Common Craft Blog
Help Translate the Google Docs Video on DotSUB
By leelefever on September 21, 2007 - 4:55pm
We've been friends and fans of dotSUB since we first started making video for The Common Craft Show. They make it easy for videos to be translated into multiple languages via subtitles.
The RSS in Plain English video has been translated into 20+ languages on dotSUB. A truly useful and innovative service.
I've gotten permission from the Google Docs team to share the Google Docs video on dotSUB so it's acessible for the hearing impaired and our non-English speaking friends.
Are you bi-lingual? Multi-lingual? Please help us get the Google docs video translated. All you need is a dotSub account and a visit to the video's page (right side) to start the translation.
Here's the video in the dotSUB player - you can click the arrows at the bottom to see other languages (once the translations are complete).
What a speed
I've just translated the film to Swedish. From a raw draft it has been a few hours trying to get rid of 60% of the words.
I have made some reflections:
First of all - I like your films very much. An important part of this is the tempo and the swift finger work. It keeps my mind 100% occupied. I enjoy.
So the task of subtitling is to use the remaining 0%.
Conclusion: Subtitles will take away too much attention so that the story shown will suffer.
Since there are no moments of rest in this film the task has been to minimize and simplify the translated story as much as possible.
If there had been 4 seconds instead of 2 for many of the text lines I think that viewers who depend on the subtitles would have had much more time to also watch what is actually happening om the screen.
I think that it would be possible to slow the pace just a little bit in all the films and still keep the freshness and entertainment in them. It may also add to the educational value since people who are new to the subject maybe have a hard time understanding the new facts that are taught. I am familiar with the subjects and don't really learn anything, i just relax and enjoy.
Just a thought.
/chris
The Speed
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the input on the speed of the videos. I can see your point - there is a mis-match between the spoken word and what can be followed on screen with subtitles.
I think the tempo of the videos does make them engaging, as you mention. We do want to keep attention. It' s balance and we'll always try to improve on the next one. As much as I think subtitles are important, I hesitate to alter the speed of the videos for them. Rather, I think there may be some speed changes that could impact the overall experience. Thanks for the feedback!
Italian translation by Francesco D'Aguanno
I've just translated the film to italian.
Google Docs done in German, "voll cool!"
and reviewed after sleeping over it. The dotsub site makes it easy, once I had the needed plugins.
What I don't like about dotsub (beta) is their small print requires translators to relinquish all rights, even moral rights to the translation. Maybe there is no other way on a wiki style collaborative site, but a least' I'd like to be able to tell my kids and friends,"Hey, watch that awesome video, I translated the subtitles." And back it up with the evidence. After all, it was an hour plus of midnight oil. On Wikipediia I can do that (sans the video), just using the history.
Collaboration and complementary currency go together, see "The Future of Money" by Bernard A. Lietaer.
Anyway, keep going Lee, bring 'em on in plain English.