Why "reference subtitles" is not available to subbers?

I am translating Princess Agents from Chinese to English.

And I am frustrated to find that in Subtitle Editor, subbers doesn’t have “Reference Subtitles” in the “More” drop down menu.

I am a native Chinese, but still sometimes I can’t hear clearly what the characters say especially when they are having a fight or something.

How do you manage that?

Thank you!

Laura

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Stay out of segment timer please. That will not solve your difficulty AND if everybody does this, we have a problem if there is someone actually fixing segments or double-checking something in segmenting - they are actually locked out! You may always turn up your volume on your own computer in subtitle editor.

Contact your English Moderator - that’s the head of your team for your show. They will be able to ask for reference subtitles if they are available.

Otherwise, leave blank anything you cannot hear properly for others or the editors to determine whether or not the subtitle should be made or the segment removed.

You appear to be a newer subber - and these are questions routinely answered by those who hire you onto your drama - either the English Moderator or Editors should help you on these rather than publicly looking for help. Generally, they answer and help quickly those who need their help. :slight_smile:
Check also the Team Notes for this sort of information - I would not assume that my version of formatting would satisfy other CE perfectly, as most editors have a preference to convey to the Teams.

GeNie of the Lamp regularly answers such questions for those who join her on her dramas. :slight_smile:

Thank you all for your kind reply!

Love Viki so much!

I think the best solution now is to leave the segment there and wait for others to fill in.

Because I am not a graduate segmentor and cannot access Segment Timer.

Laura

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I think all chief segmenters are a little bit wary of subbers entering the segment timer. As a CM and a chief segmenter of many Chinese dramas, I prefer subbers to stick to the subtitle editor rather than roam the segment timer because sometimes accidents can happen: one move and you can delete a segment that everyone will overlook, one move and you can add some unnecessary segment. Not to mention some QC pursuers who will deliberately come to the segment timer to add hundreds of fake segments just so they can obtain their QC status, disregarding any norms of propriety while doing this.

Some subbers are also “trimming” the segments in their own way - making them shorter or cutting them in halves, disregarding the rules that all the other segmenters are following. We are not there all the time to actually monitor the work done on our channel and fixing an episode after a happy camper went through a segment timer as a very tedious task. This indeed happens with very “fresh” subbers who want to contribute but not necessarily read the Channel rules or Viki guidelines before jumping into a drama.

I am also sure that many experienced subbers/moderators/CM will gladly share their experience with anyone that wants to learn or ask the questions, but with the recent very heavy blows we have all received from Viki, be it in the form of Vikibot or automated segmenting, we are wary when it comes to replying to innocent questions posted in the Discussion.

Hi, laura_fairytale,

do send a PM to the viv1010 - the Chief Editor of the Princess Agents drama. She is an experienced Vikian and will definitely help you out with many questions you may have regarding the translation. I am sure she will also make the reference subtitle available to you if you need it.

The Dancing Fingers Team (Princess Agents) is an awesome team. Honestly, I’ve never worked with such a responsive, objective and helpful bunch of people.

@laura_fairytale, what you should DEFINITELY try is “Team discussion” tab. That’s a great place to find help related to PA. And since it’s visible to all PA team members, your questions might help others to get along with the intricacies of the drama, too.

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