Your first project

Contributing Project Board
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I was very eager to do my first subtitle project so that I can be a part of this fan community!

I desired to choose my own favourite shows that I want to watch but not yet get lucky to be translated in my language ( Arabic) because I believe a fan work must be done from the heart and drived by passion!

However, I contacted for only 2 shows, because I want to focus in one project at a time since one from them is almost finished but the progress is in snail steps. But after 2 weeks I didn’t get a respond!

So I applied for another 2 a couple hours ago, but I don’t feel good about getting respond too!

I know since I am a newbie here they must not have a trust , but how can we build a trust without any experience?!

I am frustrated right now, could you tell me about your first project and how you start to subtitle? I may get inspired again!

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I haven´t done anything in the Viki community yet but my advice is to have patience as most of those engaged in Viki does it on their spare time. :slight_smile:

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Yes I know, but 2 weeks without respond is a little too much I think, I prefer negative respond over not getting anything :laughing:

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Your language community is rather small, so it’s more difficult to get started. Especially, as there are many irresponsible and dishonest people around who abandon projects in between or don’t even know the language (either English or the one they are supposed to translate into). Therefore, it’s easier to start as a subtitler and work together with another experienced contributor/moderator on projects. I would message those directly.

Furthermore, some Channel Managers tend to ignore messages from the project finder if this one was used - and others are simply not active (anymore).

Personally, I’m from a medium-sized language community, so 2-3 people contacted me after I posted in the “I want to subtitle” thread here back then. Then I joined the community, only subtitled in teams for about a year… and then I started moderating myself.

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Did I miss anything? She didn’t say she applied as moderator, but as subtitler. I just re-read her post. There was nothing about moderating. On the contrary, in the last line, she asks “how you start to subtitle?”

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For the moment, forget about choosing projects that you like. Just write to moderators in your language, introduce yourself and ask if they have any projects where they need help.
Start from there. We all started by translating whatever. Then, when trust is built and the community knows you and respects you, you can afford to choose projects.

That said, it was rude of those people you wrote to, to not give you any reply.

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Exactly! I am new here so I don’t know the system yet, but I understand now since I applied to a projects that has not yet an Arabic moderator means that I apply to moderate it too since that I will be the only one doing it at the moment they accept to add me to the project, but basically I just wanted to subtitle

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Thank you for your advice, it helped me more to understand the system!
It sounds I have to follow your advice to build a trust so then I can pick my own favourites!

But it really frustrating, I was thinking of getting the experience while enjoying the shows I love, which will be much productive journey than just subtitle for the sake of doing it!

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If there’s no moderator, and you have no contributions, you always apply as a subtitler - but since there’s no moderator you’re basically “moderating” if you get accepted as this is mostly about solo subtitling.

However, I think that many people underestimate solo subtitling. It’s taking forever, even if a drama has “only” about 10 episodes, and many people give up early. That’s why I don’t recommend it. Still, some people can indeed pull this off and do long dramas by themselves. Few indeed.

As mentioned, I would give it a try in a team or with someone else first. You can build up some trust, get to know it, get some advice in the best case, and you’ll know if you’ll be able to do something on your own. There’s a reason why I only subbed one movie at most on my own. Subtitling isn’t like watching something. Episodes can take forever, you might require 1-2 hours for a part at the beginning (later maybe 0,5 - 1 hour) - and one episode has about ~ 3-7 parts. “Normal” Korean dramas for example use to have 6 parts per episode. They are the most difficult to get in - and if you’re fast, it may “only” require about 96 hours to finish one. So if you invest about 6 hours per week, you might finish within 4 months. 4 months are long if you have no team that encourages you or sets a schedule or whatever. At most, the Channel Manager might tell you to hurry.

I did accept solo subtitlers in the past and I know a few that can pull through a short drama, even fewer that can do longer dramas. However, I can name you a lot that gave up in the very first episode. In my own CM projects 5/10 episodes got translated into Arabic (within a year). That’s even good compared to some other “rare” languages, but it’s frustrating for the viewers and for me. So I hope this explains the hesitation many CMs might feel accepting solo subtitlers (or one part of it).

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Ooh I could understand!
Actually what give me the kick to go for subtitling is the frustration of not yet completed show after investing a time for 17 episode the remain 3 last episodes was not yet finished! I thought that it was an abandoned project since the demand for completing the subs is from one year a go while the show is a 2015 production! But figure out that the subber still working on it, I asked to help but the Arabic subber never respond!

If you have any uncompleted project let me know, I could try it out :pray:

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It was meant to you!
Sorry still learning :smile_cat:

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How would you correct these lyrics?

اتكلم و لا لأ يا قلبي و لا اعمل ايه

Do i speak or not ,my heart or what shall i do?

مش واخد باله ليه يا قلبي و بيفكر ليه

Why his mind is not frozen? why does he think?

دي عنيا و كل حاجة فيا بتنادي عليه

My eyes and everything in me calling him

اتكلم و لا لأ يا قلبي و لا اعمل ايه

Do i speak or not ,my heart or what shall i do?

مش واخد باله ليه يا قلبي و بيفكر ليه

Why his mind is not frozen? why does he think?

