small and devoid of malicious content.
Locate and download the desired subtitles in .SRT format. Obtain an SRT file from platforms like Subscene, MovieSubtitles, or YiFiSubtitles. Ensure to avoid pop-ups and solely download .SRT or .SUB files. If you encounter any security concerns on a site, navigate away and find an alternative source.
Locate the movie you intend to subtitle on your computer and store it separately. Navigate to the folder or file of the movie using Finder or Windows Explorer. Typically, the file will be in .mov, .avi, or .mp4 format. Fortunately, there's no need to alter the movie file; however, you must locate and associate it with a new subtitle file. Subtitle files typically have the .SRT extension, containing the timing and text of each subtitle in the movie.
- The movie must be in its own file, along with the .SRT file, for the subtitles to function correctly.
- Some older subtitle files may have the .SUB extension.
Adjust the name of the subtitle file to match your movie file. If the movie is titled BestMovieEver.AVI, your subtitle file should be named BestMovieEver.SRT. Locate your newly downloaded file (usually in the 'Downloads' folder) and ensure it's appropriately renamed. The .SRT file must have the same name as the movie.
Place the .SRT file in the movie's directory. Create a new folder dedicated to your movie if one doesn't exist already. Insert the .SRT file into the same folder as your movie. This will automatically associate them in most video players.
- The VLC player, which supports most file formats, is a user-friendly video player option.
Integrate .SRT files into your YouTube uploads by selecting 'Captions' during the upload process. After selecting Captions, choose 'Add a Caption Track' and locate your .SRT file. Ensure that the 'Caption Track' option is enabled, not 'Transcript Track.' Click the 'CC' button while watching your video to enable captions.
Recognize that adding subtitles to movies is only feasible on your computer. If your current DVD lacks specific subtitles accessible through the 'Settings' or 'Language' options in the DVD menu, adding them without advanced software and equipment is impractical. DVDs are protected and cannot be altered, and DVD players lack the capability to introduce new languages. However, your computer offers greater flexibility, allowing you to incorporate any desired subtitles into movies watched on it.
- If using a DVD player, consider utilizing the 'titles' or 'subtitle' button on the remote.
Crafting Your Own Subtitles (Three Methods)
Familiarize yourself with the objectives of subtitling. Subtitles serve as translations, and similar to the artistry involved in using Google Translate, translations require both precision and creativity. When subtitling a scene, several factors must be considered for each line:
- What is the dialogue aiming to convey? Beyond the literal words, what emotions or intentions does the character seek to express? This serves as the guiding principle for translation.
- How can the subtitled text be synchronized with the character's speech duration? Some strategies involve displaying multiple lines of dialogue concurrently, starting slightly earlier and ending later to allow viewers to read the entire text.
- How should colloquialisms and idiomatic expressions be handled? These often do not translate directly, necessitating adaptation or substitution with equivalent expressions from the target language, which may require research.
Utilize online subtitle creation platforms for efficient subtitle integration into any movie file. Websites such as DotSub, Amara, and Universal Subtitler enable simultaneous viewing of the movie while crafting subtitles, culminating in an .SRT file compatible with your movie. While each platform may have its unique workflow, they generally follow a similar process:
- Select the starting time of the subtitle.
- Compose the subtitle text.
- Determine the end time of the subtitle.
- Repeat the process throughout the movie, marking it as 'Complete' upon completion.
- Download the .SRT file and place it in the movie's directory.
Create subtitles manually using Notepad. Although it's possible to manually write subtitles, using software significantly expedites the process. To begin, open a text editor such as Windows Notepad or Apple's TextEdit (both freely available and pre-installed), ensuring familiarity with the correct subtitle format. Before starting, click 'Save As' and name the file as 'YourMovie.SRT.' Set the encoding to 'ANSI' for English subtitles and 'UTF-8' for non-English subtitles. Then proceed to compose your subtitles. Each component should be on a separate line, with a blank line separating them:
- The subtitle number. Each subtitle is assigned a sequential number, such as 1 for the first subtitle, 2 for the second, and so on.
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The duration of the subtitle. Expressed in the format hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds --> hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds
- Example: 00:01:20:003 --> 00:01:27:592
- The content of the subtitle: This represents the actual text displayed in the subtitle.
- A blank line. Leave a blank line before the number of the next subtitle.
Generate subtitles within your preferred video editing software to circumvent the need for .SRT files. This approach enables real-time visualization and manual adjustment of titles, including customization of placement, color, and style. Launch your movie file in your chosen editing software, such as Premiere, iMovie, or Windows Movie Maker, and import it into the timeline. Access the 'Titles' menu within your software and select a desired style. Compose your subtitle, position it over the corresponding segment of the film, and repeat the process.
- You can streamline the process by right-clicking on a title to copy and paste it, maintaining consistent settings across all titles and saving considerable time.
- The drawback of this method is that the movie must be saved as a separate file. Once integrated, the subtitles become inseparable from the movie and cannot be toggled off.
Recommendations
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Ensure that when searching for the .SRT file, it shares the same name as the movie. If not, simply rename it after downloading.
Cautions
- Avoid downloading the .SRT file if its name doesn't match or closely resemble that of the movie.
