On January 7th, 2014, the Ninja Segging & Subbing Academy (NSSA) opened its segmenting program, and what an incredible journey it has been!
For the past 10 years, NSSA has been a beacon of guidance for Contributors in both segmenting and subtitling on Viki. Let’s take a moment to reflect on some remarkable milestones that have shaped NSSA’s incredible journey:
More NSSA Achievements
International Collaboration: Collaboration knows no bounds at NSSA! Over the years, NSSA has added language academies with Senseis from all over the world. Academies in Dutch, Romanian, French, Italian, and Portuguese, have allowed them to reach and teach Contributors beyond just the segmenting community.
Educational Impact: Over the past decade, NSSA has taught and graduated over 1,400 Contributors from their sandbox program, and over 830 Contributors from their segmenting and subtitling academies (662 segmenting graduates and 171 language subtitling graduates)!
Pioneering Discoveries: NSSA has led studies/discoveries in adapting new Contributor workflows. As @porkypine (current chief segmenting Sensei & NSSA Graduate) says,
“Many current segmenters willingly participated in the study I ran to find the best means to segment dual language shows (which are now becoming the norm). I was glad they gave their input, both pro and con, to the various methods tested. We are using those tested methods for new NSSA 5th level training.”
As we celebrate this 10-year milestone, let’s hear from a few of the many great NSSA Senseis, and current and past NSSA students!
Maria_lavendula_77
– Jr Sensei, NSSA Graduate
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Do you have any stand-out moments or memories while participating in NSSA? Please describe.
Where do I start?! I was a nervous but eager student in NSSA and I really wanted to learn. But I was also the student that failed the final exam, you would think that that was the end but no. The final panelists wrote a nice message encouraging me to continue as it was so close and the person believed that I could become a good segger. The thing is everyone from Sandbox to graduation from NSSA encouraged me and no one ever said I couldn’t do it, even when I wasn’t sure myself. Today as I write this, I’m a Junior Sensei and I hope that I can give my students what I was given by all the lovely Senseis when I was a student. -
How or why has NSSA been meaningful to you?
It made me a segger and now a Jr Sensei. NSSA believes in the potential of their students and wants everyone to become better. I really hope more people get the chance to experience what I did. I know the question was “how has NSSA been meaningful to you?” but I could say so much about how and how much I love NSSA and that I’m happy that I was asked to become a Jr Sensei. I hope that I can be a part that makes it as meaningful to someone else that it was for me.
Dimghro
– Chief Subbing Moderator, Romanian Moderator, NSSA Graduate
- Do you have any stand-out moments or memories while participating in NSSA? Please describe.
Since I took over the coordination of RSA [Romanian Subbing Academy] in February of 2022, I can say that each time RSA–NSSA was approached by a newbie was a very special moment. As we know, NSSA is not mandatory for subbing, so we do appreciate all of those who decide to start with us. Of course, I think that the most stand-out moments are when we find those wonderful contributors who have the needed knowledge and also the desire to learn and continuously improve themselves. In short, being part of NSSA and having the opportunity to contribute to the quality of subbing on Viki is a permanent special moment. - How or why has NSSA been meaningful to you?
As Viki is a volunteering-based platform, anyone can create an account and start contributing. But having such a great tool as NSSA, I think that somehow NSSA is also the little hope light that drives the responsible contributors to maintain a very good quality for a volunteering-based platform. So the fact that we have this little tool to guide the newbies in the right direction on Viki, means a lot to me as a contributor who never looked up to having perfection as such a thing doesn’t exist, but instead for good and responsible contributors willing to learn and develop more of their knowledge. So I hope for a long life of NSSA filled with more presence among the contributors and also with involvement from Viki in making NSSA the only starting point for each newbie.
Squirrelpants_73
– Past Student, NSSA Graduate
- Do you have any stand-out moments or memories while participating in NSSA? Please describe.
The Senseis that worked with me were so kind and forgiving, they were so patient and understanding! They helped me through every step of the way. It was a wonderful experience for me, I enjoyed every step of my learning process. Thank you again for letting me take part in the NSSA – I am using what I learned in NSSA everyday! - How or why has NSSA been meaningful to you?
The classes that taught me how to segment, adjust, combine sentences properly allowed me to join a large community of wonderful people who have the same goal in mind, to turn out great timed and subtitled content. It has been a wonderful learning experience.
