Do you use an extended screen? 
Do you use headphones? 
Do you snack while contributing? 
Is coffee a must? Tea? Notebook by your side?
Share your setup! 
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I do not use an extended screen. I just use my laptop… Snacks and soft drinks are must to keep me going!! I do note down a lot of things while subtitling, I note it down on my phone. Things that needs to be brought up to the CM, doubts etc etc… While subbing for OL, I always note down errors in the english subtitles, so that I can inform about the same to the CM… I do not use headphones, because it might be a distraction for me and might interrupt my flow of thought. I also have a separate spreadsheet to note down the new words I come across in OL. So that, I can use it the next time when I come across the same word. I take a lot of breaks in between to bring in a balance!!!
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Hi @lutra, no obligation to join the discussion if there is no input, no worries!
Thanks for getting my attention on the topics. I’ll move your reply to the respective posts and continue the conversation.
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Completely opposite of you, I need my headphones to save me from distractions! Also to hear the dialogues better, especially if I am translating from Chinese to English.
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- I do not use an extended screen
- I always use earphones/headphones so I can catch the faintest sounds
- I never eat while doing it because both my hands are occupied
- Though I don’t have a notebook, I have several tabs open: an online thesaurus and the Team Notes; I might also have reference/research pages open for technical terms with certain dramas
8 Likes
Same as you, except for the headphones. It depends whether I wear earphones or not, for example if it’s more noisy at home. Also, I often have a Google document with notes on the drama for subtitling. Just a cup of water or tea by my side, but I have to be careful not to knock it over
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- I do not use an extended screen, I just use my laptop.
- I always use headphones, because it is more comfortable for me.
- I do not snack, but I always make a tea, which I forget about later anyway because I’m too focused on subtitling, so it is cold when I take a break.
- I don’t use a notebook, but I always have a Google document open to write things down, like character names, places, and words that I might find useful in the next episodes.
5 Likes
If this is for improving a feature at Viki, then I’ll also share my setup.
I don’t use an extended screen for Viki, I don’t even need one for Viki. Neither do I need headphones, that could be because I mainly translate to OL. The English subtitles are right in front of me, so I can just translate them. However, sometimes I just increase volume for specific scenes where I’ll need some Korean context to translate. For example: sometimes English subs say “Please” for “부탁드립니다.” which could be translated to another phrase in my language rather than plain translation of “Please.” In such cases, I might need high volume, but headphones? Um… no.
I admit, I have many tabs open when I am translating dramas with jargons or really difficult terms. I just finished translating an episode of Melancholia (which heavily uses jargons and mathematical terms), this is how my browser currently looks like:
I also have a sheet where I write down my daily accomplishments, what episodes I finished, what episodes I had scheduled but could not finish, how many episodes are left and alike. Here is a screenshot of that, (as you can see, this is a recent invention
)
Do I eat snacks while contributing?
That’s impossible for me, either I’ll just eat or I’ll just concentrate; there’s no in between. I do sometimes drink chai when subtitling in evenings.
Notebook? Hmm… no.
Spreadsheets are enough for me. For a while, not so long ago, I used to track my progress through Google Tasks but I gave up soon. That wasn’t interesting.
Then I found another app to track my progress, I still have it and it stores my progress on dramas really well. If anyone is interested, here’s a link to that app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.moo.myworks.progressofproject
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This is something I frequently run into too.
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I use split screen one for the subs and the other for notes. It’s very convenient without the hassle of tabs.
I switch between earphones and headphones.
No snacks but a drink maybe. When I’m in the zone I kind of lose track of time and forget to eat.
Sometimes I’ll take a break and listen to some music. That way I’m not staring at my screen for too long. Might even watch a show on my “break” lol
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I use mainly my laptop, if I need an extra screen I’ll use my iPad.
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If I’m not home alone, I usually use headphones to cancel out all the noises. I some times do this at coffee shops too, so headphones are must!
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If I’m binge subbing (hours and hours), I usually have something to snack, since I don’t want my flow to be disturbed.
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I use Windows One Notes a l l t h e t i m e, when subbing. It’s my source of power
There I have all my notes about the series I’m workin on (and worked on), OSTs translated, vocabulary/ synonym “index” I’ve collected when subbing, list of series I’ve watched/ want to watch/ are coming soon… You name it and my One Notes probably has it -
I also use Google calendar, where I time block every subbing project with my work schedule, so I can keep up with everything. This is how I make sure I have time for every project I’m in and that I don’t hoard too many projects at the same time!
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I’ve never heard of One Notes being used by volunteers. This is something unique, and new to me. If you don’t mind, can I have a glimpse of your work on One Notes? It doesn’t matter if it’s written in Finnish, I just want to see the layout. I am sure it would be of great help for me, too.
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I’ve recently discovered the 
MAGIC of Sticky Notes 
These days, I find myself using them all the time. When I have questions for the English team, I use them. When I have to give feedback to my Hindi team, I use them. When I have to note timings of certain segments, I use them. Basically, they’ve made my work easier than before.
I no more need to switch tabs or regularly open inbox/Team Discussions for typing in my feedback. I write it down in one of the sticky notes (either roughly or more detailed if required). And I guarantee, it works!
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This is a mess, I know… but it’s my mess and I can find everything just fine 
But basically every series has its own tab and under that tab is everything I need for that particular project.
If you want to see/ know more, let me know 
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Thank you!!
I don’t see any mess. As long as you understand what’s inside, nothing like “mess” exists. 
I got the idea, I’ll try and see if it works out for me. If it does, I’ll be very thankful.
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Widescreen laptop - Windows 11 - Chrome
2 widescreen monitors
split keyboard
headphones
tea
Oh yea. Most important is my tracking spreadsheet. It tells me which shows to work on and which
days times they drop.
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Newbie subber/captioner here …
I know the answers will be widely varied, but what is the one thing you wish you had starting out – or one thing you have now that makes your job so much easier? For someone like me who is just starting on her subtitling journey, I’d be interested in seeing what equipment y’all consider irreplaceable or, for lack of a better word, mandatory for a good subbing experience.
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I would say – STICKY NOTES!!!
Apart from bad subs (which already irritated me), I no longer have to keep switching tabs or split my screen (which also irritated me)!
But… it’s true that I only need it when working with teams. When I work alone, I don’t require sticky notes that much, maybe for writing down a phrase which might be useful in coming minutes.
I’d say, making a sheet to store all my subs was also brilliant.
It’s really handy for flashbacks, repeated punch lines, or even when English teams change some subs/OSTs; I can just search and find the subtitle. There were changes made to OST yesterday, so some Hindi subs in this sheet differ from their English counterpart.
Or… this premade document. Whenever I get similar project finder messages, I also send my already made message. It’s very useful, I don’t have to waste time in such things anymore.
Of course, I still need to personalize them. These are the most general messages that I send.
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question - why would you copy al your subs onto a sheet when you could use the bulk translation tab to find stuff?