Because it’s easier. If a flashback from episode 4 comes in episode 15, there is a high chance that I would know this scene is a flashback, but I wouldn’t remember the exact episode. I’ll have to go through each episode to find that one subtitle, so if all the subs are at one place, I won’t have to go through each episode.
Sometimes, I’ll have to unlock all subs to find a couple of dialogues. So… a sheet is definitely easier. I delete all the subs once a show is completed.
Oh my god… genius. I’ve been keeping backups of my subs, and I try to keep track of poems like we keep songs (separate, in my notes) but flashbacks are a mess. I hadn’t thought to do something like this. Somehow spreadsheet is never my first thought… Do you hand-copy the timings and paste the subs or is there a way to automate this? Plz I an VERY intrigued now. 
I do this too. I keep a copy of the English translation, the Dutch translation and the final edit. This way I can check different things and like @shraddhasingh said, it’s way easier to find in case of flashbacks. Also, if you need to change a specific term, it’s very easy to find the episodes you need to change the term in 
.
If I’m working with a team, sometimes team members want to see how their translation was edited, so that way they can look at it without me having to unlock the episodes.
@astralmaenad I just copy everything from the Bulk translation. If choose English or Dutch as the first language and choose an empty language as the second language. Then I just copy everything and past it in a Google Sheet.
Yes that’s the way 
Also, zoom out to 25% in BT, it would take minimum time possible. Then I just start copying from the first segment and scroll all the way down to bottom. Copy and then paste.
OH I wouldn’t have thought to use an empty language to copy. Ooohhhh that makes so much sense. Thank you both!! I will try this out for sure! 
I’ve been snooping in this topic to see other people’s setup, so I’ll screenshot mine for your own snooping purposes, even though it’s pretty basic. 
My solo setup currently looks something like this. By the end of the day there’s often quite a few misc research tabs open that I’ll close when I finish and lock an episode. My biggest pet peeve (with paid TV subtitles no less) is when something is easily google-able and yet it’s obvious the subtitler did Not bother. 
Currently I only have two solo projects, so it’s way plainer than when I have a team. One of them did have a previous inactive team, so I keep the sheet passed down to me from the other mod pinned, and I update the team notes semi-regularly just in case there’s interest for it. Same with the notes doc for my other project.
When a drama has been adapted from a novel and the novel has an English translation, I will keep the novel open for reference, since I prefer to keep terms consistent for people that may engage with both. Here, only Guardian has been translated in full, so this is what I keep on hand. 
For my own use, I keep some condensed notes in Evernote, for copy-paste things/future memos to the Eng team/additions to the team notes etc (I prefer it to busy spreadsheets that are frequently used, because it’s easier on my visual impairments 
).
And lastly, I keep a chinese-to-english dictionary to look up unknown characters, and an eng-to-eng/eng-to-greek dictionary for the classic bilingual pain of “how do I say this English word that’s on the tip of my tongue in my native language” 
or plain out looking up synonyms.
I have to work around chronic pain in my old age of (mid-20s), so if I don’t need to use my mouse, I’ll often take the laptop in my lap and find somewhere more comfortable than a table to sit at. And since I tend to work long hours, I’ll take a break halfway through the episode to eat something and come back with tea that I’ll forget next to me until it goes cold. If I don’t want to stop for food, then I will bring my trusty jar of almonds to snack on.
Headphones are on and off, depending on the house’s noise levels. If someone’s watching TV, they stay on, to listen for terms/addresses/formality levels that are not reflected in English but would be in Chinese-to-Greek. 
I’m familiar with identifying Korean honorifics and @shraddhasingh helped me in identifying japanese ones, but how do you identify Chinese (Mandarin) ones?
Please share them here if you have enough time.
Hm! So, there’s a few cases here. I’m not sure if you’re asking about one of these in particular, so I’ll try to go over them quickly!
Case 1. In Greek we have formal/informal “you”. Meanwhile, in Chinese either one of two things happen:
a. I have to watch the sentence structure, which I usually do by ear (context helps too), to spot when people speak to elders (or jokingly to peers, if you’re familiar with Wei Wuxian in the Untamed, he did this a lot) or to people higher in rank, in third person.
b. The person on screen will use the courteous “you” (恁).
Case 2.
Listening for common titles that are translated the same in English (ex. “Master” can be a translation of “shifu” (teacher), “zhuren” (master to a servant), or plenty of other compounds with -zhu that may be translated in Greek as something closer to “lord.”