Stariz
– Segmenting Panelist, Segmenting Sensei, Video Assigner, NSSA Sensei, NSSA Graduate
- Do you have any stand-out moments or memories while participating in NSSA? Please describe.
Even though I have countless stand-out memories, I always remember the time when I met Rocsanna. As my level 5 Sensei, she encouraged me and made me confident in my work. To this day, I still share the segmenting video that she made years ago. - How or why has NSSA been meaningful to you?
After becoming a Sensei in 2016, I realized how much I enjoy teaching students and seeing them progress. Seeing different students always makes me want to be better at teaching and makes me want to think of different ways to better deliver teaching that best caters to the student’s needs.
Hanjingyi
–Italian Sensei, NSSA Graduate
- Do you have any stand-out moments or memories while participating in NSSA? Please describe.
Each aspect of our learning and teaching path as Sensei in the Italian Academy, from screening the applicants through grammatical and translation tests to evaluating and guiding each of them in our big group, has been incredibly precious to me. I love sharing opinions about translation with new and veteran contributors, and each new meeting always makes me proud of how far we have come as a community, even with the inevitable ups and downs. - How or why has NSSA been meaningful to you?
As a past NSSA student, I feel lucky to have had the chance to learn about segmenting from our incredible Senseis. There are many technical aspects to it that can be hard to master, but each Sensei managed to teach me how to work around many obstacles with dedication and expertise, and I can only be grateful for that. Not only because I learned a lot, but also because I took all that with me and applied it to my work as a Sensei for the Italian Subbing Academy, aiming to do my best to guide our new volunteers with the skills I acquired and the passion I put into everything I do for Viki.
Robertapinho
– Current NSSA Student
- Do you have any stand-out moments or memories while participating in NSSA? Please describe.
All my memories of NSSA are happy and pleasant. My difficulty was with the timing of the videos, not the Senseis. All the love and respect I received from everyone was important for me to keep trying. I loved every second of it. - How or why has NSSA been meaningful to you?
I’m addicted to Asian dramas, and after getting to know Viki I really wanted to go deeper and deeper. The Senseis were very welcoming and kind, not to mention extremely patient. Seeing their dedication motivated me more and more to continue despite my difficulties. I would like to thank my wonderful teachers, who made my time at NSSA very happy. @livia_mcluz_910, @pilar_Velasquez, @stariz, @deval_chloe, @iamsolyne and @bjohnsonwong. I love you all.
Manganese
– Segmenting Sensei, Segmenting Panelist, NSSA Graduate
- Do you have any stand-out moments or memories while participating in NSSA? Please describe.
My standout moment was having @stariz as my Sensei when I was training for Level 1 NSSA Segmenting. It was because of her teaching that I saw how segmenting and segment timing worked. It was eye-opening and it paved the way for all future levels. - How or why has NSSA been meaningful to you?
I started at Viki as an English editor and my Gold QC was attained through editing. When I came to segmenting, though, I found I really enjoyed it. “Like a duck to water.” I was that proverbial duck, I think (at least in my eyes). I love working with all the segmenters, and @bjohnsonwong has been amazingly helpful. It’s been a very satisfying personal journey.
xiaofengcanyue
– Recent NSSA Graduate
- Do you have any stand-out moments or memories while participating in NSSA? Please describe.
There are many stand out moments that I had while participating in NSSA because I am honestly not a very good student. There were many instances where I would forget I had assignments because my other work at Viki at the time seemed more pressing and it would slip my mind. However, despite my many late assignments, the Senseis were always patient and understanding, and for that I’m very grateful. They are also passionate about the work they do and it can be seen through their careful notes about the segments that need editing. - How or why has NSSA been meaningful to you?
NSSA is meaningful to me because it adds to my appreciation of the segmenters here at Viki. I have been a Translation Editor for a little over two years now and never truly understood the efforts that segments and chief segments go through to perfect the timing of segments we benefit here at Viki until NSSA. Going through the academy, I found that segments require very diligent and often repetitive work that is incredibly under-appreciated. This experience has increased my gratitude towards all the volunteer segmenters we have at Viki and want to help contribute my efforts too.
Thank you again to NSSA and to all NSSA graduates! Here’s to another decade of collaboration, knowledge, and meaningful memories. Happy 10th Anniversary!
