It’s easy
When you open a subtitle team tab, you’ll see the team members, beginning from the Channel Manager to the very first subtitler added in the team. If you find it difficult to locate a CE, scroll just below the subtitle team tab; there’ll be a very gorgeous cover page which lists the team members. Every cover page is unique, so you’ll take a few seconds before locating the CE.
A few examples:
Melancholia–
A-Teen–
Super Rich–
Sometimes, there is no cover page.
In such cases, you’ll have to familiarize yourself with the CEs. Since there are only a few editors, you’ll often find the same faces working on different shows.
Have you visited the Ninja Academy website yet? I think that site is more accurate with the way things work because it was written and developed by volunteers.
These are excellent credentials, but it’s also good to get some experience.
For instance, a major skill to develop is to understand Korean sentence structure. Why? Because then you will be able to understand some sentences that apparently make no sense. You will know it’s literal translation, you will go back to the Korean style of saying things (no, you don’t need to actually learn the language!) and understand the meaning, so that you know how to change it. Become used to finding sentences with the verb at the very end and develop strategies to deal with them. Inverting them is the simplest solution but it doesn’t work all the time, because sometimes you have to match the surprise factor and the actors’ reactions.
Then it’s the style. Matching the style to the speaker and situation. Learning to recognize formality levels (again, you don’t need to learn Korean for that - and I’m only mentioning Korean because that’s what I have experience in)
Then of course it’s the customs, food items, place names, cultural references, ways of speech which some people translate literally and some not … If you don’t know about them, no matter how excellent your knowledge of English, you’re bound to make blunders.
And the formatting. And how to shorten a sub if needed without losing crucial information.
I could make more examples but my point is that even a real-life professional editor and proofreader would still need to work with an experienced Viki editor on a couple of projects before tackiling something on their own.
Absolutely. I don’t have the practical experience with these yet - what I do have is the language skills needed. Definitely, the rest needs to be learned. For any of us starting out.
These are good points. I’m familiar already with many of them, from having watched so many shows so far.
The main thing I’m trying to say is that I, and others like me, surely, want to be given a chance. We do need experience, and therefore we need to be able to get it! That’s really the point.
Thanks for your insights. There is certainly a lot to learn.
Okay. I created this thread as a list of available English editors and I added new ones whenever I found them, so that CMs and English moderators who need an editor may come here and find one easily and quickly.
The discussion sort of veered towards issues that English editors face. That was already getting off-topic, but let’s say it was somehow relevant.
But I would request of you that you don’t use it for listing of projects that are recruiting or for general discussion on dramas you like and stuff like that.
Otherwise it will be extremely hard to find the relevant info anymore and it will completely lose its purpose. Please, whoever wrote comments irrelevant to the thread topic, especially in the past 5 hours, I’m asking you to delete them.
Hello everyone! My name is Josafine and I am new to the Viki forums. When I’m not jumping out of an airplane or hiking a trail, I enjoy watching Asian dramas. I tend to flip flop between period pieces and contemporary shows. I was completely burned out and depressed from watching real life crime shows with episodes lasting an hour. It was the perfect length to make working out less monotonous. My friend suggested I give C-drama a shot and I was hooked! The first C-drama I watched was “Autumn’s Concerto” and I cried so much throughout the series that I have nearly fallen off the treadmill a few times since I couldn’t read the changing speeds to mentally and physically prepare to keep up with the running pace . K-drama followed not too far behind and then I branched out into other Asian dramas as well.
I am looking to be a GE for Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese to English translations. I am fluent in Vietnamese and have a decent grasp on conversational Chinese (Mandarin), but feel that I have picked up a lot of Korean vocabulary. These three languages have similar mannerisms. I have done some subbing work on Youtube in the past with episodes that were unfinished or abandoned but it’s not my strongest attribute and I would not want my lack of knowledge to ruin a perfectly good drama. I have a few cousins who are authors that I have done preliminary proofing and editing for prior to their books being sent off for final editing. I would love to work on a medical drama since that’s my background but would be more than happy to work on anything that has someone willing to train me.
