I’ve been taking my time considering what I want to work on next, because I find that I rush into projects a bit sometimes. And then I find that either I’m working on a show I don’t like all that much or I’m working on too many shows at a time.
It got me wondering about what criteria others use to pick their projects, aside from fitting things into your schedule.
Are you super picky about what projects you’ll take on, or do you try to help with as many projects as you can? Do you work on shows that you would watch? Are there any genres / plots, actors, directors whose projects you’ll always try to work on? Do you care about what the show is about, or do you just pick a timeslot and work on all projects that run through it? Are there certain users you’ll always work with?
Alternatively, anything you tend to stay away from? Plots, actors, languages?
Do you usually go off in search of your projects, or do you just take offers that come your way?
I tend not to work on a show that I’m really excited to watch. (The exception might be some shows I submit a channel for.) Because I want those shows to just be for watching, something I’m not obligated to continuously work on, if that makes sense.
But I do have to be interested in a show to work on it, otherwise it will feel too grueling to have to work on it. I pick shows that I think are interesting but I probably wouldn’t watch all the way through otherwise.
This is a recent-ish development, but I really like to segment on historical / period dramas. It’s some combination of the costumes, the music, the style of speech, and the fact that I wish I liked period dramas more than I probably do. Working on them sort of lets me keep up with the show too. I know it doesn’t work that way, but I think I’m trying to build a better appreciation for period dramas.
I’m also (almost) always up for working on a youth / coming of age themed series. It’s hard to go wrong with that kind of story, and it’s usually pretty easy working on those kind of shows.
I don’t always search for projects myself but get invites and some Viki friends just add me without asking first hahahaha. But I can always say no of course. And when I search for a project I already know I want to work on it because I read about it elsewhere and am like „hey I bet there is a channel already.”
I can be picky when it comes to taking a project but I think you have to because you cannot work on everything and I would feel bad if I just end up being listed for show.
I only work on projects I plan to watch so I can enjoy my own work.
If I don’t like the plot at all it goes on my to watch list if it has a actor I like.
50 eps -> skip it, I don’t want to commit myself to a project for half a year again unless it’s really, really good.
Variety/music programs: No, I don’t want to commit myself to those and only do the eps with my fav artists when I feel like it.
Fanchannels: No way, to much of a hassle in the timer.
Sometimes I check the current team too and decide if I join or not.
I mostly work on Korean or Japanese drama because I like those most. I don’t work on things I don’t like, I rarely work on Chinese/Taiwanese because with those I’m really, really picky, I mostly don’t like the acting style so the plot must be good enough for me to see through the over the top acting I don’t like.
Genre’s I’m mostly staying away from unless I really like the plot/actors: Action, crime, horror, thriller. My favorite genre’s are: Melodrama, slice of life, romance, fantasy so most of my channels contain that.
And lastly I do check if I can work on it. In the past I sometimes had like 3 projects on a day and was hopping from one to the next but now I’m working I don’t do that anymore. Now I max take 2 projects a day and decide each week on which project I will work if my working schedule allows it. Sometimes I’m working when it’s uploaded
I like working best, and do my best translations on dramas that I also really like to watch. That’s when I’m truly enjoying myself and the translating goes so much faster. A part of it is also the excitement that “my” viewers can watch this amazing drama along with me. Like, I want to share this precious thing with everyone.
Usually I work on at least two dramas at a time, one serious and the other one a comedy/musical. Also, I only work on one running show at a time. Otherwise it’s too much stress if I can’t catch up translating the newest episodes.
I’ve also had projects I asked to volunteer on, but gave up on them completely, because, for example, I couldn’t handle how bad the series was. Since most of the time I translate the entire series myself (lack of experienced subtitlers in my language), I have to know that I could make it to the end of the series in a reasonable time span.
Now, that has not always been the case. I said this before, but when the editing in the English language is bad, I tend to neglect that series and it will take much longer to finish. It’s a subconscious thing, I can’t control it. Therefore, the only persons from a team I check out before volunteering are the CMs (if the show is still running) and English editors.
What I do is I just watch dramas and movies on the site and when I discover one that I’d like to sub I ask the moderator. I have two rules for myself. First one: I must have seen the entire drama or movie before I start contributing. That is because I think it’s important to get to know the characters, how they are related to each other and how they behave. I think it helps me to subtitle better. For example in Korea you have both formal and informal language, right? That’s also in Dutch, but here it’s used in a different way. So if I watch the drama and I see how two people are behaving towards each other, I can decide wether to use the informal or the formal language in my subs. One time I contributed to a populair on-air drama, but I didn’t like that, because it felt like I didn’t have time to get to know the characters.
The second rule is that once I picked a drama/movie to subtitle I must finish it. I too often see dramas where only the first episodes are subbed and I really don’t like it, so I just have to stay until finished.