Subtitles with translation from English to Spanish

[JayNewWeb]

I created a 12-minute business video in English consisting of speech and graphics. I want to add subtitles (or call it captioning?) of the speaking that's translated into Spanish.

I have a verbatim script/transcript of the speaking, which I can easily translate into Spanish with the help of Google Translate and a human translation expert I have access to.

For what it's worth, I'm using Vimeo for my videos and embed them into WordPress (password-protected), but I can use any platform for this one project (will still require the ability to password-protect it).

Any suggestions on a low-cost (money and time) approach for accomplishing this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Stan Jones · Accepted solution]

I'm going to assume these are one line subtitles. We can deal with that later.

Format your Spanish subtitles one subtitle per line in a .txt file. No special characters/formatting. Regular accents etc should be okay.

In PR, use the speech to text transcription to create English captions. Export srt.

In Subtitle Edit (free; PC only), File -> Import -> Plain Text. Click "Open text file..." button and pick the Spanish file. Set the options as "One line is one subtitle." Use "Generate time codes" (but we're going to replace those.

Click OK. The subtitles should be divided just the way the English ones are. If not, you need to work with how you set up your text file or the options used for the Subtitle import.

Now, in Subtitle Edit, File -> Import -> "Time Codes..." Pick the English srt you exported from PR.

Now you should have the Spanish subtitles with the timecodes from PR.

Export srt from Subtitle Edit. You can either import that to PR and burn in, or use the SRT on Vimeo for selectable subtitles. You can have both the English and Spanish subtitles for the user to select.

You could also import the English srt from PR to Subtitle Edit directly (as srt), and see how it handles the translation. Auto-translate -> English to Spanish.

Stan

[JayNewWeb]

Thanks, Stan!

Unfortunately, I'm still running Windows 7, so I'm still on a slightly outdated version of CC/PP, and therefore I don't have Edit > Text as an option in PP (at least I think that's why I'm not seeing it anywhere).

As it is, though, the time versus importance didn't justify my getting very involved anyway since it was just for an audience of one, so instead I just sent them a translation of the speaking portion itself (which was easy since the entire speech was read verbatim from a script), plus I added translation of the few text slides that weren't read in the script. I got a pretty good translation from Google Translate and called it a day.

At least now I know what to do in the future if and when this comes up. And how to create English subtitles! Cool!

Thank you again!

[Stan Jones]

The speech to text/transcription feature was added in the 15.4 (2021) version of PR.

Yes, for an audience of one, that is a good workaround!

Stan

[Nikhil34414881sp46]

Hello,

For your 12-minute business video in English, adding Spanish subtitles is a strategic approach to reach a wider audience. Since you already have the verbatim script, utilizing Google Translate combined with the expertise of a human translator will ensure the Spanish subtitles are accurate and culturally appropriate.

Here are some suggestions incorporating cost and time efficiency for adding Spanish subtitles to your video:

1. Vimeo's Subtitle Feature: Since you're using Vimeo and require password protection, you can directly upload SRT files. Create these files by translating your script into Spanish using a combination of Google Translate and your translation expert to ensure quality.

2. Subtitle Software: Consider using free software like Subtitle Edit or Aegisub to manually synchronize the translated text with your video. It's a bit time-consuming but a free solution.

3. Freelance Services: Look into freelance platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. Many professionals can translate and sync subtitles for a reasonable price.

4. Alternative Platforms: If you're flexible with the platform, YouTube's automatic captioning feature can be a starting point. You can upload your video as unlisted (to maintain privacy), use the automatic captions, and then replace them with your accurate Spanish translation. However, do check for password protection capabilities if you shift platforms.

Additionally, since you mentioned the need to translate Spanish to English audio, make sure that the subtitles are clearly synchronized with the speech, especially if the video will be used in a bilingual context. You might want to consider software or services that specialize in audio translations as well, ensuring the subtitled content matches the spoken word perfectly.

Remember, quality is key in business communications, so a final review by a translation expert is recommended to maintain the subtlety and context of your content.

Thanks!