Sorry for the long novel about myself. I am hoping to make some new friends and contribute to the RViki community. I’m certain there is always something new to learn with every language and that’s where my passion lies.
It saddens me not to have news from @irmar, but I’m hoping she’s doing okay by now.
Who would have thought that this thread would be her legacy that now can be used as source of GREAT information for others. Even after 3 years has passed since her first posting.
I am a native American English speaker with a bachelors degree in English Literature. I used to work in book publishing. I am an experienced proofreader and editor with excellent vocabulary. I am also of Chinese and Vietnamese heritage, so I am familiar with familial pronouns, titles and relationships that may not be so easily understood in Western contexts.
I’ve been watching a lot of Chinese dramas in the last two years and have noticed odd translations, especially in period dramas. For example, in several period dramas from 2017 to present, the emperor or some other political figure has been called “fatuous,” which is quite a fancy word that I had to look up. It means “foolish” or “silly,” but these emperors are not silly or foolish, they’re corrupt or evil. I don’t know how this word “fatuous” was selected, but it’s appearing a lot. Another is “muddle-headed.” It’s used quite frequently when I’m certain something more nuanced is appropriate in certain scenes. I would love to help out as I have plenty of spare time, and I work fast.
Guys, Can I contribute as an English Editor? I am sort of a content writer+ have a master’s degree in English Literature. If you guys guide me, I think I will perform well. I’d love to learn the nuances of English as a language.
Currently I am a Hindi Subber/ Editor for two dramas.
Greetings, everyone! Hopefully this is the right place to post, as I didn’t want to clog up the board with standalone posts.
I’m looking to contribute to the site as an English editor to build up a healthy record of contributions in my spare time. I am an undergraduate student from the US, and currently studying multiple languages; while most of my experience pertains to video editing and generally fits segmenting better, I am highly proficient in English and would appreciate the learning opportunity this would provide me.
Are there any projects currently seeking an editor?
You need to consider that other languages must translate whatever we write in English. Viki has a standard of proper English. When using idioms, we must include a translator note for OL Mods. Using slang English is harder to translate to multiple languages. Being an English editor for subtitles means that you must also know how to format. Here is my link to what I use to train new English editors: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qUwr1YQYK6kw82Bo8xeuoekwaVFHg3JKY20TO_ouE8s/edit
You cannot start as an English editor until you have the experience of 3000 subtitles. Thus, you would need someone willing to train you as a subtitler until you reach the 3000 contributions, which is easy to obtain in a long Chinese drama. I have taken on such trainees to fix pre-subs into proper English, but I’m very careful whom I accept. Also, my healthy stress level does not let me to do training at this time.
It’s been a long time, but I’ll answer because it might be useful to someone else.
In my opinion, the Channel Manager is the least suitable. Even if s/he knows good Korean, it’s not his/her job to touch the subtitles, this is the Editors’ job. S/he would contact the editors, so it’s just as well that you start from them. And the problem will be solved quicker.
If the problem is wrong meaning, it’s for the TE
If the problem is awkward English, it’s for the GE and CE.
Or you could choose to send to all three editors.
Only if they don’t reply, you can ask the Channel Manager to make sure they respond.
Frankly, my collaborators usually write on Team Discussion, and it’s whoever of us sees it first.
My name is Najah. I’m have an MFA in Creative Writing and a degree in English. I teach Business ESL courses and have extensive experience editing novels, sensitivity reading, and transcribing. If you’re looking for someone well-versed in American English, I’d love to be of assistance.
Hi, I would also like to begin reviewing English subtitles. I am a new volunteer, just finished the ninja academy for segmenting. I would like to gain some experience as a contributor. It would be great if you could point me in the right direction.
Hi! I’m a native American English speaker and certified English teacher looking to help with general editing.
I’m new to Viki and looking to gain some experience here. If you’re needing an (otherwise) experienced proofreader to smooth out the bumps in your English subtitles, please let me know!
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. K-drama followed not too far behind and then I branched out into other Asian dramas as well.
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irmar