Honestly ends up anywhere from comical to tragic depending on who got addressed as “teacher” (cases I have spotted included a 16yo disciple (this was a “gongzi”/young master) and a servant referring to her lord).In the reverse, there’s words that could have multiple translations in English, like “daren” (lit. “big man,” translated as many things like “Lord” or “Excellency” depending on context. This is one notable occasion where I leaned on the novel to pick one style and stick to it.
Case 3.
I watch out for common self-identifying honorifics for my genre, ex. the English may say “I always keep my word.” (neutral if somewhat confident statement) but the Chinese may say (more literally) “This Prince always keeps his word!” (Sassier, full of confidence. He was clearly acting cute here.)
I realize that maybe my answer isn’t hugely helpful, because it comes down to “look at captions”/“listen by ear” 
While I have had to do extensive research on palace etiquette/hierarchy/etc, most of these are things I also picked up just by working on Chinese dramas and noticing patterns before seeking confirmation.
Most of the subtitlers I’ve had in the past had 0 Chinese listening ability or knowledge, so I do understand this is in no way a foolproof way of doing things. When I have a team, I tend to pre-compile a small list of catch-all addresses relevant to the drama, pre-assign formality levels to servants etc. and give them the distinctions of “master” to have on their notes. Then I will explain any differences to them as much as I can as we go along, and correct errors during editing.
That said, I often have to correct myself too whenever I find out something new, so I’m always open to research and adjustments.
Setup: Subtitling on Windows 10, Opera browser
I use my 14" laptop, some years ago another laptop broke and I was using a cheap RCA tablet that had a keyboard and that worked well until I stepped on the screen.
When writing subtitles I have following tabs open:
the editor, a tab of google doc with instruction and characters, etc, and at times some grammar websites when I need to double check
I also check on my Google drive app the deadlines of pending projects, I don’t use any calendar for anything except for appointments on my mob. phone
As for on the consumation I drink coffee or tea and have a few cookies or chocolate or nothing.
I don’t use headphones since I have hearing aids.
When something isn’t clear while subtitling I talk when managing a team with team members or when working with a team I talk to mod on kakaotalk as the German community uses for each project a chat group with the KKT app.
I barely use Bulk subtitling since very often the picture can give you a better context of words/meaning than just a written sentence and I mean when translating from English. Bulk Editor is convenient when you need to replace a word throughout the episodes/parts and that sort off, I’m glad it’s here for us.
At times I enlarge the editor perhaps 25% since the letters are so small
I also use about 60/65% night shade/light so my screen has a better filter at night, it’s more comfortable.
I do it largely the same. Before I paste it in the google sheet, I copy the entire bulk translation page in a wordpad so that I can remove the unnecessary text at the top and the bottom and then I’ll copy and paste the new text in a spreadsheet.
I usually go by the tone, too. How do I describe it? When using honorifics, they usually look respectful and talk seriously. Take the age into account - 99% of the time, they will always speak to elders/officials/authorities/strangers in honorifics.
Without honorifics, they speak sort of… carelessly? Just keep watching cdramas and you’ll be able to differentiate fairly well.
Thanks @astralmaenad
I agree with it,
But if you see kdramas like suspicious partner or touch your heart, even after they date and kiss they still talk with each other very formally, so I just wanted to know(identify) the words in Mandarin
In Hindi for example aap(formal) and tum(informal)
Oh for sure there’s cases like that. Sometimes, a translation choice is made and you have to stick with it, unfortunately. I’ve had sworn brothers on extremely friendly terms, for instance, whom I had speak in informal “you” in Greek. Then one of them gained a higher rank. The other, now his subordinate, nominally refers to him in a formal way now, in a way that had I started to sub here without knowing their backstory, I may have gone with formal “you.” However, I can’t switch to it now, because it would be super strange, and besides they still discuss on the same intimate level as before. So it really is very case by case sometimes. An imperfect formula perhaps but what can you do?
That’s the main reason, till now I haven’t started to work on c dramas.
In Korean I can identify people speaking formally - they use -yo , immida , immika in which we use formal you and for the rest informal you.
And I think Japanese somewhat similar to korean (imo) so I have no trouble in translating them.
If the translation editor put up those terms or atleast mention which character talks formally with whom, in the team notes will help other languages a lot.