دي عنيا و كل حاجة فيا بتنادي عليه

My eyes and everything in me calling him

لو بص في عيني مرة بس

If he looks in my eyes only once

هيحس قوام بشوقي ليه

He’ll feel my passion for him right away

لو بص في عيني مرة بس

If he looks in my eyes only once

هيحس بإني دايبة فيه

He’ll feel that i’m melting in him

لو قاللي تعالي قلبي دق

If he asks me to come ,my heart beats

انا اروح له قوام ما اقلشي لا

I’ll come to him i won’t say no

لو بص في عيني مرة بس

If he looks in my eyes only once

هيحس قوام بشوقي ليه

He’ll feel my passion for him right away

لو بص في عيني مرة بس

If he looks in my eyes only once

هيحس باني دايبة فيه

He’ll feel that i’m melting in him

لو قاللي تعالي قلبي دق

If he asks me to come ,my heart beats

انا اروح له قوام ما اقلشي لا

I’ll come to him i won’t say no

انا حالي هو برده حاله على ايه مشغول

My state is like his what are he busy for?

و فبالي كل شئ في باله مش لازم اقول

I’m thinking what i think don’t have to say

ميلاله ايوه مشتاقة له هاشتاق على طول

I’m going toward him yes i miss him I’ll miss forever

انا حالي هو برده حاله على ايه مشغول

My state is like his what are he busy for?

و فبالي كل شئ في باله مش لازم اقول

I’m thinking what i think don’t have to say

ميلاله ايوه مشتاقة له هاشتاق على طول

I’m going toward him yes i miss him I’ll miss forever

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Don’t worry, it won’t take long. And, who knows, you might happen to work on a nice show too. In my case, my first ones were two of the most boring if not THE most boring I ever saw in my drama life. And I have watched more than 324 dramas (this is the number of those I completed, because I also dropped many and put many others “on hold”) as well as 97 movies so far.

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I love this song!
It is a nice exercise, I didn’t think of it! But as easy it seams to be, it is actually hard , because the song is Lebanese accent!
So I convert it once to classic Arabic then to english!
I struggle a little between word by word or by context translation! But I went for the later! (As I think )

So this is the song if I would subtitle it!

اتكلم ولا لأ يا قلبي ولا اعمل ايه؟

هل أتكلم أو لا يا قلبي او ماذا اعمل؟

Do I speak or not,Ooh my heart, What should I do?

مش واخد باله ليه يا قلبي وبيفكر ليه؟

لماذا لا ينتبه يا قلبي و لماذا يفكر؟

Why he doesn’t pay attention, Ooh my heart, why he is thinking?

دي عينيا و كل حاجة فيا بتنادي عليه!

عيني وكل شيء بي ينادي عليه

My eyes and everything in me is seeking (desiring) him!

لو بص في عيني مرة بس

اذا نظر بعيني لمره واحدة

If he just for once look into my eyes

هيحس قوام بشوقي ليه

سيشعر حالا باشتياقي له

He will immediately feel my yearning for him

هيحس باني دايبة فيه

سيشعر باني ذائبة فيه

He will feel me melting into him

لو قالي تعالي قلبي دق

اذا طلب مني القدوم قلبي سيخفق

If he ask me to come, my heart will beat

انا اروح له قوام ما قلش لأ

انا سأذهب له بالحال ولن ارفض

I will seek him right away, I will not deny

انا حالي هو برضه حاله على ايه مشغول؟

انا وضعي مشابه له فلماذا اكون مشغول؟

Our condition is the same, Why would I be busy (occupied)?

و في بالي كل شي في باله مش لازم اقول

كل شي في رأسي (افكر به) مثل الذي ب رأسه … لا حاجة لأن أتكلم

Everything in my mind are in his mind too, there is no need to tell

مايله له ايوة مشتاقه له حشتاق ع طول

منجذبة نحوه نعم مشتاقة له و سأشتاق دائما

I’m attracted to him, yes I miss him, I will always miss him!

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I see a lot of veteran Arabic mods aren’t active at the moment. Perhaps these active mods can help? @zuoon97_304 @lamia_elsayed @houaida11

Note to all new volunteers: When contacting a mod for your language, always look at their recent Contributions. It will tell you whether the mod is currently active. Or they are on a break and their last contributions were for example 2 months ago.

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Hello Fatima
How are you? I hope you’re doing well

Feel free to contact me and I will help you. There is already a page for Arab members, which includes a lot of useful things to help new translators get started with translation on Viki.

My profile: https://www.viki.com/users/zuoon97_304/overview

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Thanks for mentioning me :tulip:

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Happy to help! And I’m very glad you can take it from here :slight_smile:

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I got my projects! :rofl:
And I am loving it,

Even the ones I didn’t seek for turned to be interested! And the project I annoyed the mod for, aded me but I didn’t know until I replay them to wait for me until I reach the 3000 mark! :see_no_evil:

Just giving you an update :joy::ok_hand:t2:

🫶🏻🫰🏻

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Woo-hoo! I hope you continue to enjoy yourself for a long time :blush:

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